Sixty-nine percent of CPAs suggested privatizing liquor stores as the best measure to close the Keystone State's deficit. Only 27% of them like the idea of legalizing marijuana. Considering the puritanical liquor laws in the state — er, commonwealth — we should accept progress where we can get it. [PICPA]
Related Posts
Who Has Advice on Picking a Subgroup in a Big 4 Tax Practice?
We received a request from a young reader who got an email for their start date this summer and now needs some help picking a subgroup.
“ I am trying to decide between pass-throughs, C-Corps, and Consulting/research/writing.“
Personally, our take is to remember some of the people that recruited you. If you felt like you would enjoy working with a particular person that you met during that process, start there. Shoot them an email asking them about the practice that they work in, what the work is like, what are the pros, cons, etc. Chances are they’ve spent time in other practices, so you ask for their opinion on those as well.
Since there are plenty of seasoned Big 4 tax gurus out there, help the soon-to-be new associate out. Advice along the lines of, “You’re screwed, they all suck,” and “Stay in school as long as you can, the real world is a bitch,” while grounded in some truth, is not what your future associates are requesting.
Accounting News Roundup: Accountants Prefer Handshakes to Retweets; New PCAOB Member Needed; State Corporate Tax Rates | 05.24.11
Evidence Said to Tie Ex-I.M.F. Chief to Housekeeper [NYT]
Evidence from the work clothes of a hotel housekeeper matched DNA samples taken from Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund who has been charged with sexually assaulting her, a person briefed on the matter said Monday. The test results were consistent with what law enforcement officials have said about the account provided by the woman, the person briefed in the matter said.
FAF Unveils New Accounting Review Process [CFO Journal]
The Financial Accounting Foundation unveiled a new process for reviewing financial accounting rules on Friday, but some observers wonder if the process will undermine the independence of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and give greater weight to the needs of filers and their consultants, rather than the investing public the rules were meant to serve.
Accountants shun social media when attracting clients [Accountancy Age]
Less than one in ten accountants use social media as a main means of attracting clients, according to a survey by the CCH IT company and YouGov. At its annual conference, CCH said that, even with the vast technological advances, “traditional” and “conventional” methods such as face to face meetings continued to dominate the way accountants draw in new clients.
Democrats request $15 million for taxpayer aid program [The Hill]
House Democrats are urging appropriators to include $15 million in a bill to expand and strengthen services provided to low- and moderate-income taxpayers through matching grants to Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) centers.
Are the Feds Going Insane? [WCF]
When people start snooping around your illegal activities, just conduct an internal investigation to get them to back off.
Wanted: a New PCAOB Member [The Summa]
Dan Goelzer’s term wraps in October. Feel free to throw your hat in the ring.
State Corporate Income Tax Rates [Tax Foundation]
Iowa?
Why Obama’s Corporate Tax Reform Will Fail [Tax.com]
A large reduction in the U.S. corporate tax rate is inevitable. It can’t miss when proponents have an easy-to-understand talking point: The United States will soon have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. If it weren’t for the Japanese earthquake, we would already have the number one spot.
Treating Workers with Respect – What Accounting Firms Can Do to Improve Their Bottom Line
Welcome back from the weekend, folks. With the short week coming up, I hope this one is not terribly swamped for you.
The Harvard Business Review recently published a McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy study on the treatment of bottom-of-the-barrel workers. Its sampling followed a range of companies large to small from 2005 on through the latest recession. The biggest takeaway from the study was that every employee matters and the companies that provide every employee with a voice see the most positive improvement with their bottom lines.
Idealistic? A bit, yes. But the study’s author, Jody Heymann added, “How work is structured, how it is rewarded, and how workplaces encourage employee engagement are all central to the profitability of firms and to the quality of the daily lives of working men and women. Employees determine 90 percent of most businesses’ profitability.”
Read the article or the study if you’d like to know more. If you do, you’ll notice that none of the success stories were founded on better pay. Often times a company’s success was about listening to employees and acting on their feedback. Foreign concepts, perhaps; but this is what KPMG’s Summer Blast! program is attempting to do just that. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other firms follow suit.
The Chicago Cubs will win the World Series before my input is ever requested by a firm for programs like this, but just for kicks I’ve laid out a few ways the Big 4 could improve worker relations with minimal financial impact.
Stick with summer hours – Friday afternoons are notoriously slow; interns are hung over, partners are reviewing work from home the beach/mountains/countryside; and weekend plans hinge on the prospect of not getting stuck in traffic. And since most clients are at their slowest pace in the summer; so why force workers to be locked up until 5:00pm?
Release staff members early; 3:00pm would be a fair start to one’s weekend plans. Firms should take it one step further and adjust utilization reports to reflect this change. Is an extra half hour Monday through Thursday really necessary to the bottom line? (Blogger note – comment below if your firm adjusts utilization reports). Relieving the necessity for staff members to make up the time is a better act of good faith than the time off itself.
Leave the steaks at home – grab a (pitch)fork and volunteer – It would take some effort, but organizing a community service day for every office would provide employees with the opportunity to escape the office and interact with coworkers in a different kind of way. Volunteering in the community is encouraged by every firm and is generally a big hit among the younger staff members. Partners and managers would have an opportunity to connect with their staff on a more casual yet work-appropriate level.
Comment below how you’d like to see your firm approach the issue. If they were listening, what would you say?
Daniel Braddock is a former Big 4 human resources professional and auditor. You can read more of his posts for Going Concern here.