September 2018

Protecting data in transit is harder than encrypting data at rest, since it must allow users to transmit data to a remote user, regardless of the computing platform or internet connection method used by the recipient. There are many ways that data ...

Demand for accounting and finance professionals remains high according to July's jobs report numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employers added 164,000 jobs in July, including 6,300 jobs in accounting and bookkeeping services.

Almost every employee gets off their game at some point in their career. It’s not the end of the world, and the right kind of coaching often will turn around underperformers and get them back to full productivity.

Often, when profanity is used in the workplace, managers and supervisors are reluctant to address it for fear that they will be seen as prudish or part of the speech police. However, employers need to carefully consider their response to profane or ...

With unemployment currently at the lowest it has been in 18 years, it comes as no surprise there is a shortage of skilled talent. However, running a successful accounting firm at optimal efficiency and speed requires you to have the best employees on ...

The point of this article isn’t the age old question of billable hours vs. value pricing. The focus today is the value our people provide to our firms and how we measure that value in a way that doesn’t drive them away.

The concept of personal preference is an integral part of everything we do with firms. Personal preferences have a negative impact on morale and overall process efficiency. They impact internal customer service, and we all know we can’t provide ...

Visit any coffeehouse and you’ll see customers paying with the cellphones. Go to a flea market or craft show and instead of a clumsy credit card machine, you’ll see a nice little attachment on the seller’s cellphone that processes payments instantly.

Tax professionals can develop their skills and present themselves to clients and prospects as generalists, specialists in certain industries or a blend of the two. It’s never too late to educate yourself and catch up with the tax (and accounting) requirements in certain industries, such as commercial fishing. The following article discusses some general principles […]

Although there’s no way to guarantee that employees won’t commit payroll fraud, you can take measures to prevent it or catch it quickly. Set up controls to protect your company from payroll fraud and other kinds of small business fraud cases.

 3 Steps to Developing Your Next BIG Idea  By Steve Dusablon, CEO cPaperless   As much as we’d like to believe it, great ideas don’t typically appear out of thin air. More often than not, the best innovations come from immersing ourselves in our work and becoming as familiar with it as possible. Of course, […]

Building a World-Class Marketing Culture in Your Firm – Part II This article continues the series on creating a world-class marketing culture in your firm. In Part 1, we explored the definition of marketing and its centrality in the life of a firm. In Part 2, we examine the firm’s brand—what it is, what it […]

4 Data Security Tips for Tax Professionals  By Isaac M. O’Bannon, Managing Editor Tax professionals fall victim to identity theft, too. In recent years, hundreds of tax professionals experienced data thefts or breaches that exposed their clients’ personal information to cybercriminals and to tax-related identity theft. As cybercriminals increasingly target this data, the IRS and […]

Role of Financial Leaders Continues to Expand By Isaac M. O’Bannon, Managing Editor Financial leaders continue breaking the mold and expanding their influence throughout their organizations. In a Robert Half Management Resources survey, finance executives most frequently reported their roles have grown over the past three years to include more human resources (39 percent) and […]

  If your firm is focusing on the fishing industry vertical, accessing these potential clients requires a diversified, marketing tackle box. In fact, according to the 2017 Labor Force Statistics, nearly 25 percent of the employees in this industry are women, which could be a new niche for your firm that could suggest a different […]

While losing potential customers by running out of stock can prove to be detrimental to a business’s long-term health, not managing inventory properly can have other negative effects on a client’s business as well. How does a retailer know what items ...

Big data has become a buzzword in the accounting profession, but like other trending topics such as blockchain, AI and machine learning, it’s one that CPAs really need to understand.

Cryptocurrency has made a lot of millionaires and multi-millionaires in the last three years. That said, remember cryptocurrencies are highly speculative, and you may want to think of this as a form of gambling. While I know many CPAs who love ...

Quickstart Templates are designed to do just that: create a set of standard templates for the most common accounting workflows that firms can then use to create projects. Accessible from the Work tab in QBOA and created in consultation with leading ...

At first blush, payroll fraud might seem difficult to pull off – after all, shouldn’t it be obvious? But a well-hidden fraud is not obvious to most business owners. And, unfortunately, by the time most payroll frauds are discovered, months (or, years) ...

When a business owner receives a notice of routine audit, there are typically three responses: (1) panic, (2) non-responsiveness, or (3) careful planning. There are many effective and structured ways for your client to handle an audit.

This article continues the series on creating a world-class marketing culture in your firm. In Part 1, we explored the definition of marketing and its centrality in the life of a firm. In Part 2, we examine the firm’s brand—what it is, what it means ...

When any article on sales tax is above the fold on the first page of any printed or online publication, it’s either a very slow news day or a very big deal. In late June, the business and tax community witnessed a case that made headlines coast to coast.

With unemployment currently at the lowest it has been in 18 years, it comes as no surprise there is a shortage of skilled talent. However, running a successful accounting firm at optimal efficiency and speed requires you to have the best employees on your team. With the market swinging in favor of job seekers (both […]