how to run your training like a business. by michael ramos and cate miller with cpa firms spending 1.5 percent to 2.0 percent of revenue on learning, budgets can be hundreds of thousands of dollars even for a modest-sized firm. but firms invest … continued
top trends: flexible staffing, retention challenges.
accounting and finance professionals can expect starting salaries to rise an average of 3.5 percent in the coming year, according to a study from a leading staffing services company.
creative and marketing professionals are on the same pace, while information technology workers lead the work force gains at an anticipated 5.7 percent overall increase. overall, u.s. starting salaries for professional occupations are projected to increase an average of 3.8 percent next year. read more →
profession adds 1,400 new jobs in latest month.
next question: who’s hiring; who’s not. join the survey; get the answers.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
with practitioners across the country reporting strong demand for new hires, the nation’s tax, accounting and bookkeeping industries added 1,400 new jobs last month, with some sectors marking new highs for 2014 and approaching the pre-crash peak six years ago.
jennifer dizon, an audit and advisory partner at hood & strong’s san jose, calif., office, tells 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 her firm is looking to hire.
“we need more staff to service business growth,” says dizon, who is also the newly elected state chapter president of the national association of women business owners.
in elkhart, kan., enrolled agent terri ryman at southwest tax & accounting says the office is “getting busier.” she “can’t keep up.”
in northridge, calif., gene wechsler at wechsler accountancy reports a similar trend. “the firm continues to grow at the rate of 1 to 2 new clients per week.”
needs vary though. “we need an additional tax preparer and accountant for small business monthly work,” says one of the owners of a seven-person firm in prescott, ariz., which is “currently advertising for an accountant/tax preparer.”
in bellevue, wash., managing partner marc hutchinson at the six-cpa bashey, hutchinson, & walter reports, “we need experienced accountants, and ones that can take over the firm’s clients over the next 10 years.”
in this study, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 reports on:
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 careers and hiring outlook
join the survey; get the results.
plus: effective budgeting and management.
by michael ramos
michael ramos and associates
cpa firms want to establish metrics for their learning function as a way to monitor and manage their learning activities. ideally, firms would do their learning strategies and goals first and then use these strategies to drive the related metrics.
but we do not live in an ideal world, and some firms choose to establish metrics while simultaneously working on firmwide learning structures and goals.
more: high-impact learning: 4 ways to maximize cpe roi
recognizing the risks inherent in prematurely defining metrics, here are three tips for creating meaningful learning metrics at your firm that will help manage the learning function and drive performance. read more →
in “why i don’t hire on experience,” ed mendlowitz explained why he advocates for hiring entry-level staff – and the rare exceptions when he believes hiring experienced staff makes sense.
some readers agreed. some didn’t.
frank stitely said the total cost of employment must be considered. “a lot of ‘experienced’ people need to be retrained almost from scratch. you are paying for experience that may not be valuable,” he said. read more →
the u.s. tax, accounting and bookkeeping industry remains a bright spot in the nation’s economy, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 sources.
here 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 reports on:
overall, the u.s. economy added 142,000 jobs last month, 47,000 of them in professional and business services. meanwhile, the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.1 percent.
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 careers and hiring outlook
job satisfaction and retention benchmarks
question: do you work from a checklist when you’re conducting staff performance appraisals?
response: silly question. checklists? do i have checklists?
seriously, staffing is a big concern, and i believe many smaller firms settle and hire the wrong people, which i’ve written about and probably beaten to death expressing my views.
more practice doctor q&a: why i don’t hire on experience | 5 time management tips for an overworked accountant | staff training starts with doing something | 11 business-getting tips for the young staffer | when staffers don’t listen to you | questions and answers on selling a practice to staff members | measuring growth in yourself, staff and partners | complaining client? no wonder!
here is a checklist to get you started.
and two make-or-break questions for your firm’s future.
by hitendra patil
pransform inc.
have you heard of “generation y”? anyone who was born between 1980 and 2000 is a millennial and they will be the majority of your staff within the next few years, if not already. they have grown up with technology, the information explosion and diversity. what they studied for their degrees is far vaster than what you studied.
more from this author: 3 ways amazon’s new fire phone hints at the future of accounting | the 8 traits creating the firm of the future today | get more done, make more money: stop doing these 17 things | what shopping habits reveal about accounting clients | create your “not-to-do’s” list
simply, they think and act radically different than older generations in at least five ways that are already beginning to reshape the profession. read more →
and the top 8 questions every staffer will ask.
by august aquila
creating the effective partnership
to get your employees’ commitment to the merger, they must understand how it impacts them personally and see the opportunities for themselves.
let’s assume that the announcement for the upcoming merger or sale is handled properly. in other words, it was not leaked or there were no rumors on the street. you can be sure that once the announcement is made, employees start thinking about one thing — how does this event affect me? this is about self-preservation; it’s an emotional and psychological question that everyone will ask themselves. read more →
at microsoft, they worry about motivation, says bruce w. marcus, author of professional services marketing 3.0. when everybody who holds any kind of a responsible job is making more money than any of them ever dreamed they would, and when … continued
to develop and nurture talent: it’s more than just lunch.
unfortunately, even the best-intentioned mentoring initiatives can easily fizzle in the early stages, before delivering value to the participants and the organization at large, according to molly sargent of rowayton, conn.-based professional impressions consulting.
sargent has trained and coached thousands of financial professionals and client-facing executives in professional image, presentation skills, business etiquette and sales effectiveness. since 1985, she has helped major accounting firms and fortune 500 companies, including aetna, american express, at&t, citibank, goldman sachs, jpmorgan, key bank, mastercard, pricewaterhousecoopers and prudential achieve breakthrough results.
with so much to gain, how can your firm initiate mentoring in a way that is successful and sustainable? read more →
… and keeping them. 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 conducts surveys all the time, but we like to ask periodically if there are questions we just aren’t asking that you need answered. we’re giving you the opportunity to help your fellow accountants with … continued
like a bead of pearls: when one leaves, a lot follow. join the survey. get the results.
in the 2014 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 talent management survey we’ve been asking accountants to identify their primary business objective and the most critical factor needed to achieve it.
good staff, many said. perhaps not surprisingly. but we’ve been bowled over by how widespread and universal the sentiment is. read more →