with almost 800 cpas converging on the bellagio in las vegas for the co-located 2010 practitioners symposium and tech+ conferences, technology issues are taking center stage. tech+ chairman peyton burch says cpas are taking a serious look at software as … continued
leadership and management skills are at a premium as we navigate through a recession and a period of unprecedented change. but are accounting firms and finance organizations prepared? the answer is: not all. a significant number of accountants are telling … continued
two things smart firms do, no matter what. [jwplayer mediaid=”51967″] good advice from randy johnston, executive vice president of the hutchinson, kan.-based network management group inc. related: how to think about your ‘brand’ for the web age [video] randy johnston: … continued
as basic tax and accounting services become common and commoditized, firms need to start looking for new revenues and business models — starting with wealth management and business benchmarking.
here, a leading consultant to the profession, chris frederiksen, talks about his vision for the firm of the future.
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“you have to crank up the creative thinking to keep employees engaged and happy.” – ed jennings, ceo, copanion inc. via kristy short for copanion when a ceo starts calling for “more cow bell,” you know times are changing. it’s … continued
sam allred says accounting firms that achieve above-average results can be measured by six key performance indicators. by rick telberg after almost two decades of uninterrupted growth, the great recession has created a time of reckoning for many accounting firms. battered … continued
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 … continued
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% … continued
aaa 2010 accounting technology administrators survey the association for accounting administration (www.cpaadmin.org) has released the findings of their 2010 technology survey which focuses on six production areas including: security, productivity, infrastructure management, mobility and governance, according to roman h. kepczyk, … continued
can the profession seize its rightful role in risk management, governance and compliance? maybe, but it’ll take vision and guts. do you have what it takes in the post-meltdown world of the new normal?
by rick telberg
in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown and the surge of new corporate interest in enterprise-wide risk management, do internal auditors face risks of their own in getting left behind?
maybe so, according to some prominent thought leaders in the profession.
after surveying more than 2,000 executives across 50 regions of the globe, researchers at pricewaterhousecoopers report that internal auditors are being challenged “to remain relevant and meet stakeholder demands” in ways like never before.
brown
what’s required today, according to brian brown, pwc principal and internal audit advisory services leader, is a whole new, and somewhat unnerving, concept of the internal auditor, a new vision brown and his colleagues call “internal audit 2.0.” more than simply checking accounts, internal auditors need to adopt a new way of thinking about their job that goes beyond audit as we’ve known it and embraces the fast-developing body of knowledge in governance, risk and compliance. or else, brown says, they run the risk of becoming marginalized and obsolete as new risk-management professionals take over.
what rita keller teaches us from southwest airlines’ legendary founder.
by rick telberg
it’s been a rollercoaster ride in the past few years, with firms at first drowning in work, followed by a crippling staff shortage, then a market crash and belt-tightening, then re-expansion with a broadly profitable busy season. so a few weeks of peace and quiet this summer could seem appealing to staff and management alike.
but management guru rita keller is here to tell you that you can’t afford much rest. “there’s work to do,” she says about cleaning up rusty and outmoded cpa firm management practices. keller has a message for firms to focus on marketing, mentoring and managing — the three ms.