Firm News: Aug. 8, 2014

FLORIDA

The Siegfried Group LLP recently opened an office in Miami to serve clients throughout the state of Florida as it continues to build its presence in the South. This new office supports the Firm's growth and outlook for the future. Although the Firm has cultivated business in Florida for years, having a local presence enables it to serve better its existing and future clients.

GREECE

HLB International has added Greek member HLB Hellas in Thessaloniki –Northern Greece to its membership. The new office, offering accounting, business advisory, payroll and consulting services, will work in close cooperation with the main office in Athens, which further provides assurance services. This extension will allow for a wide geographic coverage and the seamless provision of services to clients throughout Greece.

ILLINOIS

Registrations and reservations are filling up for one of the tax and accounting profession’s premier educational and peer networking events of the year. CCH Connections: User Conference 2014 will take place from October 26 – 29 at Grande Lakes Orlando. Attendees can expect a first look at the latest innovative accounting solutions, experience high-tech demonstrations from product experts and hear from company executives about the focus of the future. Plus, more than 95 percent of CPE sessions led by highly-regarded industry thought leaders are all new for 2014. See how others benefit from attending by watching this short video. … KPMG CEO Study has captured in-depth perspectives on the business outlook over the next three years and tackles hiring, economy, growth strategies and other topics. This long-term view is different from the “outlook surveys” that are done on a quarterly or even annual basis. Chief executives heading U.S. multinational companies are confident about the overall economy and their business prospects in the next three years and anticipate a peak profit period from 2016 to 2017. Yet, in sharp contrast to that optimism, they are also expressing a range of concerns for the same three-year outlook -from questions about maintaining the relevance of their products and services, to their ability to innovate, to the challenges in adapting to government regulation. For additional information, including the complete report, please visit KPMG's website… BDO USA LLP’s revenues for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014 was $833 million, a 22 percent increase from last year’s revenue of $683 million. The firm's growth was achieved through contributions from all business lines, as the firm's assurance (+21.3%), tax (+22.7%) and consulting (+23.3%) practices each achieved strong increases in revenue. The firm’s assurance business line represents 58 percent of BDO USA’s business. BDO’s tax and consulting lines represent 32 percent and 10 percent of revenues respectively.

FLORIDA

Markham Norton Mosteller Wright & Company PA, has been selected as one of Florida’s Best Companies to Work For by Florida Trend Magazine. The firm, with 38 employees, was selected as the 4th best place to work and ranking highest among southwest Florida employers. … Cross, Fernandez & Riley, LLP has been named one of Florida’s Best Companies To Work For by Florida Trend magazine. C/F/R was ranked 3rd in the mid-sized company category. This is the fifth consecutive year that the firm has made the list. The sixth annual Best Companies list appears in the August issue of Florida Trend magazine. One-hundred companies are ranked in small, medium and large employer categories.

MAINE

BerryDunn has 34 participants in this year’s TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. Of the firm’s total runners, 17 will compete in the “Business to Business Challenge” in the spirit of friendly competition among local businesses. This marks the 6th year that BerryDunn employees have taken part in the Beach to Beacon. The firm supports its runners as part of a broader wellness initiative that involves office “steps competitions,” walking and running information, and healthy encouragement among peers.

NEW YORK

In an environment where the exponential growth of information available is changing the way many businesses operate, CPAs working in the forensic and valuation areas have identified big data as the most pressing issue they’ll face in the near future. In addition, 85 percent of respondents to the 2014 AICPA Survey on International Trends in Forensic and Valuation Services anticipate an increase in the amount of time they spend on electronic data analysis in the near future. The survey found that a majority (76 percent) of forensic respondents expected to experience increased demand over the next two to five years. Specifically, 30 percent expected demand for their services to increase up to 25 percent, and an additional 33 percent expected growth of up to 10 percent. On the higher end of the spectrum, nearly 13 percent of forensic accountants expect demand to spike by 50 percent or higher. Twenty percent forecast no change in demand, and 4 percent expected a decrease in demand. … Dannible & McKee LLP has opened registration for the following complimentary educational seminars, at which area professionals can learn about recent accounting and tax developments from the Firm’s industry experts: Manufacturing Seminar – The Firm's Annual Manufacturing Seminar will be held on Tuesday, October 21st from 8:15 a.m. -12:00 noon at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool. To register for this free seminar, please visit the Firm's website at www.dmcpas.com or register by e-mail at manufacturing@dmcpas.com. Tax & Financial Planning Conference - The Firm's Annual Tax & Financial Planning Conference will be held on Thursday, November 6th at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in East Syracuse. Beginning with registration at 11:30 a.m. and lunch at 12:00 noon, the Conference will run from 1:00-5:00 p.m. and feature concurrent sessions on critical audit, tax and business consulting topics. The conference will conclude with a wine & cheese reception at 5:00 pm. To register for this free seminar, please visit the Firm's website at www.dmcpas.com or register by e-mail at taxconference@dmcpas.com. Construction Seminar – The Firm's Construction Seminar will be held on Tuesday, December 2nd from 8:15 a.m. – 12 noon at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in East Syracuse. To register for this free seminar, please visit the Firm's website at www.dmcpas.com or register by e-mail at construction@dmcpas.com. … According to PwC US, transformational M&A deals pushed total deal transactions in first half of 2014 to the highest level since the first six months of 2007, as strategic and financial buyers look to new markets, channels and products to fuel their growth. The ongoing shift toward transformative deals reflects a strategic effort by businesses to execute on transactions that fundamentally change their business model or the scale of their enterprise to strengthen their long-term growth prospects, according to PwC’s mid-year M&A outlook, released today. … PwC LLP will close one of its offices in Albany, New York, by Oct. 31. The firm is set to close its location at 677 Broadway, an office tower in the heart of downtown. …

NORTH CAROLINA

Fayetteville State University’s Veterans Business Outreach Center at the School of Business and Economics has been awarded $245,000 in two grants from the U.S. Small Business Administration to offer continued entrepreneurial services and training to veterans in SBA Region IV.

PENNSYLVANIA

ParenteBeard’s summer accounting interns made an impact at five nonprofits. The firm’s 40 interns, which stemmed from 24 universities, demonstrated the firm’s mission to serve the communities where team members live and work by participating in charitable community service activities in central and northern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York City. In central Pennsylvania, the accounting interns helped the Habitat for Humanity of Berks County ReStore prepare for their grand re-opening slated for July by cleaning, painting, redecorating, reorganizing, rebuilding and moving furniture. In northern Pennsylvania, they spent a day at the Commission on Economic Opportunity’s Kids Café. As mentors, they led crossword puzzles, healthy lunch activities and board games. In Pittsburgh, the interns assisted nonprofit Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank by organizing, packing, preparing and shipping food boxes to local community food distributors. At the American Cancer Society’s AstraZeneca Hope Lodge near Philadelphia, the interns assisted in turning over patient rooms, folding linens and doing laundry. The most courageous interns from the firm’s New York City office assisted Natural Areas Volunteers in removing invasive exotic vegetation from Highbridge Park’s forest. Their efforts will help maintain the restored forest’s existence. The interns represent Albright College, Baruch College, Bloomsburg University, Bryant University, Duquesne University, Elon University, Emory University, King’s College, Kutztown University, Lincoln University, Lycoming College, Messiah College, Pennsylvania State University, Providence College, Robert Morris University, Susquehanna University, Thiel College, University of Connecticut, University of Delaware, University of Pittsburgh, West Chester University, West Virginia University, Wilkes University and York College.

TEXAS

M&K CPAS PLLC of Houston, has been tapped to serve to perform an audit of the company's financial statements for Sycamore Entertainment Group, Inc. a Calif.-based hybrid film distribution company.

UNITED KINGDOM

The International Accounting Standards Board has reached a milestone by publishing new accounting requirements for loan loss provisioning, moving from an ‘incurred loss’ to a more forward-looking, ‘expected loss’ model. The new requirements, which form part of the now-complete new standard on financial instrument accounting, IFRS 9, will provide more timely information about expected credit losses. But it should not be seen as a panacea, says ICAEW.

VIRGINIA

Bloomberg BNA and Baker & McKenzie, in association with the Tax Management Education Institute, announced the latest in a series of Transfer Pricing Conferences. The Canada Transfer Pricing Conference, which follows Conferences in Paris and Washington, D.C., will feature senior government, industry, and transfer pricing experts from around the world, and will cover significant transfer pricing developments from Canadian, U.S. and global perspectives. The conference takes place in Toronto on September 29 and 30 at TIFF Bell Lightbox with hotel accommodations at Hotel Le Germain.

 

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