PODCAST: CPAs Find Friendlier Workplaces

podcast_icon.jpgEight in 10 report employee-centric HR policies.

by Rick Telberg
On Careers

Listen to the podcast, recorded by Bill Sheridan at CPA Success.

Finance and accounting employers are among the most progressive in American business with all but a few adopting leading-edge employee-centered human resources strategies.

To be sure, no single staffing strategy stands out as a remedy for today’s understaffing and workplace morale woes. But that’s not stopping accounting firms and finance departments from trying anything they can think of.

The human resources strategy aimed at achieving a reasonable work-life balance appears to be gaining ground, according to a new CPA Trendlines study. In the study, 41 percent of CPAs said a balanced work-life strategy is in effect at their workplaces.

Read the original article, here… 

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Posted on March 31, 2008
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Scrap Independence?

The survival of CPA firms could depend on it.

That’s the heretical advice of Jim Peterson (pictured), once an in-house lawyer for Arthur Andersen, now a practicing multinational attorney and columnist for the International Herald Tribune.

He writes:

I say it is time to stop making nice and to discard a 150-year-old piece of conventional wisdom. The concept of auditor independence does not serve the interests of investors. Read more

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Posted on March 30, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 1 Comment

All in the Family? NOT!

Joel Rosenthal exits namesake Alpern Rosenthal for arch-nemesis Schneider Downs.

Alpern Rosenthal shareholder Joel Rosenthal (pictured), son of one of the firm’s namesakes, is leaving the firm to lead the business advisory practice at competing accounting firm Schneider Downs & Co.

Rosenthal, son of Alpern Rosenthal founder Irving Rosenthal, was with the firm for nearly 24 years, most recently serving as shareholder of the auditing department.

Starting April 1, Rosenthal will lead Schneider Downs Business Advisors, a practice group providing business valuation, due diligence, litigation support and other services. Read more

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Posted on March 30, 2008
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FIRMS TO WATCH: Clayton & McKervey Surges with “Razor-Sharp Focus”

But that “razor-sharp focus” can cut two ways.

C&M specializes in clients with cross-border needs. But IFRS experience can be hard to find

We first reported on the Detroit-based local firm with global reach last year (in “28 Firms Win AAM Awards“) and again last month (in “FIRMS TO WATCH: Clayton & McKervey Surges with ‘Razor-Sharp Focus.’ ”

Now the prolific and insightful Dona DeZube writes about the firm’s recruiting strategies at JobsInTheMoney.

What kind of recruits is the firm looking for?

Read more

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Posted on March 30, 2008
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CPA Recruiting on Campus: An Inside Look

shelley-032908.JPGAccounting student Shelley (pictured) is blogging through the CPA firm recruiting process. And, she’s having a ball!

She’s joined the Professional Program in Accounting at Texas A&M (Class of ’09) at College Station. It means she’ll stay at A&M an extra year, but graduate with a BS and a Masters. Read more

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Posted on March 30, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 3 Comments

Scrap GAAP? PwC Chief Pushes IFRS

PwC Executive Says Changing Standards Will Improve U.S. Competitiveness

Dennis Nally (pictured), PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. chairman, called for a shift in accounting standards away from U.S. GAAP toward International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

In his speech, Nally urged members of the Financial Executive Institute to embrace the rapid and often disruptive changes brought about by globalization as an
opportunity to address systemic problems that impact America’s long term competitiveness. He argued that global economic and cultural integration coupled with the rapid growth of emerging economies will demand more engagement and cooperation from the United States, citing the transition of accounting standards as a prime example. Read more

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Posted on March 29, 2008
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“I’ll Buy Your Violets.”

…But Not From Your Ad

By Bruce W. Marcus
The Marcus Letter

We have a paradox in professional services marketing. It’s called advertising.

On the one hand, the past few years have seen a rash of law and accounting firm advertising. On the other hand, as the economists say, everybody has an opinion about it, most of which is skewed by every possible wrong reason for judging advertising.

And if there is a third hand, it’s that based on my experience in advertising for law and accounting firms, I’m not really sure that most of it it works. I do know with a great certainty that it doesn’t work for professional firms the way it works for products. In fact, I’m not sure that may of the advertising agencies doing some of these ads really understand that difference. And that opinion is from someone – namely me – who has done a lot of successful advertising. There you have another paradox.

Continued….

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Posted on March 29, 2008
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New York CPA Society Battles Big Firms

nysscpa_logo.jpgYou’d think that every CPA would be on the same side in this fight.

But just as the New York CPA society, led by CEO Lou Grumet, nears a compromise with state lawmakers to advance mobility, some of the biggest firms say they want more, threatening the deal Grumet has crafted. Read more

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Posted on March 28, 2008
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Rebate-Seekers Boost H&R Block Traffic 8%

hr_block_logo.pngKANSAS CITY, Mo. – H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) today reported tax season results for the interim periods March 1 -15, 2008 and Nov. 1, 2007 – March 15, 2008.  Excluding lending-products-only clients, Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) rebate filers, and the impact of an additional day due to leap year, retail clients served were estimated to be up 3.6 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively, over the prior year.Total reported retail client growth for the March 1 -15 period was 8.2 percent, of which approximately 4.6 percent was related to ESP filers.  On a year-to-date basis through March 15, total reported retail clients grew 3.3 percent of which 1 percent is estimated to be related to ESP filers and 1 percent is due to the additional leap year day.

The reported increase in net average retail fee for the March 1 -15period was 2.3 percent, but would have been approximately 5.8 percent without the impact of ESP filers.  On a year-to-date basis, the reported increase in net average retail fee was 5.5 percent and would have been approximately 6.5 percent without ESP.

ESP filers are individuals who would not otherwise be required to file an income tax return, but who are filing in 2008 in order to be eligible to receive rebate checks under the ESP program.  The company is offering special low fees to ESP filers, which affects calculations of average fees.  In addition, determination of which clients are ESP filers is also subjective, which affects the precision of retail client growth percentages.  The numbers set forth above reflect the company’s best estimate of client growth and average fee adjusted for the impact of one-time ESP filers as well as the impact of leap year.

Digital clients served were down 4 percent in the March 1 -15 period and down 6.5 percent year-to-date through March 15, representing a slight improvement from a decline of 6.8 percent for the year-to-date period ending February 29.

H&R Block plans to release interim results through March 31 for its U.S. tax operations on April 14, 2008 before the NYSE market open.

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Posted on March 28, 2008
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