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A Good Idea

In the February 2006 item “ Out, Out and Stay Out, You Stubborn Reviewing Toolbar, ” several readers correctly noted that the macro I suggested be recorded to Personal Macro Workbook , not New Workbook ; in that way it can be accessed whenever needed.

Search Multiple Worksheets

I usually work with a spreadsheet that contains as many as 24 worksheets. When I do a search using the Find command, I have to repeat the command for each worksheet. Is there a way to command Find to search all the worksheets in one swoop? Yes, not only can

The Small Firm Advantage

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Despite their modest size, local practices have many real advantages that give them a competitive edge in recruiting, retention, client service and other vital business areas. PCPS is undertaking many new efforts to support its small firm members, and is rededicating itself to initiatives and publications that highlight

A Fast Way To Replace Two Spaces After The Period With One

As the officer manager of a midsize firm, I review all documents created by the accountants for spelling, grammar and style. No matter how often I tell them that the period at the end of a sentence is followed by one space—not two—I get memos with mostly two spaces. The

Another Better Way

In the February 2006 item “ Overcome Excel’s Sort Function Shortcoming,” reader Rick Childs, CPA, CFA, a Crowe Chizek executive, suggests using Excel’s custom format to overcome its Sort function limitation. He selects the 0 format category (see screenshot below) and then adds the necessary letters in front of the

Highlights

Committee to Address Interstate Practice IssuesThe AICPA has created a volunteer Special Committee on Mobility to identify and address state mobility requirements that do not benefit the public, but block interstate practice by CPAs. “To serve their clients and meet their own business needs, today’s CPAs must be able to

Financial Literacy

Slightly more than one-third of those polled were members of Generation X, born between 1964 and 1980. Most of them were skeptical about government and corporate benefits. Fifty-five percent said they will save and invest to fund their retirement, 65% didn’t expect Social Security to provide retirement benefits and 68%

Accounting

  For news from the AICPA and state societies, visit www.cpa2biz.com , which also offers online CPE, AICPA professional literature, practice management aids and links to state society Web sites. FASB issued two staff positions (FSPs). One, Accounting for Life Settlement Contracts by Third-Party Investors, provides guidance on the investor’s

How Not to Hate Your Computer

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Always keep your computer upgraded with the latest software. Sometime this year Microsoft is scheduled to introduce its next operating system, Vista. Consider waiting six months or so for the worst of the bugs to be worked out, and buy a new computer with Vista already installed. Be

Katrina’s Harsh Lessons.

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,

Business Valuation

The AICPA has entered an agreement with the publisher of the Daubert Tracker, an online database of information on the admissibility and effectiveness of expert testimony in judicial proceedings. Under the arrangement, members of the AICPA business valuation and forensic litigation services (BV/FLS) section are eligible for substantially discounted subscriptions

Get Close to Your Clients

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Customer relationship management (CRM) is about organizing client information so you can readily use it in appropriate, thoughtful communication and actions that strengthen the bond between the firm and the client. There are a variety of software packages to help manage a CRM program. Software can be hosted

Professional Issues

The AICPA Work/Life & Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee issued “Women’s Summit: Helping Women Professionals Succeed,” a collection of valuable data and best practices resulting from the first AICPA Women’s Summit, held October 2005 in Chicago ( www.aicpa.org/worklife ). The managing partners, human resources professionals and female CPAs in attendance shared

XBRL

XBRL International, an AICPA-founded, not-for-profit global consortium of more than 400 companies and agencies working to promote technology for better and easier financial reporting, established the XBRL Standards Board to strengthen the quality, consistency and stability of the group’s technical materials and increase the openness and formality of the process

FYI

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) named two CPAs deputy chief auditors. Laura Phillips will provide technical direction on the development of the board’s standards and ensure they and related information are available and appropriately communicated to public company auditors and other interested parties. Jennifer Rand will oversee and

International

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants released a paper, “The Road to Accrual Accounting in the United States,” that offers practical insights for jurisdictions making or considering a conversion from the cash basis of accounting. It outlines the development of administrative arrangements for

Highlights

The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) new rules concerning ethics, independence, tax services and contingent fees. The SEC said it expects the PCAOB will issue additional guidance to facilitate implementation of the rules, which generally require a PCAOB-registered firm and those associated with

Rate Yourself in the Paperless Race

The pace of the changeover is mixed in some areas and quickening in others, but on average accountants are using more paperless methods to save time and money.

Excel Shortcuts

FF2+Shift: Edit comment F3+Shift: Paste function F4+Shift: Find again F5+Shift: Find F6+Shift: Previous pane F8+Shift: Add to selection F9+Shift: Calculate worksheet F10+Shift: Context menu F11+Shift: New worksheet F12+Shift: Save Stanley Zarowin, a former JofA senior editor, is now a contributing editor. His e-mail address is zarowin@mindspring.com . Do you have

Recruiting Made Easy

A talented recruit may be your next partner. You never know. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Porter Keadle Moore LLP established a comprehensive campus recruiting presence on eight college campuses to recruit hires directly from schools. That way it can train staff in its unique processes from the very beginning. A first step

SPONSORED REPORT

Agentic accounting has arrived: What’s hype and what’s real?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving beyond chatbots and into accounting workflows. A new generation of agentic AI tools can plan, execute, and adapt as they complete tasks, raising expectations for what automation can do inside firms and finance departments. What can agentic AI realistically do today and what challenges are there in its implementation? Find out in this Journal of Accountancy sponsored report.