With the arrival of the holiday shopping season, the analysis of a particular work email account serves as a cautionary tale to employers. Barb Bowes, a human resources consultant and president of Legacy Bowes Group in Winnipeg, Manitoba, offered the example of a company that found an average of 35
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Information management and technology assurance
SEC provides regulatory relief for Hurricane Sandy interruptions
The SEC on Wednesday issued a conditional exemption from certain federal securities law requirements for accountants, publicly traded companies, investment companies, and others affected by Hurricane Sandy. A regulatory relief order issued by the SEC says the storm and flooding have displaced individuals and businesses, and disrupted communications and transportation
Gartner: Android, Apple to spark surge in smart device sales
Worldwide sales of smartphones and tablets will soar past the 1 billion-unit threshold in 2013, while the Android, Apple iOS, and Windows 8 operating systems will spark a multiyear surge in mobile device purchases by businesses, the information technology research and consulting company Gartner forecast Tuesday. In a news release
Sandy’s sobering reminder: Prepare for the worst
As business owners affected by Hurricane Sandy attempt to pick up the pieces and get back to work, their plight serves as a reminder to others that it makes sense to prepare for the worst in business. Jim Hardy, CPA/ABV/CFF, said it’s a mistake for business owners to think that
Accounting profession at tech tipping point, Wolters Kluwer exec says
Cloud, mobile, social media, and Big Data are the emerging technologies having the most impact on the accounting profession, according to a survey of more than 400 U.S. accountants released Monday by software provider CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business. The results of the CCH Technology Survey were unveiled on the
How to keep a natural disaster from becoming a financial disaster
A natural disaster does not have to be a financial disaster, too. Estimates of damage caused after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast have run as high as $60 billion. CPA personal financial planning experts say that taking the right steps after a disaster can help people protect their surviving
S.C. taxpayers’ Social Security numbers, credit cards hacked
The South Carolina Department of Revenue is providing affected taxpayers a year of credit monitoring after a hacker stole information including 3.6 million Social Security numbers and 387,000 credit and debit card numbers from its computer systems. State revenue officials announced Friday that the S.C. Division of Information Technology learned
Windows 8: Jump or wait?
With the Oct. 26 release of Windows 8, Microsoft unveiled a new look and new direction for the operating system that runs 92% of desktop computers worldwide. But Windows 8 isn’t about desktop dominance. It’s about Microsoft seeking to gain a foothold in the mobile market, where Apple’s iOS and
2012 MAP Survey: A snapshot
The smallest firms have been the biggest winners among U.S. accounting firms during the past two years. That’s one of the findings of the 2012 National MAP (Management of an Accounting Practice) Survey, a biennial benchmarking survey conducted by the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section in conjunction with the Texas
Twitterfy me!
Q: Does Twitter really serve a legitimate business purpose? All I see are people using it to gossip and to keep track of others’ personal activities and corny stuff such as new songs and concert dates. A: Like the internet, Twitter can dish up both useful and useless information. It
QuickBooks job costing
Q: We are planning to convert our accounting system to QuickBooks next month, and we plan to use QuickBooks primarily for job costing. Do you have any recommendations related to our setup that we should consider? A: You are asking the right question at the right time. I sometimes find
Windows 8 keyboard and swipe commands
Editor’s note: Also read “Windows 8: Jump or wait?” in the November 2012 issue of the JofA. KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS Windows + Arrow Keys: Use this to place an application window to the left/right of the screen and also to maximize/minimize. Windows + Shift + Arrow Keys: Maximize, restore and move
Custom calendar
Q: Is there a quick way to create or paste a calendar into a Word document that can be edited, without having to create one from scratch? A: Word includes a tool called Quick Tables, which provides several options for inserting calendars into a Word document, as follows. From the
Lost Excel file
Q: Help! I was working in Excel 2010 on an important file for several hours when the unthinkable happened. I meant to close a single workbook, but I accidentally closed all of my workbooks without saving. Hoping that there was an undo feature to recover the file, I selected File,
Follow MAP to better firm
The 2012 National MAP (Management of an Accounting Practice) Survey, conducted by the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section and the Texas Society of CPAs, allows CPAs to benchmark their firms against their peers, an exercise that can identify areas—and processes—for improvement. To best use the MAP results, CPAs should do
The case has been solved
Q: Excel provides several functions (=LOWER, =UPPER, =PROPER) for changing character case; does Word have similar capabilities? A: To change the character case in Word, highlight the word, sentence, paragraph, or document, then press Shift+F3 to toggle between lower, upper, and proper case.
Five Twitter tips
1. Use services such as Twitter Search (twitter.com/#!/search-home) to see if someone’s talking about you, your company, or your products. You can also sign up to receive instant notification in the event a tweet does mention you, your company, or your products. 2. Use applications such as TweetDeck (tweetdeck.com) or
The incredible shrinking font
Q: In Excel 2010, the font tool allows me to select from a font size ranging from 8 points to 72 points, but I’m sure that I’ve seen others use a smaller font. Can you tell me how this is done? A: Even though Excel’s font size tool offers font
Embracing change
Richard J. Caturano, CPA, CGMA Title: Executive managing partner, Boston office, McGladrey LLP City: Boston Education: B.S. in accounting, M.S. in taxation, Bentley College Date of birth: Nov. 18, 1952 Family: Wife, Barbara; son, Anthony; daughter, Christina Ryan; son-in-law, Shane Ryan; grandson, Rhys Richard Ryan Device he can’t live without:
Cohn-Reznick deal closes as market pressures portend more mergers
J.H. Cohn LLP and the Reznick Group have closed on their previously disclosed merger, a transaction that creates the 11th-largest U.S. accounting firm and represents the second marriage of top 20 firms consummated this year. The Cohn-Reznick combination, first announced in May, creates a firm with 2,000 employees, 25 offices,
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Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season
As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.
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