Practice Management

Wolters Kluwer Law & Business has agreed to acquire the Accountants Division of MYOB UK and MYOB Ireland for 35.5 million pounds ($70.5 million), bringing the small business accounting and tax software developer into Wolters Kluwer UK's CCH Software division.

BDO Consulting said it is forming a corporate advisory practice to provide strategic and financial consulting services to companies in distress.

Tax Partner Named Woman of the Year

Business advisory firm FTI Consulting has acquired Forensic Accounting LLP, a London-based firm that provides expert witness and investigation services in accounting disputes, regulatory inquiries and due diligence reviews.

NetWorth Services said it is offering a special promotion for its online cost basis calculation service, Netbasis, allowing users to buy one transaction and get one free until April 15.

IRS LAUNCHES E-POSTCARDS FOR TAX-EXEMPTSWashington, D.C. — The Internal Revenue Service has introduced an electronic filing system that allows small tax-exempt organizations to file Form 990-N “e-Postcards” to report their annual income.

If you thought that the tax legislation passed at the end of 2007 — both the Alternative Minimum Tax relief legislation and the mortgage debt forgiveness relief legislation — finally resolved the issues that would have to be addressed for the 2007 tax return filing season, you were mistaken. Congress was not done creating issues that would impact those returns. The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, signed by President Bush on Feb. 13, 2008, has created additional issues for 2007 return filers.Most of the direct impact will be on lower-income individuals — individuals who are not normally required to file tax returns but who may wish to do so in order to qualify to receive a rebate check authorized under the new legislation.

Does most of your business result from Web sites? Or does most of it come from referrals? If it comes from referrals, as a lot of CPA firm business does, almost every potential client will still check out your Web site before giving you a call.Does yours grab and hold a visitor’s attention, making them want to read on? Studies show that you must win your visitor’s attention in less time than it takes to blink an eye, so dull, boring Web sites with extraneous information and poor graphics are a definite turn-off.

In a recent study of over 400 accounting firm compensation systems, I asked the following three questions:1. Do you believe that firmwide goals tied to owner compensation are a useful process for achieving higher levels of profitability in the firm?

As CPA firms grapple with ongoing staffing challenges and the norm of a “traditional” workplace begins to erode, management must be more flexible and innovative than ever.