A clever plan
KPMG GO
KPMG LLP
www.itunes.apple.com
That KPMG has made its new KPMG GO app for the iPhone and iPad available to all college students, not just those in accounting and finance, may seem merely a nice gesture on the Big Four firm's part, but we think it's actually an extremely clever plan. The app is meant to help students launch their careers with advice on interviewing, resumé-building, etiquette, social media and more through videos, blog posts, articles, Q&As and branding tips from the firm's partners and professionals. Giving that to people you expect to hire is just good business sense, since it means they'll be more professional and presentable; the clever part is giving it to people you're not going to hire, since they'll probably end up working for your clients, who can use all the help they can get when it comes to professionalism and presentability.
More fitting fees
Profit Solver Accounting Edition
Fee Technology
www.feetech.net
Fee Technology has released a new version of its Profit Solver business management and analysis software specifically designed for accountants. It lets firms run "what-if" scenarios based on their current fixed costs, labor costs and fee schedules to figure out more-optimal fee structures to help them be more profitable and meet profit goals, and is available in versions priced for individuals and sole proprietors, and small, midsized and large firms.
Our documentary
Dokmee 4.0
OfficeGemini
www.dokmee.net
If we were to make a documentary on document management, it would be called Why Don't You Have a Document Management System Yet? If your firm could be the focus for this shocking exposé, you might consider OfficeGemini's Dokmee, an easy-to-use document management system that comes in a variety of versions, and offers drag & drop entry, e-mail management, Web access, search and retrieval functions, document indexing and more. Look into it, or we'll be dropping by your office with our cameras.
Find your cloud
Cloud Value Assessment Model
Everest Group
www.everestgrp.com
Everyone is saying that the cloud is right for you, but everyone also seems to be caught up in the hype of the Next Big Thing (or is selling a cloud-based solution). Everest Group's new Cloud Value Assessment Model performs analytics on a business' entire IT workload to see if it actually makes sense to switch to the cloud. Using actual client cost data and a database of cost information on cloud solutions, the CVAM lets executives bring hard numbers to sometimes-fuzzy promises.
Fall of the machines
Smart Strip
Cableorganizer.com
www.cableorganizer.com
We here at New Products power all of our electronics with hamster wheels, so we weren't aware that many devices continue to suck power even when they're not in use. These so-called "vampire electronics" are inflating your utility bill even as you read this, which is why you need Smart Strip Power Saving Surge Protectors. They automatically turn off the power to electronic devices that aren't being used, including peripherals. It will save you wear and tear on your hamsters.
TCO TCO
Costnomics
Costnomics Inc.
www.costnomics.com
That's "Taking Care Of the Total Cost Ownership," in case you're wondering, and when it comes to technology assets, it can be a remarkably difficult thing to do, given how widely scattered and uncertain the actual costs can be. Costnomics offers a new Software-as-a-Service IT financial management tool that uses proprietary data mining techniques to drill down into a company's data in six different IT cost pools (including outside costs, such as those related to the cloud), to find the real-life numbers. Then it analyzes those to let you know if you're getting your money's worth.
Pimp your iPad
iFolio iPad leather carrying case
NewerTech
www.macsales.com
Just having an iPad is no longer enough to make you cool. Don't misunderstand us - iPads are still cool, and are actually becoming cooler as you can do more and more on them. But with so many people snapping them up, they no longer have the power to make their individual owners cool. You need to up your game by placing your iPad in one of NewerTech's leather carrying cases, which look pretty stylish, and also protect your iPad from physical danger and the lustful glances of the very few people who don't own one yet.
Rolling, rolling, rolling
Forecasting Improvement Road Map
Beyond Budgeting Round Table
www.bbrt.org
Old-fashioned periodic budgeting is giving way to real-time, 24/7-type rolling forecasting, offering businesses better control and constant insight into their organizations. For executives who want to explore rolling forecasting - and accountants who want to encourage them into it - the Beyond Budgeting Round Table has introduced its Forecasting Improvement Road Map, a new year-long program that includes a copy of Future Ready: How to Master Business Forecasting, implementation training, quarterly webinars, attendance at an annual conference, and monthly open-forum conference calls.
From 'just' to 'just right'
Pricing and Profitability Management: A Practical Guide for Business Leaders
Wiley; $80
We've come a long way from the rigid "just price" theory of the Middle Ages, as companies realize that there's actually a lot of wiggle room in what they can legitimately charge for their products and services. Getting your pricing just right, though - maximizing profitability without unnecessarily sacrificing sales - is a complicated affair. Pricing and Profitability Management, by a group of experts from Deloitte Consulting, offers a framework for improvement, defining six essential competencies that a company needs to get the most return on its investment in better pricing, and showing how to go from diagnosing and understanding current pricing practices, to then improving them.
Short cut to the T100
Elements of Influence: The Art of Getting Others to Follow Your Lead
Amacom Books; $26
Want to be on our Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting list? You could claw your way to the top of one of the Big Four firms, or toil away at a regulator for years, or master some accounting-related subject through decades of study - or you could read Elements of Influence. It turns the art of being influential into a science, breaking down the 10 different techniques for getting others to go along with you (there are actually 14, but the last four are unethical - and highly effective ...), showing where and how to apply them to become a true leader, able to get buy-in and commitment from staff members and partners alike. Once you've mastered them, becoming one of our Top 100 is easy: Just claw your way to the top of a Big Four firm or a regulator, or invent and champion a radical new way for accountants to make money.
New and improved!
PDI Global (which is now part of the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters) has released its 2011-2012 Tax Planning Guide, incorporating recent U.S. tax legislation, in a wide variety of formats, from the standard print edition, to its e-mail Flex-E-Guide, to its automatically updated WebTaxGuide. ... CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, has expanded its Expert Treatise Library with Federal Taxation of Partnerships & Partners, with analysis and the latest guidance on the subject. ... Concur has bundled its Concur Breeze expense reporting solution with its TripIt Pro travel data solution to help small businesses quickly and easily capture booking information for expense reporting.
