Early results suggest CPAs haven’t cut technology spending as much as some have feared. As we posted a little while ago, accounting firms and finance organizations are reacting, like many businesses, by curtailing or postponing expenditures on technology. But how much, exactly, is the question we’re trying to answer in this week’s new survey. Join the survey here and get a preview of the results. The answers are starting to roll in…
What’s next in CPA technology? Join the survey; get more answers. by Rick Telberg At Large Hit hard by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, accounting firms and finance organizations are reacting, like many businesses, by curtailing or postponing expenditures on technology. How much, exactly, is the question we’re trying to answer in this week’s new survey. Join the survey here and get a preview of the results. But accountants and finance professionals can hardly afford to fall behind at a time like this, according to three leading technology advisers with whom I have spoken. Instead, finance and accounting professionals should be using this period to catch up and even leap ahead. And with technology costs coming down, it’s [...]
What’s your best recession-busting idea? Add your suggestion here; then join the survey and get all the results. by Rick Telberg CPAs are grappling with the nation’s credit crisis with innovation, discipline and, mostly, a stiff upper lip. But no one ever said it was going to be easy. One mid-level financial manager at a large company tells me things may be looking up, if only because companies like his are ratcheting down costs, sometimes painfully. “Companies are doing better,” he says, “by restricting compensation and adopting industry practices towards base pay and bonuses.” Still, many companies remain top-heavy with management positions. “My company,” he says, “has announced great recent contracts but is wary about the global economy.”
Mike Mares, CPA/ABV J.D., of Witt Mares CPAs, Newport News, Va., and long a leader of the profession has been hospitalized with an inoperable brain tumor. He is most widely known for expertise in taxation. But friends and colleagues know him, as well, as a model of integrity, character and intelligence. Personally, I’m grateful to him for his generosity and patience in answering even my lamest questions. Updates are being posted at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mikemares.
But they worry about their clients and the country. The latest readings show 55% of CPAs see at least “somewhat better” conditions for their own companies or firms within the next six to 12 months. They seem to fear most for “the nation in general,” with 62% forecasting no improvements or worse during the next six to 12 months. Join the survey here to get all the updates.
B2B media luminary shares some tips. Via http://www.aicpalearning.org, Hank Berkowitz writes: When it comes to B2B e-newsletters for financial professionals, no discussion would be complete without checking in with Rick Telberg, President of Bay Street Group Research in Dobbs Ferry, NY. Arguably the most widely-read journalist and analyst covering the accounting profession, Telberg is the co-author of a new research report: Beyond the Click: Maximizing Advertising ROI in B2B E-Newsletters. Request a FREE copy of the executive summary of the report, here. CPA Marketing Insider (CMI): Rick, it sounds like you’re not a big fan of using clicks to measure the success or failure of online ad campaigns, especially in e-newsletters. Rick Telberg: Correct. I’m just not seeing much of [...]
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.
As if more proof were required, but U.S. accountants need not wonder whether they compete in a global market for talent and services. The Irish Association of Chartered Certified Accountants reports the demand for trained accountants has never been greater, nor have firms and employers encountered such difficulty in finding and keeping them. The top trends will be familiar to every U.S. CPA, including: The finance role is becoming more strategic A war for specialist talent is raging, and Demand for finance professionals is surging. [Reported in Ireland here and in Borneo here.] FREE DOWNLOAD: Get the ACCA report, “A Changing Profession? The Evolution of Accounting Roles, Skills and Career Aspirations,” here (32 pages, PDF).
Join the survey, get updated results. Read the article: Rick Telberg/On Careers, “Benefits Packages: On the Fringe No More.” Email your comments. RICK TELBERG / CPA TRENDLINES Job Benefits: What Matters Most? (Early data based on partial results, Aug. 16, 2007) Join the survey, get updated results. Read the article: Rick Telberg/On Careers, “Benefits Packages: On the Fringe No More.” Email your comments.
Join the survey here. Read the article: Rick Telberg/At Large, “Home-Based Accounting Practices Thrive.” 4 Key Findings: 97%: CPAs who know colleagues with “on-the-side†practices. 26%: CPAs who say they currently “moonlight.†27%: CPAs working full-time in a home-based CPA business. 61%: Working in their home-based business year-round,†not just during busy season. 8 Top Problems for Home-Based Practitioners: 45%: Meeting clients, colleagues in a professional setting. 48%: Overcoming isolation from peers. 39%: Managing time effectively. 21%: Obtaining enough admin/support personnel. 18%: Backing up file and preparing for disaster recovery. 15%: Have the right mix of technology resources. 12%: Resolving equiment/technology breakdowns. 6%: Maintaining IT security & privacy. 10 Essential Strategies for Success: 69%: The right technology setup. 85%: The [...]
CPA Trendlines Technology Journal of Accountancy
