201609.23
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10 Ways To Turn Accountants Into Consultants

Maureen Schwartz, executive director of the accounting association BKR International, and some of her colleagues describe 10 ways that firms can turn even the newest accountant into a better consultant. 1. Give Them a Wingman “Millennials are looking for firms where they will learn and gain new skills,” Schwartz says. “Teach them how to be great advisors from day one through your onboarding process and mentorship.” 2. Translate the Numbers Help staff practice how they would explain to a client what the numbers actually mean. Give them mock scenarios in which they must apply data to specific business or personal decisions, and grade them on clarity and practicality. 3. Sideline…

201609.16
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Art of Accounting: The Future of the Small Firm | Accounting Today

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 BY EDWARD MENDLOWITZ By my reckoning there are about 42,000 accounting firms in the United States, and 41,600 might be considered to be small.The No. 1 firm has revenues of about $16 billion with about 65,000 people. Number 100 has revenues of $35 million with about 175 people. Number 300 has about $8 million in revenues and No. 400 has about 20 people and $3 million in revenues. That means the revenues of any of the next 41,600 firms are less than $3 million, and they have fewer than 20 people, including partners or owners. By any standard that is a small business. Most of the small…

201609.14
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Best Practices for Ensuring File Security at Your Firm | Accounting Today News

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 BY SCOTT GORDON It’s no secret that professional services firms house troves of hack-worthy data. Accountants, lawyers, consultants, recruiters, media, creative, IT and other service providers routinely access and share sensitive information to meet client needs—making them prime targets for cybercriminals and the ideal potential victims for data mishandling.In June, insurance giant State Farm had 70,000 email addresses belonging to company personnel and independent contractors compromised when collaboration with a trusted professional services marketing partner, DAC Group, went awry due to a server breach. State Farm spokesman Phil Supple sent the following statement to Accounting Today: “State Farm takes the privacy and security of information very seriously….

201609.09
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New Cyberattacks Threaten Tax Professionals | Journal of Accountancy

By Alistair M. Nevius, J.D. September 2, 2016 The IRS warned tax practitioners on Friday of a new wave of cyberattacks that allow criminals to remotely access practitioners’ computers and file fraudulent tax returns. The attacks come as practitioners prepare for the Oct. 17 extended filing deadline for individual returns; the IRS reported similar attacks before the April 15 deadline. The IRS says that the attacks allow thieves to take control of practitioners’ computers, access client data, and complete and e-file tax returns, directing the resulting refunds into the criminals’ own accounts. Victims become aware of the attacks when reconciling e-filing acknowledgments. “This latest incident reinforces the need for all…

201609.02
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Top 10 Productivity Tools for Accountants

Leaders in the field pick their favorite efficiency-enhancers More hours in the day Work expands to fill the time allotted to it, and in a 24/7 world, that means you’ll be working all the time. To help manage the massive workloads that many modern accountants face, we asked the candidates for our Top 100 Most Influential List in Accounting – presumably some of the most successful people in the field — to name their favorite productivity tools. Not surprisingly, many of them mentioned mobile devices, from tablets and smartphones to smartwatches, while others stressed having strong teams to support them. Here are 10 more of their favorite apps, software solutions,…

201608.26
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The Painful Truth about the Alternative Minimum Tax

AUGUST 23, 2016 BY DIANA SPATOULAS Most people have never heard of the alternative minimum tax, and those that have probably would love to forget about it and wish that it would just go away.For 2015, the Tax Policy Center projects the AMT will impact 4.1 million taxpayers and generate $28.2 billion—so it is safe to assume that Congress will not loosen the grip AMT has on taxpayers any time soon. To help ease the painful truth of how AMT can impact your clients, presented below is a brief explanation of what it is and how it is calculated. Sadly, for most of us there is little that can be…

201608.25
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Boomer Consulting Maps Profession’s Future to 2020 and Beyond

KANSAS CITY, MO. (AUGUST 16, 2016) BY DANIEL HOOD The next five years will bring tremendous change to the accounting profession, according to the experts at Boomer Consulting — and the next 15 will leave it almost unrecognizable. As part of a wide-ranging panel discussion at the 2016 Boomer Technology Circles Summit, held here this week, the leaders of the technology and management consulting firm were asked how they see the profession changing by 2020 — and then by 2030. “By 2020, we’ll see the shrinking of compliance work and the shift toward the more consultative and advisory services you offer clients,” said chief innovation officer Dustin Hostetler. “We’re going…

201608.19
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Accounting Today: AICPA announces free, four-part web series on promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace

BY SEAN MCCABE AUGUST 17, 2016 The AICPA announced on Wednesday that they will be offering a free, four-part webcast series on creating a more inclusive workplace in the accounting profession. Dubbed “The Workplace Inclusion” series, the webcast is a continuation of an earlier series on unconscious bias. The series is open to both AICPA members and the public. The first part will premiere on Thursday, Aug. 18, from 1-2 pm ET. “Inclusive work environments result in an engaged and high performing workforce, which in turn create high performing organizations,” stated Anthony Newkirk, senior manager of Diversity Initiatives at the AICPA. “This webcast series is will help people understand why creating inclusive environments is a business…

201608.17
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IRS Warns Tax Pros about New Phishing Scheme

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AUGUST 11, 2016) BY MICHAEL COHN The Internal Revenue Service is sounding the alarm about a new scheme in which scammers send emails purporting to come from tax software companies, instead fooling tax preparers into clicking on a link that will load malware on their computers. The email urges recipients to click on a link to download an important new software update and install it. The executable file has the same name as the legitimate tax software, but instead of providing an update, the link instead downloads a program that will track the tax preparer’s keystrokes, allowing criminals to steal passwords, logins and other sensitive information. The IRS…