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TOPICS
Information management and technology assurance
Best practices for promotion of diversity in the accounting profession
At various summits over the past couple of years, leaders dedicated to the advancement of African Americans in accounting have proposed various strategies to promote diversity within the accounting profession. The most recent and extensive summit took place in December 2010, when four dozen accounting profession leaders and stakeholders met
In pursuit of inclusion: New initiative will focus on racial diversity
Even as Ken Bouyer looks with pride at the progress Ernst & Young LLP has made in recruiting minority candidates over the past 20 years, he realizes that his profession’s work to promote ethnic and racial diversity is far from over. Bouyer, E&Y’s Americas director of Inclusiveness Recruiting, said that
Data breaches emerge as tech sector’s fastest-rising risk factor
Concerns over technology breaches and data security are soaring among the largest U.S. tech companies, according to a new report from accounting and consulting firm BDO. An examination of the most recent SEC 10-K filings for the 100 biggest publicly traded technology companies found that 71% listed data-security breaches as
Secrets to surviving four technology storms ahead
George Colony sees a technology future in which the web fades in prominence to something akin to AM radio, society maxes out on social media, younger consumers’ habits radically depart from those of even the closest generation, and mobile engagement with customers could mean life or death for business models.
Finance and accounting workers feel secure in jobs, according to survey
Workers in finance and accounting feel secure in their jobs, but more than half say the economy has hurt their careers and nearly half plan to explore other positions when the job market opens up, according to a new survey. Finance and accounting employees are among the least likely professionals
Leaders from large accounting firms bullish but monitoring regulation, complexity, human capital
Complexity and competition in the public accounting profession will rise as businesses demand more, better, faster, and cheaper. Working in teams and harnessing data will become more critical. Services in areas of assurance, audit, tax, and advisory work will remain the core, while emerging international markets will open up risk
Follow the conversation
Q: Our company’s employees communicate frequently through email, often with more than a dozen employees sending multiple messages back and forth related to a specific subject. The emails pile up in my inbox, making it difficult to follow the dialog exchange, and often I must sort through my inbox multiple
Gaining (from) your clients’ trust
For decades, CPAs in public practice have laid a foundation of trust with clients by competently handling confidential financial data and performing core services such as tax preparation. Today, forward-thinking CPAs are building on that foundation, expanding their business offerings, nailing down new revenue streams and cementing a more profitable
A click in time saves nine
Q: I like Excel 2010 much better than Excel 2003, but it now takes two clicks (File, Recent) to access my recently used files, instead of just one. Is this a step backward, and is there anything I can do about it? A: You are not the first person to
GoToMyPC tips
Remote access applications (such as those offered by WebEx, LogMeIn, and Citrix GoToMyPC) are among my favorite and most useful technologies. I use remote access frequently to access my office computer when I travel and to access client computers to troubleshoot their accounting system problems and provide remote training. While
Check it or leave it
Q: I check my email using Outlook 2010 at work and Outlook 2007 at home. My email accounts are set up using POP3, and the problem is that, when I read email on one computer, those email messages then do not show up on the other computer. Having my email
CPAs prioritize tech security
CPAs are confident that their organizations can secure their IT networks and manage data, but they doubt whether their employers will be able to generate revenue streams and other benefits from emerging technologies such as cloud computing and mobile devices, the AICPA reported in releasing the results of its 2012
Give me a break
Q: We receive large text documents each week that contain paragraph breaks at the end of each line, and we must manually remove the breaks to incorporate this text into our websites and reports. Removing these breaks manually is time-consuming, and using the Find and Replace tool doesn’t work well
Small businesses in U.S., Canada aren’t using accountants’ complete skills, survey shows
Efforts to get accountants more fully engaged with clients have found limited success with small businesses in the United States and Canada, a new survey shows. Forty per cent of small businesses surveyed in the U.S. and Canada do not even use an outside accountant, according to a report by
Technology extracts a big price from Americans, survey shows
Americans’ infatuation with technology such as cellphones, cable TV, and satellite radio isn’t helping them fatten their bank accounts, according to a survey conducted for the AICPA by Harris Interactive for National Financial Literacy Month. Fifty-six percent of U.S. adults said they believe that technology has made it easier to
TIGTA recommends improvements to IRS cybersecurity system
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reports that the IRS’s computer security response center is performing effectively, but further improvement is needed (TIGTA Rep’t No. 2012-20-019 (3/12/12)). Part of TIGTA’s mandate is to review the adequacy and security of IRS technology. From March through September 2011, TIGTA performed
Is it time to ditch your thumb drive?
Q: Our firm wants to provide everyone in our office with new and larger USB thumb drives to be used for transporting and sharing data files. Is this a good idea, and, if so, what size and type should we get? A: The emergence of cloud-based data storage such as
What CPAs need to know about organized crime
The FBI called it “The Case of the Stolen Company.” New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said it “gave new meaning” to the term corporate takeover. An indictment filed in a New Jersey federal court said that a group with ties to La Cosa Nostra (LCN), commonly known as
Elbows on the table, please
Q: How do you enter two labels into a single Excel cell, separated by a diagonal line? I’ve seen this done, and I want to add this to my table, but I can’t figure out how. A: The solution you are referring to is called an elbow, and you can
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SPONSORED REPORT
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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October 31, 2025
Recent developments in estate planning
October 31, 2025
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 2
September 30, 2025
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1
August 30, 2025
