The Latest

Education, collaboration and innovation were the central themes swirling around Insights 2008 — the sixth annual reseller conference of business management software provider Sage Software.More than 3,000 attendees, including 1,800 resellers, flocked to the four-day confab held here last month to learn more about the products, to network, to glean new ideas and strategies, and to meet Sue Swenson, the new president and chief executive of the software conglomerate’s North America unit.

ORRTAX RENAMED INTELLITAXOrrtax Software Solutions has renamed itself IntelliTax to reinforce its current software line. The company said that the new identity would better reflect its future growth and direction, and echoes the company’s IntelliTax line of professional tax preparer software products.

It’s no secret that mergers and acquisitions are an active function of today’s accounting profession. Unfortunately, the M&A process is often conducted in tight secrecy, with only a privileged few aware that an acquisition is being planned. As a result, the transition is much harder and more complicated than it needs to be.It’s not unusual for IT staff to hear, “We’re bringing in 20 new people next week. Get them set up.” A slight exaggeration, perhaps, but closer to the truth than many believe.

Let’s face it: The next 15 years are going to be hard for small firms to compete and survive. The external environment and demographic facts speak clearly:* 8,000 Baby Boomers are retiring each day.

SoftwareSAAS AND PAAS

CALIFORNIAEmployees of Green Hasson & Janks LLP, Los Angeles, spent the firm’s recent Community Day planting flowers, providing childcare and serving meals at the Union Rescue Mission.

JUNE16: Not-for-Profit Form 990 Half-Day Conference, Illinois CPA Society. Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, Chicago. Contact: (800) 993-0393 or www.icpas.org.

ACCOUNTANTS OF THE FUTUREThe Houston CPA Society’s Northeast Satellite recently presented three $500 scholarships to accounting students at Kingwood High School. According to the group, the scholarship fund for next year has already doubled in size. This year’s recipients are (front row, from left to right) Amber Adams, Natasha Daboo and Joseph Fochtman. In the back row are satellite chairman Stephen King; Kingwood accounting teacher Becky Parish; satellite members Jan Schultz and Ron Tribolet; and Houston CPA Society executive director Nancy Rutledge.

CALIFORNIA

Barack Obama’s groundbreaking win as the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, for me at least, stirred up images of the classic 1972 film, “The Candidate.”