Q: We import commodities from around the world and frequently need to convert weight and volume measurements from the metric system to United States customary measurements (for example, liters to gallons and meters to feet). Last year we purchased Windows 7 computers and developed Excel templates to help meet this
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Information management and technology assurance
Business Development Skill Builders for Young CPAs
Many firm leaders think that young CPAs lack the necessary business development skills to move to the next level or become a future leader of the firm. However, young CPAs are often not given the opportunity to develop those skills on a daily basis. Business development is a difficult thing
Business Insurance: What to Do Before You Renew
Conditions in the insurance market present CPAs a great opportunity to enhance their business insurance coverage as well as to educate their small business clients on key policy renewal strategies. Here are several tips on enhancements to look for and other factors to consider when renewing coverage: Following these tips
Caps Off to You
Q: Caps really bug me. It seems that I never know when I have the Caps Lock turned on. I think it changes by itself! Is there an app for Windows that easily alerts (by sound would be nice) that the Caps Lock is on? Is there an EASY WAY
Pasting Away Again
Q: Often in Excel, I have the need to copy and paste data from one cell location to multiple cell locations as I continue to work in Excel. However, after I have copied a cell’s content, but before I am finished pasting that cell’s content, Excel loses the copied content
Hide Me Quick
Q: I am constantly hiding, unhiding and rehiding columns to generate reports in a multitude of report layouts, and I can’t figure out how to display only the hidden column I need without having to display all my hidden columns. Can you help? A: Because hiding and unhiding columns is
Dating Tips
Q: When entering dates in Excel, it would be much simpler if I could enter the date as just the numbers without the forward slash character (for example, 06102010 instead of 06/10/2010). Entering the slash makes the exercise a two-handed exercise instead of a one-handed exercise via the numeric keyboard.
An Excellent Arrangement
Q: Last year, my office upgraded to two monitors at each workspace. Having simultaneous full-screen views of two files is a vast improvement over split-screen windows. Is it possible to display a different tab from the same Excel worksheet on two monitors? A: Yes, this can be accomplished. Start by
IFRS Foundation to Add Common-Practice Tags to IFRS Taxonomy
The IFRS Foundation said it will publish supplementary tags for the IFRS Taxonomy that reflect disclosures that are commonly reported by entities in their IFRS financial statements. The foundation, the International Accounting Standards Board’s parent organization, said the common-practice tags will enhance the comparability of information by enabling entities to
Mining Tax Clients for New Business Opportunities
Any CPA who does personal income tax returns can relate to the frustration of waiting for clients to open envelopes and organize data during the tax return informational interview. Don’t let this time go to waste. For many firms, the largest volume of clients is in tax return services. Using
Creating a New Worksheet Can Be a Drag
Q: How can I insert new worksheets in my Excel workbook without having to constantly set up headers and footers in those new worksheets? A: Excel 2003, 2007 and 2010 allow you to duplicate a worksheet by holding the Ctrl key down and dragging the worksheet’s tab to the left
XPS vs. PDF
Q: I see that Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 offer a new file format called XPS. I have read that it supports the paperless environment, and I wonder if our firm should be using this format as we go paperless. Can you give us some advice? A: XPS (XML Paper
What Does It Take to Lead?
Confidence. Passion. Emotional Intelligence. These are all traits that successful accountants say are needed to be an effective leader in the profession. Whether choosing to work as a CFO, serve in academia, or climb the ranks to partner of a local or national firm, certain skills undeniably top the list
E-mail a Single Worksheet
Q: What is the easiest way to send a single Excel worksheet to a staff member without sending him or her the entire workbook? A: You can send a single worksheet (that is, not the entire workbook) from within Excel using the integrated Outlook Send this Sheet applet, as follows:
Excel’s New Slicer—It Slices, It Dices
Q: We maintain a large amount of data for more than 100 restaurants for which we analyze sales and expenses daily, weekly and monthly by location, city, state and territory, and even by type of restaurant. Overnight, the results of operations for the previous day feed into a database, and
Displaying a Two-Digit Year
Q: How can I force Excel to display a two-digit year (instead of a four-digit year) by default? A: Many of the default settings in Excel, including the date format, are governed by the default settings in the Windows operating system, as pictured in the screen below. These
A Refreshing Change in Your Portfolio
Q: I’ve heard that you can create a stock portfolio in Excel that can be updated automatically via the Internet. Can you please tell me if this true, and, if so, how this is accomplished? A: You’ve heard correctly. Excel provides a built-in query tool that can link your worksheet
Survey Highlights Emerging Tools for Firms of All Sizes
One of the clearest ways for firms to increase profitability is to become more efficient. Because technology can enhance productivity, the 2010 PCPS/TSCPA National MAP Survey asked firms how they are keeping up with software and hardware developments, including paperless systems, multiple monitors, time and billing software, client portals and
Picture a Smaller File Size
Q: Our company recently created a detailed product catalog in Word 2010 containing pictures, descriptions and prices for the 175 items we sell. Unfortunately, the resulting document’s file size is 95 megabytes, which makes it impractical for e-mailing or downloading from the Web (which was our intended purpose). Do you
Hitting the Target: National Survey Looks at How CPA Firms of All Sizes Stack Up
Practitioners have put their business management skills to the test within their own firms during the past two years to minimize potential damage from the economic downturn, according to a biennial survey conducted by the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section in conjunction with the Texas Society of CPAs. The results
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