by L. Gary Boomer

by Wayne Schulz

Thompson Leaves Red Wing for ACCPAC: Steve Thompson, a top executive at Red Wing Business Systems for the past seven years, has joined rival accounting software vendor Accpac International as vice president of North American partner recruitment. He replaces Ferdows Manouchehrian, who was reassigned, according to a company spokesman.

by John M. Covaleski

by John M. Covaleski

Cougar Mountain President Departs: David Bassiri has stepped down as president of accounting software developer Cougar Mountain Software - a position that he held for seven years.

ITA expands: Within two weeks of separating from the American institute of CPAs, the Information Technology Alliance has added 14 new member firms, including five accounting firms that made Accounting Today’s Top 100 list.

Innovation and creativity are traits associated with both risk and reward. This column is about an innovation, which can allow accounting firms to cut their labor costs by 75 percent, while having work done on an outsource basis by qualified accountants.

by Ted Needleman

by J. Carlton Collins

ePartners Makes Change At Top: Stanley D. Strifler has stepped down as president and chief executive of ePartners, the nation’s largest reseller of accounting software and enterprise solutions targeted at middle-market and small businesses.

by John M. Covaleski

By Peyton Burch

OHIO SOCIETY CHAIRMAN-ELECT BECOMES SYSTRUST CEO: Michael A. Dickson, chairman-elect of the Ohio Society of CPAs, has been elected president and chief executive of SysTrust Service Corp., the manager of a technology systems audit service developed by the American Institute of CPAs.Dickson is a founder of the Columbus, Ohio-based technology consulting company, Business Technology Group, and previously was partner-in-charge of Crowe Chizek’s Systems Consulting Group, also in Columbus.

by Wayne Schutz

by L. Gary Boomer

by Ted Needleman

Often people ask, "What are the key ingredients that distinguish the great firms from the good firms?" Annually, we work with hundreds of accounting firms ranging in size from small local firms to the largest national firms.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN DEMAND: In what may present new consulting opportunities for accounting firms, the content and document management services market will grow by about 40 percent per year, to $24.4 billion in 2006, according to technology industry analysts International Data Corp.

For years I had conducted my initial prospect interviews in the same way: by selling my firm Burch Consultants.