CPA Mobility: Not O.K. in OK

daryl-hill-oscpa-ceo.gifOklahoma fails to join mobility movement.

Unlike 26 other states which have passed laws expanding the ability of CPAs to practice across state lines, Oklahoma legislators shot down the state CPA society’s plan to update state rules.

All out-of-state CPAs who perform accounting services for clients who reside in Oklahoma will have to notify the Accountancy Board. But Oklahoma CPAs who have clients in other states will not have to notify Boards in the now 26 states that have passed mobility legislation. OSCPA Executive Director Daryl Hill (pictured), said the events dealt a “legislative blow to the Society.”

Hill added: “Lack of participation from the majority of OSCPA members did not help the cause.”

Ouch!

More here…

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Posted on May 30, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | Leave a Comment

Winning the Talent Wars

mark-koziel-mug-cropped.jpgHow small firms compete in today’s market. How are you doing? Join the study. Get the answers.

by Rick Telberg/At Large

In a time of unprecedented demand for accounting professionals, the ability to recruit and retain talent is proving to be a decisive competitive factor.

Because of the so-called staffing shortage, professionals are clocking more hours, firms are turning away work, partners are postponing retirement and mergers are surging.

Recruiting has become every bit as important to survival and growth as finding clients, according to Mark Koziel (pictured), the AICPA’s senior technical manager in charge of practice management. “Making recruiting a systemized function of the firm is critical,” Koziel says. Read more

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Posted on May 27, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 1 Comment

4 New Rules for the Tech-Savvy CPA

Plus: Four trends to watch.

How tech-smart is your firm? Join the study; get the answers.

by Rick Telberg/At Large

No CPA would think of trying to do business without a computer or mobile phone.

So why then aren’t more CPAs taking a strategic approach to their technology investments?

john-higgins-mug.jpgAfter all, most growth oriented accounting firms are already spending 5% to 10% of their revenues on IT hardware and applications, according to most studies. My own research suggests that barely one in 10 firms is following a written, strategic technology plan. For most finance and accounting organizations, that’s like piloting a ship without charts.

But where to begin? For that, we went to John Higgins (pictured), CPA, CITP. John is a strategic advisor to CPA firms through his company, CPA Crossings LLC in Rochester, Minn. He is also a past chairman of the Michigan Association of CPAs and a member of the AICPA Business & Industry Hall of Fame. Read more

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Posted on May 19, 2008
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Tax Staffer at Work…

…Accounting rapper at home!

Bobby Frye, tax staffer at Warren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino CPAs, in Birmingham, Ala., says he finds it “utterly disgusting that no good songs have ever been written about accountants.”

So, with a nod to Snoop Dogg for the “moderately” offensive tune “Gin and Juice,” Frye offers up “this precious gem of melodical and lyrical wonderment.” Read more

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Posted on May 16, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES], Video | Leave a Comment

Politics Corrupts Accounting (Shocked!)

claude_rains1.jpg

As if you needed another reason to suspect earnings management.

New research shows that companies making political contributions often bend accounting rules so as not to embarrass their candidate.

Companies “involved in potentially controversial business activities—outsourcing, for example—understate their earnings if it might boost a candidate’s chances of election,” according to a study at the Harvard Business School called “Accounting Information as Political Currency.”

Such earnings management “seems to have been motivated by the desire of contributing firms to not taint preferred candidates with association to the political red flag… outsourcing… as well as to ensure future benefits and avoid future costs in regulatory matters.”

Or, as Claude Rains says in “Casablanca:” “I’m shocked. Shocked!”

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Posted on May 15, 2008
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Minority Women Face Racial Barriers in Accounting

Women of Color Struggle to Succeed in Accounting Firms.

istock_000005179233xsmall.jpg[via Catalyst] 

Workplace experiences of women of color are vastly different from those of white women, white men, and men of color, according to Women of Color in Accounting, the second report in Catalyst’s breakthrough Women of Color in Professional Services Series.

Furthermore, the study finds that these unique experiences should be recognized in order to better engage women of color and offer this crucial employee group greater access to advancement opportunities. Read more

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Posted on May 14, 2008
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Good News on the Staff Shortage

Is the talent crisis over?

Chart: Accounting degrees awarded – 1971-2007 (Source: AICPA)

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CPAs rate their jobs. Join the survey. Get the answers.

by Rick Telberg/At Large

Having trouble finding more good accountants? If so, you are far from alone.

For Cheryl Mills, a senior manager at a CPA firm in New York City, retaining qualified staff has become an uphill battle. “We have lost 60 percent of our workforce this year,” says Mills.”The rapid turnover makes investing in staff difficult.”

Echoing that sentiment, Neil Schembre, who works at a small firm in Fanwood, N.J., says, “Staffing is the lifeblood of my business.” Read more

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Posted on May 12, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 14 Comments

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