Economic Crisis Resource Center Feed Informer http://feed.informer.com/images/fd.gif http://feed.informer.com/ http://app.feed.informer.com/digest3/HTUXTCY0NC.html Respective post owners and feed distributors http://feed.informer.com/ Happy New Year to the CPA Community. Or least, we hope it will be. Economically, 2009 was a tough year for many businesses. It’s now a good time to look forward to see where we are going. Tax season is here. Many business, industry and government members are busy getting year-end information ready. While we are in the busy season, let’s not lose sight of what’s about to come and focus now on the important things. The CPA Success Blog by Bill Sheridan, Editor for MACPA on January 11th has a great post on why clients leave their CPAs. Bill... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2010/01/will-it-be-a-happy-new-year.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2010/01/will-it-be-a-happy-new-year.html? Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:31 GMT The AICPA’s Economic Crisis Resource Center’s name has been changed to the AICPA Economic Crisis and Recovery Center (ECRC). This recent change was based on current conditions indicating a recovery has begun. Fed Chair Ben Bernanke said in a recent speech at the Brookings Institute that he believes the recession is over though recovery will take a long time. Unemployment seems to be holding steady, but isn’t going down. The market continues to be on the rise, though seems to be sensitive to every little financial news story that breaks. Full recovery (if there ever is such a thing) will... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/09/aicpa-economic-crisis-center-renamed.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/09/aicpa-economic-crisis-center-renamed.html? Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:15 GMT In keeping with the past, I thought I’d let you know the latest results (3rd Quarter) of the AICPA/UNC Kenan-Flagler Economic Outlook Survey are available on the AICPA Financial Management Center. On April 28th my blog post was about the first quarter’s survey results and on May 21st my blog post was on the second quarter results. The AICPA C-Suite members surveyed continue to show signs of improvement in the economy. Respondents who were pessimistic about the economy dropped from 53% in the 2nd quarter to 41% in the 3rd quarter. Pessimists still outnumber optimists, but it’s a good sign... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/09/aicpaunc-kenanflagler-business-industry-economic-outlook-survey-update-shows-continued-optimism-from.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/09/aicpaunc-kenanflagler-business-industry-economic-outlook-survey-update-shows-continued-optimism-from.html? Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:06 GMT One of my AICPA colleagues sent me a news brief on a recent study conducted by CareerBuilder.com. The study found that four in five laid off workers either landed, or were searching for work in the small business sector. That stat may be slightly misleading since only 1 in 5 or 22% of the survey actually found work in the small business sector. Another 59% said they are interested in landing work in the small business sector, though I’m sure they’d take whatever was available. Fact is, small business these days seems like the place to be. The study cited... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/08/small-business-is-the-place-to-be.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/08/small-business-is-the-place-to-be.html? Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:58 GMT The USA Today conducted a poll asking Americans if the stimulus plan is working. Of 1,010 adults surveyed from August 6th through 9th, 57% say the stimulus package has had no effect or made the economy worse. Over the long term, 60% think the stimulus package will have no effect or make the economy worse. Economists are still saying the economy would have been worse without the stimulus, though they vary in how much the stimulus has helped. The poll will make for great debate in Washington, D.C., as the continuation of stimulus measures are contemplated. Comments we have received... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/08/is-the-stimulus-plan-working.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/08/is-the-stimulus-plan-working.html? Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:47 GMT Last week Congress passed a bill to extend the Cash for Clunkers program. There has been some debate over the success of this program and whether it should have continued. For auto dealers, the boost in potential car sales has helped. But some argue this is a temporary blip and the sales would’ve taken place at some point in the near future, so the economic impact will be very short term at best. I have to admit that the program made me think about trading in my 2005 Subaru. Of course, based on my buying habits and taste, I’ll never... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/08/have-you-traded-in-your-clunker.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/08/have-you-traded-in-your-clunker.html? Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:10 GMT I can’t believe it’s August already. The summer soon will give way to fall when many CPA firms and businesses should be gearing up for campus recruiting. Will fall recruiting be at prior year levels? Last week, the AICPA launched its newly designed student website, www.startheregoplaces.com, and it looks terrific. As college campuses are seeing accounting graduates in record numbers, it’ll be more important than ever to go out and recruit the best and brightest to make sure we continue to fill the talent pipeline of new CPAs. Your organization is probably fully staffed right now, no matter how big... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/08/what-are-your-hiring-expectations-this-fall.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/08/what-are-your-hiring-expectations-this-fall.html? Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:00 GMT Yesterday, CNN reported that new home sales soared in June over May. Could this indicate that the housing bust has ended? The news story mentioned that while the new home sales were up 11% in June over May, the median home sale price was down 3%. It’s uncertain how much Stimulus incentives for new home buyers helped spark the sales surge, and I’m sure you can get varying opinions about whether or not the stimulus plans helped. Whether it did or didn’t isn’t as important as seeing the housing market starting to open up again. The result could be banks... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/07/is-the-housing-bust-over.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/07/is-the-housing-bust-over.html? Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:00 GMT A friend of mine called me over the weekend. He was checking out the job posts on the AICPA web site and stumbled upon the Social Media Specialist job post. Turns out this type of position is becoming quite popular. According to Revolution Magazine, Best Buy is seeking a “senior manager – emerging media marketing” and requires, in addition to the proper education, 250 followers on Twitter. Hey wait…I only have 83 followers on Twitter. I wouldn’t qualify! So it made me think, what new skills must we possess in today’s marketplace? What new technologies do we need to know... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/07/are-your-job-skills-ready-to-meet-the-challenges-of-the-next-generation.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/07/are-your-job-skills-ready-to-meet-the-challenges-of-the-next-generation.html? Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:00 GMT The Washington Post reported that the federal government is considering making some of the $700 billion in the Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP) available to small businesses around the country. There aren’t any details behind what is being proposed, but, according to the article, the Treasury Department seems to be in favor of the idea while the National Economic Council seems skeptical. The article discusses the fact that some in government feel that small business America will be the sector to help spur the economy out of this recession. Some economists estimate that small businesses employ 60-80% of the workforce... http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/07/federal-government-considers-tarp-money-for-small-business.html Blog – AICPA Economic Crisis Resource Center http://economyblog.aicpa.org/2009/07/federal-government-considers-tarp-money-for-small-business.html? Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:00 GMT