You might ask in return, "What the heck is off-ramping?" I didn't know either until I read a new report issued by the AICPA Work/Life and Women's Initiatives Executive Committee.

CFOs are worried about the availability of future finance talent and don't feel their companies are doing enough to make finance an attractive career option, according to a new survey.

With a wave of senior partners graying and a shortage of younger CPA professionals ready to take their place, the importance of creating - and maintaining - a succession plan for a firm's future is becoming more urgent than ever.It may seem obvious to design a plan to keep the business of a firm going strong, but according to a 2006 survey conducted by the Private Companies Practice Section of the American Institute of CPAs and the Texas Society of CPAs' National Management of an Accounting Practice, 76 percent of the 1,842 participating firms reported that they had no documented succession plans.

Financial services firm Braver said it was merging with Nelson, Adam & Dickson, an accounting firm based in Concord, Mass.

Small businesses added 44,000 jobs in the United States in August, according to a new report, but large companies shed 6,000 jobs last month, bringing the total number of new jobs to 38,000.

KPMG's Canadian arm found itself on the receiving end of a class-action lawsuit, claiming that the firm did not properly compensate employees for their overtime work or denied them overtime compensation altogether.

ADP Employer Services kicked off a promotional campaign aimed at helping educate workers on how to maximize their paychecks.

Accounting firm Aronson & Co. has launched a video contest to attract accounting and finance students with a prize of a $2,500 "professional makeover" that includes services such as clothing consultations and resume preparation help.

It’s nice to see that CPAs and their firms are doing very well. According to the just-released 2007 Rosenberg MAP Survey, firms with net fees over $2 million enjoyed annual net fee growth of 11.4 percent in 2006, compared to 9.7 percent in 2005. The average income for partners in these firms, according to the survey, is $350,000.

The American Institute of CPAs introduced a guidebook to help accounting firms set up "off-ramping" programs to help women transition out of demanding full-time accounting careers, while maintaining a relationship so the off-ramped employees can assist the firm when needed.

More than half of undergraduate accounting students admitted to cheating, a proportion roughly comparable to that of other business majors, according to a newly released academic study.

Virginia CPA firm Yount, Hyde & Barbour has established a $2,500 annual scholarship for accounting students through the Virginia Society of CPAs Educational Foundation, making a $50,000 gift to the foundation so the scholarship can launch next year.

The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation has introduced an internal auditing textbook that promises to unite theory with practical knowledge to give students a more realistic look at the profession.

Sage Software has unveiled its latest versions (7.6 and 8.3) of Sage Abra HRMS, the company’s human resource management system for small and midsized businesses and organizations in North America, featuring Employer Information Report EEO-1 and compatibility with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.

Kaplan CPA Review has introduced online review courses for CPA candidates.

CPA firm WithumSmith+Brown has outgrown its current location in downtown New Brunswick and is moving to a new location around the corner.

Charles “Chuck” Allen has worked for the accounting firm Crowe Chizek for his entire career. Fresh out of college as a campus recruit, he joined the firm in 1975. In April of this year, the 53-year-old became CEO of Crowe Group, the Oak Brook, Ill.-based firm’s parent company, succeeding two-term CEO Mark Hildebrand. Before becoming CEO, Allen served as managing executive of Crowe’s commercial services group. During his career, he has concentrated on assisting private investors with acquiring and financing companies and establishing a private equity group client base. He talked with WebCPA about his plans for broadening the Midwestern firm’s national footprint, the recent challenges facing the accounting and private equity industries, and his firm’s efforts at recruitment and retention.

The National Association of Black Accountants and the Howard University School of Business Center for Accounting Education are launching an effort to encourage a greater number of black CPAs.

Online payroll processor PayCycle has introduced a free payroll service for accountants.

The American Institute of CPAs presented awards to 10 budding CPAs who achieved the highest cumulative scores last year on the four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination.