Ready or Not, Here Comes Windows 10

Computer keyboard with “Ctr-Alt-Delete” commands pictured on 3 shot glassesAre you ready for the Windows 7 to 8.1 transition? Does 10 make you queasy?

By Roman H. Kepczyk
Quantum of Paperless

Okay, we all know that the Windows operating system is preferred to run computers by the primary vendors to the accounting profession. All decisions about operating systems have to be done carefully because they impact software and hardware decisions for at least thee to five years.

MORE ON TECH SPENDING: Back Up and Check Your Backup | Cloud Computing Can Cost Less | Laptop-Only Workers More Common | Scanners Allow Data Capture at the Source | In PC Monitors, More Is Better

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20 New, Essential Keys for Today’s Partner Retirement Plans

Contract Concept - Conceptual Close up of Eyeglasses and Ballpoint Pen on Top of Partnership Agreement Paper Placed on White Table.

A lot is changing fast. Here’s what your partner agreement needs today.

By Marc Rosenberg
Retirements & Buyouts

Let’s take a moment to simply summarize the many critical aspects of a well written partner retirement/buyout plan.

At first glance, those unfamiliar with how a proper plan should be written may find the 20-plus key provisions listed below to be daunting. But I would caution against such thinking.  In my 20 years of consulting to CPA firms in this area, I have been asked to resolve messy disputes regarding every item listed below.

MORE ON RETIREMENT: Clawback and How to Handle It | Can Partners Compete After They Leave? | Disability Is Far More Complex Than Death | Even Partner Agreements Must Face Death | 6 Ways to Leave a CPA Firm (Retirement’s Just 1) | How to Juggle Tax Considerations for Partner Retirement Benefits | Two Ways to Retire, and One’s Not Pretty | How to Transition Clients from Retiring Partners | Compromise Is In Order for Some Goodwill Payouts | Why You’ll Get Less from Your Partners in a Buyout than You Might by Selling the Whole Firm | The Multiple of Compensation Method, Fully Explained

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3 Ways to Open a Sponsorship Conversation

Businessman in pink tie showing businesswoman document at his desk.And how to decide whether to spend the political capital.

By Ida O. Abbott
Sponsoring Women: What Men Need to Know

Most sponsorship occurs informally, without any structured or programmatic context. Informal sponsor-protégée relationships usually start in one of three ways.

The most common way is when a senior manager or partner

  • identifies someone as a star performer,
  • believes that she has what it takes to succeed and
  • wants to make that success happen.

The sponsor recognizes her talent and potential while they work together or when he observes her at work and is impressed by her ability. As the two work together their relationship grows.

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MORE ON SPONSORING WOMEN FOR LEADERSHIP: What Sponsors Need from Protégées | 3 Ways to Derail Sponsorships | Keep Close Relationships From Getting Too Close | 4 Reasons Women Hold Themselves Back | 4 Ways Sponsors Can Help Women Seek Power | Bias About Women with Families Lingers | Judged on Performance, Not Potential? Must Be a Woman | Gender Bias Still a Problem | Why Women Are Overlooked (And How to Fix It) | 3 Ways Men Are Favored in the Workplace | Women Need Promotions, Not Just Advice | Mentor or Sponsor? How to Distinguish Roles | 4 Ways Women Leaders Improve Firms | CPA Firms Must ‘Man Up’ and Get Women On Board

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