The Progressive Accountant

Dumb Down Your Smart Phone

Roy Keely — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:39:00 +0000

Dumb down your smartphone? Why would you do such a thing? Modern man has achieved much in recent history. One of man's major achievements as of late, for the lack of better terms, is creating the cure for boredom. That's right - boredom.

Avalara Links to GoPayment

The Progressive Accountant — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:43:00 +0000

Avalara's geolocation sales tax engine is now part of Intuit's GoPayment mobile payment application. The engine calculates taxes based on the location of a sale, taking into account the city, state and municipal tax codes, as well as special tax districts.

Managing Partner 101 - What Exactly is the Job?

Gary Adamson — Thu, 24 May 2012 06:17:00 +0000

Most of us are thrust into the managing partner role in our firms with little or no training or coaching. Who teaches you to be an effective MP? How do you know if you're performing well? Your partners won't tell you. If you're new to the job, do you just do it the same way as your predecessor? Is that the best approach for the firm? Who will mentor you?

China Audits Trip Up Buffalo Firm

Bob Scott — Thu, 24 May 2012 01:05:00 +0000

A Buffalo, N.Y., accounting firm, whose former partner got it into the business of auditing Chinese companies and then faked documentation, was censured and its registration with the Public Accounting Company Oversight Board revoked. Brock, Schecter & Polakoff was pulled into the business, along with former director of auditing and accounting, James R. Waggoner, even though the firm had no auditing experience and no one on the staff understood Chinese. The firm must pay a $20,000 civil money penalty while Waggoner was censured and barred from associating with any PCAOB registered firm.

The Cloud: A More Level Playing Field

Bob Scott — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:28:00 +0000

The idea that the Internet levels the playing field for business is a bit overblown: there seems little chance that the smallest businesses can serve the largest. Still, cloud-based products do represent the chance for small businesses to significant increase their markets and their capabilities of serving them.

Xero Hits Practice Management Market

The Progressive Accountant — Wed, 23 May 2012 08:49:00 +0000

New Zealand-based Xero is entering the United States market for practice management software. The company, which launched its online accounting package in this country last fall, entered that application segment through its acquisition earlier this year of WorkflowMax.

REVIEW: Online Payroll Software

Dave McClure — Wed, 23 May 2012 02:09:00 +0000

A dozen years after the first SaaS versions of payroll software were introduced, it is no longer a question of why you would use them, but rather why any accounting practice would not. Hey: Fast, scalable and designed to meet the needs of accounting professionals and their clients in a mobile world, online payroll has four primary advantages over desktop versions of the same software system:

Thomson Intros New Workpaper Product

The Progressive Accountant — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:58:00 +0000

Thomson Reuters has introduced a new workpaper product, Workpaper CS. And while the company will continue to maintain its Engagement CS product, that product will not get much further development.

Danny Jackson Joins CB&H as Principal

The Progressive Accountant — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Daniel G. Jackson has joined the Tampa, Fla., office of Cherry Bekaert & Holland as principal. He was previously a co-founder in September 2008 of Barley, McNamara, Wild, Martin, Jackson, which he grew from a start-up to $1 million in revenue and more than 80 clients.

Tax Expert Koutouras Joins Moss Adams

The Progressive Accountant — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:25:00 +0000

George Koutouras, a former Big Four CPA and long-time author for BNA, has joined Moss Adams as a partner in its transaction services group. He serves the western tax market for the United States from the firm's offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles.