CANADA
Serenic Corporation, a publisher of financial management and business operations software for nonprofits, international non-governmental organizations and the public sector, presented Finley & Cook with the Serenic’s Partner of Excellence Award.
ENGLAND
cVidya, a provider of Revenue Analytics solutions for digital and communications service providers, launched a Marketing Analytics solution which will enable mobile operators to maximize revenue from existing services, improve customer acquisition and retention, and break into new markets.
ALABAMA
Warren Averett LLC, Birmingham, has been named LEA Global’s 2013 Innovative Firm of the Year.
CALIFORNIA
The global consulting firm, Protiviti, conducted a new study that found companies are challenged by a variety of technology issues, including security, governance and social media. Protiviti’s latest IT audit benchmarking study, titled
FLORIDA
Employees of Myers, Brettholtz & Company PA donated 157 pounds of turkeys to the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida. The firm gave each of its 24 staff members a turkey for Thanksgiving. More than half of the employees in turn donated their turkeys to the Harry Chapin Food Bank. The International Alliance of Independent Accounting firms launched a mobile website. The new mobile website, www.TIAGnet.com, is accessible from smart phones, mirrors the functionally of the TIAG website but in an easy to use mobile-friendly format. Users of the mobile website can search the alliance’s database of more than 115 firms by location, practice area, industry and language. Firms and accountants included in search results have detailed profiles including contact information, biographies, photos, practice areas, industries and languages. In addition to the powerful search feature, the mobile website provides users with access to news and articles on specific practice areas published by the alliance’s members.
ILLINOIS
McGladrey conducted a survey which shows small, mid-sized online retailers are split when it comes down to how the Marketplace Fairness Act will impact the industry. The survey gets into why smaller online retailers have been portrayed as victims and beneficiaries of the proposed law. The survey also makes it clear that the legislation’s $1 million revenue threshold will leave many companies vulnerable. For a more in-depth peek into the study visit the
MICHIGAN
Yeo & Yeo CPAs & Business Consultants was named one of Metropolitan Detroit's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For and one of West Michigan's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For by the Michigan Business & Professional Association. Plante Moran has opened a new office in Detroit. The new office will have 50 staff members, which will fill 15,000 square feet of space on the third floor of the Compuware Building located at 1098 Woodward Ave. in Detroit. The firm also named one of the top five workplaces in Michigan in the 2013 Detroit Free Press Top Workplaces survey. Clayton & McKervey PC was named one of Metropolitan Detroit’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For as well as a Detroit Free Press Top Workplace.
MINNESOTA
Wipfli LLP’s Turnaround and Restructuring Services group, based in the firm’s Minneapolis office, was honored with the Turnaround of the Year Award presented by the Upper Midwest Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association at its November event.
NEW YORK
PwC released its findings from its latest 2013 data privacy survey, which included 370 respondents at the board of directors level responsible for oversight of privacy programs, as well as practitioners involved in day-to-day privacy operations across the United States. Some key findings include: A majority of board members consider their privacy programs similar in scale and effectiveness to those of their peers; Most organizations are discussing privacy issues at the board level annually, but an increasing number of organizations are discussing them as often as quarterly; Compliance and governance are top of mind for most board members; More practitioners view a hybrid model as the most effective operating model for the privacy function; When given a budget, the majority of practitioners would invest in streamlining existing processes and improving the efficiency of their current program rather than expanding the program.
IFAC just opened its SMP Quick Poll, which is intended to take a snapshot of the key issues confronting small- and medium-sized practices and their clients. This edition of the poll focuses on the IAASB’s
WASHINGTON D.C.
Raffa PC launched the Raffa Nonprofit Fraud Prevention Institute and related Resource Center web portal. The Institute is designed to be a resource for the nonprofit community to help organizations effectively manage risk and better ensure the prevention and detection of fraud.
According to a recent survey by CPA2Biz, more CPA firms are embracing cloud solutions to transform their business, although with a greater focus on data security than a year ago. Nearly half of survey takers said they were using cloud-enabled business services to some degree in their firms, up from 44 percent a year ago. But they expressed concern over cloud vendors’ ability to manage data breaches and maintain effective internal controls, with the percentage of those identifying themselves as “somewhat confident” or “not confident at all” the two lowest categories rising from 15 percent a year ago to almost 43 percent now. For more information, visit
