In 2003, 71 percent of U.S. employees worked more than 40 hours per week, and 57 percent considered themselves overworked, according to a survey by career site Monster. The good news? Home-office workers can incorporate stress relievers that may not fly in the corporate office.
Here are five techniques that telecommuters can try at home:
1. At home you aren't subject to fire-hazard laws, so light aromatherapy candles.
2. Play light, relaxing music in the background, but lower the volume during business calls.
3. Take a 15-minute power nap to keep you refreshed, or reward yourself with a quick break. For instance, for every two hours of work, allow yourself 10 minutes to get a snack, get fresh air, or to stretch.
4. Arrange for a massage therapist to visit you in your home. Onsite masseuses are often paid by short blocks of time, so arrange the visit for as quick or as long as you need.
5. Take advantage of your flexible schedule. Work a half day when you are too stressed to concentrate. Make up the other half on a day when your office coworkers don't go in, like on a Saturday morning or on a holiday.
Source: www.salesandmarketing.com
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Saturday, November 20, 2004
FASB Gets Input from Sounding Board
The standard-setters' advisory panel unveils annual wish-list agenda. What do YOU think the FASB should be doing?
by Rick Telberg
At Large
Pssst! Wanna peek into the future of accounting standards-setting?
Here's a clue: The little known Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council, an adjunct to the powerful and well-known Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB, or the Board), based in Norwalk, Conn., has completed a member survey of the top issues. The results could suggest FASB's focus in years to come.
Some old problems still need urgent attention, according to FASAC. "For the third consecutive year," the report states, "revenue recognition topped the list of issues that Council members believe should be the Board's priority."
And the FASAC members are not necessarily as enamored of international harmonization as you'd think from reading the global business press. "FASAC members generally would not automatically assign a higher priority to projects that provide international convergence opportunities," the report said. "Nor do they believe that the Board should always add a project to its agenda because the International Accounting Standards Board does."
In sum, the report said, "Most FASAC members support the Board's efforts to create a codification of U.S. GAAP. Some encouraged the Board, however, to not let the work on the codification affect the progress on other important projects."
To be sure, the AICPA's own Al Anderson said, "None of the Board's current projects should be removed from the agenda. Several current projects are scheduled to be completed in the near term, and new projects can be added to the agenda as that occurs."
Another interesting insight can be gleaned by comparing FASAC's responses to the survey with FASB's:
FASAC Members (out of 28 respondents) vs. FASB Members (out of 7 respondents)
--Revenue Recognition: 21 vs. 5
--Financial Performance Reporting by Business Enterprises: 16 vs. 4
--Fair Value Measurement/Fair Value: 15 vs. 2
--Codification and Simplification: 12 vs. 1
--International Convergence/Short-Term Convergence: 11 vs. 2
Beyond the standards issues themselves, however, FASAC members made several interesting references to impending economic changes necessitating changes in accounting standards.
One respondent pointed out that the burgeoning federal budget deficit will lead to higher interest rates and inflation. Inflationary conditions will stress the definitions of fair value and also leave investors unable to accurately evaluate performance figures. The trade imbalance and "accommodative monetary policy" will aggravate inflationary tendencies, according to John F. Richards, managing partner of Crabtree Ventures.
At the same time, cost pressures brought on pension funding (by inflation crossed with poor market performance) are likely to cause companies to use accounting to juggle numbers and shade the truth. Guidelines may have to be tightened. Cost pressures are also giving birth to new pension plan designs to which current standards may not clearly or reliably apply.
The expectation of future economic change makes it all the more difficult to apply the Board's proposed standard on fair value measurement. Small changes in discount rates can have major effects on value over the long term. In a world subject to disruptive political and economic events, anything from terrorist attacks to commodity shortages can have major effects over the short term.
Said Hal Rogero, representing the Institute of Management Accountants: "Some fair value measures are based upon estimates so far into the future that reliability is a real issue." This is all the more true in an inconstant environment.
The imminence and inevitability of economic change make it all the more important that FASB continue its effort to produce standards that rely more on principles and the spirit of the standard than on detailed guidelines and the letter of the law. Principles accommodate change far better than bright-line rules do.
The FASAC survey didn't say it, but one might reasonably conclude that any attempt to deal with economic change by heaping more rules on old rules could not only confound preparers and auditors but confuse investors. One result: the kind of volatility normally associated with an unsure environment.
FOR THE FULL FASAC REPORT: Click here, http://www.fasb.org/fasac/resultspg2004.shtml
by Rick Telberg
At Large
Pssst! Wanna peek into the future of accounting standards-setting?
Here's a clue: The little known Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council, an adjunct to the powerful and well-known Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB, or the Board), based in Norwalk, Conn., has completed a member survey of the top issues. The results could suggest FASB's focus in years to come.
Some old problems still need urgent attention, according to FASAC. "For the third consecutive year," the report states, "revenue recognition topped the list of issues that Council members believe should be the Board's priority."
And the FASAC members are not necessarily as enamored of international harmonization as you'd think from reading the global business press. "FASAC members generally would not automatically assign a higher priority to projects that provide international convergence opportunities," the report said. "Nor do they believe that the Board should always add a project to its agenda because the International Accounting Standards Board does."
In sum, the report said, "Most FASAC members support the Board's efforts to create a codification of U.S. GAAP. Some encouraged the Board, however, to not let the work on the codification affect the progress on other important projects."
To be sure, the AICPA's own Al Anderson said, "None of the Board's current projects should be removed from the agenda. Several current projects are scheduled to be completed in the near term, and new projects can be added to the agenda as that occurs."
Another interesting insight can be gleaned by comparing FASAC's responses to the survey with FASB's:
FASAC Members (out of 28 respondents) vs. FASB Members (out of 7 respondents)
--Revenue Recognition: 21 vs. 5
--Financial Performance Reporting by Business Enterprises: 16 vs. 4
--Fair Value Measurement/Fair Value: 15 vs. 2
--Codification and Simplification: 12 vs. 1
--International Convergence/Short-Term Convergence: 11 vs. 2
Beyond the standards issues themselves, however, FASAC members made several interesting references to impending economic changes necessitating changes in accounting standards.
One respondent pointed out that the burgeoning federal budget deficit will lead to higher interest rates and inflation. Inflationary conditions will stress the definitions of fair value and also leave investors unable to accurately evaluate performance figures. The trade imbalance and "accommodative monetary policy" will aggravate inflationary tendencies, according to John F. Richards, managing partner of Crabtree Ventures.
At the same time, cost pressures brought on pension funding (by inflation crossed with poor market performance) are likely to cause companies to use accounting to juggle numbers and shade the truth. Guidelines may have to be tightened. Cost pressures are also giving birth to new pension plan designs to which current standards may not clearly or reliably apply.
The expectation of future economic change makes it all the more difficult to apply the Board's proposed standard on fair value measurement. Small changes in discount rates can have major effects on value over the long term. In a world subject to disruptive political and economic events, anything from terrorist attacks to commodity shortages can have major effects over the short term.
Said Hal Rogero, representing the Institute of Management Accountants: "Some fair value measures are based upon estimates so far into the future that reliability is a real issue." This is all the more true in an inconstant environment.
The imminence and inevitability of economic change make it all the more important that FASB continue its effort to produce standards that rely more on principles and the spirit of the standard than on detailed guidelines and the letter of the law. Principles accommodate change far better than bright-line rules do.
The FASAC survey didn't say it, but one might reasonably conclude that any attempt to deal with economic change by heaping more rules on old rules could not only confound preparers and auditors but confuse investors. One result: the kind of volatility normally associated with an unsure environment.
FOR THE FULL FASAC REPORT: Click here, http://www.fasb.org/fasac/resultspg2004.shtml
Thursday, November 18, 2004
What Your Workforce Really Wants
If today's CPAs mirror others of their generation, then they want less work time and more family time.
by Rick Telberg
Career Feature
Who'd ever have thought that the turn-on-and-drop-out generation of the '60s and '70s would turn into a force of workaholics with a penchant for office time over family time? This is just one of several important trends that may mean long-term challenges for accounting firms.
A survey conducted by the Families and Work Institute has found that 22 percent of Boomers are "work-centric," compared to 12 to 13 percent of other generations. Meanwhile, 52 percent of Gen-X are family-centric, compared to 41 percent of Boomers.
The study holds clues to recruiting, retaining and grooming CPA talent in the 21st century. The lessons should be studied and understood by hiring managers at CPA firms and in business and industry alike. But the data could also help rank-and-file CPAs understand and grapple with the workaday conflicts they face in balancing the career and personal life.
The study also parallels recent research that suggests fewer people are lusting after becoming partner in a firm, or chief executive of a Fortune 1000 company.
One can imagine why the children of these hardworking Boomers are showing a marked shift toward more time at home.
The survey found that Gen-X fathers (those 23 to 37 years old) are spending 50 percent more time with their children than Boomers did in their younger days. Likewise, Gen-X, especially the women, are more likely to turn down career opportunities if the added responsibilities mean less time for family.
An increasing number of men, too, are less attracted to the high-earning positions in their companies. The "bad-mood meters" of their bosses hint of managers' dissatisfaction with job and life.
Of those who want jobs with less responsibility, 44 percent are at least somewhat likely to look for work elsewhere.
Does this mean trouble for American productivity?
Not necessarily.
Family-centric and dual-centric workers, the survey found, exhibit better mental health and satisfaction with their lives and jobs. And the more they like their jobs, the longer they're willing to work each week. In fact, the younger generations spend about as much time at work as their older peers.
These trends may mean trouble for accounting firms.
Just as it suffers a dearth of qualified professionals, those who are qualified may be less inclined to strive for success. They'll put in the hours, but their minds will be on their families. They don't want to get ahead; they want to get home. Many may want opportunities to move down in the company rather than up. Time-off may mean more than time-and-a-half.
That's something for management Boomers to think about while they're working late, when it's quiet because everyone else has gone home.
Comments? Click on the messaging box below.
by Rick Telberg
Career Feature
Who'd ever have thought that the turn-on-and-drop-out generation of the '60s and '70s would turn into a force of workaholics with a penchant for office time over family time? This is just one of several important trends that may mean long-term challenges for accounting firms.
A survey conducted by the Families and Work Institute has found that 22 percent of Boomers are "work-centric," compared to 12 to 13 percent of other generations. Meanwhile, 52 percent of Gen-X are family-centric, compared to 41 percent of Boomers.
The study holds clues to recruiting, retaining and grooming CPA talent in the 21st century. The lessons should be studied and understood by hiring managers at CPA firms and in business and industry alike. But the data could also help rank-and-file CPAs understand and grapple with the workaday conflicts they face in balancing the career and personal life.
The study also parallels recent research that suggests fewer people are lusting after becoming partner in a firm, or chief executive of a Fortune 1000 company.
One can imagine why the children of these hardworking Boomers are showing a marked shift toward more time at home.
The survey found that Gen-X fathers (those 23 to 37 years old) are spending 50 percent more time with their children than Boomers did in their younger days. Likewise, Gen-X, especially the women, are more likely to turn down career opportunities if the added responsibilities mean less time for family.
An increasing number of men, too, are less attracted to the high-earning positions in their companies. The "bad-mood meters" of their bosses hint of managers' dissatisfaction with job and life.
Of those who want jobs with less responsibility, 44 percent are at least somewhat likely to look for work elsewhere.
Does this mean trouble for American productivity?
Not necessarily.
Family-centric and dual-centric workers, the survey found, exhibit better mental health and satisfaction with their lives and jobs. And the more they like their jobs, the longer they're willing to work each week. In fact, the younger generations spend about as much time at work as their older peers.
These trends may mean trouble for accounting firms.
Just as it suffers a dearth of qualified professionals, those who are qualified may be less inclined to strive for success. They'll put in the hours, but their minds will be on their families. They don't want to get ahead; they want to get home. Many may want opportunities to move down in the company rather than up. Time-off may mean more than time-and-a-half.
That's something for management Boomers to think about while they're working late, when it's quiet because everyone else has gone home.
Comments? Click on the messaging box below.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
What You Don't Know Could Hurt You
CPAs need to start asking the tough questions. Here are my top 10.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
If you think you know what your client or company wants from you, you are probably wrong.
Why? Because most CPAs simply don't ask. It's probably the single biggest mistake most CPAs make in their practices and in their careers.
Evidence of the gap is all around. For instance, ask CPAs what the next big thing is going to be in technology, and you'll find CPAs in public practice and CPAs in industry drawing up very different lists, as I reported in "The Next Big Thing in Software." In public practice, the top item is construction accounting software. Among members in industry, it's help desk and call center solutions.
Or try this one: Ask clients, "What else can your CPA do for you?" And about three in four will say, simply, "Nothing." Then ask, "What do you wish your CPA could for you?" And you'll get a raft of answers, ranging from financial advice to legal services and back again.
Here's a third example: The biggest single issue facing small- and medium-sized businesses, year in and year out, has been health insurance costs. And yet, few, if any, CPA firms are helping clients with the problem.
So it's positively refreshing that a new program is afoot in the profession that could help CPAs start asking the right questions and actually delivering good, valuable and actionable answers.
To be sure, systems for consultative selling have long been available -- in checklists and manuals, and from consultants and trainers. But a new solution leveraging the considerable experience of Paul Dunn, famous for Results Accountants Systems and the Accountants' Bootcamp, holds out the promise of partially automating the process with Web-based software.
At its height, Dunn's operation had enrolled maybe 3,500 small CPA firms in his army of go-getters. Then in 2000 he sold the business and retired to the south of France. Now Paul Dunn is back. That alone is news. But what Paul Dunn is doing with longtime associate Shannon Vincent is even bigger news. They've formed The ReNew Group and are launching a nifty little program called TRUST. It's still mostly beta, but nevertheless worth a look.
But don't take my word for it. "It's an awesome program," raves D. Michelle Golden, a CPA firm marketing consultant based in St. Louis. "If just one or two Trust sessions per month were on each partner's or manager's personal marketing plan, it would make a big difference in any firm, not just in sales, but in improvement of service and expansion of relationships in general."
Here's how it works: The CPA invites a client, at least annually, to fill out an online questionnaire -- not unlike the idea of a tax-season questionnaire.
From the answers received, the program pinpoints issues and challenges from -- and this is critical -- the client's perspective. The questionnaire takes about 40 minutes and client answers are likely to be at least as honest as, if not more honest than, they would be if the CPA were spending the time face-to-face. The plethora of data divulged is huge. And the information is immediately actionable. It's also broadly customizable.
Still, the starting point for the system is the range of questions Dunn and Vincent have devised.
Measure yourself against these questions, and decide if you're asking the right questions, and getting actionable answers, from your clients or your company:
1. How confident are you that all of your income tax returns have been completed and liabilities agreed with the tax authorities?
2. How do you rate your understanding of the responsibilities and risks of being a Director under corporation/company law?
3. How do you rate the quality of the management information you receive from your systems?
4. How well has your business lived up to the expectations you had when you started it?
5. How do you rate your personal investment plan as a means to achieving financial independence?
6. How proactive are you at ensuring that any differences between forecasted and actual profit are addressed, at least on a monthly basis?
7. How frequently do you prepare and review financial statements to monitor business performance?
8. How confident are you that you have adequate retirement funds?
9. How recently did you carry out a financial modeling exercise, examining various what-if scenarios for your business?
10. If a prospect asked you to describe what you do in 30 seconds, how confident would you be that you could get your key messages across?
Even if The ReNew Group's solution isn't right for you, Dunn and Vincent are moving the profession forward by prompting CPAs to bear down on the right business issues.
And isn't that what CPAs should be doing all along?
by Rick Telberg
At Large
If you think you know what your client or company wants from you, you are probably wrong.
Why? Because most CPAs simply don't ask. It's probably the single biggest mistake most CPAs make in their practices and in their careers.
Evidence of the gap is all around. For instance, ask CPAs what the next big thing is going to be in technology, and you'll find CPAs in public practice and CPAs in industry drawing up very different lists, as I reported in "The Next Big Thing in Software." In public practice, the top item is construction accounting software. Among members in industry, it's help desk and call center solutions.
Or try this one: Ask clients, "What else can your CPA do for you?" And about three in four will say, simply, "Nothing." Then ask, "What do you wish your CPA could for you?" And you'll get a raft of answers, ranging from financial advice to legal services and back again.
Here's a third example: The biggest single issue facing small- and medium-sized businesses, year in and year out, has been health insurance costs. And yet, few, if any, CPA firms are helping clients with the problem.
So it's positively refreshing that a new program is afoot in the profession that could help CPAs start asking the right questions and actually delivering good, valuable and actionable answers.
To be sure, systems for consultative selling have long been available -- in checklists and manuals, and from consultants and trainers. But a new solution leveraging the considerable experience of Paul Dunn, famous for Results Accountants Systems and the Accountants' Bootcamp, holds out the promise of partially automating the process with Web-based software.
At its height, Dunn's operation had enrolled maybe 3,500 small CPA firms in his army of go-getters. Then in 2000 he sold the business and retired to the south of France. Now Paul Dunn is back. That alone is news. But what Paul Dunn is doing with longtime associate Shannon Vincent is even bigger news. They've formed The ReNew Group and are launching a nifty little program called TRUST. It's still mostly beta, but nevertheless worth a look.
But don't take my word for it. "It's an awesome program," raves D. Michelle Golden, a CPA firm marketing consultant based in St. Louis. "If just one or two Trust sessions per month were on each partner's or manager's personal marketing plan, it would make a big difference in any firm, not just in sales, but in improvement of service and expansion of relationships in general."
Here's how it works: The CPA invites a client, at least annually, to fill out an online questionnaire -- not unlike the idea of a tax-season questionnaire.
From the answers received, the program pinpoints issues and challenges from -- and this is critical -- the client's perspective. The questionnaire takes about 40 minutes and client answers are likely to be at least as honest as, if not more honest than, they would be if the CPA were spending the time face-to-face. The plethora of data divulged is huge. And the information is immediately actionable. It's also broadly customizable.
Still, the starting point for the system is the range of questions Dunn and Vincent have devised.
Measure yourself against these questions, and decide if you're asking the right questions, and getting actionable answers, from your clients or your company:
1. How confident are you that all of your income tax returns have been completed and liabilities agreed with the tax authorities?
2. How do you rate your understanding of the responsibilities and risks of being a Director under corporation/company law?
3. How do you rate the quality of the management information you receive from your systems?
4. How well has your business lived up to the expectations you had when you started it?
5. How do you rate your personal investment plan as a means to achieving financial independence?
6. How proactive are you at ensuring that any differences between forecasted and actual profit are addressed, at least on a monthly basis?
7. How frequently do you prepare and review financial statements to monitor business performance?
8. How confident are you that you have adequate retirement funds?
9. How recently did you carry out a financial modeling exercise, examining various what-if scenarios for your business?
10. If a prospect asked you to describe what you do in 30 seconds, how confident would you be that you could get your key messages across?
Even if The ReNew Group's solution isn't right for you, Dunn and Vincent are moving the profession forward by prompting CPAs to bear down on the right business issues.
And isn't that what CPAs should be doing all along?
Thursday, November 11, 2004
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Set the President’s Agenda
With the elections over, those in the Bush Administration find themselves gainfully employed for a while longer. Now, however, is the time when the President must set the tone for his second term. Will the Bush Administration be friendlier toward American businesses, both large and small, or will energy costs and taxes continue to plague business owners? Just in case the Commander-in-Chief is open to listening to some advice, we conducted a survey of our readers and asked them what they thought should be at the top of the President’s agenda over the next four years.
Sample: Respondents to our online poll came primarily from the public accounting industry (55 percent). The vast majority said they work for small businesses with 50 or fewer people (73 percent). Individually, most respondents fell into the upper echelons of management, either CEO/managing partner (38 percent) or senior executive/partner level (25 percent).
Results: Not surprisingly, Cost of Health Insurance was the No. 1 concern on almost everyone’s list as the most pressing issue facing businesses today. A whopping 93 percent of respondents agreed that the President must do something to control the upwardly spiraling costs of health insurance premiums, something that can easily make or break a small business. Research has shown an alarming trend of small businesses that have ceased offering health insurance all together. If costs continue to skyrocket as they are, then businesses will stand to lose valuable employees and will suffer for it competitively.
Coming in at a distant second was Cost and Frequency of Law Suits (68 percent). The topic of frivolous lawsuits was addressed by both of the candidates in this election, mostly as it pertains to medical malpractice (something which indirectly affects the issue of high health care costs addressed above). Small companies often do not have the luxury of being able to retain a team of pricey lawyers, unlike their larger counterparts. As people become more litigious in today’s world, small businesses find themselves in the crosshairs of predatory lawyers and their unreasonable lawsuits. Even if the business is not found at fault, the legal costs alone are enough to plunge some companies into deep debt.
Tied for third place are two loosely-related topics – Energy Costs and Unreasonable Government Regulations, both at 67 percent. It has become painfully apparent to all Americans that the days of $1.30/gallon gasoline are over. With the decreasing oil output by the OPEC cartel and the increasing demand for more fuel from developing industrial countries like China, the energy crisis is likely to worsen before it gets any better. Once again, small businesses often bear the brunt of such seemingly far-removed dynamics. Raise the price of gas and diesel, and a small company pays substantially more for shipping its goods. Not only is fuel for vehicles an issue, but electricity has jumped and the portents for high heating oil prices this winter are very ominous. All of these factors can add up to significantly higher operating expenses for businesses of all sizes.
Of equal importance to respondents are government regulations that go too far. These can encompass any number of areas. Environmental regulations, for example, can be so strict in some parts of the country that it simply is not worth doing business there. Or what about the new overtime regulations enacted by the U.S. Department of Labor just a few months ago? Although getting companies into compliance was not the total nightmare critics had envisioned, the reforms still left some companies scratching their heads for one reason or another.
Conclusion: These are just some of the findings that can be found in Set the President’s Agenda. The results of our study are clearly in line with the general feelings of America’s small businesspeople today. The Bush administration would do well to listen to the people in the trenches, the small business people, about how to keep America competitive.
Sample: Respondents to our online poll came primarily from the public accounting industry (55 percent). The vast majority said they work for small businesses with 50 or fewer people (73 percent). Individually, most respondents fell into the upper echelons of management, either CEO/managing partner (38 percent) or senior executive/partner level (25 percent).
Results: Not surprisingly, Cost of Health Insurance was the No. 1 concern on almost everyone’s list as the most pressing issue facing businesses today. A whopping 93 percent of respondents agreed that the President must do something to control the upwardly spiraling costs of health insurance premiums, something that can easily make or break a small business. Research has shown an alarming trend of small businesses that have ceased offering health insurance all together. If costs continue to skyrocket as they are, then businesses will stand to lose valuable employees and will suffer for it competitively.
Coming in at a distant second was Cost and Frequency of Law Suits (68 percent). The topic of frivolous lawsuits was addressed by both of the candidates in this election, mostly as it pertains to medical malpractice (something which indirectly affects the issue of high health care costs addressed above). Small companies often do not have the luxury of being able to retain a team of pricey lawyers, unlike their larger counterparts. As people become more litigious in today’s world, small businesses find themselves in the crosshairs of predatory lawyers and their unreasonable lawsuits. Even if the business is not found at fault, the legal costs alone are enough to plunge some companies into deep debt.
Tied for third place are two loosely-related topics – Energy Costs and Unreasonable Government Regulations, both at 67 percent. It has become painfully apparent to all Americans that the days of $1.30/gallon gasoline are over. With the decreasing oil output by the OPEC cartel and the increasing demand for more fuel from developing industrial countries like China, the energy crisis is likely to worsen before it gets any better. Once again, small businesses often bear the brunt of such seemingly far-removed dynamics. Raise the price of gas and diesel, and a small company pays substantially more for shipping its goods. Not only is fuel for vehicles an issue, but electricity has jumped and the portents for high heating oil prices this winter are very ominous. All of these factors can add up to significantly higher operating expenses for businesses of all sizes.
Of equal importance to respondents are government regulations that go too far. These can encompass any number of areas. Environmental regulations, for example, can be so strict in some parts of the country that it simply is not worth doing business there. Or what about the new overtime regulations enacted by the U.S. Department of Labor just a few months ago? Although getting companies into compliance was not the total nightmare critics had envisioned, the reforms still left some companies scratching their heads for one reason or another.
Conclusion: These are just some of the findings that can be found in Set the President’s Agenda. The results of our study are clearly in line with the general feelings of America’s small businesspeople today. The Bush administration would do well to listen to the people in the trenches, the small business people, about how to keep America competitive.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
What the President Could Do for YOU
In a campaign overshadowed by security issues, economic initiatives took a back seat. Here's what small business wants now.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
Now that President George Bush has secured his office for another four years, he and Congress face a host of problems and issues barely addressed in the last year on the campaign trail.
In a political season dominated by fear and terror, war and security, charge and counter-charge, many of the pocketbook issues facing the nation's consumers, investors, small businesses and their accountants have gone largely unaddressed.
Let's hope Bush will start his second term by reaching across the political and ideological divides of this nation to focus on what really seems to concern hard-working and job-producing Americans.
So, Mr. President, here's the list, with thanks to Bruce Phillips, research chief at the National Federation of Independent Business, who can cite persuasively...
"The 10 Most Severe Problems for Small-Business Owners"
1. Cost of Health Insurance. "Health insurance costs were a 'critical' issue for 66 percent of respondents, the highest percentage for any problem in the survey's 22-year history," according to Phillips.
2. Cost and Availability of Liability Insurance
3. Workers' Compensation
4. Cost of Energy (Natural gas, propane, gasoline, diesel, fuel oil)
5. Federal Taxes on Business Income
6. Property Taxes (real, personal, or inventory)
7. Cash Flow
8. State Taxes on Business Income
9. "Unreasonable" Government Regulations
10. Electricity Costs (rates)
Interestingly, some of the 10 least severe issues garnered more than their share of attention during the campaign.
For instance, the top 10 LEAST severe issues, starting with the least of the least:
10. Exporting My Products/Services
9. Competition from Government or Non-Profit Organizations
8. Competition from Internet Businesses
7. Increased National Security Procedures (a new problem in the 2004 survey)
6. Competition from Imported Products
5. Obtaining Short-Term (Less Than 12 Months or Revolving) Business Loans
4. Winning Contracts from Federal/State/Local Governments
3. Obtaining Long-Term (Five Years or More) Business Loans
2. Protecting Intellectual Property
1. Cost-Effective Mail Service
And then there are items that once were problems, and today are not any longer, perhaps for any number of reasons -- they've been fixed, or economic circumstances have changed.
For instance, interest rates were a major issue the last time the comprehensive survey was conducted in 2000. But this year it tumbled 29 ranks to 58th place. "Death (Estate) Taxes" became a non-issue, despite all the campaign rhetoric, falling 13 rungs in the rankings.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
Now that President George Bush has secured his office for another four years, he and Congress face a host of problems and issues barely addressed in the last year on the campaign trail.
In a political season dominated by fear and terror, war and security, charge and counter-charge, many of the pocketbook issues facing the nation's consumers, investors, small businesses and their accountants have gone largely unaddressed.
Let's hope Bush will start his second term by reaching across the political and ideological divides of this nation to focus on what really seems to concern hard-working and job-producing Americans.
So, Mr. President, here's the list, with thanks to Bruce Phillips, research chief at the National Federation of Independent Business, who can cite persuasively...
"The 10 Most Severe Problems for Small-Business Owners"
1. Cost of Health Insurance. "Health insurance costs were a 'critical' issue for 66 percent of respondents, the highest percentage for any problem in the survey's 22-year history," according to Phillips.
2. Cost and Availability of Liability Insurance
3. Workers' Compensation
4. Cost of Energy (Natural gas, propane, gasoline, diesel, fuel oil)
5. Federal Taxes on Business Income
6. Property Taxes (real, personal, or inventory)
7. Cash Flow
8. State Taxes on Business Income
9. "Unreasonable" Government Regulations
10. Electricity Costs (rates)
Interestingly, some of the 10 least severe issues garnered more than their share of attention during the campaign.
For instance, the top 10 LEAST severe issues, starting with the least of the least:
10. Exporting My Products/Services
9. Competition from Government or Non-Profit Organizations
8. Competition from Internet Businesses
7. Increased National Security Procedures (a new problem in the 2004 survey)
6. Competition from Imported Products
5. Obtaining Short-Term (Less Than 12 Months or Revolving) Business Loans
4. Winning Contracts from Federal/State/Local Governments
3. Obtaining Long-Term (Five Years or More) Business Loans
2. Protecting Intellectual Property
1. Cost-Effective Mail Service
And then there are items that once were problems, and today are not any longer, perhaps for any number of reasons -- they've been fixed, or economic circumstances have changed.
For instance, interest rates were a major issue the last time the comprehensive survey was conducted in 2000. But this year it tumbled 29 ranks to 58th place. "Death (Estate) Taxes" became a non-issue, despite all the campaign rhetoric, falling 13 rungs in the rankings.
Monday, November 01, 2004
CAREERS IN FINANCE:
Recruiters Rush to Keep Pace with Demand
'All found work and are making good money.'
With workloads up 40 percent due to Sarbanes-Oxley, CPAs and financial managers are in hot demand again across the nation. Even in the dot-com wasteland of the Pacific Northwest, one recruiter says, "Every unemployed CFO, every unemployed controller, financial people laid off from dot-coms -- they've all found work and are making good money."
WHO'S HIRING: RSM McGladrey, Grant Thornton, Moss Adams, even little Williams & Webster in Spokane, according to Puget Sound Business Journal. More: Jefferson Wells has gone from 40 to 240 people in the Northwest, and is looking for another 65 people
BACK TO SCHOOL: Accounting enrollments went from 86 in 2001 to 176 this year at Seattle Pacific. University of Washington Business School accounting professor Gary Sundem reports a 20 percent increase.
With workloads up 40 percent due to Sarbanes-Oxley, CPAs and financial managers are in hot demand again across the nation. Even in the dot-com wasteland of the Pacific Northwest, one recruiter says, "Every unemployed CFO, every unemployed controller, financial people laid off from dot-coms -- they've all found work and are making good money."
WHO'S HIRING: RSM McGladrey, Grant Thornton, Moss Adams, even little Williams & Webster in Spokane, according to Puget Sound Business Journal. More: Jefferson Wells has gone from 40 to 240 people in the Northwest, and is looking for another 65 people
BACK TO SCHOOL: Accounting enrollments went from 86 in 2001 to 176 this year at Seattle Pacific. University of Washington Business School accounting professor Gary Sundem reports a 20 percent increase.
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