Recruiting

When I first enrolled in college, I opted for a marketing course as an elective. At first, there was some trepidation on my part, because to me, marketing was a term my grandmother used when she intended to go grocery shopping. During my first day in class, I soon learned that the process of marketing had nothing to do with a visit to Grand Union or Safeway.

Reversing a trend of declining optimism over the past three years, CPAs serving as chief executive officers, chief financial officers and in other executive financial positions have a favorable view of the economy, according to the first quarter 2007 Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey.

In a recent interview with Practical Accountant, Judith O’Dell, the recently-appointed chairwoman of the Private Company Financial Reporting Committee, explained the mandate that the committee will be following as it explores the need for different reporting standards for public and private companies in the following months.

A number of firms, especially the larger regionals, are going corporate. This approach to firm governance is seen as having an overall advantage over the strict partnership model as partners at different stages in their careers and with different specialties and concerns often find it hard to reach consensus or take decisive action quickly.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Chief Accountant has selected four professional accounting fellows to serve two-year terms beginning this summer.

Marcum & Kliegman LLP has launched a new Women’s Leadership Development Program with neighboring law firm Farrell Fritz PC.The program, which is open to employees of both firms but not open to the public –yet -- was developed to provide a supportive venue for female professionals to explore issues that affect them in the workplace and develop skills to enrich their careers, said Marcum manager of training and development, Nancy Chen.

Business-information provider D&B Corp. has acquired First Research for $22.5 million in cash.

The latest compilations of international auditing, ethics and public sector accounting standards are available in print and electronic formats from the International Federation of Accountants.The 2007 “Handbook of International Auditing, Assurance and Ethics Pronouncements” contains all pronouncements of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board as of Dec. 31, including the first four standards on auditing, which were redrafted under the board’s new clarity drafting rules. The handbook also contains an updated, “Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants,” which was issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants in July.

Financial planners reported mean gross earnings of $283,079 in 2006, an increase of more than $50,000 from a year ago, according to a recently released survey.

Financial and accounting services staffer AccountAbilities Inc. has agreed to acquire California-based ReStaff Services, a staffing company that operates under the name Staffing.com and generates annual revenues of roughly $20 million.

With many of its players accruing lengthy rap sheets, charged with felonies ranging from illegal firearms possession to sexual assault, it would be safe to say the National Football League has been battling something of an image problem of late.

Edward A. Weinstein of New York will receive the New York State Society of CPAs’ Distinguished Service Award.

Less than half of all Americans say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61 percent twenty years ago, according to the Conference Board, a private research firm.

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy announced the appointment of new chief operating and financial officers, as well as a new president of its Professional Credential Services Inc.

After a large jump in January, worker confidence among accounting and finance workers cooled off in February, according to the Hudson Employment Index.

Taking a vacation this time of year may as well be considered illegal.

Chief financial officers expect increased hiring activity in the second quarter of 2007, according to the Robert Half Financial Hiring Index.

It’s hard to keep track of all the valuable resources out there on the Internet -- and harder still to find information on the Web when you don’t even know that it exists. Many of the below sites have popped up as “Web Stars” in WebCPA’s weekly e-newsletter over the past couple of years, but they’re worth mentioning again. All are maintained by the federal government -- or by an organization that’s at least as reputable as the federal government, anyways -- and offer free, frequently-updated regular content. I usually try to cover the more interesting decisions and summary opinions issued by The U.S. Tax Court, but practitioners should be aware that cases decided by the court, dating back to 1999, are easily accessible from the site. The site also includes forms, fee schedules and case timetables to visitors though a very easy-to-navigate interface. For the statistics-minded among us, two sites serve to provide just about every number a person could need. The Internal Revenue Service’s Web site (which itself deserves a look), includes a revamped "Tax Stats" page holding a wealth of statistical information on individuals, businesses, charities and IRS operations organized by category. The page also includes access to the most frequently requested statistical information and popular IRS publications and products. As if that wasn’t enough data, the agency’s Statistics of Income Division also added revised table formats and updated report formats in recent years. Secondly, FedStats, the self-proclaimed "gateway to statistics," provides users with a broader virtual reference shelf of statistics from over 100 federal agencies and categories, ranging from agriculture to transportation. Also worth making mention of is the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s site. It was only recently that I realized how sprawling and in-depth the content was on the site, which, I suppose, makes sense for an agency charged with a mission of transparency. All of the public inspection reports for audit firms are available for download here, as are complete versions of proposed changes to Sarbanes-Oxley’s internal control provisions and the corresponding comment letters. On another broader reference plane, I can’t say enough good things about Investopedia.com. The site defines thousands of finance and investment terms, from A Priori Probability (probability calculated by logically examining existing information) to Zombies (companies that continue to operate even though they are insolvent. Also known as Living Dead). But you probably knew those. Terms are explained in textbook style and in layman's terms and the dictionary is eminently searchable -- by keyword, alphabet or any of 15 categories. Finally, for a bit of fun and education, Quatloos.com is a site that covers a wide variety of financial scams and has special sections devoted to tax scams and investment fraud. The site, maintained by nonprofit group Financial and Tax Fraud Education Associates Inc., also offers a number of forums moderated with a light-hearted touch by Quatloos staffers. More valuable sites such as these can be found in WebCPA’s Marketplace, which is accessible from the top of any page on the site by clicking on the tab in the gray navigation box.

Independently-owned Los Angeles firm RBZ LLP has named three partners to share the firm’s managing partner position.

J.H. Cohn LLP has announced firm revenues of $175.2 million for its 2007 fiscal year, up 22 percent from the same period a year ago.