Accounting Technology articles from July 2007

Accounting Technology archives from July 2007

Can't Get No Satisfaction?
July 1, 2007... One of the most appealing phrases from the reign of former New York Mayor Ed Koch was his smiling, "How'm I doing?" Koch was conducting an informal poll of customer satisfaction every time the phrase left his mouth; although I was never...

Analyze This.
July 1, 2007... About three years ago, major tax and accounting vendors began marketing software that could analyze the financial health of a business. Much of the capability involved the ability to change numbers in a financial statement and see the...

Street Talk: Reader Views.(accountants speak about how accounting softwares help businesses)
July 1, 2007... What is the greatest need you have for new integration between different software packages and how would it help your business? CPA firms tend to use best-of-breed individual solutions. Our practice management, tax preparation and write-up...

Practice Development News.(J.H. Cohn and Co. appointed Robert Grosberg )(WAC Consulting acquired Allpoint Info Systems Inc.)(Smart Business and Advisory Services appointed Anthony Hernandez )
July 1, 2007... COHN TAPS CIO J.H. Cohn, a regional accounting firm based in Roseland, N.J., has named Robert Grosberg to the newly created position of chief information officer. Grosberg will oversee IT systems in the firm's seven offices. He was...

Accounting News.
July 1, 2007... MICROSOFT MOVES STOCKSTAD, MCCOLLUM Long-time manager Lynne Stockstad and sales executive Craig McCollum have been given new jobs and responsibilities outside of the Microsoft Business Solutions group. Stockstad, previously VP of...

Tax & Financial Planning News.
July 1, 2007... WK U.S. OPS UP With acquisitions driving top-line growth, Wolters Kluwer's Tax and Accounting U.S. produced 5 percent organic growth for the first quarter ended March 31. However, the U.S. results were offset in other TAL operations...

Show Calendar.
July 1, 2007... JULY 10-12. Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference. Colorado Convention Center, Denver. www.microsoft.com. JULY 17-19. IRS Tax Forum, Hilton Atlanta. www.taxforuminfo.com/ JULY 31-AUGUST 2. IRS Tax Forum, Hilton Chicago....

Accounting Technology July's Coming Attractions.
July 1, 2007... Clearing Funds The check isn't in the mail. It, and your credit card payment, are moving through a complex processing system. How can accounting professionals benefit from this? Time To Bill? What's happening in the world of time...

Selling Analysis: Some practitioners are making a lot of dough with analytical software. Most aren't.
July 1, 2007... It can be tough explaining how to improve performance to a business owner who doesn't understand basic terms. "I once spent 20 minutes with an individual talking about improving gross profit," says Richard Rackers, a partner in Rackers &...

Rogers: Comparisons Count.(Smith Newspapers Inc.'s Terry Rogers management techniques)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Terry Rogers doesn't just use financial analysis software to dissect client financial data The Fort Payne, Ala.-based accountant trains it on the results of his other business, Smith Newspapers, which operates daily and weekly newspapers in...

Tying Data to Analysis.(accounting softwares)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... An important feature of most office software is the ability to integrate data from other applications. The companies with product suites are using those resources to provide additional data for use in the analytical applications. Files for...

Tax on Tap: Vendors are lining up features for the 2007 software crop.
July 1, 2007... When asked what is a key concern for the upcoming tax season, Glenn Hanner of CPA firm Hanner & Associates summed it up with one word: staffing. "Staffing is always our issue. 2006 was our best year both in revenue and profits, but it took...

E-Filing Stays Hot; Getting Hotter.
July 1, 2007... It comes as no surprise that e-filing continues to be a hot button as it is increasingly mandated and consumer awareness grows. Based on figures released in May by the Internal Revenue Service, more than 76.7 million e-filed returns were...

The Consolidation Wave Continues.(H&R Block Inc. acquiring Laser Systems Inc. (Kaysville, Utah))
July 1, 2007... Industry consolidation continued into 2007 with H&R Block quietly acquiring Kaysville, Utah-based TaxWorks, leaving very few players for further consolidation. The acquisition enables H&R Block to enter the professional tax market,...

Swiss Army Software: Practice management software can handle many tasks.
July 1, 2007... One of my most dreaded rites of summer has always been packing up the kids for summer camp. Regardless of how prepared I think I am, the few days before camp are always spent in a mad rush running around to find those last few "must have"...

Software for Rent: On-premise vendors enter the hosting game.(Company overview)
July 1, 2007... Ian Scotland found himself in a bit of a quandary when prospective nonprofit clients started inquiring about Web-based accounting software. Scotland, a CPA and president of Madison, Conn.-based Binnacle Technology Solutions, started selling...

Resellers: To Host or Not to Host?
July 1, 2007... It's no secret that resellers make money selling licenses. So why would they want to add a hosted version of a vendor's applications to their offerings when there are no license fees to collect? The innovative ones are conjuring up...

New Products.(accounting softwares)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2007... CCH TAX RESEARCH NETWORK The FIN 48 Manager serves as an online resource for professionals looking for FIN 48 support materials to help them ensure compliance, offering answers to 80 common questions, official documents and practice aids...

SageCRM, SalesLogix Partners Partner.
July 1, 2007... Building relationships with customers is at the heart of many businesses. But keeping track of every interaction with each customer can't all be done in an executive's head. Enter CRM technology. Sage Software has three versions of its...

Advertisers' Index 7/07.
July 1, 2007... Ad Appears Advertiser on page ADP Small Business Services 5 ATX 7 Boardroom Software 25 BQE Software 21 CCH, a...

Sage's Foster Gets the Technology Chair.
July 1, 2007... For the last few years, Jim Foster has had a key role in running a major part of Sage Software's organization as executive vice president where he was responsible for strategy, operations and planning for the company's mid-market lines. In...

Opening Thoughts: Delivering What The Reader Wants.
July 1, 2007... "A goal without a plan is just a wish." So said the great French writer, Antoine de Saint Exupery, author of the classic The Little Prince. We not only have goals here at CPA Wealth Provider but we have a plan to realize them. Our goal is...

Building Wealth: SEC Not Appealing Court Decision: New Restrictions on Brokers.
July 1, 2007... The SEC says that it will ask a court to allow four months for investors and their brokers to respond in light of a court decision affecting an estimated one million fee-based brokerage accounts. In asking for a 120-day stay of the ruling of...

Building Wealth: Source of Financial Intelligence.
July 1, 2007... SNL Financial, sector-focused provider of business intelligence to investment banks, money managers, and corporations, has acquired media research and analysis firm, Kagan Research. (c) 2007 Accounting Technology and SourceMedia, Inc. All...

Building Wealth: New Capabilities for Advisors: Pricing helps smaller advisory firms.
July 1, 2007... Schwab Performance Technologies has two offers designed to provide choice and flexibility that advisors need from a portfolio management software provider. The programs include a lower-cost pricing model for smaller advisors, PortfolioCenter...

Building Wealth: Comprehensive Suite of Tools from RJ.(Raymond James introduced Financial Planning Suite)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Raymond James has introduced a new technology compilation including the Financial Planning Suite, consisting of PlanningStation (SunGard), Forefield, and the Ibbotson Asset Allocation Library, as well as the Client Relationship Manager (CRM),...

Building Wealth: Winning the Battle for Talent: What's important to young CPAs?
July 1, 2007... CCH's new whitepaper, Recruiting and Keeping Up-and-Coming CPAs at your Firm, provides first-hand insight into what's important to young accounting professionals in the workplace today, how firms are measuring up, and what firms can do to...

Building Wealth: One Percent of Investors Grasp Financial Basics: Almost half have no plan.
July 1, 2007... Only one out of 100 American Investors knows or puts into practice eight basic "investing secrets," and slightly more than a third (37 percent) get just half or more of the fundamentals right, according to the new MoneyTrack/Investor Protection...

Building Wealth: Reverse Mortgage Calculator.
July 1, 2007... CircleLending has announced a reverse mortgage calculator to complement Family Advantage, a private reverse mortgage that is a line of credit funded by relatives or friends of a homeowner and secured by real estate. For more information, visit...

Building Wealth: Debt Still There: Top Five Reasons Seniors are Carrying a Mortgage.
July 1, 2007... Never paid off existing mortgage 34% Took out a second mortgage 21% Receive a tax break 17% Took out a reverse mortgage 1% Other 27% (c) 2007 Accounting...

Building Wealth: Providing Market Data and Research to Vest: Integrating Solutions for Advisors.
July 1, 2007... QuoteMedia announced an agreement with H.D. Vest Financial Services to provide comprehensive financial market data and research information to Vest Advisors. "H.D. Vest needed the best possible integrated financial data solutions for our...

Building Wealth: On the Book Shelves.(retirement planning methods)(managing asset allocation)(investing in real estate)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Turning Pocket Change Into Dollars Easy-to-prevent investment mistakes Saving for Retirement Without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery by Gail MarksJarvis explains that investing is not rocket science and walks the reader...

Building Wealth: Two New Distinctions for 1st Global: Service to customers.
July 1, 2007... Financial market research firm DALBAR has recognized 1st Global with two awards: the DALBAR Service Excellence Award and the Crystal Pyramid Award. The DALBAR Service Excellence Award recognizes achievement of the highest tier of service to...

Building Wealth: Site for Financial Intermediaries: Facilitating due diligence.
July 1, 2007... T. Rowe Price has launched a new, streamlined Web site for financial intermediaries that provides access to institutional investment content and educational resources approved for client use. Available at www.troweprice.com/fi, the site is...

Building Wealth: Who's Communicating?(married men and women surveyed about the financial planning decisions)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Some 81 percent of married women vs. 44 percent of married men believe that they share equal decisions about financial planning with their spouses. Over 50 percent of men say that they make most of the financial decisions whereas less than 25...

Building Wealth: Membership Features for Financial Advisors.(myStockOptions.com)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... MyStockOptions.com, an online resource on stock compensation, has launched a new level of membership expressly for financial planners, wealth advisors, CPAs, and anyone who tracks and models equity grants for others. MSO Pro was developed with...

Building Wealth: Managing Private Client Assets.(Dalton Investments formed a new subsidiary Dalton Advisors )(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Dalton Investments, a SEC-registered investment management firm serving institutional and private clients, has formed Dalton Advisors to manage private client portfolios. Its strategy, the company says, will be to use low-cost, tax-efficient...

Building Wealth: Altering Landscape of Financial Systems: Helping to create more wealth.(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Leap Systems, along with its software development partner Oltis, has introduced Wealth In Motion, a client-facing application which employs the use of a wealth analytics tool and a financial engine that incorporates financial products, tax...

Building Wealth: Fiduciary Campaign Underway: Designed to educate consumers.
July 1, 2007... The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) has officially launched its second annual consumer-oriented public service campaign to educate Americans about the need for financial professionals to hold themselves to a...

Building Wealth: Basic Training(tm) ...and Beyond.
July 1, 2007... National Regulatory Services' Basic Trainingtm for Investment Advisers has been replaced with courses from NRS' new Center for Compliance Professionals, which offers a new compliance certification program for investment advisers. (c) 2007...

Shooting For the Green: A planner who's on par with his clients.
July 1, 2007... Alan Hambourger is in his mid-50s, a Chicagoan, with a 10 handicap in golf, who has played in the Las Vegas Pro-Am. And, his adeptness at golf is only surpassed by his talent as a financial planner. Moreover, that may be topped by the fact that...

It's Where I Want To Be.
July 1, 2007... Genworth Financial Securities has been focused on helping tax and accounting professionals become successful wealth managers for over 25 years. We have grown dramatically over the last four years through focused recruiting efforts and with the...

Investment Planning: You Can Be Too Conservative: You don't want a failed portfolio.(Column)
July 1, 2007... Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is the most common injury in patients seeking medical attention with the complaint of elbow pain. The condition is caused by small tears of the tendons that attach the muscles of the forearm to the arm...

5th Annual Financial Planning Awards Call for Nominations.
July 1, 2007... Nominations are now open for CPA Wealth Provider's 5th Annual Financial Planning Awards in the following categories CPA/Financial Planning Firms Broker/Dealers Financial Planning Software Vendors Winners are those firms or...

Wealth Management: Writing Off the Myths.(investing in donor advised funds)
July 1, 2007... Donor-advised funds (DAFs) have captured headlines since the millennium changed, often for their meteoric rise in popularity. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, there was an estimated $5.5 billion in DAFs nationwide in 1995. The...

Estate Planning: Gifting with a Residential Remainder Interest: Substantial Tax Deductions Are Available.
July 1, 2007... Many retirees intend to live in their residence until they die or are compelled to move to an assisted living facility. While they may cherish their homes, their children may not feel the same attachment, so there is little motivation to leave...

Investment Planning: Buying Life Insurance in 412(i) Defined Benefit Plans: Looking for Large Deductions In a Qualified Plan.
July 1, 2007... Answer the following by choosing which investment you or your clients would purchase. Assume you invest $100,000 and let it grow for 20 years. At the end of 20 years, Investments A and B have the following balances: Investment A: $200,000...

Financial Planning: Managing Financial Planning Practices: The Top Three Challenges.
July 1, 2007... Sit a dozen or so managers and executives from financial planning firms down in the same room and before too long, the conversation is likely to turn to the one business issue that concerns them all: profitability. It doesn't matter whether...

My Two Cents: Choosing a Fiduciary Advisor.
July 1, 2007... Generally speaking, clients who require financial advice are better served by fiduciaries. Anyone giving advice is acting in a fiduciary capacity. If an advisor is not willing to serve as a fiduciary, a client should be cautious. It may be...