Is Sarbanes-driven growth over at Big Four firms?
“There are projections for layoffs at several Big Four firms based on the amount of work they’re getting,” said Michael Platt, of Platt Consulting Group. “The East and West coasts would both be hurt (and) we’ll see more junior people laid off. There will be some aggressive offers coming from the next level — the second-tier firms.”
Why the end of busy season spells a new round of dealmaking.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
At one time, you could count on busy season to provide respite from mergers, acquisitions and talent snatches among CPA firms. But not this year.
Robert Fligel (pictured) at RF Resources, the New York-based CPA firm broker and headhunter, reports that, unlike past busy seasons, this busy season is busier than most. “My theory is that it might have something to do with more partners looking at the slowing economy as a time to sell while other forward thinkers are thinking growth by acquisition,” Fligel says. READ MORE →
Allegation: “failed to satisfy the most basic standards of the accounting and auditing profession” READ MORE →
Who says small firms can’t compete for talent with the Big Four?
Dauby O’Connor & Zeleski LLC in Indianapolis is doing some great guerrilla marketing. READ MORE →
If you’re looking for high-net-worth clients, you should be looking at places like Facebook and LinkedIn online, according to this eMarketer report. The number has surged to 60% this year from 27% last year.
“While some in the luxury industry are still debating e-commerce, search and banner ads, the majority of their customers have leaped into the online dialog,” said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. The study noted that, on average, affluent web users in the U.S. are members of about three online social networks and have 110 online connections through these sites.
So what are you waiting for?
I’ll see you on LinkedIn, here.
Eight in 10 report employee-centric HR policies.
by Rick Telberg
On Careers
Listen to the podcast, recorded by Bill Sheridan at CPA Success.Â
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. READ MORE →
Deloitte leads; Ernst nudges past PwC
The nation’s top 100 tax and accounting firms grew topline revenues another 11% in 2007, marking the third consecutive year of double-digit gains, according to the latest issue of Accounting Today. The surge was led by firms with volume of under $100 million, with aggregate growth of 15%, according to managing editor Daniel Hood. READ MORE →
Trust and believability go much further than tantalizing incentives.
Ads in third-party newsletters can generate plenty of leads. “But you should focus on an ad campaign’s longer-term effect — not simply immediate clicks,” according to MarketingSherpa, the research firm with more than 370,000 followers.
A new study by the AICPA and the Bay Street Group LLC offers four takeaways for marketers wanting to maximize the impact from e-newsletter ad campaigns.
Over 10 years of collaboration with USA TODAYÂ
Washington, DC (AICPA) – Certified public accountants, who are members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, are answering tax questions from USA TODAY readers this tax season as part of the newspaper’s annual effort to provide online tax assistance to readers. READ MORE →
How does your busy season compare?
Join the survey; get the answers.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
Busy season has a way of bringing into focus the habits and practices that separate the successful firms from the less than so.
In reviewing our data so far, it’s clear that the more effective firms share a few key traits. Their partners and staff report less stress, smoother operations and increased revenue-both overall and on a per-client basis.
What are they doing right? They tend to excel at four skills: READ MORE →
CPA Trendlines Technology Journal of Accountancy
