Recruiting

How often do you visit other accounting firms? Many firm associations, when holding a meeting in a city where a firm member is located, often arrange for the attendees to visit that firm’s office in a guided presentation. The Practical Accountant editorial staff also periodically visits accounting firms, and the payoff for us, and also ultimately for our readers, is astounding. The last firm that we visited was Weiser in New York City, and the result was the same.

KPMG has established an IFRS Institute to address the needs of companies, investors and academics affected by the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards.

CPA firm Marcum & Kliegman has expanded into the executive search industry, launching M&K Executive Search.

A survey of accounting and finance professionals shows a decreasing level of confidence in the economy and the job market.

Private businesses across the U.S. and around the world are paying significantly more for staff than they did a year ago, according to a report by Grant Thornton.

New York — The American Institute of CPAs has ramped up its mobility efforts to allow CPAs to practice in other states, with mobility bills enacted now in 12 states and legislation pending in 22 other states.

The Senate has confirmed Douglas H. Shulman as the new commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Shulman, formerly vice chair of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, was nominated in November to replace Acting Commissioner Linda Stiff.“For the majority of Americans who pay their taxes willingly and on time, there must be clear guidance, accessible education and outstanding service,” Shulman said in a statement. “Our aim should be to make it as easy as possible for citizens to pay the correct amount of taxes in the most efficient and least burdensome manner possible. For taxpayers who intentionally evade paying taxes, there must be rigorous enforcement programs.”

There’s encouraging news for firms interested in pursuing strategies to retain and promote women: You don’t have to re-invent the wheel.In fact, the timing couldn’t be better, as dozens of top programs are under way at firms across the country. We talked with leaders at three of those firms who were eager to share what they’ve learned.

A team of accounting students from Brigham Young University has captured first place honors as winners of the Deloitte National Student Case Study Competition.

National University is launching its first-ever masters of accounting program both online and on campus.

Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business plans to introduce an executive master's degree program with a specialization in financial statement analysis and securities assessment, aimed at working professionals.

African-Americans comprise just 3 percent of CPAs nationwide — but Dr. Frank K. Ross is working to help change that.After a 38-year career with KPMG, where he held such posts as mid-Atlantic area managing partner for audit and risk advisory services and managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office, Ross retired and now serves as director of the Howard University School of Business’ Center for Accounting Education, an entity that is focused on boosting the number of minorities in the accounting profession.

As CPA firms grapple with ongoing staffing challenges and the norm of a “traditional” workplace begins to erode, management must be more flexible and innovative than ever.

Accounting firms and jurors have something in common. Judges are now instructing jurors not to go on the Internet to research any aspect of the case. This direction is made necessary because many deliberating jurors, when they go home at night, are improperly looking up on the Internet definitions of legal terms, reading the text of the applicable law, researching cases, and searching for information about parties to the case. This urge to go on the Internet is quite natural and expected, but can result in a mistrial. With so much information easily accessible, it is an almost automatic reaction to go to the Internet when a question pops up in one’s head.

Spotting an attractive young female at an accounting software conference is like finding a "needle in a haystack."

Accounting firm Berkowitz Dick Pollack & Brant said its $50,000 contribution would help provide four-year college scholarships for 30 low-income at-risk children in Florida.

It is the first publication on managing an accounting practice that I read that isn’t written like an explanation of the Internal Revenue Code and, more importantly, it is the very best that I have read on the subject.

There are a lot of very good research tools on the market. But what's available for the small practitioner who needs less than high-powered products?

The California Society of CPAs said it would begin an educational initiative to help its 31,000 members cope with International Financial Reporting Standards.

To help mentor African-American accountants in their careers and to prepare them for the CPA Exam, Howard University School of Business's Center for Accounting Education will hold its fourth annual "We're About Success!" conference June 22-27 in Chantilly, Va.