Upstate NY Merger

The Bonadio Group, CPAs, Pittsford, N.Y, has acquired the DR Group, which includes the 70-employee accounting firm Dorfman-Robbie, CPAs P.C., Albany as well as the firm's financial services, pension services, construction consulting and human resources affiliate companies.Bonadio, which is ranked 95th on Accounting Today's Top 100 firms, has $30 million in revenues, five offices and 27 partners. Dorfman-Robbie has five shareholders in addition to Managing Director Gordon Robbie, CPA.

The combined company will operate under The Bonadio Group name and will be located in the existing DR Group’s offices in Albany. As a result of the merger, more than 70 employees—including 21 CPAs—have joined The Bonadio Group, increasing the company’s employee base to more than 325 throughout upstate New York. Six partners will join The Bonadio Group as part of the merger, including Robbie, who will head up the Albany office.

The merger will also enhance the firm’s tax-exempt practices in healthcare and in the education sector, while the addition of an office location in the capital district will also allow The Bonadio Group to better serve its New York State government clients.
Managing Partner Thomas Bonadio, CPA, said the merger was part of his plan to create a mega-regional accounting and consulting firm in upstate New York with $60 million in annual revenues and 450 employees.

“We are always looking to hire people,” said firm Spokesperson Alan Vitberg. “One of the things that we think will come as a consequence of the merger is the firm is becoming a mega regional and a competitor to the Big 4.”

The firm is especially interested in talking to candidates with three to seven years experience, as well as those with audit, tax and consulting knowledge.

Vitberg says two unique programs differentiate the firm from its competitors. First, Employee Promise layers cultural benefits on top of the standard range of employee benefits.

Those cultural benefits include reduced summer hours, compensatory time off, staff appreciation days and Saturday Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments during tax season.

The firm’s second program, The Family Promise, pledges that employees work lives will be organized in a way that allows them to have time with their family and corporate events that include employees’ families.

Large-Cap CFOs Made More in 2007

Compensation for CFOs at S&P 500 companies continues to rise despite a weaker stock market, as a new study said pay for the group rose by 5.2 percent from 2006 to 2007. The study, conducted by Equilar, covered 313 CFOs who have been in their roles at S&P 500 firms for at least 2 years.

Equity compensation was responsible for most of the gains as more CFOs received stock awards. Equity compensation rose 8.2 percent, offsetting a 3.4 percent decrease in overall bonuses.

Median total compensation among the survey group was $2,894,275 last year. Total compensation included base salary, discretionary bonuses, non-equity incentive plan payouts, the grant date value of stock and option awards, and other compensation. The median base salary was $525,000, up 9.1 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, the median bonus came in at $576,880, down 3.4 percent from 2006, as fewer CFOs received a bonus - 93.6 percent in 2007, compared with 99 percent in 2006.

In contrast to the salary growth for CFOs, compensation for chief executive officers for the same period rose just 1.3 percent, according to Equilar.

Here is Equilar's announcement of its findings.

Credentials as a Lever into Management

If you're interested in moving into management, credentials can often provide the boost you need. A designation can move your resume to the top of the pile – but you'll still have to win the job during the interview process.

Here's our story.

Mergers Bring Danger Plus Opportunity

CPA firm mergers continue apace in the New York - New Jersey metropolitan area, potentially disrupting careers of some accountants. One local recruiter relates that a number of CPAs with "fairly general" backgrounds who were let go in a recent combination, quickly found new positions with higher pay and bonuses. "They should have thanked their firm for firing them," he observed.

Here's our story.

What I Said at the Fraud Conference

At the ACFE's annual Fraud Conference, I was asked to talk about the value of Internet career sites. This is one of those topics where the truth, I think, lies somewhere below the surface. I don't think many people would dispute that career sites have become the ubiquitous tool for scanning opportunities and submitting a resume and job application, but using sites effectively is about more than copying and pasting your resume in response to every posting you see - something far too many job-seekers do.

So, here are the main points I made:

• Remember the rules of good job-hunting apply.
  
  
• Make Sure You Fit
  
  o Digest the job description - make sure you have the required experience and education.
  o Recruiters say up to 10 percent of people replying through job boards don't do that.
  o Advertised for a CFO – got a resume from a messenger.

• Sweat the Details
  
  o Note the position name or ID number in the subject line of your e-mail, and repeat it in the body of your message.
  o Attach your resume first. Even before you write your cover note.
  o Stick to the basics: Don't send Powerpoint presentations, videos, or what have you. Send Word documents or pdfs.
  o Add a greeting: Ladies & Gentlemen, Dear Sir, if you don't know the real name.
  
  
• Be Brief, Be focused
  o Brief cover letter: One recruiter says "wake me up."
  o List your technical skills, licenses and certifications – first.
  o Sorry - no one wants your personal philosophy. They don't care that you like Mark Twain, or that you just completed hiking the Appalachian Trail.
  
  
• It's Business
  o Simple formatting. No colors, no backgrounds, no fancy fonts.
  
  
• Remember: This is the first step.
  o Call the company.
  o Look for tips online (on, ahem, JobsintheMoney, for example) about getting past the online wall and to the real, correct people.

Fraud Conference

It's a lovely night in Boston, a perfect night to kick off a conference – in this case the annual Fraud Conference hosted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. About 2,000 people are attending this year's event, which seems to have pleased the ACFE's staff.

Tonight was all about a soft introduction to the conference. The exhibit hall was open and fortified with four open bars, at least two hors d'oeuvre and one dessert table, and several hundred people wandering about and catching up with each other.

"Unfortunately, it's a good time to be a fraud examiner," one person remarked. Aside from the increased focus corporate fraud is receiving from authorities for reasons ranging from terrorism to a general increase in awareness, anti-fraud operations face many of the same challenges other financial departments must contend with: more work to do, but too few accountants to do it with.

In my own rounds of the exhibit hall, I found an interested mix of organizations, not all of whom are here to peddle their services. Recruitment of fraud examiners is a priority for a lot of companies and government agencies. Here's a sampling:

• The National Reconnaissance Office
• Naval Criminal Investigative Servide
• Secret Service
• National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association
• I2 Software
• Fraud Exchange Software
• Huron Consulting Group
• Georgia Southern University College of Business Administration
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service
• Deloitte
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Internal Revenue Service
• Institute for Fraud Prevention

Not all of these folks are here with a focus on recruitment, though that seems to be precisely why the government agencies have set up booths. What's interesting about the list is the range of opportunities it illustrates. On top of government, there are software companies here, industry associations, several publishers and a number of service providers.

Oh, and if anyone's interested, I'm speaking Monday about the effective use of online job boards. It's at 1:10 in the exhibit all.

Heaton and Eadie Joins Katz, Sapper & Miller

Indianapolis' second-larger accounting firm, Katz, Sapper & Miller, is merging with Heaton and Eadie, an accounting firm specializing in healthcare and employee benefit consulting.

Heaton and Eadie partners and staff members will continue to serve their existing clients, as well as Katz, Sapper & Miller clients.

“We had a desire to expand our resources and service to our healthcare clients,” said David Charles, partner-in-charge of Katz, Sapper & Miller’s Healthcare Services Group. “Heaton and Eadie has distinguished itself in this area.”

Katz, Sapper & Miller has over 200 professionals and staff. Heaton and Eadie has five directors and 21 professional staffers.

Translating 'Diversity' Around the World

Workplace diversity isn't just a U.S. issue. Multinational firms are discovering they need to redefine their diversity programs to align with local cultures and issues in each country where they operate.

The process presents both challenges and opportunities. A recent survey by Novations Group found that more than 40 percent of organizations had expanded the scope of their diversity and inclusion programs, and another 24 percent plan to broaden their efforts in the near future.

Here's our story.

Notes from an Internship - Week 1

Hi, my name is Michelle Millar and I am a rising senior studying accounting at the Fisher College of Business of The Ohio State University. My hometown is Cleveland Heights, Ohio. This summer I am an audit intern at Big Four accounting firm KPMG LLP.

Though I had other offers for internships this summer, I was very pleased to be invited by KPMG. Last year I participated in the firm's Future Diversity Leaders (FDL) conference. At the time finance was my major but after participating in FDL, I realized accounting would be a better fit for me. I was impressed with KPMG because I could see that it actively embraces diversity and the professionals I met made me feel like I was part of the team. I also liked that KPMG offered growth opportunities, such as the Global Internship Program (GIP). In fact, I’m writing this post from London where I am participating in KPMG’s GIP. I will be here for half of my summer internship and in the KPMG’s Atlanta office for the other half.

My internship at KPMG officially began in Anaheim, Calif., at the firm's national intern training, which included sessions on communication styles, leadership, working in teams, and the do’s and don’ts of proper professional attire where KPMG professionals served as models and fashion experts in a game show setting. It was hilarious! I also enjoyed the technical audit training we received, which we did virtually so it was like playing a video game. I wish my accounting classes were more like that. On the last day of training, I met 39 other GIP interns who would be traveling to incredible destinations such as Australia, France, China, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Hungary, South Africa, Romania, and Sweden. I even met a fellow Ohio State student who was going to India. (Go Bucks!)

Before I left for London, I spent a week at a government client site near Atlanta. It was a small engagement team consisting of me, a senior associate, an associate and an IT advisory associate. They were all really cool and I enjoyed working with them. I have to admit, I was happy to see accounting principles I’d learned in school being applied to things in the field. I got to work on cash account reconciliations, confirmation letters and a few other tasks. I also had the opportunity to shadow an associate as he conducted an inventory count at a fertilizer factory. The inventory count was pretty interesting-and a nice change of pace from being in the office. The associate, David, was good at firmly asking the right questions to get the answers he needed. On the day I left for London, I spent the morning shadowing an associate at a lottery client. It was fun to visit the television studio and see the processes in place necessary to ensure a successful drawing.

Destination London

My first day in London and I love it! After a short car service ride from the airport, I arrived in my new home for the next four weeks - a very modern three-bedroom flat with all the necessary appliances that I will share with two other KPMG GIP interns in central London.

I spent the first two days in London at intern training at a conference center in the country. During training I realized that there were a lot of words I didn't recognize. The balance sheet was in a slightly different format and used the word 'stock' for inventory. And it took me a second to figure out that called-up shares were exactly the same as outstanding shares. The last three days of the week I went to the office where I met my mentor, Xiaomiao. We hit it off right away and I was thrilled she was my mentor. I became familiar with the office and got to know the others in my department, Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals & Energy, or CPE.

Next week I will be assigned to a client. I’m hoping for a challenging assignment - we'll see what happens.

Mitchell & Titus' New CEO Plans to Expand

Mitchell & Titus LLP, the largest U.S. minority-controlled accounting, audit, tax and business advisory firm, has a new CEO, Anthony "Tony" Kendall, and an aggressive three-year expansion plan.

Kendall, currently vice chairman of client services and managing partner of the New York office, will take over when firm founder Bert N. Mitchell retires at the end of the year. Mitchell will be chairman of the board until 2010.

The firm is looking to double its staff of 150 to help it grow into new markets, a company source says. “We’re looking for experienced hires from managers to partners and we’re looking for individuals who demonstrate that they can excel at accounting at the entry level,” the source says.

While the firm is minority-controlled, that doesn’t mean it’s not diverse. “We have so many cultures here,” the source says. “Mitchell & Titus is open to anyone working here. We’re always looking for the best and brightest, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a member of a minority.”

Because the firm is a member of the Ernst & Young Global Limited network, Mitchell & Titus employees have more global opportunities than their counterparts at similar sized firms, the source adds.

Kendall is a certified public accountant licensed in several states, and a certified fraud examiner. He's president of the Binghamton University Alumni Association. He also works with Project Renewal, Inc., the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, the Queens Cadet Corporation and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants' Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession Program.

Where is the Grass Greener?

Have you ever thought about defecting from a big global accounting shop but feared that jumping to a small firm would mean less chance to learn, advance or be rewarded for your efforts?

Those are myths that keep many an accountant chained to the Big Four, says Reno, Nevada CPA Mark Bailey.

In a recent posting on his eponymous firm's Innovative Practice Management blog, Bailey writes of his own escape from a top-tier firm more than 20 years ago,

Searching for another job was difficult, as I rarely had a minute that wasn’t filled by working, commuting or sleeping. But the most substantial barrier to quitting my big accounting firm job was the myths that circulated concerning small firms….

I heard that working at a small firm would stunt your professional growth, as smaller revenue clients do not face complex accounting issues. HA! In my experience I have seen there is not much a large revenue client can do that a small revenue one can’t, including going public.

Bailey contends that small clients mimic larger ones in using such sophisticated financing tools as derivatives, debt/equity hybrids, and variable-interest entities. His parting advice for overworked accountants from the staff to manager level who might ponder a move to a small employer:

Keep in mind during your search for a new position that 'Big 4' or even the slightly smaller international accounting firms don’t hold all the challenging work in the accounting field. They (and their overworked staff) just like to think they do, which is why they perpetuate such myths.

Small Accounting Firms: One Myth [Innovative Practice Management]

Don't Overlook Forensic Career Option

Forensic specialists are the detectives of the accounting world, whose job is to uncover potential fraud, unravel accounting knots, and support attorneys in litigation. It can be an exciting career option once you've accumulated the mandatory few years of audit experience. But even though forensics and litigation support (F&L) work matches up nicely with the temperament of Gen Y accountants, many CPAs are unaware of what it takes to break into the field and thrive in the job, or where a career in it can lead.

Here's our story.

Getting Back to Work

Here's an article on women re-entering the workforce after taking time off to raise children or handle other family matters. It's a subject that's been written about a lot, but this one has some good thoughts on identifying and overcoming obstacles that can complicate your path back to the office.

Beckye Young, who graduated from Vanderbilt University and received a Certified Public Accountant license in 1987 and then worked as an auditor and corporate controller before taking a hiatus to have kids, found a way to make a successful transition back into the workforce. After eight years, she was able to return to accounting -- but not without a struggle.

"I didn't anticipate having any trouble, since I had been successful in my career prior to staying at home. However, I had great difficulty," says Young. "I had no responses from the numerous ads that I answered and none of the recruiting agencies were helpful."

One issue seemed to be the length of time she had been out of the workforce. "A recruiter told me if I had only been out two years or less, no problem, but more than five was an obstacle that they did not feel I could overcome."

She took a position at a preschool, which, she says, helped her build confidence. "There were skills that I had learned from being a homemaker that are valuable to the workforce in general," she says, "like organization skills, management skills, and patience in working with different people with different personalities."

During the summer following her preschool experience, Young again began to look for a job in the field of accounting, this time contacting Mom Corps, an agency dedicated to helping women find flexible professional opportunities. "Mom Corps actually went over my resume with me and placed me in contract work within a few weeks," says Young. The company, which provides career resources at no cost to job-seeking women, eventually helped her find her current accounting position at a local CPA firm.

There's more, and you can read it here.

From Mommy to Manager: Going Back to Work [KREN]

From Finance to Food

Susan Turgeson, the Wisconsin Association of Family and Consumer Sciences teacher of the year, began her adult life as an accountant. After ten years working in the finance departments of corporations including Coca-Cola and Chrysler, "a little voice" in her head reminded her she'd wanted to teach since high school. So, she went back to school, got her degree and now teaches consumer food science at Menomonie, Wisc., High School. This story from the Dunn County News isn't about accounting, at all, but it's a nice illustration of how far someone can go when they change careers to pursue a long-held passion.

Teacher of the Year has fun with food and science [Dunn County News]

Partner Profile

Michael Sabol, founding partner of Mahoney Sabol & Co. in Glastonbury, Conn., is profiled on HartfordBusiness.com. Read it here.

Catch Bad Guys

The FBI is seeking accountants to work in areas such as counter-terrorism, drug enforcement and corporate crime. They're generally after CPAs age 37 and under, with at least three years experience in public accounting, industry or government service. As for soft skills, the bureau is especially interested in "people who can take charge or cooperate in stressful situations," according to one Los Angeles-based agent.

Further details can be found here.

XBRL in NYC

In the "it never hurts to develop new skills" department: The AICPA is offering a two-day seminar (July 22-23) on understanding and applying the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), which the SEC is requiring public companies to use in their financial reporting. Arleen Thomas, AICPA's senior vice president for member competency and development, calls XBRL "a a significant emerging issue for preparers.

Details about the seminar are here (pdf).
Some background on XBRL is here.

Do I Need a Resume if I'm Not Looking For a Job?

Resumes can play a key role in all phases of career development, because the self assessment involved in writing one helps you plan and prepare for each job move you might consider. And, as you research career opportunities and learn the essential requirements for jobs that interest you, the process helps you evaluate your value as a candidate.

Here's more.

What to Do When a Client isn't so Healthy

If you're auditing a company and you see signs of fiscal distress, what's your smartest career-related move in reaction to the discovery? Do you act like a rat on a sinking ship and jump to a new assignment where the client is in better shape, or tie yourself to the mast and hope for the best?

That’s what I was wondering when I read this Charlotte Business Journal column about what could happen to the Charlotte business community if Wachovia’s financial troubles lead to a take over.

Staff Writer Katy Finger talked to economists, analysts, civic leaders and Bowman's Accounting Report Publisher Art Bowman. Here's what Bowman told her:

"The acquiring company prevails," he says. In particular, Wachovia’s auditing firm, KPMG, which has 231 employees here, would likely be replaced by the acquiring firm’s auditor, he says. Bowman, a longtime observer of the accounting industry, would not speculate on how many jobs could be cut. Officials at KPMG, which Wachovia paid $33.3 million in auditing fees in 2007, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

If you were on this account, what would you do in the interest of self-preservation? Put in some calls to your company network to check for lateral move opportunities? Would you move now, or wait to see what course the new Wachovia CEO charts?

It may be a tough economy for some, but accountants are still in great demand, so do you need to worry at all about troubled clients?

Moving onto the Management Track

If you're happy where you work, your near-term goals probably include a move up into management. In that case, you need to prepare by picking up new skills and possibly more credentials.

Here's some advice.

CFOs See Concern Over Long Hours

Accounting and financial professionals have never enjoyed short hours and light workloads, but have things gotten even worse in recent years? According to a new survey by Accountemps, one in three chief financial officers (35 percent, to be precise) cited heavy workloads as the top workplace concern for their financial teams.

Details here.

Going Back to School - Sort Of

While services vary, and often come up lacking, college career offices are trying to respond to alumni demands for career help, even years after they've left campus. Writes Joann Lublin in The Wall Street Journal:

U.S. universities have begun to respond by creating job-search programs. Nearly 20% now offer full-fledged efforts for alumni, up from just 5% five years ago, according to alumni-service specialists interviewed. And business schools in particular are stepping up aid for their graduates. Matthew Temple, Kellogg's director of alumni career services, says he and fellow coaches handled 2,160 appointments with M.B.A. graduates during the eight months ended on April 30 -- 45% more than the year-earlier period.

What's your school offer? Anything? Let us know.

New Transaction Advisory Chief for Grant Thornton - Boston

Some moves by Grant Thornton in Boston: Paul A. Beecy was promoted to partner-in-charge of the office's Transaction Advisory Services – Tax group, and Fred Astrauskas was hired as executive director of Transaction Advisory Services.

Beecy is a CPA with experience in U.S. corporate tax advising on financial services matters and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and other issues. He received an MSc in accounting from Northeastern University and a B.S. in finance from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Astrauskas is also a CPA, specializing in financial due diligence. He received a B.S. in business administration from Northeastern University.

Would you Retire to Avoid the Switch to IFRS?

If you were an accounting professor, would you alter your lesson plans to include International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), or would you retire early to avoid the bother?

That's the question raised by Victoria Erhart in a column at BloggingStocks:

Currently, accounting degree programs in the U.S. are defined by the requirements for the CPA exam, which does not require familiarity with IFRS. American accounting faculty, overall an older group, teach from textbooks geared towards the CPA exam. Unless and until the SEC actually publicly states a date by which U.S. companies can or must shift to IFRS, nothing will move. Potential accountants will not be exposed to IFRS as part of the curriculum. The CPA exam will not require familiarity with IFRS. Present accounting faculty will not change their course syllabi or textbooks to include IFRS. Many may opt to retire rather than retrain and redesign their courses. Lead time for publishing a new textbook is at least two years, often longer. Who will write the new textbooks?

She's immediately blasted by Professor Cynthia Sneed who responds that the "old" professors will manage somehow.

If you're thinking of reading up on IFRS, head to Amazon.com, where you'll find there are 397 books with the words "International Financial Reporting Standards" in the title.

Women in Accounting

In an article looking at the glass ceiling women often bump up against, the Long Island Business News features Dana H. Marti, partner in the Woodbury, N.Y., office of Marks Paneth & Shron:

“It was always my goal to become a partner in a public firm, and I never felt that I was held back because I am a woman,” Marti said. “The management of CPA firms are business people. If you work hard and you make money for the firm, they are not going to hold you back.”

There's more about women and accounting here.

Little Compliance Hiring in Chicago

While compliance jobs at all levels abound in New York, San Francisco and other parts of the U.S., in Chicago the market remains sluggish.

A report from the Windy City.

We'll Say it Again: Words Count

A career in finance presupposes that you're good with numbers. To get ahead, you have to be good with words, too. That's not to say you have to be F. Scott Fitzgerald, but you do have to convey your thoughts, plans and data clearly, concisely and in a jargon-free style that any audience can understand. Plus, you want to write in a way that makes you look good.

Here's our advice.

Business Students Like E&Y

Ernst & Young was the no. 1 pick of potential employers, according to Universum USA's 2008 survey of 40,000 undergraduate business students. The firm's happy to tell you about it in this press release. [E&Y via PRNewswire]

New Ohio Leader for RSM McGladrey

RSM McGladrey named Ron DeGrandis the leader of its Ohio practice, which includes a staff of 160 in Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Columbus. Details on his background, and those of other area executives, are here. [Ohio.com]

Standing Out from the Competition

What are the likely trends in the California job market for the remainder of 2008? What should job seekers be doing to boost their prospects - in the short and long terms?

Here's what we found.

Boston's Vitale Caturano Expands

Vitale Caturano is leasing 22,000 more square feet at its headquarters in Charlestown, Mass., next door to Boston. Once the expansion is completed in August, the firm will occupy 91,000 square feet on four floors of it building, which is close to the Charlestown waterfront. The firm, New England's largest regional CPA firm, now has 370 employees.

Vitale Caturano Announces Major Expansion [StreetInsider.com]

New CFO at KBR

KBR - which you hear a lot about in the news lately because of its work in Iraq - has named T. Kevin DeNicola as its senior vice president and chief financial officer. He'll oversee the company's treasury, accounting and finance, investor relations, tax and internal audit operations. Previously, he was CFO at Houston-based Lyondell Chemical Company.

DeNicola holds an MBA from Rice University and a M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia. He's a CPA and a member of the board of directors of Comerica, Inc. where he serves as vice chairman of the audit committee.

Here's a press release.

The Federal CFO Viewpoint

Being two-faced may be a slur, but saying a federal Chief Financial Officer is four-faced is quite the compliment. The Federal CFO Insights radio program says federal government CFOs balance four faces: steward, operator, strategist and catalyst.

To learn how they do that, you can listen to online replay of the program's interview with United States Patent and Trademark Office CFO Barry Hudson.

Deloitte Principal (and former Office of Personnel CFO) Christopher Young talks to Hudson about how CFOs balance the more traditional finance reporting role with that of a strategist focused on contributing value to the overall organization.

While you’re at the site, you can download prior programs including one on GSA's Federal Greening Acquisition and Buildings Initiatives and another featuring Department of Energy CFO Steve Isakowitz discussing why federal CFOs are spending so much time on talent management.

IIA and Deloitte Team to Teach Fraud Control

The renewed focus on protecting stakeholder interests is the motivation for a new set fraud control seminars from the Institute of Internal Auditors and Deloitte.

IIA will roll out the nine-course program over the next two years. First up is a seminar on Fraud Awareness for Chief Audit Executive and Management offered in Palm Beach in August and Las Vegas in November.

Topics include fraud trends, using technology to detect fraud, maximizing benefits of internal fraud investigations, fraud risk management capabilities and defining a COSO-consistent approach for fraud risk management (COSO being the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission).

Coming up in 2009, IIA will offer: Developing a Fraud Risk Management Program; Advanced Fraud Auditing Using Computer-Assisted Techniques; and Introduction to Fraud Auditing.

Webinars round out the entire series of educational offerings, with selected content also offered as half-day sessions for audit committees.

A Prize for Achieving Balance in Your Life

If you’re using your accounting knowledge to better the world and still manage to balance your work and life, you could be the next winner of the American Society of Women Accountants Education Foundation’s Balance Awards.

The Foundation is seeking nominations for the seventh annual Balance Awards, which honor outstanding companies and individuals for their commitment to work/life balance.You can nominate your company for an Industry Award or yourself or a colleague for an Individual Achievement Award.

“Past winners of our Individual Awards program include a CPA who furthered her knowledge by becoming one of Texas’ top tax law attorneys, accountants and financial professionals who have worked within their community to provide financial literacy and who have shared their story about how they managed to overcome a particular work/life balance issue that they faced,” says ASWA Executive Director Lee Lowery.

In the entry, you highlight career achievements, the way you use your financial expertise within the community, how you manage work/life balance challenges and your relationship with ASWA, if any. The deadline for submissions is June 30th.

The Industry Awards typically go to corporate accounting departments, accounting firms or businesses that support the accounting industry, such as banks, employment and consulting services, or financial software firms.

AWSA chooses local, regional and national winners in August and presents the awards at its 2008 conference in late October.

From Ladder to "Lattice"

Structuring work in a way that helps employees own their career paths has long been a tool through which the Big Four cope with the profession's chronic talent shortage.

In a fresh variation on the long-running theme, an article from WebCPA explains how Deloitte aims to replace the old-fashioned "corporate ladder" with a new-fangled concept it calls the "corporate lattice."

Instead of the “corporate ladder,” the career metaphor at Deloitte is the “corporate lattice,” with its horizontal and vertical dimensions, said [vice chair and chief talent officer Cathy] Benko: “We want people to be where they want to be, instead of the only place they can be.”

Retention Strategies: Please don't go! [WebCPA]

CPA-Lawyers Find Growing Opportunities

There's hot demand for CPAs in New York and New Jersey who can also put out the shingle with the Esquire moniker. The combination of passing the bar and having accounting expertise can provide a boost up the corporate ladder.

Here's our story.

Accounting Scholarship to Honor Virginia Tech Victims

The Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants has established a doctoral scholarship fund to honor victims of the Virginia Tech campus massacre that occurred in April of 2007.

Offered through the VSCPA Educational Foundation, the Austin M. Cloyd and Matthew G. Gwaltney Doctoral Scholarship Fund provides financial support to students pursuing a doctoral degree in accounting at Virginia Tech.

The fund bears the names of members of two Virginia families in the CPA community who lost their lives in the mass shooting. Austin Cloyd was the daughter of Bryan Cloyd, a professor of accounting at Virginia Tech. Matthew Gwaltney was the stepson of Linda Gwaltney, a CPA who is an accounting manager at Philip Morris in Richmond, Va.

The $50,000 fund will award an annual scholarship of $2,500. The first award will be made in spring 2009 for the 2009–2010 academic year. The foundation will continue to actively solicit contributions to grow the fund.

Here is the press release.

San Antonio Firm Merges With BKD

BKD LLP, among the 10 largest U.S. CPA firms, acquired the Hanke Group, a 70-person accounting firm based in San Antonio, Texas. The combination is effective July 1, according to BKD.

The Hanke Group focuses on real estate, oil and gas, construction, not-for-profit, employee benefits and service industry sectors. The 23-year old firm has eight partners and approximately $12 million in annual revenue. It will adopt the BKD name and Denise Green will be the office managing partner.

"Our immediate plans call for expansion of service lines into community banking and health care institutions, and we look forward to doing this under our new name," Green said.

Here is the press release.

From Public to Private - Accounting, That Is

With demand so high, today's accountants have an enormous number of opportunities to choose from when shifting their career gears. Once you've got some experience under your belt, you can pursue any number of specialties that match your strengths and interests. So how do you plot your direction? In part, the answer depends on where you started your career and where you sit now.

Because the industry faces such a dearth of accounting talent, you can re-think even your most basic decisions, such as whether to work in public or private accounting, whether to put yourself on a management track, or whether to explore options in contract accounting, running your own firm or working for a non-profit entity.

Here's our story.

Blackman Kallick Hires Leaders for SALT, Risk/Compliance Practices

Chicago firm Blackman Kallick has hired Prashant C. Sheth, CPA, as tax partner and practice leader of its State and Local Tax practice, and Steven Baer, CPA, as senior manager and practice leader of Risk and Compliance Services practice.

Sheth has 25 years of accounting experience, including more than 18 years devoted to SALT. He's counseled public and private companies in a range of industries, including manufacturing, retail, finance, service and telecommunications. Before joining Blackman Kallick, he held leadership positions at several national firms, including Ernst & Young, Chicago; PricewaterhouseCoopers, Detroit; and Arthur Andersen, Chicago. He received a Bachelor of Science in accounting and auditing and a Bachelor of Law from MS University of Baroda in Baroda, India, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Baer has counseled public and privately held companies engaged in manufacturing and distribution, retail, consulting and service. His international experience includes Sarbanes-Oxley and internal audit assignments for U.S.-based companies with a foreign presence and foreign companies that are traded on U.S. stock exchanges. Prevously, he worked at Grant Thornton in Chicago. He Baer received a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Michigan State University and is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Here's the firm's press release, via BusinessWire.

Marketing, Business Travel, and Retention

Marketers are gradually gaining respect from the leaders of CPA firms they work for. But they still have a long way to go. That's the gist of a report on last month's annual conference of the Association for Accounting Marketing, as described by Rob Nance, publisher of AccountingWEB.

Nance saw few CPAs and still fewer managing partners among the several hundred attendees at the San Diego event. He remarked:

These conferences are outstanding opportunities for a firm's managing partner to accompany the marketing director they are sending. Hopefully, someday that will be the norm rather than the exception….

The industry stills seems to be miles away from accepting talented marketing people into the partnership group. However, all three of these gentlemen acknowledged the importance of having marketing directors engaged in partner meetings and on partner retreats. That's a far cry from a decade ago when so many firms were thinking "we need to hire someone to make us some brochures!"

How can marketers build relationships with the corner office? Since some partners won't be receptive, one managing partner on a conference panel advised, "Don't burn your energy - focus on the ones who want your help." That sounds sensible to us.

Another interesting detail in Nance's report involves a simple retention tool that's paying off handsomely for BKD LLP. The Springfield, Mo.-based firm, which employs 1,900 people across 29 locations in 12 states, pays a $50 per night hardship premium for all business travel. That basic step reportedly slashed the firm's turnover rate by a third in the first year, from 25 percent to 17 percent.

So BKD has made the momentous discovery that compensating staff for personal and family time they're required to give up for work is more effective than touchy-feely perks like gym breaks or flextime. Why are we not surprised?

If paying a few extra dollars for each hour consumed by business travel does that much for retention, just imagine what paying more than a token rate for lost personal time would do!

Marketers Unite! [AccountingWEB]

Black Accountants Group Gets Microsoft Commitment

Microsoft Corp. announced a $1 million commitment of cash and software over the next three years to the National Association of Black Accountants Inc. (NABA).

The company hopes to advance NABA's efforts to build a pipeline of African-American talent in the accounting and finance profession, by sponsoring many scholarships and local chapter funds on the West Coast, lending technical training for Microsoft Enterprise products, and providing free software licenses. For example, Microsoft says it will sponsor a significant portion of the Seattle NABA chapter’s scholarship fund and general fund, and its Accounting Career Awareness Program designed to entice high school students to enter the profession.

The $1 million commitment also includes the creation of the Microsoft Innovation in Accounting Technology Award, to begin in 2009, which will reward those NABA members who use or create new technologies that lead to improvements in the accounting and finance professions.

Gwendolyn Skillern, CPA and national president and chief executive of NABA, said,

Partnering with companies such as Microsoft is crucial to help NABA succeed in increasing awareness and creating opportunities for more African-Americans to enter and continue in this great profession.

Microsoft’s $1 Million Diversity Commitment [Press release]

Road Map For Female CFO Aspirants

If you're female and are aiming for the CFO suite at a blue-chip company someday, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is, both statistics and anecdotal evidence show you face long odds (surprise!). The good news is, there are enough big-company female CFOs to draw some generalizations about how they got where they are. And the number of female controllers – a potential steppingstone on the path to CFO – is growing.

Here's our story.

Tech Skills Gives CPAs a Leg Up

While CPA firms in New York and New Jersey are beefing up their business advisory and consulting arms, they need more than accounting and business talent. They're looking for business experts who are tech-savvy, and able to understand how IT efforts can benefit accounting and business processes.

Here's our story.

Job Hunt Before You Head to School

Apparently, it's never too soon to start looking for that first-year MBA internship. Some business schools are getting students into job-hunt mode the summer before they arrive on campus, according to a story in this week's Business Week.

That's a smart move for schools, who are appealing to students who've been in the workforce long enough to know that career development and networking are never-ending tasks.

The story had me wondering just how soon is too soon to start looking for your next job. Are today's pre-school classmates tomorrow's great job lead? Did you start looking for that MBA internship in July or October?

C'mon, Look Behind the Curtain

MSNBC explores how companies are using video on their Web sites to show prospective employees what life can be like if they come on board:

Some employers like Ernst & Young see these videos as a way to attract the coveted Generation Y workers who feel comfortable doing everything online. But these testimonials give prospective employees of all ages an inside look at what a job is really like and can even diminish preconceived notions about certain professions.

Here it is.

Accounting Hiring Holds Steady

A new survey from Robert Half shows the accounting job market appears to be holding steady, with employers neither increasing or decreasing their staff. Okay. But this part's interesting:

"Skilled professionals are still in demand," says Keith Feinberg, director of permanent placement services for Robert Half's New York office. "The only chink is that people really need to sell themselves to potential employers."

In today's market, employers are looking beyond technical skills and seeking interpersonal skills, as well. "Two years ago, if you had the skills you were in," says Feinberg. "Now it's are you getting along with everyone, can you grow with the organization, and will you add value to the organization? It's a more competitive landscape and you're competing with more people for the job."

Here's Dona DeZube's story.

More Thinking, Less Bean Counting

Back in 2000, KPMG’s UK affiliate, KPMG Financial Management, made a pretty radical prediction that the finance function would no longer exist in 2010.

A few challenges have come down the accounting pike since then – SOX, tech advances, the rising global economy – and changed the nature of the finance function.

In response to those challenges, says Rodger Hill, partner and head of KPMG UK's Finance Management team:

finance focused much of its efforts and change activity on creating a robust financial control environment and leveraging global cost saving opportunities through the creation of transaction-based shared service centres. As a consequence, finance ended up with less time to undertake its insight role and to proactively drive financial performance.

Now, increasingly aware of this lack of focus, organisations are seeking to recover this lost time by embedding financial controls in technology and refocusing team efforts on enhancing financial performance management.

Or to put it another way, all that time spend extracting financial data has left finance professionals without the skills or capability to add real insight into the business. To do that, they'll need additional training.

For more on the topic, watch a video of Hill discussing the Finance of the Future 2020 white paper, or read the white paper here.

A "Best Place to Work" in the Bay Area

Campbell, Calif., firm Mohler, Nixon & Williams was written up as one of the best places to work in the San Francisco Bay area by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. The firms says the ranking is based on responses to an employee satisfaction survey. MNW was selected in the group of businesses with 101-500, and ranked 42nd.

Here the press release. (Be careful - it may resize your browser.)

Compliance is Hot

If you're in compliance and not getting calls from head hunters every week, it's probably only because they don't know your phone number. A Bank Technology News feature story quotes Bank of America Senior Vice President William J. Fox saying: “There isn’t a day that goes by that three or four of my folks don’t get called by a headhunter.”

The feature also reports that large bank chief compliance officers are hitting seven-figure salaries and senior compliance experts are pulling in $300k.

Demand is highest for accountants who can interpret the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering rules, Sarbanes-Oxley and Red Flag guidelines and diplomatically communicate their opinions.

City Outsources Accounting Jobs

Saginaw, Mich., is eliminating four accounting jobs and have the accounting firm Plante & Moran take on their work. The positions were in the city controller's office.

The company, which has 10 Michigan offices, will oversee controller's operations for three years at $225,000 annually. At least two of the company's workers would have offices in City Hall.

The city would save $150,000 annually in personnel by outsourcing the controller's office, City Manager Darnell Earley said. The controller's office keeps tabs on revenues and expenditures for each city department.

City outsources accounting jobs [Saginaw News]

A Good Time to Intern

The overall job market may be tough, but it's a good time to be a college student looking for an internship. CNN Money says companies are using internships as a way to build up their entry-level staffs - and get some work done cheaply. Of course, "cheap" is a relative term: Interns can make thousands of dollars over the summer, since they're making respectable money.

Students are looking for internships even after their first year," said Sheila Curran, executive director of Duke University's career center, noting that 88% of Duke students graduate with at least one internship under their belts. "It's become expected that you'd have at least one internship during college."

Jim Duffy, who just finished his junior year at the University of Notre Dame, had his pick of three offers this summer. An accounting major with a minor in German, he chose KPMG International in part because the accounting firm will send him to its office in Dusseldorf, Germany, for four weeks. He's looking forward to working both with KPMG's clients and employees.

"It's a great way to get experience and to network with professionals at different levels," said Duffy, a Philadelphia native.

KPMG plans to hire 1,500 summer interns this year, and offer jobs to most after they graduate.

Hard to find a job, but not an internship [CNN]

Active Job Search Techniques

Recently Jon Jacobs explained our philosophy of career planning and growth, which can be summed up as "active career management." Now, he has some techniques to help you maximize expected returns from the effort you put into you job search.

Here they are.

How Demonic Are You?

A study by researchers from Canada's Brock University and Queen's University contends Hollywood has a way of portraying accountants darkly.

...the smartest, most ambitious bean-counters are being demonized as unethical, morally deficient and often criminally inclined. It also determines that accountants depicted on film as happy, principled people tend to be portrayed as incompetent, lacking in motivation or intellectually wanting.

Maybe the Hollywood types are just projecting.

Accountants demonized in Hollywood, study shows [Canada.com]

New Designation for Fraud Experts

Accountants seeking to bolster their forensic and litigation-support credentials have a new option starting this fall, when the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants launches its Certified in Financial Forensics designation.

Here's the details.

Some Firms Help with Fuel Costs

Grossbard & Associates, a 28-employee accounting firm in Houston, is helping its staff cope with rising gasoline prices in the simplest way: It put an extra $50 in their paychecks recently.

Grossbard is among a growing number of employers that are going out of their way to help workers grapple with the increasing cost of getting to and from the office. Companies are launching a variety of relief initiatives such as providing alternate ways to get to work - including purchasing buses and vans to give employees free rides - and changing corporate policies to accommodate workers who travel for their jobs.

What's your firm doing? Let us know by posting a comment.

Commuter relief: Companies help employees deal with fuel costs [Deseret News]

The Place for Me...

Sarah Fuller, author of Job Search Beyond the Big Cities, sees a number of advantages for job-seekers focused on America's more rural areas. She sees professionals with specialized skills - like accountants - as being particularly able to do well beyond the borders of the metropolis. Here's an interview she did with Forbes.

Can A Small Town Help Your Career? [Forbes]

Psst! Want to Know what S&P CFOs Earn?

The economy may have been turning down, but that didn’t stop S&P 500 firms from increasing chief financial officer (CFO) compensation last year.

Median CFO pay was up 5.2% from 2006 to 2007 for those employed at least two years, according to a study released today by Equilar, a Redwood Shores, California executive compensation benchmarking firm.

Total compensation, including base salary, discretionary bonuses, non-equity incentive plan payouts, the grant date value of stock and option awards and other compensation totaled $2,894,275 in 2007, up from $2,752,027 for the same group of executives in 2006.

That figure includes:

$525,000 in median base salary (up 9.1%);
$576,880 in median aggregate bonus (down 3.4%);
$1,523,810 in total equity awards (up 8.2%) and
$63,152 in other compensation (up 9.1%).

Looking ahead, CFOs at the S&P 500 are due to receive $1,061,198 in median accumulated pension benefits (up 17.7%, but only 67% of CFOs have those) and $779,388 in median deferred compensation (up 21.3%).

Curiously, a similar, although not directly comparable, study of CEO compensation Equilar conducted in April found median pay for CEOs was up only 1.3% from 2006 to 2007. “The fact that median CFO compensation appears to be rising faster than median CEO compensation may indicate increased prominence for CFOs in the executive suite,” the release says.

How much do CFOs at other firms earn? Salary.com says median CFO total compensation was $515,225. Robert Half Accounting’s 2008 Salary Guide, which measures salary rather than total compensation, says typical salary at companies with $500 million or more in sales ranged from $257,500 to $370,500 in 2008. Meanwhile, CFOs at the smallest firms, those with sales of $50 million of less, earned a salary of $91,000 to $122,250 on average, Robert Half estimates.

What's Ahead?

Equilar Research Manager Alexander Cwirko-Godycki says two trends playing out at the end of 2007 could influence CFO salaries this year. First, bonuses were down. If markets stay where they are or get worse, bonuses will continue to fall, he says. Second, those drops in bonuses were offset by an increase in equity compensation.

Seeing last-quarter dips in business lead to lowered bonuses will please shareholders interested in seeing pay tied to performance. Meanwhile equity compensation encourages CFOs to focus on longer-term performance, he points out.

Number of New CPAs Soars in Bay State

The number of people that have passed the Massachusetts CPA exam rose by more than 66 percent in 2007, according to the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. The jump comes in the wake of changes to state regulations.

The story's here.

Marcum & Kliegman Joins With Forensic Specialist

New York-area CPA firm Marcum & Kliegman LLP said it merged with RosenfarbWinters LLC, a local firm specializing in forensic accounting and business consulting. The company also stresses that it's in hiring mode, and looks to grow from approximately 500 employees to more than 1,000 within three years. “There is absolutely no shortage of available positions at M&K,” Managing Partner Jeffrey M. Weiner said in a press release.

Although it wasn't in the announcement, WebCPA reports that the combined firm will operate under the name M&K Rosenfarb. It will include M&K's present offices in New York City and Long Island, and Rosenfarb's offices in Tinton Falls and Roseland, N.J., and New York City. Practices include tax, audit, litigation support, investment services, forensic accounting, business consulting, valuation, litigation, dispute consulting, divorce accounting, expert testimony, fraud investigation, and government services.

Here is M&K's press release.

Fraud Conference in Boston

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners' conference in Boston will include a career fair with government agencies and private employers on-hand. The conference will be held July 13 - 18 at the Hynes Convention Center. Details are at www.fraudconference.com.

Who's Thinking IFRS and Who's Not?

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) may be the wave of the future, but U.S. companies say that swell is still pretty far from the shore, which is fortunate because they don't have many surfers ready to ride that curl.

A recent survey from Deloitte asked U.S. corporate financial professionals if their firms would use IFRS along with or instead of GAAP, if given the choice by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About a third of the financial professional said they'd consider adopting IFRS, if they could, 10% said they didn't know enough about it, 18% were undecided and 42% wouldn't use it if they could.

Companies may not want to adopt IFRS, but clearly, those surveyed think others may do so. Half the financial professionals predicted at least a quarter of U.S. firms would be using IFRS within the next seven years.

"The industries with the most interest in adopting IFRSs were financial services, health services, and consumer and industrial products," Deloitte says. "This is not surprising: because many competitors in these industries are non-U.S. companies [and] U.S. companies in these industries may be more inclined to consider adopting IFRSs because some of them may fear being at a competitive disadvantage."

Not surprisingly, the companies said they don't have the personnel to make a conversion to IFRS. "Of those companies considering IFRSs," Deloitte says, "64 percent say they lack skilled resources in their U.S. operations while 34 percent believe they lack skilled resources in their non-U.S. operations. These results indicate that more training in IFRSs is required."

It also won't surprise anyone to hear that Deloitte has "thousands of IFRS-experienced professionals" in its global network. It also has an IFRS Resource Library on its Web site, and an IFRS University Consortium to help schools add IFRS materials to their accounting courses.

If all the IFRS discussion has you thinking maybe you need to pick up some expertise, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has its own Web site dedicated to IFRS knowledge, including a backgrounder, self-study courses, workbooks and a list of reasons why GAAP continues to be the "gold standard" of accounting in the U.S. and around the world.

New Site for Diverse Tax Professionals

A new Web site, TaxDiversity.com, has launched as a place "where students and professionals can view job openings, participate in forums, read case studies, watch video commentary from successful minority tax professionals and more." Check it out here.

Calif. Firm Joins J.H. Cohn

Good Swartz Brown and Berns of Woodland Hills, Calif., is combining with New Jersey firm J.H. Cohn. Eventually, the firms will operate under J.H. Cohn's name. GSBB Managing Partner Scott M. Sachs told the San Fernando Valley Business Journal he doesn't expect much to change at his firm day-to-day, though he does expect both the firm and its employees to enjoy added rewards. GSBB has about 125 people on its staff, while J.H. Cohn has about 1,000.

Good Swartz Joining With East Coast Firm [San Fernando Valley Business Journal]

Accountants Dodge Wall Street Layoffs

CPAs in New York and New Jersey often face the unenviable task of delivering bad news to a company's management. The region's financial services firms, after all, are in the midst of contraction, hit by the credit crunch, the sub-prime blowout and a variety of regulatory pressures. While being the bearer of bad tidings certainly takes a toll, accountants in the financial world are by and large being spared one thing: layoff notices.

Here's the story.

Meet The Singing CPA

There was a time when accountants were unfairly stereotyped as boring people. Although those days are thankfully gone, we still get a charge whenever we hear of a CPA who turns the old chestnut on its head by moonlighting as a performing artist.

A year ago this time, auditor-playwright James Rasheed's accounting-themed drama, "Professional Skepticism," caught our fancy. This time it's Steven Zelin, "The Singing CPA."

That's the title of Zelin's third music CD, released last month on Zelin's own label. Covering the release party, The Trusted Professional, the newspaper of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, wrote:

Zelin was a CPA at a Big Four firm for eight years before he caught the songwriting bug. But he hasn't left the profession behind – he sings about it all the time…

The newspaper observed that the release party in a Manhattan book store marked a change of pace from Zelin's tradition of performing solo inside a post office on April 15, "to entertain last-minute taxpayers."

Most Zelin compositions are funny send-ups of well-known pop songs, with different lyrics that focus on accounting. There is "My CPA," to the tune of "YMCA" by the Village People; and "A Charitable Contribution (Makes the Tax Bill Go Down)," based on "A Spoonful of Sugar…" from the Julie Andrews film, Mary Poppins.

Tax Song Trilogy [The Trusted Professional]

When To Work With a Recruiter

When it comes to working with search firms, "when and if" are just as important as "how."

Here's our story.

Workplace Bullies

Is someone repeatedly giving you a hard time at work when you didn't do anything to deserve it?

If you answer "yes," then you may be a victim of "workplace bullying." For some coping tips from psychologists who specialize in this niche, read our story.

Hard Data on CFO Compensation

The industry with the fastest pace of salary increases for CFOs and other financial executives is: …. advertising.

Advertising? You heard right.

That's one finding of an annual compensation study released earlier this month by the Financial Executives Research Foundation, the research arm of Financial Executives International (FEI). Among more than 1,900 respondents – nearly half of whom were CFOs – those in advertising reported an 8 percent average salary increase. Metals came in second, at 7.5 percent. Across all industries, the average salary increase was 4.75 percent.

"While the current economic conditions and market turmoil are likely to impact the C-Suite this year, our results show that the salaries of the overall financial professional group are still up," said Michael P. Cangemi, president of both the foundation and its parent, FEI.

CFOs of public companies reported a median base salary range of $226,000 - $250,000, while their counterparts at private companies reported a median range of $176,000 - $200,000. Public company CFOs also fared better at bonus time: most received bonuses between 21 – 70 percent of base, while the range for private company CFOs was somewhat lower at 11 percent – 60 percent.

FEI Study: Financial Executives' Salaries Up 5 Percent [Press release]

One Firm's Formula For Success

San Francisco-based Novogradac & Co. has grown to be the 51st largest CPA firm in the U.S. by focusing its seven practices on two areas: affordable housing and community development. And unlike most firms of comparable size that expand by acquiring other firms, Novogradac has relied entirely on organic growth since inception in 1998.

Here's our story.

AICPA to Offer New Forensics Designation

A new accounting credential, the Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) designation, will be launched by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants this fall. The CFF will cover bankruptcy and insolvency, computer forensics, economic damages, family law, fraud investigation, litigation support, stakeholder disputes and valuations.

To earn the designation, a CPA will need five years accounting experience, plus continuing education and specific business experience.

The CFF will be the AICPA’s fourth designation, joining the Accredited in Business Valuation (CPA/ABV), Certified Information Technology Professional (CPA/CITP) and Personal Financial Specialist (CPA/PFS).

Merger in Birmingham

In Birmingham, Ala., Schauer Taylor PC will join Warren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino LLC. The transaction takes place June

Birmingham accounting firm will merge forces with Warren, Averett [Birmingham News]

Things Go Better Offshore?

Coca-Cola is thinking of sending some accounting and other back-office jobs to India from centers in Florida, Dallas and Toronto. A spokesman acknowledged discussions about offshoring are underway, but said no decisions have been reached.

Coca-Cola may outsource some Brandon jobs to India [St. Petersburg Times]

Priorities At MIT Sloan

Yvonne Abraham has an interesting story to tell about MIT's Sloan School of Management. Apparently, last December the school's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Club e-mailed an invitation to everyone in the school for an end-of-semester party. In return, one of the world's future business leaders wrote:

"I don't care what you do among yourselves," one student fired back. "But I feel [sick] when you are trying to promote it . . . You may not know that but in Russia, beating gays is encouraged by vast majority of people because they insult society and nature."

In closing, the student used an antigay epithet and warned club members that if they ever dared to contact him again, "I swear you won't be able to study at Sloan for some time because you will spend it at the resuscitation department."

The school investigated, the student was deemed to be not a threat and he apologized. The school reiterated its commitment to tolerance.

But here's where it gets good: There was a long discussion among members of the class of 2008 about… Brand. How the incident impacted the school's brand. How people unhappy with the situation harmed the school's brand by talking to the media. Etc.

After a news story appeared May 5, a Sloan student sent out a group e-mail saying: "I really wonder who benefits from speaking to the press . . . One thing is sure - no one in our community benefits from causing damage to our school brand."

Fascinating reading.

Misguided loyalties [Boston Globe]

Ranks of Fed Accoutants too Thin?

The federal government may be left vulnerable to mission failure as 60 percent of its workforce approaches retirement age over the next 10 years, including its most experienced and skilled financial managers.

That’s the take-home message from an Association of Government Accountants' study, 21st Century Financial Managers: A New Mix of Skills and Educational Levels.

Among the group's recommendations to improve the capacity and capability of the federal financial management workforce:

• Require professional and administrative federal financial managers to attend continuing professional education programs;
• Urge the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to include basic federal accounting questions on the CPA examination, along with existing questions relating to state and local government accounting. Including these would encourage colleges and universities to include a "Federal Accounting 101" course in their curriculum, the group says.

BDO Expands into Vegas and Austin

BDO Seidman, LLP, Chicago, will open new offices in Las Vegas and Austin, Texas, giving the firm offices in 37 cities around the country. William P. Powell will serve as the firm’s assurance business line leader in Las Vegas and Kevin Hubbard will serve as the assurance business line leader in Austin.

BDO National Director of Human Resources Sandi Guy says the firm is hiring accounting professionals at all levels for the new offices.

“We see a lot of growth in the Las Vegas market,” she says, “If someone is a senior manager or audit manager with a great background, we’d entertain them because we’re trying to grow that practice. We’re physically new to the area, so we also need someone who can get in there and develop that business.”

There are nine positions open in Austin, Texas, serving clients that have, until now, been serviced out of the company’s Houston office. “We’re looking to grow the tax practice a little sooner there than in Vegas, although if you have tax experience they will eventually open tax practice there, too, so send in your resume,” Guy urges.

You can send your resume to the company via its web site.

Accounting Information as Political Currency

Can accounting influence politics? It may have in the 2004 Congressional races, according to a new study from MIT and Harvard.

Corporations who donated at least $10,000 to closely watched U.S. Congressional races in 2004 were more likely to understate their earnings in the second and third quarters of that year, says a study from Harvard Business School's Karthik Ramanna and MIT colleague Sugata Roychowdhury.

Ramanna, who studies issues seen at the intersection of accounting, economics, and politics, says “downward earnings management” can be a type of in-kind political contribution. Companies do it to avoid regulatory scrutiny or to influence voters – think oil company profits at a time of rising consumer fuel prices.

“Such downward earnings management…seems to have been motivated by the desire of contributing firms to not taint preferred candidates with association to the political red flag of 2004—outsourcing—as well as to ensure future benefits and avoid future costs in regulatory matters,” Ramanna explains.

Feeling intellectual about accounting today? Explore the topic further in a Harvard Business School Working Knowledge feature about Ramanna and Roychowdhury’s work.

The (Non) Impact of Diversity Efforts

I'd like to say I'm surprised by this, but I'm not:

People of color, including African-Americans, Asians and Latinas, feel less included in the accounting firm work environment than do whites, according to a survey by Catalyst Research of 1,424 respondents. They are more likely to perceive low expectations from their managers and double standards regarding performance evaluation.

Women of color in particular are more likely than either white women or men of color to experience lack of high-visibility assignments and lack of professional development opportunities. Women of color are also least likely of all groups to be satisfied with business development opportunities and access to clients and client service engagements.

Here's WebCPA's story.

Amper Politziner Merging with Pa. Firm

Goldenberg Rosenthal, the Philadelphia area's second-largest locally owned accounting firm, will merge with Amper Politziner & Mattia, based in Edison, N.J. Says the Philadelphia Business Journal:

The firms said the merger will create a top 25 accounting firm with 84 partners and 600 total employees and annual revenue of $113 million. The combined firm will take the Amper Politziner name.

Here's the story.

Canadian Firms Seek Tax Accountants

Toronto-based recruiters are seeing plenty of openings there for accountants, and premium salaries for those with experience in taxation, auditing or International Financial Reporting Standards. A Canadian government tax ruling on income trusts caught industry by surprise and is spurring demand for tax accountants. On the other hand, the pace of salary increases for most accountants in Canada is starting to level off.

Here's our story.

Optimizing the Yin and Yang

Do gender stereotypes accurately forecast career preferences and job performance? To the extent that they do, can candidates escape being boxed in by their gender?

A Wall Street Journal survey of corporate recuriters who visit M.B.A. schools suggests the answer is "yes" to both.

…Recruiters in the survey emphatically praised female graduates as insightful, conscientious and collegial, and they consistently described men as results-driven leaders with superior quantitative-analysis skills. "Sadly, my general observation is that many gender stereotypes still apply," a survey respondent commented. "Female M.B.A.s have a bias to nurturing and team building and male M.B.A.s to a more analytically driven focus on success and independence. My advice is that both should develop more well-rounded skills.

The good news is, such perceptions provide a clear career-upgrade road map for both men and women. Female candidates can practice being just a little bolder and more self-promoting, and fight perceptions that they're mathematically challenged. And recruiters quoted in the survey story indicated many male candidates would do well to be more humble during interviews, and work on their listening skills, both on the job and while interviewing. "Some guys take themselves out of the running in job interviews by coming on a little too strong," observed a hiring manager for Chicago-based Tribune Publishing, who took part in the survey.

Those insights and others are detailed in a WSJ CareerJournal story originally published in 2005, but reprinted this year.

Men Do Numbers,Women Do Strategy [CareerJournal]

SOX Compliance Workload Shrinking

It's hardly news that corporate America becomes more adept at SOX compliance with each passing year. Still, a recent survey report from Financial Executives International fleshes out the trend with several interesting statistics. They show that internal and external person-hours and total audit fees continued to decline last year, even as auditors hiked their fee rates 5 percent on average.

Among last year's compliance workload and cost figures:

- Companies reported requiring an average of 11,100 people hours internally to comply with Section 404 in 2007, representing a decrease of 8.6 percent from the previous year.

- Companies reported requiring an average of 1,244 external people hours to comply with Section 404 in 2007, representing a decrease of 13.7 percent from the prior year of compliance.

- Auditor attestation fees paid by accelerated filers in 2007 constituted 23.7 percent of the accelerated filer's total annual audit fees and averaged $846,000, representing a 5.4 percent decrease from 2006.

Summarizing the findings, Michael P. Cangemi, the organization's president and chief executive, said:

As companies continue to find efficiencies in complying with Section 404 and make compliance part of a routine practice, we have seen a continued decline in costs. While 404 auditor costs also declined 5.4 percent as the auditor scope of work narrowed, these costs were offset by a reported 5 percent increase in the average hourly audit rate charged by auditors.

FEI Survey: Average 2007 SOX Compliance Cost $1.7 Million [Press release]

Tips for Surviving a Recession

Although the U.S. jobless rate declined last month, it's still important to work toward recession-proofing your career. Here's a list of tips from Alexis de Bretteville, CEO of the Americas at Michael Page International, a leading global recruiting firm. We've mentioned just about all of these ideas before, but it's advice worth repeating.

1. Strengthen your network. Contact former employers, bosses and colleagues, and stay connected.

2. Consider a career move. A downturn is a good time to go back to school or to change careers.

3. Go abroad. Broaden your horizons and find a recruiting firm that can help you search overseas as well as stateside.

4. Review your online presence. Leverage online organizations such as LinkedIn. Consider developing your own website, search for any "digital dirt" on you that comes up in Web searches, and do all you can to correct it.

5. Practice interviewing.

6. Enhance your professional development. Take a course in your field, read that book that has been collecting dust on your desk

7. Join industry associations and networking groups. You'll meet contacts, it looks great on your resume and will broaden your industry perspective.

8. Update your resume. Make sure both its content and design are current.

9. Publish yourself: Write a book, write and distribute a print or e-newsletter, start a blog, or all of the above!

10. Relax… A recession is out of your control. Take these steps and then do your best to remain confident about your prospects.

How is a Career Like an Investment Portfolio?

Jon Jacobs writes:

"Career path." That's a phrase often spoken by HR staffers eager to show young employees that management is meeting their need for professional growth. Does the phrase mean anything - or is it simply hot air?

The question never occurred to me before I joined JobsintheMoney just over a year ago. Like many of you, perhaps, all of my career moves were driven by opportunism, more a string of chance events than a consciously planned "path." On the other hand, a widely cited body of research has documented that careers, like investment portfolios, benefit from a coherent planning process that includes written goals, timetables and periodic monitoring.

Read his column.

Accounting Degrees Climb Dramatically

More than 64,000 students graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting during the 2006-2007 school year, reports the AICPA. That's the highest number in the 36 years since the association began keeping count. It also represents a 19 percent increase from 2003-2004, which was the last time the AICPA conducted its survey on accounting graduates.

The number of students in accounting programs is also higher: The 203,000 students enrolled during the year was also a 19 percent increase from 2004.

It's an indication the industry's efforts to increase the pipeline of new accountants are paying off, and a sign that indeed the current imbalance between demand and supply may eventually get itself resolved.

The AICPA's press release is here (in pdf format).

New Lucas Group Accounting Executive in Tampa

Search firm Lucas Group has appointed Shawn McKinstrie as managing partner for its accounting and finance division in Tampa. Previously, he'd worked at Robert Half International. He'll be involved with national as well as local clients.

Here's a press release.

Insurer Eyes Move, with Jobs, to Tennessee

Michigan-based National Life Insurance Co. is considering moving a division to Tennessee, and maybe bringing 450 to 500 jobs with it. According to the Tennessean, the idea is in the early stages though company officials have visited the Nashville area and met with local officials. The jobs involved would include accounting, back office, and other functions.

Insurer may move 500 jobs to state [The Tennessean]