January
2008
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Article
BUSINESS TIPSIn a recent CCH survey, accounting firms associated several benefits with having formal knowledge management programs, such as an increase in efficiency (76), productivity (63) and revenue (62) and an improvement in client service (69). These firms were also more likely to follow other management best practices, including Using a database for knowledge sharing Conducting regularly scheduled training on knowledge management systems Deploying supporting technology to further knowledge initiatives The survey found, however, that only 36 of firms have established these programs.
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September
2007
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Article
What would happen if you were unable to work for an extended period of time? Practice continuation plans are essential for CPAs. They ensure clients are taken care of and preserve the value of a practice, especially for small to mediumsize firms, if an owner or sole practitioner falls ill.
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August
2007
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BY
Kim Nilsen
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Article
by Z. Christopher Mercer, ASA, CFA Peabody Publishing LP, 2007, 324 pp. Predicting the future is practically impossible. For businesses, that uncertainty makes planning crucial. Z. Christopher Mercer offers a granular look at one method of applying present tense solutions to future decisions and transitions. Mercer examines the world of buysell agreements, which establish a mechanism for the purchase of equity interests following the death of one of the owners of an entity or some other major or adverse change in a business environment.
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July
2007
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Article
A recent study by Institutional Shareholder Services found CEO succession planning, which many public company boards have adopted over the past three years, to be a key practice in reducing excessive executive and golden parachute payments. The study suggests that without a succession plan in place, a board can become desperate to hire an outsider and is then more willing to offer a “candy store of incentives.” Index Group Percentage of companies with a boardapproved CEO succession plan, Jan.
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December
2006
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BY
Anita Dennis
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Article
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sound contingency plans can prevent or minimize damage in a crisis. Although natural disasters are the most obvious and dramatic, firms also should be prepared to resume business after a fire or theft, or the loss of a key firm member. Business continuation insurance can pay for time lost from client work to manage the disaster response.
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June
2006
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BY
Randy Myers
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Article
Those of us who lived through Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in the Gulf states also experienced countless acts of kindness. We want to acknowledge that tremendous outpouring of support. We regret we don’t have the space to recognize individually the thousands of stories of helpfulness and courage. —Grady Hazel, executive director, Society of Louisiana CPAs ike thousands of her former neighbors, CPA Geralyn Suhor, president of the New Orleans chapter of the Society of Louisiana CPAs, is a Hurricane Katrina refugee.
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May
2004
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BY
Ed McCarthy
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Article
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DISASTER ARE UNPREDICTABLE , and one disruption may cause others, so a firm should test its preparedness plan to make sure it will do what it’s supposed to locate the firm’s people, obtain equipment and support, access jobfile and system backups and put staff to work in an alternate location.
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April
2003
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BY
Sarah Phelan, Michael Hayes
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Article
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BEING ABLE TO REACH STAFF IS PARAMOUNT during and directly after a disaster. To communicate while power and telephone lines are down, a firm can use public service radio announcements to give out phone numbers where employees can get information. ORGANIZE BUSINESS RECOVERY TEAMS AND DETERMINE the resources needed to recover headquarters, computer operations and the disaster site.
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