CPA SuccessCPA SuccessMaryland CPAs are on the cutting edge of business strategy, professional services and staffing issues. CPA Success, a blog run by the Maryland Association of CPAs, tells those stories. Find out what makes Maryland CPAs leaders in the profession. Articles
SEC: Two steps forward, one step back?
2009-12-18 17:32:00 Regulators really seem to be catching that ol' holiday spirit this year, don't they? First came the spate of pre-Thanksgiving activity at the IRS. Now, it's the SEC's turn. In a span of just a few hours, we saw two... More About: Economy , Back
CPAs take next step in private company debate
2009-12-18 14:00:00 Public companies get all of the press, but it's a private-company world. Want proof? Consider this: There are about 17,000 public companies in the United States today, compared to more than 29 million private companies. Economically speaking, it's not even... More About: Company , Debate , Private
CPA Success: One of 75 best business blogs of '09
2009-12-16 15:58:00 What a year! Business Pundit.com has named us to their list of the top 75 blogs of 2009. We were one of two in the accounting category, along with our friend and fellow blogger, Francine McKenna. at re: The Auditors. This... More About: Blogs , Success
R&D Tax Credit: The evolution continues
2009-12-15 20:55:00 Funny thing, that Research and Development Tax Credit . It's been around since 1981, but it has never been made permanent. Every time it dies, Congress comes along and resurrects the darned thing. It has more lives than a cat --... More About: Evolution , Corporate Finance
Volunteers needed during holidays ... and beyond
2009-12-14 16:43:00 Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unlikely of sources. This week, it came from an intern at a Baltimore homeless shelter. To call the Helping Up Mission a homeless shelter, though, doesn't really do it justice. The 125-year-old mission supports... More About: Holidays , Volunteers
House passes sweeping finance reforms
2009-12-11 23:31:00 And away we go ... The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a sweeping redesign of federal financial regulations that, according to the Associated Press, "would give the government new powers to break up companies that threaten the economy, create... More About: Economy , Finance
NY exempts CPAs from tax preparer registration
2009-12-11 19:40:00 Here's some good news for anyone who provides tax services in New York state. New York lawmakers have passed a bill that exempts all CPAs from an earlier law that required tax preparers who prepare New York tax returns to...
XBRL: The sooner you start, the better
2009-12-09 14:00:00 The XBRL flywheel continues to turn. The first phase of XBRL-based financial filings -- those for the largest public companies -- arrived in June. More large public companies will be required to file via XBRL in 2010, and by 2011... More About: Start
7 reasons to not use social media
2009-12-08 21:14:00 You don't need social media if ... You have more "A" customers than you can handle. You don't want prospective clients and customers to find you. You don't want to get recognized by press and your profession / industry. You... More About: Social , Media , Reasons
Leaders are readers; just ask Tom Peters
2009-12-08 16:07:00 "The faster you go, the farther ahead you have to see." How is your sight? Are you looking out far enough for your business? Your client's business? In today's turbulent and rapidly changing economy, the first quality of extraordinary leaders... More About: Education , Readers , Leadership , Career Development
Alternative to fair value: Pure comedy?
2009-12-07 19:18:00 I just couldn't resist this one. Courtesy of Robert Jensen on the CPAs-L Listserve (and if you're not subscribing to that list yet, you should be, in my humble opinion), here's "Mark to Market," a YouTube song / video from... More About: Comedy , Economy , Alternative , Fair
Stuff your stocking with financial know-how
2009-11-27 17:33:00 You have to love Black Friday . A day after humbly giving thanks for our countless blessings, we officially kick off a season of goodwill toward our fellow man by knocking our fellow man out of the way in a mad... More About: Education , Financial , Stuff
Happy Thanksgiving!
2009-11-26 15:39:00 Thanksgiving is my personal favorite of all the holidays -- that uniquely American holiday devoted to the single concept of counting our blessings and giving thanks. This year continues to be a difficult one for many who have been caught... More About: Holidays , Thanksgiving , Maryland , Happy , Accounting
It's all-you-can-eat from the IRS
2009-11-25 23:04:00 Someone at the IRS must have wanted to empty out their inbox before Thanksgiving. How else to explain the flood of stuff coming out of Constitution Avenue this week? In less than 24 hours, I received no fewer than six...
How to increase your intellectual capital, and 3 books you must read
2009-11-25 15:50:00 CPAs are knowledge workers, right? What if I told you that you could be increasing your personal and organizational's intellectual capital right now and for little or no cost (other than some investment of time)? Interested? Read on ... Social... More About: Books , Intellectual
4 reasons to start your own practice NOW!
2009-09-22 15:44:00 "The best way to predict the future is to create it." -- Peter Drucker I just got back from a CPA-SEA (State Executives Association) meeting with the AICPA, where we were discussing the future of sole practitioners. The conversation centered... More About: Economy , Practice , Start , Reasons
Md. tops in household income. What's the bad news?
2009-09-22 06:15:00 Statistics are funny things. They reveal a lot about ourselves and our world, but sometimes they hide even more. ?Say you were standing with one foot in the oven and one foot in an ice bucket," former Major League player,... More About: News , Household , Tops , Bad News , Income
Maryland's economic hits just keep on coming
2009-09-18 16:50:00 I hate to sound like a broken record, but Maryland's finances are bad ... and getting worse by the minute. This summer saw Gov. Martin O'Malley announce budget cuts of $280 million and $454 million. Autumn is off to a... More About: Economy , Economic , Hits , General Assembly
How are CPAs using social media?
2009-09-17 14:22:00 Want to get on the front page of the Wall Street Journal with your story? Just use free social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. That is exactly what Verasage value pricing evangelist Dan Morris says happened when he got... More About: Social , Media , Weblogs , Accounting
Are we lost on the road to IFRS?
2009-09-16 14:00:00 What's going to happen with IFRS? It depends on who you ask ... and when. Less than a year ago, U.S. adoption of international financial reporting standards was all but certain. Former SEC Chair Christopher Cox, a huge IFRS proponent,... More About: Lost , Road , On The Road
3 great reasons why your company should be blogging
2009-09-15 16:44:00 You've heard the buzz about corporate blogs and their benefits, and you're finally asking yourself the big question: Should my company have its own blog? If you've heard any of my talks on the subject or read Debbie Weil's terrific... More About: Company , Web 2 , Blogging , Great , Reasons
3 keys to succeeding in the new economic environment
2009-09-13 00:55:00 When will we see the economy return to normal? Everything I have been reading says this is the wrong question. The right questions are, what will the "new" normal look like and what do we do to succeed in this... More About: Economy , Environment , Leadership , Economic , Keys
AICPA adds a few directions to profession's roadmap
2009-09-10 14:00:00 There have been a few interesting announcements from the AICPA lately. Let's run through them. Topping the list is a Q&A document that examines revenue recognition proposals from the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board --... More About: Ethics , Directions
Top 10 technology issues for CPAs
2009-09-09 15:21:00 Every year, the AICPA IT section produces the top 10 technology issues facing CPAs. What I like about this list is that it covers all of the issues facing all CPAs -- practice, business and industry, not-for-profits, education and government.... More About: Technology , Issues
Our economic recovery starts at home
2009-09-09 07:03:00 Good news: Americans are spending less and saving more than at any other time in recent memory. For CPAs on the financial literacy front lines, that's a dream come true. According to this Associated Press article, they're doing so out... More About: Economy , Recovery , Home , Economic
Happy Labor Day: CPAs buck employment trends
2009-09-07 15:00:00 It's Labor Day, but I'm not going to give you a hard time if you don't feel like celebrating. The Department of Labor released its latest employment figures recently, and they aren't good. As of Sept. 4, 2009, the unemployment... More About: Trends , Employment , Happy , Buck
Ethical lapses abound in post-SOX era
2007-12-03 19:29:00 Photo by KungPaoCajun There has been a huge emphasis on corporate ethics ever since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in 2002. There is some question, though, whether all of that attention is having the desired effect. A new study from the Ethics Resource Center indicates that unethical behavior continues to plague corporate America. Among the study's findings: Fifty-six percent of employees surveyed say they have personally observed violations of company ethics standards, policy or the law, but 42 percent did not report the misconduct. Fifty-four percent of those who witnessed unethical behavior but did not report it believed that reporting the misconduct would not lead to corrective action, and 36 percent feared retaliation. "The good news," said ERC President Patricia Harned, "is that the rate of misconduct is cut by three-forths at companies with strong ethical cultures and reporting is doubled at companies with comprehensive ethics programs." C... More About: Post
XBRL: Quietly making noise
2007-11-29 23:27:00 XBRL is coming. The technology that (if you believe the experts) will revolutionize the financial reporting process has been tagged to work with the entire system of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and is being released in draft form so that financial experts can test it and offer comments. After that, it's only a matter of time before companies are required to use XBRL to communicate their financials. So why haven't more financial executives heard about it? That's what Alix Stuart wants to know. In a CFO.com article titled "XBRL: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You," Stuart says 66 percent of public-company CFOs are aware of XBRL, but "it’s hardly the stuff of water-cooler conversation. Even the intended beneficiaries of the new labeling method, Wall Street analysts, are fairly in the dark," writes Stuart. "A July poll of analysts and fund managers showed that only about 40 percent had any level of knowledge of XBRL, according to the CFA Institute." They'... More About: Noise
Staffing woes magnified with tax season on deck
2007-11-27 20:01:00 It's hard to find good help these days. Once tax season rolls around, it might be downright impossible. That's the tone of a recent Accounting Today article called "Staffing : Ready for Tax Season ?" Author Roger Russell says today's huge demand for CPAs and other accounting professionals has depleted the supply of tax professionals who typically step to the plate each tax season. As a result, writes Russell, firms are turning to "remote technology, outsourcing, part-time former employees and retirees and college students to fill the personnel void." Here are a couple of key paragraphs from Russell's article: "The Big Four and public accounting firms will continue to struggle to find people and salaries will continue to increase," said Doug Lowery, area managing director for Chicago-based financial staffing recruiter Garelli Wong & Associates. "People who have been in the industry for six to nine years are at a premium." As a consequence, it may already be too late... More About: Deck
Leadership = influence - six 'weapons of influence'
More articles from this author:2007-11-26 13:06:00 That is a powerful lesson from one of our top BLI instructors on leadership, Greg Conderacci. I just found research that supports this and gives some useful tips. Here are the six "weapons of influence" from Robert Cialdini, a Regents' professor of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University. These are also listed in his book, Influence : The Psychology of Persuasion. Here are his six "weapons of influence": Reciprocation: People tend to return favors. What can you do as a favor for your customers? Cialdini uses the example of free samples that are abundant in marketing. See Tim Sander's post on the "law of reciprocity" for more. Commitment and consistency: Once people commit, they are likely to stick with their commitment (to buy), even if the situation changes slightly. Social proof: People tend to do things others are doing. I think this relates to the adoption curve as well. It is also why the majority of buyers like testimonials from others before the... More About: Leadership , Weapons 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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