XBRL, IFRS Gain Footholds
Despite the uncertainty about timetables and roadmaps.
In a Grant Thornton survey of senior financial executives, 26% say their companies are already using XBRL and 16% say they’re on board with IFRS.
Changing of the Guard: NASBA CEO Costello to Retire
Bishop, Hanley move up. Cote sets retirement.
The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) has announced two executive promotions — one new chief operating officer of NASBA and one president and CEO position of the organization’s subsidiary Professional Credential Services (PCS).
Costello
Ken Bishop, who joined NASBA in 2007, has been promoted to chief operating officer (COO) and will continue in his role as senior vice president. Former COO and current executive vice president, Joseph T. Cote, CPA, will retire from his post effective January 1, 2011.
Former vice president of PCS, Denise Hanley, has been promoted to president and CEO. Hanley will succeed Bishop in this position.
This Week’s Top Ten CPA Links
What accountants are reading for the week ended April 30, 2010.
Click and read:
1. Economy Tops Busy Season Problems [SURVEY]
2. Salaries Up for New Accounting Grads
3. How Three Little Letters Might Have Prevented the Global Financial Meltdown
4. Fox News’ John Stossel blames the tax accountants?!
5. The Federal HIRE Act: A Win-Win for Business and the Workplace
6. The Big Mistake CPAs Make in Client Service
7. How Do Accountants Define “Success?” [SURVEY]
8. Fishing for New Clients: Rule No. 1
9. Top Techs in Six Key Areas for CPA Firms
10. Eleven Top Trends for Local Accounting Firms in 2010
Source: CPA Trendlines Twitter stream
Four-Part Success Formula Propels Start-Up Accounting Firm through Recession
New approaches to old challenges.
Source: Accounting Office Management & Administration Report via www.cpaleadership.com. To subscribe to AOM&AR, go to www.ioma.com.
Chicago-based CEB & Company LLC was formed in 2008 when Patrick O’Malley and William M. Kwit split off from their previous firm over differences regarding business and staff development. The firm now has two partners and nine employees. But O’Malley and Kwit couldn’t have chosen a tougher time to go out on their own — the beginning the Great Recession. How are they doing? O’Malley says says they’ve taken some new approaches to old challenges.
Keys to CEB’s success include:
- Training. The firm developed a significantly better staff-training program that emphasizes an open exchange of ideas and provides staff with high-level work opportunities. This approach has led to positive feedback from both clients and staff.
- Marketing. The firm is exploring new markets, including international work, new businesses started by people laid off by larger companies, and retirement plans. Regarding the retirement plan market, O’Malley feels that a smaller firm offers lower fees and other advantages over larger firms that handle retirement plans as an add-on for midsize clients. To develop this business, CEB maintains relationships with larger CPA firms and plan administrators.
- Service. The firm emphasizes the strength of its client-service teams, particularly partner-level service that isn’t available from larger firms.
- Recruiting. Recruiting is a challenge because larger CPA firms generally don’t lay off their best talent. But the firm has been able to find good people coming out of school now that bigger firms are hiring fewer recent graduates.
Finance and Accounting Workers’ Job Confidence Dips
Are staffers feeling trapped?
Confidence among U.S. accounting and finance workers dipped 0.3 points to 50.6 in the first quarter of 2010, according to The Mergis Group placement agency. Mergis called the dip “a slight hiccup” in confidence.
Highlights:
- 55% of accounting and finance workers believe there are fewer jobs available, representing
- a 15 percentage point drop from the fourth quarter of 2009.
- 32% of accounting and finance workers are not confident in their ability to find a new job, an increase of seven percentage points from the previous quarter.
- Fewer accounting and finance workers believe it is not likely they will lose their job in the next 12 months. Specifically 64 percent of workers believe it is unlikely, versus 74 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. This marks the lowest level in the history of the survey.
Top Ten List: The Accountant’s Tech Watch List 2010
Rick Richardson’s rules for smart CPA tech spending.
Richardson
In the AICPA INSIDER, Alexandra DeFelice talks to CPA tech guru Richardson (CPA, CITP, Ex-Ernst) about what CPAs need to know today about managing their current investments and preparing for the next wave. She provides Top Ten List of Tech To-Do’s for Accountants.
Six Things Accountants Can Do Today:
- Milk what you have much longer than you think you should.
- Never buy anything until the third version is introduced, allowing time for many of the kinks to be ironed out.
- CPA firms should invest 5 to 10 percent of gross revenues on technology (including hardware, software and training).
- Select one employee (not necessarily the IT director) to serve as a “technology ombudsman” to manage budgeting and spending.
- Assign the “ombudsman” to stay current on tech trends and brief others in the organization when new developments may affect the practice or clients.
- Allocate five percent of their chargeable hours to the assignment
And Four Trends to Watch:
Fishing for New Clients: Rule No. 1
You could be wasting a lot of time, money and effort on the wrong career and business-building strategies.
by Rick Telberg
As every owner of a tax-and-accounting business understands, your best source of new business is usually referrals. And referrals come through networking. Many CPAs are energetic networkers. They join local civic clubs, participate in their communities, get active in their professional associations and spend a lot of time at the clubs (golf, tennis, etc.). Many are now going online with Facebook and LinkedIn too.
But how many hours and how much in dues, meals, drinks and raffle tickets will it take for many CPAs to admit that they don’t have much to show for it?
Fox
Business Development Advisor Nancy Fox, who has worked with a number of New York-area law and accounting firms, suggests you may be doing all the right things — but in the wrong places and with the wrong people.
“So many professionals,” she says, citing accountants and lawyers alike, “are just a little bit shy about networking upwards.” Professionals, like most people, are simply more comfortable meeting people, talking to people — networking — with people like themselves, people with the same level of income, education or achievement. “But if you want to build your practice, those are not necessarily the people who are going to take you to the next level.”
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