Climate Change and You, the CPA

The U.S. hasn't signed the Kyoto accords, but it's a reasonable bet that we'll begin paying more attention to climate change sometime after, say, Jan. 20, 2009. In other countries, accountants are mulling the impact climate accords may have on business. This from the CEO Forum in Australia:

Aligning fiscal policy, accounting and corporate reporting - the traditional pillars supporting the operation of global capital markets - will be critical for the effective operation of a carbon-constrained economy. Until the accounting treatment of the AETS (Australian emissions trading scheme) is clarified, the challenge for corporate Australia is how best to communicate to the capital markets the implications for shareholder value of a carbon-priced environment.

I'm sure we're not the first to make this observation, but a new specialty is taking shape.

Climate change: accounting and tax implications [CEO Forum]

Help Your Uncle Mop Up

In the banking world, clean-up follows crisis, just as surely as night follows day. So if you’ve been jilted out of commercial, investment or mortgage banking accounting, you’ll find Uncle Sam is staffing up.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) says it’s going to pick up 69 temporary employees and 69 permanent staffers in its division of resolutions and receiverships over the next few months. Those jobs will be based in Dallas, Texas, which became a hot spot for workouts during the late 1980s.

An FDIC spokesperson said they’ll be re-hiring retirees with experience, as well as new employees. Those who know that RTC stood for Resolution Trust Corporation and those who think they’d enjoy unwinding institutions to recapitalizes the deposit insurance fund can check for current openings and register to get emails here.

It stands to reason that the FDIC won’t be the only player in the federal sector in need credit crisis clean up help. You may also want to check in with The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve, the Federal Housing Administration (where mortgage volume has exploded) and the government-sponsored mortgage enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Detroit Firm's Focus is Over the Horizon

Clayton & McKervey serves only middle-market entrepreneurs who want to expand globally. Such focus makes it easy to train employees, but harder to find the accountants it wants: Those who already know both IFRS and GAAP.

Here's our story.

Weekly Roundup is Here

Our latest wrapup of hiring and promotions is online. Read it here.

Interview Horror Stories

Mary, a hiring manager in Florida, posted some of the trials she's had to endure as an interviewer as a comment to our story on things not to do during an interview. They're too good not to share here:

I have interviewed probably over 1,000 people over the years. I have been amazed at some of the crazy things people do or say. Here are some memorable ones:

I had several interviews scheduled at a nice hotel lobby (I was traveling to another state to hire and train a branch manager) I walked into the lobby and asked was anyone there for the interview. (someone from the home office had scheduled the interviews and had told them that I would be arriving from location and they would need to introduce themselves and provide me with a resume) Only one gentlemen immediately stood up and introduced himself. I greeted him and sat down and began the interview. 15 minutes later another guy stood up, came over to our table, interrupted the interview and told me off for interviewing out of order. Then he came back again 10 minutes later and interrupted me again, very rudely. Yet he still insisted he wanted to interview. Needless to say he wasn't hired.

People who bring up their sex lives during an interview for retail management.

People who try to bring someone else in the room while they are interviewing.

People who yell or even curse at support staff before or after an interview.... and still expect to be hired.

One guy leaned back and propped his feet on the table during the interview.

One guy didn't realize I was the interviewer and insulted me before he was called to the room. I sent him away.

One guy intervewed very well. I offered him the job and had the discussion regarding salary. He made a request to start at a salary that was at the top of the scale for that position. After discussion with my VP, I agreed and made him an offer at that salary point. He readily agreed and wanted to start right away. However, the next day I received a phone call from the receptionist at the corporate office. He had called and ask to speak with the male who had scheduled the interview, because he wanted to discuss his salary with him. (Incidently, the male was a parttimer who came in to do phone work.) He felt that as a guy he could obtain a salry bump (before working a day) by bypassing me. I decided to rescind his job offer immediately.

and the list could go on for hours..LOL

Six Things Not to Do During an Interview [JITM]

California Firms See Hiring Throughout 2008

Three of the country's largest and fastest growing firms - all California-based - say they anticipate adding both entry-level and experienced accountants during the remainder of the year. Armanino McKenna, Stonefield Josephson and Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt each expect to hire at least 20 new CPAs in 2008, including multiple accountants with at least two or three years experience.

Read our story.

One Heck of a Holiday

Would you take a 20% discount on your salary if you knew it would lead to a one-year paid vacation after five years on the job? That’s the deal St. George Bank in Australia offered its 9,000 workers, according to a story from News.com.au.

Only a half-dozen employees took that offer. Another more popular program provides 10 weeks of vacation in exchange for a pay discount. About 500 employees have signed up for that.

Maybe the employees don’t expect they’ll still be there in five years. Maybe the employees don’t expect the bank to will still be there in five years -- can’t you just see an acquisition leading to an HR professional saying, “You think we owe you how much leave?” Or maybe, none of the employees know what they’d do with a whole year off.

Changing Landscape?

The way international accounting firms present themselves - as separate, loosely affiliated firms with no real responsibility for each other's actions - may have to change, writes Floyd Norris in the New York Times.

Some courts are cutting through the legal barriers - as one appeals court did in Florida this week - even as the big auditing firms find it necessary to impose controls and international coordination on their various affiliates. The firms need to assure that international accounting rules are interpreted the same way in London as they are in Frankfurt and Tokyo, no matter how many legally separate partnerships are involved.

The bottom line, he says: Accounting firms may have to change the way they're structured.

Global or Local? For Accounting Firms, It All Depends [NY Times]

Show Up, Show Off, Get On The Team

Globalization and increased regulation are making business more complex and causing multifaceted challenges for large and mid-sized businesses. To face them, more companies are creating cross-functional teams that include professionals from a variety of disciplines. This means opportunity for candidates who can be effective team players as well as great technicians.

Here are some tips.

Wanted: People People

Hiring managers and career experts often stress how essential communication skills are for advancement in accounting and finance. So, can it be a blunder to assert in a job interview that you're a "people person" and not a "numbers person"?

Bill Kennedy posed that question recently in his "Energized Accounting" blog on AccountingWeb. His starting point was a March 14 Toronto Globe and Mail story that ran down a list of "boneheaded" interview gaffes. One of them was "An accountant who insisted she was a 'people person' and not a 'numbers person.'"

That isn't necessarily a bad thing, in Kennedy's view – or ours. Of course, any accountant's first responsibility is getting the numbers right. But the idea that a "people person" accountant is a square peg in a round hole, strikes us as an outgrowth of the outdated stereotype of accountants as green-eyeshade types who churn out obscure reports and don't influence an organization's broad mission or strategy.

Kennedy writes:

Looked at from a broader perspective, the accounting profession needs more people people, i.e. accountants who focus on getting the message across to other people. I agree that getting the numbers right is our first priority, but what good are accurate financial statements if their message is not understood by the organization’s stakeholders?

Even in a highly technical area like accounting systems (Kennedy's own specialty), "we need good trainers, planners, implementers and project managers, all of which require excellent communications skills," he notes.

Accountants can be People People [AccountingWeb]

Weekly Roundup

Lots of hiring's going on in the Baltimore-Washington area. Details are in our weekly roundup.

A Note on Networking

Debra Feldman, a job-search consultant who operates as The Job Whiz, writes with some words on networking. Even if you're not looking for a job, it's important to maintain and develop the relationships that could lead you to a new position one day. (Debra notes that over 70 percent of new hires stem from personal recommendations - not the Internet, not a headhunter, not other means.) She suggests:

Design and build a network tailored to your career objectives. Establish connections to hiring decision makers, industry thought leaders, respected academics and other authorities in your field who frequently are asked to recommend candidates for openings in your industry.

Once you are connected, nurture the relationship emphasizing two-way communication. Networking is not a transaction-based experience but a long term investment developing meaningful and credible relationships. Maintain your networking contacts regularly through written correspondence, telephone communication and inperson meetings so you stay top of mind. Of course, it’s awkward to reach out when you are needy; that’s why it is important to stay in touch by exchanging ideas, information, and leads outside of job searching mode.

She's got some other interesting articles on her Web site, including an interesting take on "being a passive candidate."

CPAs Eyes Jobs as Recruiters, Consultants

For many New York-New Jersey CPAs, saying goodbye to the 80-hour work week entails leaving their corporate, Big Four or regional firm to pursue jobs at small consulting firms, specialized recruiters, and others.

Here's the story.

Deadly Accounting

Nothing makes your nice, quiet accounting job seem like a good idea faster than reading about someone with a deadly accounting job.

Portfolio.com writer Adam Piore’s profile of PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic accountant Al Vondra starts with what may be the greatest opening sentence ever used in an accounting story: “People don’t normally try to kill you for doing their taxes, but forensic accounting is a whole different ball game.”

If consulting for the U.S. Justice Department in Cleveland really is as exciting as Portfolio.com makes it sound, it’s probably time for someone to follow John Grisham’s lead and write a best-selling accounting thriller.

Get the plot for your first novel by reading the full story at: http://www.portfolio.com/careers/job-of-the-week/2008/03/10/Forensic-Accountant-Al-Vondra

Not Here... But There

The Israeli accounting firm Kost, Forer, Gabbay and Kasierer - Ernst & Young (Israel) is reportedly mulling lay-offs because of the turmoil in the U.S. financial markets, though the firm denies the rumors. Who knows whether or not it's true. It just struck me: When's the last time you saw a headline about layoffs from an accounting firm?

Top accounting firm faces possibility of lay-offs [Globes Online]

Social Networks and You

You may not find your next job by hanging around on Facebook or LinkedIn, but you sure can raise your professional profile.

Here's a Story.

Weekly Roundup

Our roundup of promotions, new hires and mergers is now online. Click here.

Focus on Mobility

The AICPA is focusing on easing mobility laws that allow CPAs to practice in multiple states. The group's president, Barry Melancon, told WebCPA the issue is "a priority for us and we're putting a lot of resources into it." To date mobility bills are in place in 12 states, and legislation in 22 others. Melancon also said the AICPA is encouraging more colleges to expand their accounting educations programs.

AICPA Advances CPA State Mobility [WebCPA]

Few Women See Financial Workplace Gains

Nearly all women in working finance believe they are paid less than men for the same work, and most don't feel they've made much progress when it comes to issues of parity.

Here's the story.

IRS Was First on Spitzer's Trail

The investigation that led to New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's troubles began not with prosecutors, not with the FBI, but with investigators in the Hauppauge, N.Y., offices of the IRS. Writes William K. Rashbaum in the New York Times:

The rendezvous that established Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s involvement with high-priced prostitutes occurred last month in one of Washington’s grandest hotels, but the criminal investigation that discovered the tryst began last year in a nondescript office building opposite a Dunkin’ Donuts on Long Island, according to law enforcement officials.

There, in the Hauppauge offices of the Internal Revenue Service, investigators conducting a routine examination of suspicious financial transactions reported to them by banks found several unusual movements of cash involving the governor of New York, several officials said.

The investigators working out of the three-story office building, which faces Veterans Highway, typically review such reports, the officials said. But this was not typical: transactions by a governor who appeared to be trying to conceal the source, destination or purpose of the movement of thousands of dollars in cash, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

And people say IRS work isn't glamorous.

Revelations Began in Routine Tax Inquiry [NY Times]

Corporate Options Abound in N.Y., N.J.

Accountants in the New York-New Jersey area are fast becoming well-respected experts in business issues beyond accounting, and are gearing up for choice spots in the boardroom.

Read the full story.

We Got Another Challenge for You

How well do you know finance and accounting rules and trivia? Our marketing department - always looking for ways to make friends - is offering a chance to test your knowledge and compete against other finance professionals in the JobsintheMoney Accounting Challenge. You could win $1,000. "Hurry," exhorts our Marketing Director Maria. "The Challenge ends on February 22nd!" (You'll need to register for JITM to participate.)

Check out the accounting challenge.

Wanted: Middle Managers

A new report says accounting firms continue to face a particularly acute shortage of mid- and senior-level staff.

Here's the story.

Next: Deloitte Branded Diapers?

How bad is the recruiting crunch? It's so bad Deloitte - along with some industrial and technology companies - is develop high school curricula, packaging it up and distributing it to high school classrooms around the country. Says today's Wall Street Journal:

In a recent class at Abraham Clark High School in Roselle, N.J., business teacher Barbara Govahn distributed glossy classroom materials that invited students to think about what they want to be when they grow up. Eighteen career paths were profiled, including a writer, a magician, a town mayor -- and five employees from accounting giant Deloitte LLP.

"Consider a career you may never have imagined," the book suggests. "Working as a professional auditor."

The curriculum, provided free to the public school by a nonprofit arm of Deloitte, aims to persuade students to join the company's ranks. One 18-year-old senior in Ms. Govahn's class, Hipolito Rivera, says the company-sponsored lesson drove home how professionals in all fields need accountants. "They make it sound pretty good," he says.

The point of all this? To get kids into "the pipeline" that, hopefully, one day gushes with newly minted accountants.

High Schools Add Classes Scripted by Corporations [WSJ]

P.S.: Marketing Crazed Maria gets credit for our headline

Weekly Roundup

Our roundup of accounting mergers and promotions is online. See it here.

A Note from San Francisco

eFinancialCareers says college recruiting trends indicate a healthy job market for financial professionals in San Francisco, at least for now. Although the story focuses on investment and securities professionals, it does contain this note:

Tech companies such as Google and Apple are continuing to hire people with financial backgrounds. However, these companies haven't been immune to the economic downturn. Shares of both, which were high-fliers last year, have slumped by more than 30 percent in 2008.

"Hiring from high-tech companies in the Bay Area remains strong," says Adam Zoia, managing partner at Glocap, a New York-based executive search firm whose clients include private equity funds, hedge funds and investment banks. "There is an ongoing shortage, particularly of accountants and other operational staff, and the market for A-caliber investment professional talent remains tight nation-wide, apart from in select areas which have been hard hit by the recent credit market turmoil."

San Francisco Remains Strong for MBAs [eFinancialCareers]

More to Work Than Work

There's always discussion about how Millennials, Gen Y'ers, whatever you want to call them view work in a way that's different from us older folks. You know, they want balance and fulfillment and all that. We all complain about it, because we're jealous. In any case, Liza Porteus Viana in Portfolio magazine has a great piece on the subject, focusing on some financial refugees who turned to creating Web services.

Says Marian Salzman, a trendspotter and executive vice president at J. Walter Thompson, of Millennial workers: “I don’t think they loathe their jobs. I think they loathe the demands the job puts on them.” A 2004 Northwestern Mutual survey of 1,700 recent college grads found that 73 percent said how they spend their time on the job is more important than how much money they make, while 70 percent said money is not the best measure of success.

Escape From Corporate America [Portfolio]

CFOs See Slowdown in Hiring

Chief financial officers expect hiring activity in accounting and finance to slow during the second quarter, with the great majority seeing no change in their hiring levels at all.

Here's our story.

New Chief of NABA

The Washington Post has an interview with Gregory Johnson, the recently installed executive director of the National Association of Black Accountants.

When you look at the number of African American CPAs in the country, by one estimate there are approximately 6,000. That's about 1 percent of all CPAs. That tells you mentors and role models are probably not there. How many moms have suggested to their kids, become a doctor, become a lawyer? Our motto is "lifting as we climb." We need to work on awareness, what the profession is about, and through that create opportunity for this generation.

Tackling Accounting's Long Racial Division [Washington Post]

North-South Gap in California Salaries

If you're an accountant looking to earn more in California, consider this advice: Head north.

The story's here.

Top Accounting Firms

In case you haven't seen it, Financial Week's list of the country's top accounting firms is here.

All told, these companies employ more than 124,000 CPAs who perform work for 7,814 public company clients. The biggest part of their aggregate revenue stream by far is audit and accounting services at $21.2 billion (57%), followed by tax services at $9.4 billion (26%) and management consulting services at $4.3 billion (12%).

The List: Top Accounting Firms [Financial Week]

The Freelance Life

The accounting shortage is giving CPAs who'd rather not settle down a chance to pursue their trade without giving up their independence. Writing in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune, Neal St. Anthony looks at the freelance accounting life through the eyes of "veteran accountants and financial analysts" Emmy Perrizo and Debra Deanovic. "No longer are they hostage to reorganizations, a new manager's whims and extra work on nights and weekends just to hang on to their rungs of the corporate ladder," he writes.

"I can count on myself and I don't have to worry about doing some work or some job that I don't want to do," Perrizo said. "In a permanent position, there are fewer options. I had more seniority in some of these consulting positions than anybody on the staff."

These two women work through placement agencies to choose tax, merger, foreign or other projects of their liking, lasting for several months to more than a year. Demand has never been higher in the Twin Cities and nationally for veteran financial analysts, accountants and even information technology professionals at some companies, according to a study released Friday by Robert Half, the placement and recruiting firm.

And, the kicker, to me:

And Salo, another Twin Cities firm that places financial professionals, last month commissioned research with the Minnesota Society of CPAs that revealed that there will be a shortage of about 7,300 accountants in the Twin Cities within several years.

Carrying CPA credentials, these bounty hunters in demand [Star-Tribune]

You Just Can't Find Good Help Anymore

How hard is it for corporate controllers to fill entry-level slots in their departments these days? Here's an anecdote from the trenches - in Hollywood.

Alexander Georgiev, controller at CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Calif., is finding it ever harder to find good help. In a recent issue of California CPA, the magazine of the California Society of CPAs, he was quoted saying:

The pool of people we choose from is getting smaller and it’s getting harder to fill low-level positions. Before, we’d throw an ad in the paper that would say 'CBS,' and people jumped on it, which left us with real good choices. I had to pay recruiters for my last two AP clerks, which are basic, entry-level positions.

Excellence, Leadership and Vision Delivered to CalCPA Members [California CPA Magazine]

One Word, Ben: 'Carbon'

An interesting item from Accountancy Age in the UK: Access Accounting has launched an accounting system that calculates the size of a business's carbon footprint.

The new technology has been developed with the help of DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the Carbon Trust and will allow users to account for their carbon emissions on a transaction-by-transaction basis.

By inputting details such as miles traveled for distribution teams and the amount of watts used on electricity bills alongside standard accounting entries, users will be able to measure the amount of carbon a business uses.

This makes me wonder if a new specialty is on the horizon: Accounting focused on things like carbon emissions. (It seems to be happening in the investment world. See this article.)

Access launches emissions accounting package [Accountancy Age]

Tennessee's Top Accountants

Tennessee Business magazine has a handy overview accounting leaders at work in the state.

Caveats aside, this list contains 25 of Tennessee’s finest accountants, number crunchers who, thanks to the following list will for a while at least have to settle for a higher profile than usual.

Strength in Numbers [Tennessee Business]

Expanding in Baltimore

Accounting firms in the Baltimore-Washington area are making room for new staffers through office expansions and new branches.

Midsize accounting firms throughout the region are taking on additional office space to to make room for ongoing staff expansions.

Fueled by increased demand for their services, including audit, business consulting or tax advisory work, local accounting firms are growing, adding new workers, occupying more space and in some cases, opening new locations.

Midsize accounting firms in region bulking up [Baltimore Business Journal]

Roundup: Mergers and Promotions

Cherry, Bekaert & Holland acquires Aidman, Piser, and becomes the largest firm in Tampa outside of the Big Four.

Here's our roundup.

About International Assignments

You're no longer competing only against the accountant in the next cubicle, now you have to beat out the accountant in the next country, according to a survey of more the 850 C-suite executives in the U.S., the European Union and Asia.

The survey found recruiting talent was a concern for 67 percent of those surveyed, surpassed only by competition and the health of the global economy.

Here's our full story.

More on Volunteering

This item from SiliconValley.com caught my eye.

As more employees see volunteer work as a way to learn new skills or move their careers forward, volunteering has become a sort of corporate benefit. Companies are increasingly offering time off for volunteer projects, volunteer work on company time or company-organized efforts.

Last month, James Rubin looked into why volunteering can also help your career:

Too busy for volunteer work? There's a reason you may want to find time to squeeze some in: It can boost your career, and even help you be a better accountant.

Indeed, through volunteering many CPAs have been able to shore up skills, gain management and international experience, widen their network of professional contacts and generate new business. Some say working for worthy causes has given them a new appreciation of the importance of their expertise, because it allows them to see results more directly than they do on larger team projects.

Q&A: Kenn McFarland, CPA, Hospital CFO

"Young accountants don't want to make decisions because they want to do more analysis. I got some wonderful advice: Don't be afraid to make the decision. You've got to have it in your head but you've got to move with your heart."

Here's our interview.

Oh, What A Firm Will Do...

It's probably no surprise that firms are doing most anything within reason to keep their accountants happy, given it's tax season and all. If you're not getting fed often and well, you might want to compare your work environment to that of KAWG&F in Annapolis, Md.

KAWG&F, a public accounting firm with an office in Annapolis, set up a "fun committee" to plan snow-tubing events, sports team parties, charitable initiatives - and plenty of meals.

"The firm is a big believer in providing lots of food for the staff," said CPA Stephen Kullman, a company shareholder in charge of the Annapolis office on Admiral Cochrane Drive. "We have breakfast brought in three times a week, lunch on Saturdays and we do have several happy hours that we sponsor throughout the tax season."

How does all this go over?

...new accountant Marie Carbone is one of the firm's "rising stars." The 28-year-old said she appreciates the constant snacks her Annapolis office provides and said she's already looking forward to the after-tax-season party at Ruth's Chris Steak House on Severn Avenue.

Ms. Carbone said the incentives offered by KAWG&F were a big part of why she took the job in October. She's never come across so many perks.

"The list just kept going on and on," she said.

Firms offer perks to help their accountants survive the tax season [The Capital]

Earlier and Earlier

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, an item on how the big firms are grabbing the talent from colleges well before graduation:

(Accounting student Danny) Abrams said he has seen firsthand the effects of market demand. Big-name accounting firms come on campus "gobbling up" students in record numbers -- so much so that smaller firms have a hard time finding anyone to work for them.

Rachel Henderson, another U of M graduate student, estimated that around 75 percent of students are already locked into jobs in their senior year.

"With demand from CPA firms, there's such big turnover," Henderson said. And that drives firms to recruit students before they graduate.

Shortages in the field making accounting the hot place to be [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]

Last Week's Poll

So, how about that recession? Coming soon? Already here? Our last poll turned up there results:

Q: The Recession is...

• Here - 65%
• Coming in the next few months - 12%
• Not going to happen - 19%
• I have no idea - 5%
  

Educating Tomorrow's Accountants

College campuses are the critical battlegrounds for combating the accountant shortage - as we and others have often observed. A chance item in a Wisconsin small-town newspaper shows that the battle isn't confined to the Whartons and Chicagos of the world, but is also being fought at the grass roots.

"The Fox Valley Technical College's Oshkosh campus is expanding its accounting program in response to increasing job opportunities in that field," says the article in the Northwestern, in Oshkosh, Wis. (population 69,216).

The technical college is gradually increasing its number of accounting students over the years as part of its regional business plan, said Melissa Kohn, FVTC Oshkosh campuses director. The program has increased by 15 percent since 2005, which at that time had 90 students....

"So, the growth is really indicative of meeting the trends of the labor market," Kohn said.

Accounting is one of four areas slated for expansion in a business plan the campus adopted last September with the aim of boosting full-time enrollment 8 percent by 2010. (The other three growth areas are certified nursing, medical assistant and information technology.)

The Oshkosh campus increased accounting course offerings and hired two new accounting professors this year. One of them, Kay Bellile, said students in her classes include high school graduates, displaced workers and people re-entering the workforce.

Accounting program at FVTC Oshkosh reports growth [The Northwestern]

Good News/Bad News

For the first time since 2005, senior-level CPAs are sour on the economy. The latest Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey of the AICPA and the University of North Carolina's Kenan- Flagler Business School found 59 percent of them were pessimistic or very pessimistic about the economic outlook for the U.S. over the next 12 months. Only 11 percent were optimistic.

But - and it's an interesting "but" - 46 percent were optimistic or very optimistic about their organization's economic prospects, while just 21 percent were pessimistic or very pessimistic. Most organizations still expect some growth in revenue, profits and employment, the survey found.

Here's the AICPA's press release (PDF)

The Art of Effective Presentations

If you hate the idea of giving a presentation, you're far from alone. Although speaking in public frightens many people, the ability to give presentations can boost your career immeasurably. It helps you gain visibility and exposure, and increases your chances of getting that new job or promotion.

Here's our story.

Hirings and Mergers

Our weekly roundup of hirings, promotions and mergers is online here.

Does SOX 404 Improve Processes?

It may be causing you to stay late far too often, but Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley has led to improved processes, according to 65 percent of chief financial officers at technology companies surveyed for BDO Seidman’s 2008 Technology Outlook Survey. The other 35 percent feel 404 has curtailed innovation at their businesses.
“Although technology companies were hesitant to adopt Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, the majority have realized improved processes due to their compliance efforts and do not believe 404 has adversely impacted their level of risk-taking,” said Hank Galligan, a Partner in BDO Seidman’s Technology Practice. “The CFOs at these technology companies are also very optimistic that 404 costs will stabilize this year.”
The survey of 100 CFOs at technology firms with revenues between $100 million and $15 billion also found:

• 53 percent of CFOs believe their 404 costs will hold steady in 2008, 22 percent think costs will climb and 24 percent expect 404 costs will decline.
• Over half (54 percent) of the surveyed CFOs manage Section 404 compliance in-house, while 11 percent who use an external provider. Just over one-third (35 percent) use a combination of in-house and outsourced resources to manage SOX compliance.

Hedge Funds Expected to Add CPAs

Hedge funds in New York and New Jersey need CPAs who can handle risk management. Even in the midst of the credit crunch - and maybe because of it - funds will bring on board more accountants as they mature and receive more scrutiny.

Here's our story.

We Got A Challenge For You

How well do you know finance and accounting rules and trivia? Our marketing department - always looking for ways to make friends - is offering a chance to test your knowledge and compete against other finance professionals in the JobsintheMoney Accounting Challenge. You could win $1,000. "Hurry," exhorts our Marketing Director Maria. "The Challenge ends on February 22nd!" (You'll need to register for JITM to participate.)

Check out the accounting challenge.

Switch Jobs During Tax Season?

With so many empty seats to fill, public accounting firms may be willing to overlook a candidate's willingness to jump during the busy season. But that doesn't mean doing so is a good idea.

Here's our story.

E&Y Gets Behind CSU Career Center

Ernst & Young is offering a $500,000 matching grant to California State University, Northridge, to create the Ernst & Young Center for Career Advancement, which which will provide career counseling and placement services to students pursuing careers in accounting and information systems.

Here's a press release.

Our Weekly Roundup...

Flexible scheduling is losing ground as a recruiting tool. Dixon Hughes absorbs a Memphis firm, while Archer Daniels Midland, CNET and Conn's name new CFOs.

Our weekly roundup is here.

Which Is It?

Another data point on staffing being the critical issue accounting firms face: A press release for the Institute of Management and Administration's Accounting Office Management & Administration Report says:

Staffing challenges are encouraging CPA firms to work smarter and more efficiently through technology improvements, and more CPA firms are moving firm administrators and other administration leaders into the executive management ranks, providing administration expertise that frees CPA firm partners to do what they do best.

What's that mean? Seems like firms are looking to redeploy their staffs so that the genuine accountants are spending more time billing and less time doing administrative chores. The IOMA also says:

Recruitment trends reported in the "Handbook" include using internships, flextime, telecommuting, and established relationships with local colleges and universities. Only 12.4% of the firms surveyed felt that offering a higher starting salary was a successful hiring tactic (my bold). CPA firms reported that flextime, greater involvement of staff in firm operations, more CPE, more social activities, and training in marketing and leadership development were the best methods for improving staff retention.

But: Contrast that with Robert Half's survey, which we reported on here, that found 37 percent of chief financial officers think compensation is the most effective incentive for attracting accounting professionals. It also found that the proportion of CFOs who cited telecommuting and flexible schedules as the biggest draw for candidates

...plummeted to just 13 percent this year, from 33 percent in 2003. Meanwhile, soaring medical costs are making the benefits package almost as important to job candidates as salary. While a mere 2 percent of CFOs named benefits as the top influence on candidates' choices in 2003, the figure jumped to 33 percent in 2008.

So, accounting firms are thinking flextime and involvement, while corporations think money and healthcare benefits. Hm. I'm wondering why the difference.

Health Benefits Overshadow Work-Life Balance

Traditional benefits such as health insurance are surging as recruiting tools, while telecommuting and flexible work schedules are losing ground.

Read our story.

Merger Trend Can Impact Careers

If you work in a small CPA firm, would your career suffer if your employer were to merge with a larger organization? If you think so, you'd better start preparing now.

Here's our story.

Tech CFOs Sweat Recruiting More than Credit

It's official. The challenge of recruiting accounting talent is bigger than the challenge of the credit crunch.

San Francisco's BDO Seidman, LLP questioned 100 chief financial officers at technology companies throughout the U.S. to find 38 percent believe the ability to recruit and retain talent is the greatest challenge they face for the coming year. Risk management (23 percent) was second, followed by access to capital (15 percent), financial reporting and corporate governance issues (14 percent) and foreign competition (9 percent).

As a group, CFOs in Silicon Valley were even more worried about talent management. A whopping 55 percent listed it as their greatest challenge for the year.

International accounting issues are also worrying the CFOs. Almost half (49 percent) say new accounting rules that allow foreign companies to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) without reconciling the figures to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) put their company at a competitive disadvantage.

Not surprisingly, the CFOs think GAAP's revenue recognition rules are better than IFRS' for technology companies. Nearly 70 percent of the CFOs prefer U.S. GAAP revenue recognition compared to 21 percent for IFRS. Yet, more than a third (38 percent) said they'd switch to IFRS if they could, to better compete with international firms.

The lack of concern over the credit crunch may be due to the fact only 27 percent of the CFOs think they'll be seeking additional capital in 2008. Among the Silicon Valley CFOs, 86 percent didn't expect to need a capital infusion this year.

These findings come from the BDO Seidman 2008 Technology Outlook Survey, which queried CFOs at companies in the software, hardware, telecommunications and Internet sub-industries with revenues ranging from more than $100 million to $15 billion including. The survey was conducted in January of 2008.

Last Week's Poll

The question was which specialties will be hot this year. The answers:

• Compliance 30%
• Internal audit 22%
• International accounting 19%
• They are all hot 15%
• Tax accounting 14%

This week, we're wondering what you think about the Recession: Is it here, is it coming, or is it not going to happen? Let us know, on JobsintheMoney.

Professors Say PwC is #1

Grant Thornton has the best work/life balance and ethics, but PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was the top overall winner when Public Accounting Report asked 1,200 accounting educators to rank the Global Seven firms.

PwC ranked first in five categories: future outlook, client service, technical reputation, staff training and career opportunity. KPMG won the diversity category and Ernst & Young finished first in compensation, according to Public Accounting Report’s 26th Annual Professor’s Survey—2007.

After adding up all the scores from the nine categories, Public Accounting Report ranked the firms this way:

1. PwC
2. Deloitte
3. KPMG
4. Ernst &Young
5. Grant Thornton
6. RSM McGladrey
7. BDO Seidman

More 'Resources' at the IRS?

The IRS is likely to get more money for enforcement in the budget proposal now wending its way through Congress, though exactly what that means for the Service's headcount isn't clear. Says The Wall Street Journal:

… lawmakers in both parties sound eager to give the IRS more tools to improve tax compliance and boost revenue.

In addition, Congress is expected to increase the IRS's budget, especially for enforcement activities, such as audits. President Bush asked Congress to appropriate a record $11.36 billion for the IRS for the year starting Oct. 1, according to a Treasury Department publication. That would be an increase of 4.3% from the amount enacted for fiscal 2008; spending on enforcement would rise more than 7%, the publication says.

Last month the group OMB Watch said the IRS was suffering from a lack of enforcement resources, misplaced priorities and inefficient policies. In addition,

The funding shortage has also impacted the number of staff the IRS can hire. Over the last ten years, the workforce has shrunk 18 percent, according to IRS statistics. The number of revenue agents and officers -- IRS employees who perform audits -- has decreased even faster, by 40 and 30 percent, respectively.

Stay tuned.

Best Workplaces: CPA Firms Rank High, But Not Tops

They may be great places to launch a career, but the Big Four landed far from the pinnacle in Fortune Magazine's annual ranking of America's 100 most desirable employers.

Here's our story.

Roundup

Our roundup of mergers and moves is online here.

No Surprise

What's interesting about this report by the Associated Press isn't the main topic - hiring's good at accounting firms - but that the general business media seems to be noticing how strong the job market is for accountants right now. A week or so ago, we saw a similar piece in The Wall Street Journal, and I've noticed other versions in local newspapers. The focus of this piece is on interns.

All the firms said interns are a key to their success.

"Interns are your best channel to filling your full-time positions," said Diane Borhani, Deloitte & Touche's U.S. campus recruiting leader.

"The way the labor market is, with the boomers retiring, it's imperative companies hire. By 2010 we think that half our work force is going to be Generation Y," said Dan Black, director of campus recruiting at Ernst & Young LLP.

It's more good news for anyone interested in swapping jobs, or students planning the start of their careers. And another reason for a deep sigh from executives looking for someone to hire.

Are You Sitting Next to a Lout?

Are accounting firms so desperate they'll hire even self-centered clods?

The question came to mind the other night when I pulled into my local convenience store. A car was parked across three or so spaces, preventing me from parking my own car in front of the door.

"Why is that car parked that way?” asked my 10-year-old, who was in the backseat with a friend.

“It belongs to somebody who doesn’t care whether anyone else can park in front of the door,” I told her.

We go in, I grab a gallon of milk, and at the register my daughter points out there’s a pile of gum packs lying on the floor in front of the counter. The clerk says he knows all about it. "That little kid who just left knocked them over," he tells us. "Her mom said, ‘Leave them. We don’t have to pick them up.’”

Guess which car they were driving?

"You'd make me pick them up," says my daughter. I agree and tell her I'll help her pick up the gum now. Even though we didn't spill it, we'll do a good deed. My daughter's friend chimes in: “If I knocked over the gum, my mother wouldn’t even help, she’d just make me pick up the gum by myself.”

Naturally, I wonder where the sideways parking, gum-leaving woman works. It's what made me wonder if it was at some accounting firm. After all, these days firms sometimes just want a body behind a desk.

So, back to my question: Are firms desperate enough to hire the self-centered? Can you be oblivious to the needs of others and still make it in accounting? How many of these idiots do you work with - or for?

Post your answer below.

Life in Forensic Accounting

Here's a factoid for you:

Ninety-one percent of convicted bank robbers go to jail, while only seventeen percent of those convicted of embezzling from a bank serve time, according to the American Bar Association.

I found that in an article in Knowledge@WPCarey, published by the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. The article, Financial Detectives: The Rising Demand for Forensic Accountants, is a good overview of the state of forensic accounting right now, including some aspects on the lifestyle that goes with being a practitioner. For example:

...only one of every hundred or so certified public accountants currently focuses primarily on forensic work. That may be partly because forensic investigations often wind up as evidence in legal proceedings, including full-fledged trials. As Epps said, "some don't want the stress of ending up on the witness stand, being cross-examined. And once a judge sets deadlines, and the trial starts, you lose control of your life; your schedule revolves around the needs of the case."

Financial Detectives: The Rising Demand for Forensic Accountants [Knowledge@WPCarey]

More on Why Accounting's Popular

Dave Simanoff of the Tampa Tribune writes a nice wrapup about why accounting has become such a popular choice for undergrads, and why demand for accountants isn't going away anytime soon.

Instead of scaring young people away from the profession, the scandals earlier this decade may have helped recruit new accountants.

"In kind of a weird way, the bad news got more students interested," said Chuck Landes, vice president of the Professional Standards Group for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

"They saw it as a way to do something positive, not just for themselves, but for the public."

Yeah, yeah. We've heard all that before. Stephanie Bryant, director of the School of Accountancy at the University of South Florida, put it another way:

"The students get it - they see this is a very different job today, with many different avenues of specialty," Bryant said. "Kids today want to be challenged, and they want to do interesting stuff."

Demand For Accountants On The Rise [Tampa Tribune]

Pay Moving Higher in California

Why are California employers nervous? Because a whole lot of accountants are open to the idea of changing jobs, and their replacements are nowhere in sight.

Here's our story.

Here's a Twist: Employers Pay You For Interview

The economy is shaky, so candidates lack leverage with employers, right? Not exactly.

NotchUp.com, a newly launched Web site, leads off with this striking pitch: "Get Paid to Interview For Jobs." It's gotten off to a strong start with a business model in which employers actually pay candidates they interview. And we're not talking Joe's Fly-By-Night: such platinum names as Google, Yahoo and Facebook are already recruiting on the site, Associated Press reports.

The typical NotchUp candidate is what's known as a passive job-seeker – a person who's doing well where they are and doesn't post resumes or answer job ads, but is potentially open to the right deal if someone approaches them. The AP story explains:

You plug in your industry, job, pay and experience into a calculator on the site to help you set your pay for an interview. (NotchUp recommends a range between $200 and $500.) Then you submit your profile to the site. If a hiring company is interested in you, it deposits the money with NotchUp and talks to you. If you seem like a real, engaged candidate, NotchUp will transfer the money to your PayPal account once the interview is over. The site makes money by charging a transaction fee, which it estimates will be somewhere around 15 and 20 percent.

Site Arranged Pay for Job Interviews [AP]

Opportunities in Healthcare Companies

Hospitals, insurers and others in the business need accounting and finance help - and are willing to pay for it. Here's the story.

Looking for Trouble

I just have to believe there's going to be even more demand for forensic accountants in the next couple of years...

FBI subprime investigation targets 14 firms [Washington Times]
Trained to follow money trail [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

New Controller, CAO at R.H. Donnelley

R.H. Donnelley, purveyor of Yellow Pages around the country, named R. Barry Sauder as its corporate controller and chief accounting officer. Working out of the company's Cary, N.C., headquarters and reporting to CFO Steve Blondy, he takes the controller's job right away but will wait for Donnelley's annual report to be filed before replacing Karen E. Palczuk as chief accounting officer.

Sauder was previously chief accounting officer at InfraSource Services, a publicly traded utilities contractor that was bought out by Quanta Services in 2007 for more than $1.25 billion. Prior to that, he was accounting head at e-commerce company GSI Commerce.

R.H. Donnelley hires accounting head [Triangle Business Journal]

In Case You Were Wondering...

Demand Won't Let Up Any Time Soon.

The short-term economic outlook may seem dim, but good times are far from over for accounting job candidates.

Here's our story.

What Mid-Size Firms Seek in California

Despite the slump in real estate and worries about the economy, the market for accountants in Los Angeles and Orange County shows few signs of tailing off. Several small- and mid-sized firms will be adding employees in upcoming months, and even beyond. Consider Windes & McClaughry.

Read why.

The View From Over 50

Twenty one percent of the U.S. workforce will be 55 or older by 2014, says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. So if you feel superannuated among your Gen X and Y colleagues, you've got age-appropriate company. And the good news is: Employers will value your experience.

Read the full story.

Down, but not Out at Deloitte?

Wall Street tabloid DealBreaker.com was reporting yesterday that Deloitte was reorganizing its mortgage, asset-backed and CDO transaction practice group. A company spokesman, cried foul and said they were just moving folks around. In what may be the biggest understatement so far in 2008 the spokesperson added that the “economy may have slowed securitizations transactions.”

In response to the post, an anonymous commenter (who claimed to be one of the Deloitte folks in question) called Deloitte “liars,” an argument ensued over who gets worked harder IB or Big 4 folks, then everything degraded into gender and immigrant bashing. All in a day’s work at Dealbreaker.

Although the mortgage securitization market may be going down the crapper, Deloitte’s Web site today listed 467 NYC-based jobs as open, as well as 6,206 positions nationwide for experienced hires.

If you’re tired of Big Four work, maybe you can make your first million cleaning up the subprime mortgage mess. Anyone who watched the Resolution Trust Corporation tackle the $400 billion S&L wreck of the last decade knows just how much money can be made in a market where there are lots of mortgage loans lying around, few investors and plenty of technology to sort the good risk from the bad.

You Could Be the Next Compliance Star

Compliance costs “grew significantly faster than net income for financial institutions,” in part because banks and thrifts are adding people to monitor compliance versus using technology resources to manage it, according to a new report from Deloitte & Touche USA.

Compliance costs as a percentage of net income rose from 2.83 percent in 2002 to 3.69 percent in 2006, said survey respondents, which included chief compliance officers, chief risk officers and other senior execs at 20 of the top 50 banks and thrifts.

Deloitte also blamed the increase on failure to manage compliance across functions. Institutions have not taken advantage of the overlapping elements of Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel and the USA PATRIOT Act. And, they’re replicating compliance practices in individual lines of business, an approach that makes it tough to develop comprehensive compliance information.

Sounds to us like a case for you being in charge of a visibility-raising, across-the-business-lines committee.

What about Roberta in Accounting?

How do you feel about being called "Bob in accounting" and being too thoughtless to encrypt your data? “[I]f large corporations and government agencies can't seem to get into the habit of encrypting sensitive information, how can you expect Bob in accounting to do the same? Besides, encryption is a hassle. It's another step between Bob and his spreadsheets. Who needs more friction in their lives?” asks InfoWeek Blogger George Hulme.

Hulme writes about technology to control the flow of information into and out of companies, including stopping downloads from desktops to storage devices.

“(I)t presumably will be easier to lock down those gadgets, so if they're lost nothing of value can be gleaned from the drive. Will Bob do it? Will more companies now use encryption?” Hulme wonders

We wonder if any accountants are going to be willing to do Hulme’s taxes after reading the blog .

Apparently, There's a Shortage

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had a long piece on the need for experienced CPAs.

"We beg, we borrow, we steal, we grovel, we scour the world" to find accountants with five-plus years of experience in public accounting, says Mark Friedman, New York-based managing director and head of U.S. experienced recruitment at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Hiring across the board at the firm is running nearly 30% above the levels of last year, he says.

The trends's not news, but the numbers in the article are all good to know, especially if you're thinking about broaching the idea of a raise.

Accounting Firms Scramble To Find Experienced CPAs [WSJ]

Pay Pressures in the Bay Area

CPAs in California's Bay Area are earning more than their peers elsewhere in the U.S. - and nearly 20 percent more than those in Southern California. Nearly a third would jump to another firm as a way to boost their salaries still higher. The findings didn't surprise Rich Williams, president of recruiter Kula Consulting, which conducted the "non-scientific" survey of 325 accountants. "What we're seeing is baby boomers retiring at a faster rate than they are being replaced," he says. "The number of CPA certificates awarded in California has remained flat at less than 3,000 a year for the past 10 years - and we've seen no indication this number will rise." That's not great news for anyone looking to hire accountants. "Companies can expect the seller's market to continue for 2008," Williams predicts. "I suggest companies spend time today with their accounting staff and find out what it will take to retain them - and give it to them."

More tidbits from around the country in our weekly roundup. It's here.

Does Virtual Connection Lead to Real Life Connection?

Recruiting new accountants on campus is a tough and competitive job these days, even if you’re working for KPMG. So it comes as no surprise the firm seeking to connect with professors via a new Web portal: kpmgfacultyportal.com.

Looking at the equation from the other side, the rising use of adjunct professors (who are renowned for spreading themselves thin commuting to several different campuses to teach a variety of classes) makes it more likely those teaching accounting will welcome KPMG’s help in creating courses, keeping up with accounting news and accessing KPMG research and resources. The company will even send a local accounting professional over to help with course work it’s created such as last fall’s “The Ethical Compass - A Toolkit for Integrity in Business.”

I asked three academics what they thought of the site. “Most of the firms seem to have some kind of web-based material for faculty. This one may be unique—but also, may not be much different from the others,” said Kathleen D. Lowman, director, MAC Career Services for the Kenan-Flagler Business School at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Shannon Mulally, who directs the MAC program at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., thought the site was worthy of a mention on our blog. (See how well we listen?)

Peter Rea, chair of the department of business administration at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, pointed out these types of sites are beneficial. But in true professorial fashion, he added a few caveats:

(1) Marketing 101 tells us the number of these portals is increasing, so providers need to define the customer and their associate needs, wants and values clearly. In thoughtful portals like KPMG, this is usually the case.

(2) Connection should not be confused with community. We live in a world that is connected, but being wired is not synonymous with creating a community. At a time when employers are trying to create an “engaged workforce” and innovators are looking for creative cultures, engaged leaders understand relationships cannot be replaced by a portal.

Judge the new KPMG portal for yourself at: kpmgfacultyportal.com.

Happy Tank Day

Since early this morning, the news junkie in me has been watching the overseas stock markets and reading the predictions that the market is going to tank today. Time will tell, of course, but I don't think anyone much doubts business in general is heading for some kind of slowdown. That, of course, makes me think of corporate austerity programs, scaled back retention efforts, maybe finance chiefs will say they don't really need that extra staffer they've been looking for over the last year. Then I hear from someone who says, "Naaaaw. Not in Accounting. There's not going to be any kind of let up there."

Wishful thinking? Maybe. On the other hand, this guy argues there's still a structural deficit in the number of able bodies out there who are trained and ready to do the work, which has to be done, slowdown or now slowdown.

Stuff to think about. If you've got thoughts, let me know.

More than 'Feel Good'

Too busy for volunteer work? There's a reason you may want to find time to squeeze some in: It can boost your career, and even help you be a better accountant.

Indeed, through volunteering many CPAs have been able to shore up skills, gain management and international experience, widen their network of professional contacts and generate new business. Some say working for worthy causes has given them a new appreciation of the importance of their expertise, because it allows them to see results more directly than they do on larger team projects.

Read the Full Story.

Public Companies and the Big Four

Audits of large public companies continue to be the nearly exclusive province of the Big Four, the Government Accountability Office has found. According to a GAO, 82 percent of large public the Fortune 1000 saw their choice of auditor as limited to three or fewer firms, and about 60 percent said competition in their audit market is insufficient. Fees have risen, but executives generally said audit quality has increased as well. If you're interested, the report's here. Be sure to see Francine McKenna's take on the report on her blog, re: The Auditors.

Regulatory Relief, Or Consumer Rip-Off?

Accountants licensed in other states will face less red tape to practice in California, under proposed legislation endorsed by the California Board of Accountancy.

The proposal would remove California's current requirement that out-of-state accountants notifying the state of their qualifications before practicing there. Eleven states have already modified their laws to eliminate local registration requirements, and accounting regulators in another 33 states including California are supporting similar legislation, according to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.

That didn't prevent the Orange County Register from running a grandstanding column that portrays the measure as the latest in a series of plots by the Big Four CPA firms and industry lobbyists to rip off consumers.

Brian Joseph, the Register's regular "Capital Watchdog" columnist, wrote:

Board staff warned that eliminating the requirement would make it impossible to prevent unqualified accountants – or even convicted felons – from preying on California consumers. Furthermore, the board itself recommends that Californians carefully review qualifications before hiring an accountant. The board's enforcement chief, Greg Newington, even prefers notice. The board, however, ignored its own advice and approved draft legislation to eliminate prior notice, even though a key section of the bill was left blank at the time.

The piece continues in that vein. In fairness to the columnist, I should add that he does give ample space to the other side, quoting lengthy and convincing rebuttals from representatives of the accounting profession.

Proposal would relax rules on CPAs [OCRegister.com]

Demand Rising from N.Y. Non-Profits

Large not-for-profit associations and philanthropic organizations pick the Big Apple as a key spot to locate. For area CPAs with the right credentials, the nonprofit sector holds good, though specialized, opportunities.

Read the full story.

Uncovering Your Resume's Hidden Surprises

If a manager searches the Web about that hobby of yours, do you know what they'll find? Are you sure?

Read on.

Mergers and Promotions

Cohen & Company moves into Columbus, StoneTurn Group hires and promotes, and Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz merges with Koch Reiss. Here's our roundup.

The Great Bay State Telecommute

With something like eight inches of snow falling on Massachusetts yesterday, it seemed like the region's workers embarked on a wide telecommuting experiment, says the Boston Globe.

If nothing else, yesterday's modest storm proved to be a one-day experiment in the effectiveness of the home office, especially among those not used to it. All across the region, many found a few surprising pitfalls entwined with the obvious perks.

On top of power failures breaking off their Internet connections, many found themselves immersed in unexpected workday dynamics - from dogs that needed walking to out-of-school children who needed entertaining. Maybe the most painful remark came from a spouse who said of her husband's unexpected presence: "When he's home, it throws a wrench into our schedule."

Many workers make it a telecommute [Boston Globe]

Auditors, Senior Accountants Lead Wish Lists

Even if everyone's looking for CPAs, some specialties are in more demand than others. Combine expertise in an area like internal auditing or hedge fund accounting with softer skills like communication, and you could be the object of affection for many a firm.

Read the full story.

Roundup: Mergers in East, Midwest

Small and mid-sized firms are merging in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Here's our roundup.

High-End Hiring

Here's an item: TheLadders, a Web site that focuses on jobs with salaries over $100,000, says hiring activity at the high end of the market is surging.

It’s interesting to note that although the top line jobs number only grew at a modest rate of 18,000 jobs in December, service-sector employment rose 93,000 and business and professional services companies' payrolls gained 43,000. This is an extremely positive signal because hiring patterns at the high end of the market are often a better leading indicator of companies’ future growth prospects, than trailing employment roll data.

Among the firms doing a lot of high-end hiring, says the report: PricewaterhouseCoopers and JPMorgan Chase.

Here's a press release.

Midsize Firms Act to Retain Young Accountants

To keep junior staffers from bolting, midsized accounting firms are moving to provide more feedback from managers, formal input into firm decisions, departmental and individual employee work schedules calibrated to minimize the 24/7 syndrome, and mentoring programs.

Read the full story.

How to Economize on Audit Fees

What happens when you stop using a Big Four firm for your audit work? You save a bunch of money, figures telecommunications systems company Catapult Communications. By switching from Deloitte & Touche to Los Angeles-based Stonefield Josephson, Catapult estimates it will save between 43 and 49 percent off the $985,000 it expected Deloitte to charge this year. (Last year, the company paid nearly $1.1 million in audit fees.)

Catapult Ditches Deloitte [WebCPA]

New Skills Required for CFOs

If you have designs on a chief financial officer's office in California or other points west, you'd be wise to strengthen your communication and other "softer" skills. The region's employers are more likely to hire executives who know how to present information clearly and work well with others. In other words, financial skills aren't enough any more.

Read the full story.

Working in Your Sleep

When companies can’t find enough accountants, those already on the payroll have to pick up the slack and that can lead to some very lengthy hours.

Almost every accounting candidate coming to see Kent Burns, an account executive with MRINetwork (MRI), Indianapolis, is asking about work-life balance. “They’re asking, 'How many hours are they really working people over there?'” he reports adding that candidates in their 20s and 30s are more sensitive to that than candidates in their 40s.

That anecdote is backed up by an MRI survey of 500 people that found people working in the evening, on weekends and during their commute – leading me to wonder if really great multi-taskers will now be able to shave their faces, read a report and drive themselves to work at the same time.

The poll revealed 65 percent of the participants frequently work after hours, 19 percent sometimes do, 9 percent occasionally stay late and 5 percent never do.

A whopping 70 percent said their company doesn’t do a good job of allowing them to balance their work life with their personal life.

So how does that play out in the real world? And what does Burns tell people who worry their next job will require even more hours than the one they’re leaving because it required too many hours?

In some cases he says: “This is an industry leading company, and they didn’t get this way by sending everyone home at 5 p.m. Do you want to work at that level, learn a lot, advance and make a lot of money?”

In other cases, he can honestly say a company is sensitive to work/life issues and you can expect to work 40 to 50 hours a week.

In the big scheme of things, it could be worse. We haven’t heard of any accounting firms asking employees to work in their sleep -- something the 2nd Annual Staples National Small-Business Survey says small-business owners are doing.

“More small-business owners and managers are working harder than ever to make their business dream come true…even while they sleep,” proclaims a press release sent out by the company over Business Wire last week.

Half of small-business professionals surveyed said they dream about work and nearly 70 percent of those dreamers wake up and put their work dream ideas into action. Sounds good to me. I think I’ll go sew some pockets in my pajamas to hold all the money I’m going to be making while I’m sleeping.

The Year of the....

If you believe what you read in the papers, 2008 is going to - in a word - suck. The news coming from Wall Street seems to be consistently downbeat lately, economic indicators are starting to depress people, and I always get a funny little knot in my stomach when people start anticipating the Fed chairman's next speech.

But, if you believe what you read on JobsintheMoney, maybe things aren't going to be so grim. When we asked in our last poll what kind of year 2006 will be, users came back with a split decision: Thirty two percent said we're in store for a better 12 months than most expect, while 31 percent said it will be dismal.

Sixteen percent said 2008 will be a good time to look for a new job, which was a stronger showing than the 10 percent who look on it as a good time to seek a new career.

What's your outlook? Post your comment and let us know. And, be sure to look at the latest poll, which wonders whether you expect your firm to merge this year.

Taxes in Spanish?

Liberty Tax Service is offering scholarships to the Interpreter Training Institute for bilingual employees who agree to work the full tax season at one of the preparer's offices. The firm freely admits (in a press release) "the hourly rate may not be what other companies pay but the educational perk truly can't be beaten."

Dona Dezube, who pointed this out to me, wondered in an e-mail:

Okay, so they're not the top of the accounting food chain, but apparently tax preparers need to speak Spanish. Can it be long until accountants need the same skills?

It's a good question, especially for CPAs in the West and Southwest. And, Dona adds, weekly Spanish classes at your local community college probably aren't particularly expensive.

More on Deloitte

Some interesting comments came in overnight to Myra Thomas's interview with Anne C. Weisberg, a director specializing in talent diversity at Deloitte Services LP. They talked about Deloitte's rollout of a "Mass Career Customization program" and the impact the firm hopes it will have on retention and employees satisfaction. One comment begins:

I work for Deloitte Consulting, and the consultant in me says "show me the data". While this is a summary article, I rather doubt that the airy-fairy "career customization" discussed here results in markedly improved employee satisfaction. The service professionals in Deloitte's practice groups aren't concerned with trying to make their 40 hours a week as pleasant as possible, they're interested in working as hard and as long as necessary to deliver the best client service (and thus help their own careers). A good line of communication from HR, in that line of thinking, would be whatever impacts the client-service employees the LEAST, takes as little of their time as possible away from working and sleeping.

Check it all out, and add your own thoughts here.

Merger, Mergers

We've introduced a mergers roundup on JobsintheMoney, to help you keep track of who's joining whom - or who's buying whom - around the country. Check the first edition here, and be sure to send us any talk you hear of possible hook ups. (If you can call them that.)

Balance at Deloitte

We talked with Deloitte Services' Anne C. Weisberg, a director specializing in talent diversity, about the firm's experience in keeping up with the changing workforce. Read the conversation here.