Consulting

When I am a loss for the subject of a column, all I have to do is go to the Internet and I quickly find something to write about. What I found is a SEC press release that states the SEC has charged a mutual fund manager with violating socially responsible investing restrictions in socially responsible mutual funds that investors were told would not contain securities issued by companies involved with producing weapons, alcohol, tobacco, or gambling products.

The American Institute of CPAs has deepened its alliance with the U.S. Small Business Administration, meeting in Washington recently with agency officials to discuss plans for how CPAs can help and advise struggling small business owners.

Unlike many others, I love getting tons of e-mail as it helps me see what makes an accounting firm stand out. And that was the case with the Summer 2008 issue of Rachlinnews, a PDF of which was e-mailed to me. I receive a great number of firm newsletters, those done by firms and by third-party providers.

Camico Mutual Insurance, the largest CPA-owned mutual insurance company in the U.S., named Ric Rosario as its new CEO.

The event may be have been billed as The Forum for Women in Accounting, but the issues and topics discussed at the three-day confab here were decidedly not just for one gender.That was the overriding sentiment during the course of the conference, and one that resonated with the majority of the 250 attendees, which even included a handful of men.

Florida accounting firms Cross, Fernandez & Riley and Beckert, Price & Rowse plan to merge August 1, allowing CFR to expand operations in a populous part of the state.

Two Southern California accounting firms have joined forces, with Newport Beach-based Squar, Milner, Peterson, Miranda & Williamson merging with Los Angeles-based Thomashow, Brown & Paialii.

The Bonadio Group has merged with Dorfman-Robbie and its affiliated companies, the DR Group, to create an accounting firm with annual revenues of nearly $45 million.

Maybe because I am so literal, I am a firm believer in transparency. Perhaps that was why I was intrigued by a newsletter from a leading firm association that goes to association members and friends. Included was a two-pager entitled “Vision for Our Future,” that identifies ten possible goals of the association for 2008-2012. The process, which included member surveys, conference calls, and meetings, was also detailed. The proposed goals were developed by a 15-member team and facilitator, all listed in the two-pager.

A shortage of experienced accounting and finance professionals is affecting employers around the world, according to a new survey.

Accounting firm Weaver and Tidwell reported that its net revenues for the 2008 fiscal year ending May 31 reached $51 million, a 28 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

Accounting firm Reznick Group has partnered with Palladium Pacific on a service to provide help to real estate lenders, investors, builders and developers with their troubled real estate assets.

The AICPA 2008 Succession Survey, as you would expect, has a great deal of information about the current state of succession at multi-owner firms and recommended best practices for those firms. What will come as a surprise to some is there is an equivalent amount of information, observation of trends, and recommended best practices for the sole practitioner.

Accounting firm Weaver and Tidwell has introduced a financial services niche practice aimed at investment companies, including hedge funds and private equity firms.

The seven deadly sins of career management were delineated by Kathleen Grace, founder of Grace Consulting Services, a professional services firm specializing in executive assessment, executive coaching and strategic succession planning, at the recent Forum for Women in Accounting, presented by The Advisory Board and Crosley + Company.

Deloitte plans to invest approximately $300 million to create a learning and leadership development center in Westlake, Texas.

REMINDER: Time to submit an entry for Practical Accountant’s Practice Innovation Award is running out. For application information, see the June issue of Practical Accountant. I don’t know about you, but I am getting tired of surveys. Especially those that promise you that filling it out will only take “a couple of minutes.” The last one that I filled out was for a major hotel chain conducted by a very, well-known company that conducts surveys nationwide.

The American Institute of CPAs has formed an online Succession Planning Resource Center to help small and midsized firms deal with questions of how their firm should be managed in the future.

Seventy-six percent of the 120 firms in attendance at the Forum for Women in Accounting, a three-day confab in its second year, have a strategic plan in place.

A group of eight midsized CPA firms has banded together to offer cross-border tax services in an effort to compete with larger firms.