The July 16, 2012, homepage for Yahoo! had an article called "Six Careers for People Who Don't Like People." As I read the article, my worst fear was realized: Heading the list was "Accountants."

What do you think when you hear the word "coach?"

Partners are the culture in a professional service firm -- what they believe, what they reward, what they do, and how they do it determines what and how things get done.

Boy, did President Obama create a furor in a Roanoke, Va., speech in July, where he said, "If you have a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

Denver-based Top 100 firm Hein & Associates didn't want to be anyone's secret -- even a good one, as managing partner Brian Mandell-Rice had become accustomed to hearing from clients.

A roundup of news from the previous month

Most people think of accounting as a solitary profession, but those in practice know just how off-center this perception really is.

As we acknowledge the 10th anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we are once again in a period of re-examination of the role, relevance and reliability of financial audits in protecting investors and the public interest. This seems to be, in part, a reaction to the financial crisis of the past few years.

Highlights of the previous month in audit and attest

First round of Dodd-Frank-mandated inspections suggests deficiences may be widespread

Joe Adams, the head of Top 5 firm McGladrey, on the major challenges facing accounting firms, and how his firm is dealing with them.

Recent hires, promotions and more from accounting firms across the country

Recent news from accounting firms across the country

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has made available its proposed 2013 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy in XBRL format for public review and comment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a financial literacy study Thursday confirming earlier studies that U.S. retail investors lack basic financial literacy.

Cindy Fornelli, executive director of the Center for Audit Quality, discusses how the inspection process at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board works.

Global CEOs and U.S. small business owners would like political leaders and candidates for office to focus more on tax reform, regulation, the size of government and entitlements, and the national debt in order to stimulate economic growth and job creation, according to a new report.

The firm of the future needs to be ready to adapt to constant change, according to Teresa Mackintosh, executive vice president and general manager of tax at CCH, in her keynote, “The Future-Ready Firm,” at the Midwest Accounting & Finance Showcase.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently issued rule requiring companies to disclose their use of minerals from the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo could be an early indication of a future direction of regulators, prodding companies into providing more disclosures of environmental, social, humanitarian and labor issues.