EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The definition of mentoring is expanding to include the concept of coaching, which is focused on helping others learn job-related skills for growth. In today’s rapidly changing work environment, young accountants appear to learn more quickly and thoroughly through on-the-job training. Firms with strong cultures that facilitate continual
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Information management and technology assurance
Shortcuts
Alt+Esc: Switches keyboard focus to next application window on taskbar. Press Esc more than once to switch through successive windows. Add Shift to reverse the direction. Move to next Excel worksheet: Ctrl+Page Up goes to the right; Ctrl+Page Down goes to the left.
Developing a CRM Strategy in Your Firm
Jump to Web exclusives: Is CRM Worthwhile? Assess Your Customer Relationship Management Readiness EXECUTIVE SUMMARY When a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy is integrated with a firm’s overall strategic plan, it helps the firm perceive and respond to business and economic trends. CRM strategy starts with an understanding of a
Smart Stops on the Web
HUMAN RESOURCES PLAYING MATCHMAKER http://micromentor.org This mentor-matching site connects small business owners and entrepreneurs with experienced business owners and professionals. The program, an initiative of international economic development agency Mercy Corps, matches protégés with mentors based on their experience and expertise. Mentors must have three to five years
Make document and spreadsheet screens easier to read with a yellow tint
I’m glad you find it helpful. Yes, you can default to a tinted screen. It takes a bit of effort, but, since you’re finding it so helpful, I’m sure you’ll gladly invest the effort to go through the steps. Many middle-age or older users or those who suffer from mild
Mentoring Part of Recruiting and Retaining, Too
“Recruiting (and Retaining) the Next Generation Accountant” (April 08, page 60) intrigued me. The authors, Kent State faculty members, clearly understand the challenges involved in recruiting the next generation of accountants. They also discuss many ways in which academia and the profession can work together while young people are earning
Hightlights
The SEC proposed new rules that would require securities issuers to provide an XBRL version of their financial statements. Under the proposal, all U.S. public companies and foreign private issuers listed with the SEC would be required to provide financial information using XBRL within three years. The
Send an E-mail Directly From Word or Excel
Your colleague’s right. There’s no need to switch into Outlook to compose and transmit a message. In fact, you even can do it in Excel. Not only can you send e-mails in those applications, but also you can add the document or spreadsheet you’re in as an attachment. You need
Make Documents Fully Disclose Where They’re Stored in the Computer
Although there is no official way to do that, I’ll show you an unpublished way to trick XP into displaying that information, and it works in all Office XP applications. If you’re running XP, you can convert this… …into this full path statement of the open file: Office 2007
Excel Can Partially Hide Numbers You Need to Keep Private
The easiest way to do that is to apply a formula using two columns—store the full nine-digit number in one, which then is hidden and protected, and apply a formula that effectively camouflages all but the last four digits in the other, as shown in the screenshot below. The
Professional Issues
The guide provides step-by-step guidance, including ready-to-use forms and checklists, to assist in launching a mentoring program. To request a free copy of the guide, e-mail womensinitiatives@aicpa.org or download it at www.aicpa.org/download/career/wofi/Mentoring_Prg.pdf.
Let Excel Instruct Users How to Enter Data
You can do it several ways, but I think Excel’s Data Validation tool does it best. You can program it to display a popup memo with your instructions and then disappear after data are entered. The screenshot below illustrates what a Data Validation pop–up memo looks like when cell
Insert a Graphic in a Header or Footer
It’s very easy. Go to the File menu, click on Page Setup and make sure the Header/Footer tab is selected. Click on the Custom Header or Custom Footer button, depending on which you want, and then, depending on where you want the graphic to appear on the page, click
Smart Stops on the Web
WEALTH MANAGEMENT PFP CLASSES 2.0 http://pfp.aicpa.org/Events/PFP+and+PFS+Web+Seminars.htm Visit this site from the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning Center to register for upcoming Web seminars on sophisticated IRA and AMT strategies and overcoming common challenges in PFP practices. Through the Web seminar format, participants can interact with fellow financial
Test Your Information Security IQ
Information security is a dynamic field and, although accounting professionals have become much savvier on the subject, keeping track of the latest best practices can be a daunting task. How current are you? Take this quiz on information security basics to find out. 1. Because no single antivirus program
Managing IT in a Downturn
During an economic downturn, the impact of good governance of information technology is magnified. CFOs managing IT under current conditions would benefit from keeping these action items in focus. Monitor the progress of the actual IT budget compared to the approved budget. Beware of variances, such as planned
Smart Stops on the Web
TECHNOLOGY TRY BEFORE YOU FILE www.tryxbrl.org This collaboration between EDGAR Online, a business and financial information provider, and RR Donnelley, a print services company, can help you get up to speed on XBRL and interactive data. Track it in real time with the countdown clock, which ticks off
Streamline shortcuts by engaging the desktop toolbar
I confess to being a shortcut freak. After all, why search through folders when you can open the file you want with just one mouse click? However, I am finding that the Quick Launch toolbar, as good as it is, is becoming somewhat limiting because I quickly run out
Web Syndication Using RSS
» Key to Instructions To help readers follow the instructions in this article, we used two different typefaces: Boldface type is used to identify the names of icons, agendas and URLs. Sans serif type shows the names of files and the names of commands and instructions that users should type into
Accelerate editing of complex formulas in Excel
Many of the formulas in my spreadsheets are long and complicated. When I need to make an adjustment, I could click on the Formula bar and edit the formula in the target cell, but I prefer to keep my fingers on the keyboard—using the F2 key instead to give
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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.
From The Tax Adviser
August 31, 2026
2026 tax software survey
July 31, 2026
