The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's has rolled out a new call-reporting modernization project based on the use of Extensible Business Reporting Language.

SAGE OFFERS SOFTWARE FOR UNITED WAY CAMPAIGNS: Sage Software released the latest version of Sage Fundraising 100 - Rainbow Edition, offering United Way organizations a suite of fundraising management and development tools.Formerly called MIP Fundraising Rainbow, the new release, Version 4.0, features options for managing United Way workplace campaigns, such as a new Grants Management module, and interface improvements to several additional Sage Software products and expanded endowment features.

Marketing director Maggy MacPherson, of regional CPA firm Beard Miller Co. LLP, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, recognized what few firms like to admit - her firm's Web site needs a lot of work."The site is not very user-friendly right now," said MacPherson, who is leading the redesign of a new site that at press time was scheduled for an October 1 launch. "We'll have a stronger message about the firm, our philosophy, and a new look and feel. It will be graphically interesting, but still simple and easy to use."

Microsoft Business Solutions released its anticipated Small Business Accounting and Office Small Business Management Edition - two MS Office small business accounting software applications - nearly a year after the release of the public beta release of SBA.Microsoft said that the new product, designed for the small business market, will hit retail shelves priced at $179 for a stand-alone copy, but ship with a $30 mail-in rebate.

It's not that Uncle Sam does not want your clients to deduct those big-ticket items that are critical to running almost any business. The less cynical among us would nod and agree with the Internal Revenue Service's position that the cost of big-buck expenditures should be matched with the useful business life of the asset.Then there are those who suspect that the government would simply prefer that you don't apply the full cost of that Learjet that your client picked up this year to offset their current fiscal year's revenue.

Much has been written on outsourcing and its impact on the accounting profession. While everyone has their opinion and beliefs, it's time for all accounting firms to seriously evaluate strategic options that will help transform their service offerings and business model.These strategies should allow firms and partners to take advantage of technology and other resources. Solutions to the issues facing their small and midsized business clients and their owners should be the primary focus. The services and technical skills that most firms have delivered over the past 20 years are either becoming obsolete or commoditized, with shrinking margins. If you don't believe this, take some time and think before you answer the following questions:

U.S. small businesses with one to 99 employees, spent approximately $410 million on purchasing accounting software solutions in the last year, according to consulting firm Access Markets International Partners Inc.

NetSuite Inc., an on-demand business software provider for small- and midsized businesses, unveiled new features for its CRM application, CRM+. The new features are a part of the incentive compensation add-on module, and will allow a user to track multiple quotas, forecasts and commission plans, and apply them against additional metrics.

Nonprofit software publisher Blackbaud Inc. has acquired ScanStore Ltd., a document management and image retrieval company based in Staplehurst, Kent, U.K. Financial terms were not disclosed.

As Intuit's QuickBooks girds for its largest competitive challenge to date --Microsoft's Small Business Accounting -- it has lowered the prices for its QuickBooks Premier and QuickBooks Pro accounting software applications by $100.

INTUIT OFFERS IMPROVED PROGRAMS FOR CPAS: Intuit Inc. announced that it would increase its commitment to accountants by rolling out a series of new and enhanced programs, including free technical support for QuickBooks ProAdvisors, an accountant-dedicated support team, and free in-person training seminars in 80 cities."We want to send a clear message that no one is more committed than Intuit to understanding the needs of accountants and giving them the resources and support they need to be successful," said Intuit's vice president of accountant programs, Jill Ward, in a statement.

Financial and accounting software publisher Intuit Inc. is poised to launch QuickBooks 2006 sometime this fall, marking the first major overhaul of the software's underpinnings since it was launched in 1992.Intuit's vice president of product management, Dan Levin, said that two key components the company has been working on for years have come together in the latest version.

In this last article in a series that has explored a number of dimensions of leadership, we'll focus on ways to further develop leaders in your organization by helping your people map their career success.In public accounting and technology, we spend a lot of time producing annual performance appraisals. In these appraisals, we are essentially looking in the rearview mirror to assess what our people have done in the past, and then sharing our thoughts about their accomplishments and areas for improvement. Because most of us are adverse to conflict, the performance appraisal process is perfunctory, and all but the most egregious offenders against firm policy receive at least a "meets requirements" rating on the appraisal itself.

Two years after Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates first revealed an early version of his company's next operating system - originally codenamed Longhorn - Microsoft has finally released the first beta for the new system, which is now branded as Vista.The new system was released at the end of July to about 500,000 programmers and technology professionals for review and testing, and thus far, a sample of early users has expressed optimism about Vista's Beta 1, which showcases a number of security and ease-of-use enhancements over Windows XP and older MS operating systems.

What does it take to rise to the position of partner in an accounting firm?While the criteria vary from firm to firm, I believe it is an interesting and generally difficult question for firms to answer. I have asked existing partners to list what they require in a new partner, and they tend to come up with a list of skills and criteria for which many of them probably would not qualify. Most managing partners readily admit that too many people were made partner for the wrong reasons over the past 20 years. The most common answer is, "We were afraid he or she would leave."

Taxware, a tax calculation and compliance software developer and First Data Corp. company, has unveiled a new integration with Oracle's PeopleSoft.

Why does a company like Microsoft plan a launch for an ambitious new low-cost software package and then steal its own thunder?

Serenic Corp., an international publisher of financial and operational software, has acquired the software product OneCare from accounting firm Clifton Gunderson LLP.

PayCycle, a provider of on-demand payroll services, announced that accounting and tax software company ATX has selected its product for its base of 55,000 customers.

CBIZ Accounting, Tax & Advisory Services LLC and Mayer Hoffman McCann PC will offer temporary employment opportunities to qualified and eligible accounting industry professionals who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina.