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outlook & analysis

top tips for tech savings: plan for the roi

we’ve been asking, “what’s the best way to economize on technology costs in this economy?” and you’ve been answering…

gary c. crouch, cpa.citp, mcp
president

crouch
crouch

cs3 technology

the best thing is to spend wisely. technology is an investment which needs to be planned and focused on roi. although you can often put off the investment, an organization should understand the lost opportunities they forego.

initially, an organization should review where they need to make changes in order to be better; more effective and more efficient in solving their customer’s needs. prioritizing these needs based on the benefits to the organization and their customers provides a road map to success. cash flow may not allow all changes to be made immediately, but the prioritization shows the organization what benefits they loose by not making a change.

so the decision becomes if i put off the investment for 12 months, what have i cost my firm? does this make sense based on our vision? spending wisely, according to a plan with documented benefits will serve the organization not by saving money, but by making the firm better.

outlook & analysis

top tips for tech savings: sometimes, staff knows best

we’ve been asking, “what’s the best way to economize on technology costs in this economy?” and you’ve been answering…

dodson
dodson

laura dodson
blue stone accounting

one of the best ways to economize on technology, is to train employees on all the possible uses of the existing software and hardware. in a tax and accounting firms, the most important resource are the employees. they will often devise way to keep the technology costs down, while still providing excellent customer service. and they will be the first to tell you if a software or hardware package does not meet the needs of the clients.

outlook & analysis

12 questions to test your competitive fact-finding skills

how good are you at obtaining competitive intelligence and applying it to business development?

wolosky
wolosky

by howard wolosky

“an educated consumer is our best customer®” is how an off-price clothing retailer positions itself.

although not similarly copyrighted, as of late, i have come across a number of other businesses that live by that slogan with a single word change, “an educated consumer is our worst customer.” unlike that off-price clothier, they don’t publicize the slogan that they actually live by, and, in fact, do their best to hide that fact. here are two of them:

1. a vitamin chain offers a particular supplement for 10 dollars more than its online price. a clerk at their store refuses to match the price for a regular customer. the manager insists that the customer must go home and print out the proof even though the store has internet access.
2. a bank automatically renews your two-year cd unless you come in. the rate is one percent, while if you came in, you could obtain a higher rate by renewing the cd for only seven months. additionally the bank is offering those that open a two-year online cd a much higher rate of 2.85 percent.

contrast those two examples with a national department store chain advertising that customers can check on computer terminals in their stores for cheaper prices available from competitors on the brand appliances its sells, and that it will match the competitor’s cheaper price.

clients will be needing help adjusting and prospering in this brave new world where technological advances are overhauling and significantly transforming the rules of the game. is your firm ready to help? and more importantly, how deep is the firm’s understanding and knowledge of the virtual and brick-and-mortar worlds and the possible interactions.

to find out, how about giving a 12-question test to firm members from every level of the firm–the managing partner, partners, staff accountants, marketers, technologists, and administrative support (if applicable)?

read more →

outlook & analysis

what cpas need to know about swine flu

most companies have a disaster plan in place. this is the time to dust if off and see if you’re ready.

roman h. kepczyk, cpa.citp, at infotech partners north america inc., offers some resources:

ask yourself:

  1. are your remote technologies in place, so people can work at home if they need to? big companies may be using windows terminal server or citrix. small firms: xp remote or gotomypc.
  2. are your laptops and smartphones working well and can they connect to the office applications?
  3. are your work-at-home and flextime policies up to date.
  4. are all the personnel and client lists up to date and accessible?
outlook & analysis

saas and solar power: what a combo!

netsuite lands solar-panel manufacturer.

via netsuite

the americas unit of suntech power holdings, the world’s largest producer of solar panels, chooses netsuite to help manage its growing number of suntech authorized dealers

netsuite inc., a leading vendor of on-demand, integrated business management software suites, has announced that suntech america, a unit of suntech power holdings co., ltd. (nyse: stp), a manufacturer of photovoltaic (pv) modules, is the latest enterprise company to go live on netsuite after a successful and on-time implementation.

read more →

outlook & analysis

the aicpa’s eight-point plan for re-regulating the broken financial system

melancon cites “clear gaps” in the rules.

via the aicpa

the american institute of certified public accountants is recommending to congress a series of specific measures to promote transparency and strengthen investor protections in the u.s. financial system by requiring tighter audit requirements, aicpa president and ceo barry melancon said in a news release today.

“there are clear gaps in the existing regulation of the financial system,” aicpa president and ceo barry melancon said. “as objective experts and trusted advisers, cpas want to play an active and constructive role in improving the current system and providing policymakers with the benefit of our knowledge and experience.”

to begin this initiative, the aicpa is offering eight recommendations based on an aicpa analysis of proposals currently pending in congress. melancon announced the new effort at the spring meeting of the aicpa’s governing council in washington, d.c. today. more than 350 cpa leaders from all 50 states are convening in the nation’s capital for three days and will be making these recommendations in personal visits with members of congress.

the aicpa supports and recommends:

  1. the continued registration and regulation of broker-dealers by the securities and exchange commission and professional self-regulatory organizations. the aicpa believes that auditors of public broker-dealers, as well as non-public broker-dealers that perform clearing or custodial functions should be subject to registration, inspection and enforcement by the public company accounting oversight board. (pcaob.)
  2. regulation and registration of hedge funds by the securities and exchange commission, assuming the term “hedge fund” is more clearly defined and with exemptions for small investment vehicles, such as investment clubs. any such regulation should be carefully crafted not to impede beneficial, private capital-raising activities.
  3. a requirement that these newly registered hedge funds obtain annual audits by independent certified public accountants.
  4. investment advisers that are currently subject to registration with the sec should continue to be regulated under the advisers act.
  5. repeal of the present “private advisor exemption,” a change that would subject hedge fund advisers to sec regulation.
  6. the aicpa supports a proposal by sec chairman mary shapiro to require all investment advisers with custody of client assets to undergo “surprise” examinations to confirm safekeeping of assets.
  7. requiring evaluations of controls over custodial functions. every custodian should be required to retain an independent public accountant to review and report on the effectiveness of the custodian’s internal controls related to its custodial functions.
  8. adequate funding for the sec to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities.
outlook & analysis

where are the regulators?

in january 2009 there were 129 new prosecutions for government regulatory matters, fewer than in any month since may 2000.

counterfeiting and forgery cases accounted for 45% of these prosecutions, with the remaining cases falling under various categories including:

  • other regulatory offenses (27.9%),
  • customs and currency violations (7%),
  • money laundering (10.1%),
  • customs duty violations (3.1%),
  • trafficking in contraband cigarettes (2.3%) and
  • general export enforcement (2.3%).

for details, see the trac report at:http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/bulletins/regulation/fil/

outlook & analysis

aicpa leaders prepare for massive regulatory reform

financial system rules and regs take the spotlight at aicpa 2009 spring meeting of council.

“i firmly believe that any sound solution to the severe economic challenges facing our country will require the insights and contributions of the cpas in this room… and in every corner of our great nation,” aicpa chairman ernie almonte said at the opening of the meeting.

the journal of accountancy reports today:

mark peterson, aicpa vice president, governmental and public affairs, said he expects congress to begin to work through numerous proposals aimed at closing gaps in financial regulation. the various proposals may be pulled together into a larger reform bill, peterson said. he predicted congress would then address the idea of a systemic regulator-an entity that could oversee the financial market as a whole.

regulatory areas the aicpa is focusing on include broker-dealers, hedge funds and investment and hedge fund advisers. for broker-dealers, the aicpa supports continued registration and regulation by the sec and self-regulatory organizations (sros). the institute also believes that auditors of public broker-dealers and non-public broker-dealers that perform either clearing or custodial functions should be subject to registration, inspection and enforcement by the pcaob.

the aicpa also supports enhanced regulation and registration of hedge funds by the sec, with the establishment of a “de minimus” threshold that exempts smaller investment vehicles such as investment clubs. regulation, the institute is recommending, should be carefully crafted not to impede beneficial, private capital-raising activities. the institute also supports a requirement that registered hedge funds obtain annual audits by independent public accountants.

for investment advisers/hedge fund advisers, the aicpa believes all investment advisers currently subjected to registration with the sec should continue to be regulated under the investment advisers act of 1940. the institute supports the repeal of the current “private adviser exemption,” which would subject hedge fund advisers to sec regulation. the institute supports a proposal by sec chairman mary schapiro to require all investment advisers with custody of client assets to undergo an annual “surprise” third-party examination to confirm the safekeeping of those assets. and the aicpa also favors the performance of procedures to evaluate the effectiveness of the controls the adviser has in place over its custodial functions.

in addition, the aicpa is recommending that in order to provide evidence that a custodian has controls in place to identify each client’s assets, every custodian should be required to retain an independent public accountant to review and report on the effectiveness of the custodian’s internal controls related to its custodial functions, which would be made available to the custodian’s clients.

busy season management

what cpas learned from tax season

now cpas are carefully recalibrating plans for the next several months.

by rick telberg

it’s clear that a sense of unease pervades the profession. people are worried about the economy, about their clients and their own jobs and practices. indeed, the aicpa has issued a memo laying out steps to take in considering cutbacks and providing valuable cost-saving advice to firms to make sure layoffs are used only as a last resort.

how was tax season for you?
what’s your outlook on the economy?

join the survey; see the results.

(free. confidential.)

john j. hack, owner of a small practice in wausau, wisc., says he had about as good a year as last year, and counts himself lucky. he expects the economy to remain stubbornly “stagnant” for the foreseeable future. but he was able to upgrade his client base this year and hopes to make similar gains next year. for next year, he plans to push himself to “work harder” on finishing tax returns faster and earlier.

sole practitioner mark j. knighton in glen burnie, md., is coming off a better year than last year and expects to stay busy in the coming weeks working with financially strapped clients on their irs problems. his big lesson from tax season ’09: “encourage clients to come in earlier.”

michael s. warner at warner & co. in woodstown, n.j., is “staying the course” at his local cpa firm, but “with a watchful eye on clients and cash-flow.” his lesson: “don’t accept new clients who immediately begin asking for discounts.”

a mid-level staffer in bangor, maine – call him jim – expects “the economy will continue to slide downward until about year-end, and then we should start to see it turn around.” as a result, his firm “will probably pick up several more part-time staff for tax season and per-diem work” and not hire full-time staff until the economy improves. “our clients are feeling the pinch,” he says. “but we expect very little in the way of bankruptcies or businesses closing.”

for next year, jim w. says, “we need to do a better job training staff on proper irs form prep. some items were not consistently treated and it made checking more time-intensive than it needed to be.”

john t. drawdy jr in woodstsock, ga., sees problems with the economy; but they’re manageable. “i expect super inflation,” he says. still, the firm will be hiring again next tax season.” and, as for clients? “they get better because i fire the bad ones.” his no. 1 lesson from tax season 2009: “start extensions earlier.”

paul hense, at hense & associates in grand rapids, mich., is swimming against the tide of a contracting economy. but he’s learned to “work and not worry.” hence has had a long, 40-year career and has seen a lot of ups and downs. nevertheless, he finds he needs to hone a “habit of not letting stress affect productivity.”

some firms have already started shedding staff. one senior staffer at a large firm reports, “we let go almost 20 people yesterday, probably more
to come.”

but one sole proprietor is toughing it out. she said her “one assistant quit in the middle of tax season.” she “survived with the help of my sisters.” one is willing to help with data-entry whenever needed.

and another cpa sees “shrinkage everywhere.” but keep asking around and you might just as readily find a cpa who reports they “might be adding one more person in a supervisory position.” so the job outlook for cpa firms remains murky, at best.

international

obama targets foreign tax havens

should we take it seriously this time?

annette nellen
nellen

annette nellen, cpa/esq., in this week’s aicpa corporate tax insider, reports president obama’s budget proposal has many wondering what a “robust portfolio of irs international tax compliance initiatives” means for international tax reform.

she says:

tax haven concerns date back over 50 years and discussions of modernizing us international tax rules date back to the 1990s.

the tax committees and treasury should hold an international tax reform summit, appoint a task force of experts to derive a comprehensive business/international tax reform package of changes and then move to implement it during the 111th congress. the federal budget, the economy and us business interests will suffer from continued delays in not moving all of the background information collected in the past many years to action.

full story here. will it really happen? tell me in comments…

client service opportunities

anger at u.s. banking system high, credit expected to remain tight: aicpa poll

sign of increasing optimism brightens gloom as americans gauge outlook for u.s. recovery

via aicpa

even as many americans hold a pessimistic view of the u.s. economy, there is a sign of rising optimism suggesting some may be seeing prospects for an end to the recession, according to a recent survey commissioned by the american institute of certified public accountants and conducted by harris interactive.

nearly half of americans, 49 percent, say they are “pessimistic” about the u.s. economic outlook over the next 12 months, a slight decline from 54 percent who were pessimistic in the same survey this time last year. at the same time, the proportion of survey respondents who said they were “optimistic” or “very optimistic” about the economy’s future rose to 44 percent in the latest survey, up from 41 percent a year ago.

“after months of bad news and declining economic indicators, we see some evidence that americans are starting to look for reasons to be optimistic even if they expect the recession to continue,” said carl george, chair of the aicpa’s national cpa financial literacy commission. “that is a good sign. we hope to see continued improvement in optimism as the substantial federal policies put in place begin to lift the economy and confidence is restored.”

the annual survey by the aicpa is being released today. it was designed to gauge how the economy is affecting individuals’ personal financial well-being.

the survey found a 79 percent majority hold negative views of the u.s. banking system. twenty-eight percent expect the $700 billion in bailout funds in the troubled asset relief program to cover losses rather than feed new credit. twenty-five percent believed the funds would be used to pay bonuses, and 22 percent said banks were simply holding the funds as capital. only 7 percent anticipate the tarp funds will be used to begin lending again. still, 50 percent think the $737 billion stimulus package passed by congress and signed by president barack obama will begin to boost the economy over the next six months to two years. sixteen percent feel it will take more than two years for the stimulus package to boost the economy. three-in-ten, 30 percent, said the stimulus would not help the economy.

asked to select one of three potential economic scenarios they believe is most likely to happen, 45 percent supported a projection that credit would continue to tighten despite federal efforts and the economy will remain sluggish as unemployment worsens and deflation takes hold. twenty-two percent predicted credit availability would recover and inflation would remain under control as moderate, sustained growth returns. twenty percent said u.s. policies would successfully reignite the economy but inflation would become a new problem.

busy season management

tax season ’09: cpas dodge a bullet

economy impacts end-of-season parties.

are job cuts next? join the survey; get the answers.

by rick telberg

cpas closed out tax season 2009 last week feeling dazed, confused, weary and maybe even a little bit lucky.

despite a dismal and dismaying economy, most tax practices were apparently bucking the recessionary downdrafts and mostly holding their own or even gaining ground.

so if you’re superstitious, kiss your lucky charm, knock on wood and throw some salt over your shoulder. most cpas seem to have dodged the economic bullet – at least for now.

in the last days of busy season 2009, 34% of 1,451 accountants surveyed were reporting better business than the year before, with 42% holding steady, and only 23% posting declines, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 straw poll for the aicpa.

the 76% of cpas reporting business as steady or better represents markedly stronger performance than 2008’s 66% or 2007’s 60% — making 2009 the best year for cpas since 2006’s 81% net positive rating.

how was your busy season?

what’s next for the profession in this economy?

join the survey; see the results.

(free. confidential.)

to be sure, many accountants are worried about their clients and about getting paid. and their busy season is getting longer with an ever-increasing number of extensions.

furthermore, many firms will be scrambling in the coming days to re-fill a depleted business pipeline for the traditionally slow summer months. but in these recessionary times, cpa firms are generally among the survivors.

still, cpas are concerned. and you may be hearing about some significant reductions in force at a few firms whose fortunes are disproportionately tied to especially volatile segments of the economy, such as banking, housing or construction.

“the firm is firing or has fired 15 percent of its professional staff,” according to a senior partner at a major firm, which is forecasting no improvement in the economy until the second quarter of 2010.  “first our customers,” he says, “then our firm, will bounce back.”

at another firm — a mid-sized one — they hired additional staff going into busy season, according to a high-level partner, “which reduced workload and stress.”

“now,” he adds, “we have to figure out what to do with everyone during the summer months.” he’s expecting some “slight” staff reductions and an intense drive “to replace lost revenue due to the economy.”

at a smaller mid-sized firm, they’re feeling the repercussions of their clients’ problems. “clients were much more apprehensive about the economy” this year, according to one partner. and it’s easy to understand why when he adds, “we are seeing a 7 to 8 percent drop in revenue for our clients.”

nevertheless, cpa firms are coming out of busy season relatively strong. the recession may have hit hardest during the accounting busy season, softening the blow. the vast majority of cpa firms are expecting to weather the recession intact and unmarred.

“the economic climate is rough and people are not happy,” says a senior staffer at a regional firm. but the “forecast is for slight improvement” with “no additional hiring.”

at dauby o’connor & zaleski cpas in indianapolis, partner ted zaleski reports, “we expect to expand and add staff.”

staying productive and positive may have been one of the biggest personal challenges through a tumultuous tax season.

but for rich levy at levy & associates in fairfax, va., his feelings of grace and gratitude come daily. “my office is upstairs from a kidney dialysis franchise,” he says. “it’s easy to stay positive when you see real adversity on a daily basis.”

next question: now that tax season is over, what’s next for accountants in this economy? join the poll; get the answers.

comments: questions, ideas, rants or raves? send email to rick telberg here.

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