It’s one thing to be a leader within your firm, however, it’s quite another to also be a leader within your community.

While staffing, training, new software applications and the latest tax law changes are at the top of every practitioner's to-do list for the tax filing season that looms ahead, the overriding concern this year is the economic crisis and the changes facing both themselves and their clients.

Firms today are facing succession-planning issues at an unheard-of pace. Blame it on the Baby Boomers and the overall demographics of the accounting profession and the population in general.Over the past year I have worked with several managing partners in helping them transition from one set of leaders to another. The question I often get is, "When is the time right?" Managing partners decide to pass the baton to the next generation at different times. Some decide it's time when they are in their early or mid-50s, since they want to do other things in life. Others will hold on until the last possible moment. Some never make a transition.

Accounting firm Weiser LLP has hired an unemployed investment banker and Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who gained fame last summer for wearing a sandwich board on New York's Park Avenue that advertised, "Experienced MIT Grad for Hire."

If you’re any type of news junkie, most likely you’ve heard the story regarding the unemployed investment banker with the MIT degree who flanked himself in a sandwich board, parading on New York’s Park Avenue this summer, bearing his credentials.

My editor, Bob Scott, called me from an Information Technology Alliance conference this week to report some seemingly unbelievable news: Several attendees were complaining about candidates who didn’t show up for job interviews.

Online payroll service PayCycle unveiled the latest version of its software, with improved set-up and export features.

If you are interested in how the accounting profession is evolving, you might want to keep Mark Koziel on speed dial.

On the heels of weak results for its North American operations, Sage has laid off 150 out of its 5,000 North American workers, citing the move as a response to the economic climate.

Employment in the private sector fell by 250,000 in November, according to the latest monthly report by payroll processor ADP.

Looking to get younger accountants through your doors? Try hosting a speed-dating event along with cocktails.

The job market in accounting and finance is essentially holding steady with few gains anticipated early next year, according to a new survey.

Thanks to the Uniform Accountancy Act, beginning in 2010 in New York and 2012 in Pennsylvania, undergraduate accounting students will be required to complete 150 hours of related course work before sitting for the CPA exam.

Perquest has introduced a bilingual feature that allows Spanish-speaking and English-speaking employees to view their payroll information online in their native language.

Young employees will take a marshmallow today vs. a package of marshmallows tomorrow.

Got a new marketing superstar in your firm you want to recognize? Are they the type to push up their sleeves and get down in the trenches? Have their achievements caused heads to turn? If so, he/she could be the next Association for Accounting Marketing’s Annual Rookie of the Year.

The American Institute of CPAs is launching a new series of ads for its "Feed the Pig" financial literacy campaign targeted at adults in the 25-to-34 age group.

It’s always nice to see an accounting firm put their money where their mouth is when it comes to the younger generation – and Goodman & Company has set a fine example.

What does Nina Smith, president of Sage's business management division, think the new generation's major challenge in the workplace will be?

The American Institute of CPAs has enhanced its CPE Online Grading Site with improved navigation, new exam features and a simplified log-in process.