BKD LLP of Springfield, Mo., requires partners to take a one-month paid sabbatical every five years.

Randy Hultz, BKD’s director of human resources, said the time off not only allows partners to recover from the demands of client service and continually building professional expertise, but also serves as a teambuilding exercise.

“When a partner is away, he or she learns what the rest of the team can do. For team members, it’s a chance to show they can handle extra responsibilities. That enables a company to consider succession planning by identifying the next generation of partners,” Hultz said.

Tempted to work from home? Don’t even think about it—partners on sabbatical have their e-mail accounts disabled.

More than three-quarters of respondents said they are outsourcing option valuation as a result of the increased complexity and scrutiny associated with FASB Statement no. 123(R) implementation. A majority of executives reported that reconciling the tax benefit for awards that were partially or fully vested upon adoption of the standard, as well as the grant-by-grant reconciliation of the option exercise tax benefit, was challenging or burdensome.

Almost 60% said they have increased the involvement of their compensation committee in designing compensation programs.

For more information on FASB Statement no. 123(R) implementation, see “ Options and the Deferred Tax Bite,” March 06, page 71; “A Road Map for Share-Based Compensation,” April 07, page 50; and “Avoiding FASB 123(R) Pitfalls,” May 07, page 74.

Source: Insights for Technology Business Leaders: Stock-Based Compensation Practices in Transition, Grant Thornton LLP, www.grantthornton.com .

— SEC Chairman Christopher Cox,
following NYSE Euronext’s submission
of 10-Q information in XBRL format.

Source: SEC, www.sec.gov.

The 2007 Survey of Women Business Owners, sponsored by accounting firm RSM McGladrey, the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, the University of Chicago and the Committee of 200, found 40% of the 650 respondents had postgraduate education, compared to 25% of all U.S. female professionals and 9% of all women in the work force.

Respondents also were asked, “How much risk would you take or have you taken to start or expand your business?”

The top two responses were to use up to 95% of personal savings and use a personal home as collateral.

Source: 2007 Survey of Women Business Owners,
www.rsmmcgladrey.com/Knowledge-Center/Downloads/WBOSurvey2007-1.

Proportion of all charitable giving done between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

Source: Charity Navigator, www.charitynavigator.org.

Wojcik, a bus driver in Slupsk, Poland, sent 38,000 text messages in an unsuccessful attempt to win a contest paying $36,000. The cell phone bill totaled $34,000.

If that wasn’t dumb enough, the cell phone belonged to the Slupsk city transport system, which was not amused—it fired the serial dialer. It is unclear whether Wojcik was also prosecuted.

In fact, 32% of executives who responded to the 2007 MAP Quarterly CEO Survey conducted by Vantage Research, said that up to half of their new employees haven’t been meeting expectations over the past two years.

Source: www.mapconsulting.com.

— Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke,
at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Education
and Workforce Summit, Sept. 24.

Source: www.federalreserve.gov.

The IRS insists records of employment taxes be kept for at least four years, and files should include:

Amounts and dates of all wage, annuity and pension payments.

Names, addresses, Social Security numbers and occupations of employees, as well as their dates of employment.

Employee copies of Form W-2 returned as undeliverable.

The fair market value of in-kind wages paid.

Copies of employees’ income tax withholding allowance certificates.

Dates and amounts of tax deposits.

Copies of returns filed.

Records of allocated tips and fringe benefits provided, including substantiation.

Source: www.irs.gov.

The percentage of audit committees with at least one accountant member also grew during this period, from 21% to 40%; members with accounting backgrounds increasingly filled the role of chairperson, from less than 10% in 2002 to 23% in 2006.

However, the study of 670 audit committee members at 164 public companies found that accountants trail finance professionals in representation on audit committees. Defined as CFOs, treasurers or finance professors, they filled 34% of committee seats and 40% of chairperson positions.

Source: 2007 Audit Committee Research Report , Huron Consulting Group, www.huronconsultinggroup.com.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor.

According to The Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations Report by Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.com, 55% of employees surveyed reported that their compensation has increased over the last 12 months, up from 45% in their 2006 survey.

Moreover, 58% said they would likely negotiate higher compensation if accepting a new job offer, double the number of employees who said they would last year (29%).

Source: The Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations Report,  www.roberthalf.com/pressroom.

Deloitte & Touche USA LLP staffers were encouraged to submit short films that express the organization’s culture and values for the “What’s Your Deloitte?” online film festival, an initiative that aims to attract Generation Y employees

“It’s very clear to us that the integration of self-expression opportunities through film and other media are essential to recruiting and retaining top talent. Plus it’s a heck of a lot of fun,” said Cathy Benko, Deloitte’s managing principal of talent.

The 370 entries were posted on an intranet site, where they were rated by Deloitte employees. The winning film and top 13 finalists can be seen at www.youtube.com/profile?user=DeloitteFilmFest.

The winning films will be integrated into college campus recruiting programs as “ice breakers” for students. “The concept is that no one can show students what Deloitte is all about better than our own professionals,” said Diane Borhani, Deloitte’s U.S. campus recruiting lead, who noted that the company is looking to make the film festival an annual event.

Soure: Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, www.deloitte.com.