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| In the News |
| Lower Your Expenses and Save Money | 11/20/09 | | My biggest mistake after losing my job in late 2007 was failing to lower my expenses quickly enough. I had expected to get a job within a few months. So we did not really start making changes until some months had passed, when it started to sink in how much we were spending and how quickly we were spending it. |
| Our Take: Suicidal Comeback | 11/18/09 | | I ended last week's column with a promise to address two high-risk (to put it generously) answers I've seen others recommend for certain job-interview questions that may signal age discrimination. One such question is: "Aren't you overqualified?" |
| Neutralize a Teammate's Hostility | 11/16/09 | | Keeping your career on the right track can require more than staying on the good side of your boss and immediate co-workers. It can also mean heading off a budding conflict with a person in a different department, such as human resources. |
| Reevaluate and Recycle Yourself | 11/13/09 | | While unemployed and searching for a job, you have a great opportunity to reevaluate your experiences, skills and passions. It is the perfect time for self-assessment and taking personal inventory. In a difficult economic environment, especially if you are in a hard-hit industry like finance, stepping out of your own box might even be a necessity. |
| Our Take: Age Bias Revisited | 11/11/09 | | Age discrimination in hiring is a topic that reliably gets opinions flowing sometimes to the point of boiling over. Reaction here and elsewhere to "Finessing Your Age on a Resume," a JobsintheMoney News story by contributing writer James Rubin, is a case in point. |
| Which Accounting Roles Are Hot | 11/09/09 | | Amid generally sluggish demand for corporate accounting and finance professionals, the hottest skill-sets for 2010 are tax, compliance, credit management and collections, according to global recruiting chain Robert Half International. |
| What An Interviewer Really Wants to Learn | 11/06/09 | | You've prepped for your big interview by lining up impressive answers about what you've done and can do, what's new in your field and in the company you're meeting with. But if you aren't tuned in to the three most common interview decision factors and their relative importance, then all your painstaking research, strategizing and rehearsing could easily come to naught. |
| Keep Your Spirits Up, Whatever It Takes | 11/04/09 | | Life has many trials, and earning our daily bread is one of them. During my job search, I rode an emotional roller-coaster. There were plenty of days when I was depressed and did not want to speak with anyone. But I never lost hope. With a little help from family, friends, career counselor and my inner faith, I always bounced back. |
| Finessing Your Age on a Resume | 11/02/09 | | Should older job seekers make it difficult for employers to gauge their age from a resume? While this is no time to scrap the traditional resume with work experience carefully dated, there are circumstances where older candidates needn't reveal all, resume consultants and recruiters say. |
| Job Hunt Can Threaten Jobless Benefits | 10/30/09 | | For a professional in transition, freelancing, volunteering, networking, or preparing to launch a business can shorten the path to the next job. But if youre not careful, it can also prevent you from collecting unemployment compensation. |
| People Skills Trump Number Skills | 10/28/09 | | We've long written that interpersonal skills are vital to both getting hired and being a strong performer in one's job. But a recent survey suggests that for finance department job-seekers at least, the importance hiring managers attach to people skills has soared in the past five years. |
| Our Take: It's Not About You | 10/26/09 | | You'd never walk into an interview or start a new job wearing a sign on your forehead that read, "I don't belong here." Yet, that's the attitude some people seem to bring to the job-search process. |
| Your Self-Review Form Does Matter | 10/23/09 | | If you treat your performance review self-evaluation form as a bureacratic formality, you're wasting a chance to bolster your position and possibly fatten your bonus and salary too, says career guru Scot Herrick. |
| Body Language Speaks Loudly in Interviews | 10/19/09 | | You know the drill: You have to tell the interviewer about your accomplishments rather than your skills. You've got to listen carefully so you can match your pitch to the jobs needs. And it's important to project confidence and enthusiasm. Be aware, though, that it isn't only what you say that will be judged. |
| To Survive, Reach Across the Divide | 10/16/09 | | Speak of the devil and you get him. That ancient warning is worth heeding if your employer's business slips to a point where layoffs might hit your department. |
| Our Take: Kiss Off | 10/14/09 | | "Your qualifications are impressive
." You know what's coming next. But don't frown and bite your lip. Soon, those Orwellian kiss-off messages may reach you early enough in the interview process to do you some good. |
| Negotiating Tips From Across the Table | 10/09/09 | | A recent article by recruiter-trainer Bill Radin gives job-seekers a fresh slant on the ticklish subject of discussing compensation with a recruiter. |
| Get Your Family On Board | 10/07/09 | | When I hadn't found a job a few months after my layoff early in 2008, the prospects for my wife, five children and myself looked bleak. Everyone in both my wife's family and mine knew I was unemployed. What they did not know was, I could soon be reaching out to them for serious help. |
| CFOs Expect Hiring Pickup | 10/05/09 | | Economic confidence among corporate CFOs rebounded last quarter to a point where they're gearing up to spend more on staffing and capital investment, a new survey indicates. |
| Facebook as a Networking Tool - For Real | 10/02/09 | | If you remain skeptical Facebook can be of use in your professional life, it's worth reading Boris Epstein's guide to using the popular social network to make and maintain professional relationships. |
| Our Take: Fatally Visible | 09/30/09 | | Digital dirt on your professional image neednt involve one of the big four career-bombs: beer, marijuana, foul language, or unclothed flesh. It neednt even involve using your blog to vent at a past or present employer. Instead, an unwary professional can soil his image even by planned appearances in well-regarded, mainstream media outlets. |
| Perseverance is Key to Success | 09/29/09 | | If I had given up at any time during my job search, I would not have found a job, received a second round of publicity for my success and perseverance, or ended up where I am today. My experience illustrates why it is so important to keep your eyes on your goal and maintain the determination to reach it. |
| Get An Early Start on 2010 Job Search | 09/25/09 | | As the final quarter of 2009 looms, a Massachusetts-based recruiting firm put out a to-do list for finance and accounting professionals who want or need to move into a better job next year. |
| Our Take: Being Keanu Reeves | 09/21/09 | | Why do people network? At first blush, the question seems to answer itself: to find a new job, or be more effective in my present job. However, the recession is driving some job-seekers to think about network contacts more like the way they view other relationships in their lives. |
| Volunteering: More than 'Feeling Good' | 09/18/09 | | Too busy for volunteer work? There's a reason you may want to find time to squeeze some in: It can boost your career, and even help you be a better accountant. |
| Where to Place Resume Keywords | 09/16/09 | | Keywords are important in on-line resumes. A resume that lacks the proper keywords will yield little chance of an interview if it's evalutated in digital form. The trickier question is: Where is the best place to put the keywords in your resume?" |
| Identify Your Brand and Sell It | 09/14/09 | | Through months of unemployment, guest author Joshua Persky chased job leads. But as soon as the ex-banker and MIT graduate identified his personal brand and created a cohesive marketing platform, "the job leads began chasing me," Persky writes. Soon, he had a couple of offers. |
| Big Four Called Best Launch Points | 09/09/09 | | When BusinessWeek published its annual "Best Places to Launch a Career" list last week, the Big Four won the top four spots among the 69 large employers listed. That's just a slight change from a year ago. Then, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers also held the top three places (in different order), while KPMG placed fifth behind Goldman Sachs. |
| How Schools Rank For Accounting | 09/03/09 | | Even if it's been years since you graduated, it's always fun to find out how your alma mater did in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Colleges 2010" ranking. |
| Resume Keywords: A Primer | 09/02/09 | | If you want to advance from anonymous job applicant to interview candidate, your resume simply must include the right keywords. That is a fact of life today, no matter which company you apply to.
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| For Many, Contract Work Can Add Stress | 08/31/09 | | If you're not in the right frame of mind, a temporary job could stress you out. According to a study conducted by McGill University researchers, employees hired for temporary, contract, fixed-term or "casual" positions are at risk for increased mental health problems. |
| Beat the Resume-Screen Algorithm | 08/28/09 | | It's one thing to learn the employer offered someone else the job you were hot for. It's another to learn you never even made the cut
because a purveyor of "artificial intelligence" screened out your resume. |
| Be Open to Change | 08/26/09 | | When looking for a job, especially in economically challenging times, it helps to be open to change. |
| An Intern's Journal: Conclusion | 08/25/09 | | This is my final post for JobsintheMoney as a KPMG intern. These two months have gone by so quickly. It seems like yesterday when I was still trying to get my work visa so I could go to Milan for KPMGs global internship program. |
| Study Shows CFOs Get Paid to 'Manage' Earnings | 08/21/09 | | Chief financial officers compensation is influenced by both the complexity of the job and the CFOs performance, according to a study by Steve Balsam, professor of accounting at the Fox School of Business at Temple University. |
| Accountants to Focus on Strategy and IT | 08/19/09 | | If you're a management accountant on a promotion track, expect to plow more time into communicating with stakeholders about business strategy and becoming expert in the technologies your company uses. |
| Our Take: The 'Just World' Axiom | 08/17/09 | | A contact in transition since last year relates that a recruiter, upon learning his last salary, replied, "Wow, you were pretty well paid." Problem is, my friend insists he was substantially underpaid compared with his peers. |
| Pondering a Jump? You've Got Company | 08/12/09 | | While most accountants are loyal to their employer, 23 percent plan to leave as soon as the economy improves, according to an informal survey by Ajilon Finance and the Institute of Management Accountants. |
| An Intern's Journal: Part IV | 08/11/09 | | Time goes by quickly when you wake up early in the morning, go to work during the day and have fun until late at night. That is pretty much what my life has been like the past two and a half weeks, as a KPMG global intern in Milan. |
| Our Take: Vicissitudes of Career Advice | 08/10/09 | | Career management advice is a lot harder to evaluate than investment advice. There is no GAAP for how to craft a resume or dazzle an interviewer. So it's only natural that highly experienced career management experts sometimes voice conflicting opinions as to how a candidate should navigate this or that facet of the hiring process. And there is often no credible published research that can help settle the question. |
| Finding the Recession's Upside | 08/07/09 | | The financial sector blowup and recession have soured the near-term career outlook for a great many professionals. But if you're any good, you know what to do when life gives you lemons. Here are some hints for squeezing lemonade, courtesy of placement agent Allison Hemming. |
| One in Four Firms Reduced Training | 08/05/09 | | If the boss has canceled your training and your next trip out of town to a conference, maybe youre working for the wrong firm. While 26 percent of 150 large company senior executives recently surveyed by Accountemps said theyd cut back on professional development over the past year, slightly more, 28 percent said theyd increased training. |
| Resume Polish on the Cheap | 08/03/09 | | If you're having trouble creating or refocusing your resume, you may have to look no further than your local library for help. In The Wall Street Journal, writer Jonnelle Marte offers up many alternatives to the costly route of professional resumesmiths. |
| Your Inbox Is Not a To-Do List | 07/31/09 | | Among the endless supply of useful posts about enhancing your productivity available at the Web site Zen Habits is this recent piece by simplicity addict Leo Babuata, which addresses a particular behavior many of us are accustomed to: using our e-mail inboxes as a to-do list. |
| Focus on an Interviewer's Problems | 07/29/09 | | Here's a tip that could help in your next job interview: When asked if you have any questions for the hiring manager, inquire about the biggest challenges her department tackled recently or must tackle in the near future. Tell stories that show you solved similar problems in the past, and explain what you learned in the process. |
| An Intern's Journal: Part III | 07/28/09 | | Ciao from Milan! As I wrote in last week's installment, Im one of the interns fortunate enough to participate in KPMGs Global Internship Program. |
| When Following Up, Persistence Pays | 07/27/09 | | Would you call a prospective employer 63 times if your calls weren't picked up or returned? How about 24 times over a two-year period? |
| The Recorded Resume | 07/24/09 | | Having a hard time getting that resume out of your head and onto the page? I mean, what's so hard, right? It's just an inventory of skills and work history. Well, an inventory of skills and work history that can make a difference between getting the job you want or not. |
| Getting Back into Work After a Layoff | 07/22/09 | | So months and months after your layoff, you've finally found a new job. You're thrilled, relieved - and worried about whether you'll fit in and can handle the work. |
| An Intern's Journal: Part II | 07/21/09 | | It has been a week since I started my first client assignment at KPMG and I have had an amazing experience. |
| The Basics of Cover Letters | 07/17/09 | | When you think first impression, an image of you, confidently shaking the hiring managers hand, might come to mind. But a hiring manager has a very different picture that of a mile-high stack of paper. In order to show off that slick new suit and those freshly-shined shoes, your cover letter needs to rise to the top of the heap. |
| Job Search Checklist | 07/15/09 | | Looking for a job can be a daunting task, even in good times. To help you organize your efforts, use this checklist. Being buttoned up is especially important if you're working and looking for a new position, because you have to stay on your game even while you're scoping out new positions. |
| An Intern's Journal: Part I | 07/13/09 | | My name is Mariola Lezcano and I am currently an Audit intern at KPMG LLP, in the New York City office. I was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and I moved to the U.S. mainland to go to school at Villanova University to study accounting. |
| 'Thank You' is Still in Vogue | 07/10/09 | | You might have hated it when your mother told you to say thank you, but the truth is it's good advice - even today, and especially during a job search. Not only are thank you notes an essential part of the process, but overlooking them could end up costing you the job. |
| Big Firms Tweet for Attention | 07/08/09 | | Accounting firms are beginning to tweet in force, using Twitter to reach job seekers and educate junior employees, making them aware of job development groups and activities. They believe that in the near future Twitter will begin to play more of role in recruiting at other levels, too. Among the early converts, Ernst & Young started a Twitter initiative last month while KPMG plans to launch a program in August. |
| China's U.S. Growth to Spur Finance Jobs | 07/06/09 | | Chinese economic expansion is sparking demand for various finance professionals for work within the U.S., says private equity consultant Song Jin. As privately owned Chinese firms move to invest in U.S. businesses and raise capital here, they'll need experienced U.S.-based investment bankers, lawyers, accountants and investor relations professionals, among others. |
| Who's Eyeing Your Personal Webmail? | 06/29/09 | | As a pro who's been around the block a few times, you know better than to write or send from your office computer anything not work-related whose content might ever come back to hurt you. Like storing your current resume, for instance. Or responding to an external job posting via e-mail from your office. But what if you use a personal Web-based e-mail account that requires an individual login password, such as Gmail or hotmail? |
| Don't Trip Over Your Smartphone | 06/24/09 | | There are two types of people in the workplace: Those whose Blackberry addiction renders them incapable of turning off the device and those who want to rip the Crackberry from their hands and crush it beneath their feet. |
| Redundancies at Large UK Accounting Firms | 06/22/09 | | The 50 largest accounting firms in the United Kingdom have reduced their headcount by about 3,000, or 5 percent, over the past year, according to an annual survey from Accountancy Age. |
| Seven Signs You're Getting Good Training | 06/22/09 | | Virtually every accounting firm offers training, but not all firms offer great training. Take this quiz to find out if you're getting just training - or really great training. |
| Making Even the Best Excuses Won't Cut It | 06/15/09 | | You blow a deadline on a big project. But you can't help that you came down with the flu the day before. You run out of gas on the way to a client meeting. But it wasn't your fault. You just didn't have time to stop at the gas station and you were sure you had enough to make it. You miss the due date to turn in your expense report. It totally slipped your mind. But geez, can't Accounting cut you a little slack again? |
| Our Take: When Less Is More | 06/12/09 | | Which is wiser: To pursue as many potential opportunities as possible, or home in on a carefully selected circle of job openings and professional contacts, giving each significant attention from the get-go? In my opinion, it's no contest. |
| Coming Aboard? Don't Forget Onboarding | 06/10/09 | | If you walk into the office on your first day and the receptionist doesn't know you're coming, they don't show you to your desk or how to use the phone, chances are you made a critical mistake during the final interview you didn't ask about new employee training. |
| Open Your Own Firm With Eyes Wide Open | 06/08/09 | | Ten months ago, Ron Durkin and his son-in-law, Dan Dehner, saw an opportunity. The result, Durkin Forensic, has succeeded beyond expectation. The San Diego-based firm has already recouped Durkins $500,000 in seed money and is well into the black. |
| Do It All, Suffer the Consequences | 06/04/09 | | You have redefined "Take One for the Team" to mean "Take 'Em All for the Team." In fact, if your life story was a made-for-TV movie, you'd be the one knocking down all of your teammates so that you could catch the ball and run it into the end zone - every single time. Impressive? Not really. |
| Lessons From a Fruitless Quest | 06/03/09 | | Even as the economy writhes amid recession and restructuring, some jobless finance and accounting professionals are having trouble adjusting their expectations to the new reality. |
| Connecting with Care | 06/01/09 | | Your mother probably taught you to choose your friends wisely, because who you hung out with made you look good - or bad - depending on the crowd. Now it appears the same advice applies to connections you make on networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. |
| A Recruiter's Checklist - And Yours | 05/29/09 | | As we enter the recession's 18th month, some staffing companies have begun urging clients to develop HR and recruiting plans to use as the economy begins clawing its way back . |
| Don't Be Late. It Matters. | 05/28/09 | | It's a typical day-in-the-life. You drop off the kids at school while you're answering a text message from a client and leaving a voicemail for your boss. And that's before you hit the drive-thru for your morning coffee. |
| Profit From Your Setbacks | 05/22/09 | | Want to score big points in a job interview? Be prepared to discuss the position youve lost or other unfavorable career events in depth, says Korn/Ferry International recruiter Cheryl Buxton. |
| Made a Change? Functional Resume May Help | 05/20/09 | | A chronological resume starting with the job(s) you have now and going backwards in time to your first job is the resume of choice for job seekers and hiring professionals alike. But in some situations, a functional resume organized by core skills and aptitudes can be a better choice. |
| Hello, My Name Is
| 05/18/09 | | You know the scene: each week 10 to 12 people meet in a conference room to share their lives. Yet while the introductions initially sound familiar, this is not a typical self-help group. Instead, this is a Job Search Work Team offered through my career transition (outplacement) provider, Lee Hecht Harrison, a talent management solutions company. |
| Pessimism Among CPAs Eases | 05/15/09 | | Financial executives and CPAs are feeling a bit less pessimistic about the economy these days, according to the second quarter Economic Outlook Survey from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School shows. |
| Making the Move to Public Accounting | 05/13/09 | | Accountants who move back and forth between the public and corporate worlds can maintain - and even boost - their salaries, but only if they have the right combination of credentials and experience. |
| What's Your Resume's Story? | 05/11/09 | | Do you persevere through obstacles when others succumb? Are you a gregarious leader who motivates others into tackling difficult assignments? Although behind every job seeker lies a story of career challenge and triumph, few succeed at captivating reviewers with their tale, because they don't convey that story in their resume. |
| It's Always the Right Time to Join an Association | 05/10/09 | | After spending years studying finance, auditing and budgeting, what should you do after graduation? In addition to finding a job, get out there and connect with the local chapter of a professional association, such as the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). |
| Building Your Brand During Job Interviews | 05/08/09 | | In a competitive job market the ability to quickly and easily differentiate yourself can push you ahead of the crowd. That's exactly what Tom Murray, senior consultant at Lane4 Management in Princeton, N.J., helps his clients do. |
| Breaking Through the Wall | 05/04/09 | | The ability to reach a prospective employer directly can be vital to your job-hunting efforts. Your prospects increase dramatically if you can talk to a person, instead of "Human Resources." |
| Meeting Prima Donnas at Work | 04/29/09 | | If you get into a lot of arguments with your boss and don't enjoy your job, the problem may be that you're a self-serving narcissist rather than someone with a bad work situation. Sound harsh? Read on.
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| Is Forensic Accounting for You? | 04/27/09 | | Bribery involving a Fortune 500 and a foreign government. Untangling the next Madoff. For an auditor with a few years of experience, forensic accounting and litigation support (F&L) can be an exciting career option. |
| Q&A: An Experienced Eye on IFRS | 04/22/09 | | To find out what the convergence of Generally Accepted Accounting Principlesand International Financial Reporting Standards will mean for U.S. accountants, we sat down with Glen Schmidt, FCGA and former chair of the Ontario Certified General Accountants Association, a provincial affiliate of CGA Canada who frequently lectures about IFRS. |
| Entice Reviewers with a Winning Resume Design | 04/20/09 | | Without a reviewer-friendly resume, even the most talented professional can be passed over for a competitor. To make sure recruiters and hiring managers notice you, encase your experience in an eye-catching design. |
| Most CFO's Still Don't Commit Resources to IFRS | 04/17/09 | | Until the Securities and Exchange Commission sets a firm date for any required conversion to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), public companies aren't going to devote staff or budget to getting themselves ready. |
| Keep Calm and Carry On | 04/15/09 | | The last month or so was marked by a maelstrom that included a clumsy backing maneuver that put part of my car in a ditch, a frozen hot water pipe, and the emergency purchases of a new natural gas furnace and a new car thermostat. In the midst of all this, I received an e-mail purporting to be from "HM Government." |
| Network Even When You Have a Job | 04/13/09 | | Networking isnt just for the unemployed. As more workers look over their shoulders in anticipation of the dreaded tap, theyre increasingly reaching out. |
| A Twitter Cheat Sheet | 04/10/09 | | As ever more businesses and individual professionals take up microblogging on Twitter, "tweeting" may become an indispensable career tool. A recent post on Susan Weiner's Investment Writing blog offers tips for coming up to speed. While aimed at financial advisors, her advice is useful for other professionals too. |
| Managing Your References | 04/09/09 | | The care and feeding of references has taken on greater importance in today's market. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, you'll enhance your chances of getting a job if you go the extra mile when youre preparing them. |
| Our Take: Job-Search Bubble | 04/06/09 | | Riding the subway home from a job-search networking party at which you met more jobless-services entrepreneurs than job-seekers, you skim a free local newspaper. One page is divided into two distinct advice columns, each about coping with a layoff. The next page reviews a career consultant's latest how-to book about bouncing back from being laid off. |
| Recruiters Not Responding? Here's Why | 04/03/09 | | A story on our sister site eFinancialCareers that showcased recruiters' complaints about "crazy" candidates struck a nerve among many users there. Several comments draw a link between overeager job-seekers - who recruiters may view as pests - and uncommunicative recruiters whom sincere and well-behaved job-seekers may label rude and unprofessional. |
| New Grad's Job Strategy Primer | 04/01/09 | | If experienced pros can't find jobs today, what's a new graduate with little or no professional experience supposed to do? College students who adopt the same tactics as their experienced counterparts have better chances of success than you might think. |
| Your Options In Negotiating Severance | 03/30/09 | | As the number of layoffs has risen, the willingness of companies to negotiate the contents of severance packages has fallen off due to fears of creating inequalities among classes of employees and the necessity to hoard cash. |
| Don't Be Like These Guys | 03/27/09 | | Successful individuals often urge keeping a positive mind-set, even while between jobs. As a cautionary flag, here are a couple of examples of its opposite. The poisonous attitudes that follow are markers of what not to let yourself do, or even think, in the course of your job search. |
| Larger-Than-Life Job Search Tactic | 03/25/09 | | Mark Heuer turbo-charged his job search by attracting potential employers to his online resume through an outdoor billboard advertisement. But he says the most important thing job-seekers should do is communicate directly with people. |
| An Accounting Student Meets the Job Market | 03/23/09 | | Kim Kaemmer thought for sure she wanted to earn her CPA and work in public accounting. But as she readies for her May 2009 graduation from the University of St. Thomas, a regional Catholic school in St. Paul, Minn., she's beginning to have second thoughts. |
| Our Take: Be Visible, Not Desperate | 03/20/09 | | Was Joshua Persky ahead of his time? Nine months ago, the laid-off investment banker made his pitch to passers-by in midtown Manhattan wearing a poster that read, "Experienced M.I.T. Grad For Hire." His out-of-the-box tactic brought encouraging words, worldwide media attention and many a contact - but few concrete job opportunities, and no offers. Persky found a new job in October, a full four months after his week inside the sandwich board. |
| Changing Jobs? Leave Bad Habits Behind | 03/18/09 | | People with experience in accounting bring a great amount of knowledge and skills with them when they move to a new job. But they also bring their old habits, including some harmful assumptions about how work should be done. |
| Your Facebook 'Friend' May Want a Favor | 03/16/09 | | With 175 million members and counting, Facebook is so firmly entrenched in so many lives that the time has come to start asking the tough questions: Whats Facebook really for? And how can Facebook help with your career? |
| Speak Up and Speak Better: Communication Skills Primer | 03/13/09 | | "Hi. Okay, you guys, hi. How's it goin'? I'm your presenter today, so just, like, open your packets and, like, follow along with the PowerPoint so we can jargon, jargon, jargon, gobbledygook, thirty-six million four hundred twenty-nine thousand eighteen point one percentage points and more, you know, like, jargon. Okay?" |
| Anger in the Workplace Isn't All Bad | 03/11/09 | | We've all been taught that anger is harmful and dangerous especially at work. But a long-term study by Harvard researchers of 824 adults points to a different conclusion: expressing anger in a controlled way serves both careers and personal lives far better than keeping frustration bottled up all the time. |
| No Stimulus For Hotels, Sports Events | 03/09/09 | | Congress last month approved $787 billion in new spending to stimulate the economy and preserve jobs. Somebody tell that to the 13.2 million Americans who work in the leisure and hospitality industry whose customers are standing aside in droves, partly because of those very same lawmakers' sermons against corporate "excess." |
| New Grads' Entitlement Colliding With Reality | 03/09/09 | | Bankers aren't the only people whose sense of entitlement is taking a beating lately. College students feel pretty entitled too, if a post in the Daily Beast blog is any indication. |
| Plug and Play Resume Customization | 03/05/09 | | Customizing your resume to match each job opportunity will result in more interviews and offers. But is the potential return worth the time investment? |
| Severance and Your Rights | 03/02/09 | | The firestorm surrounding Microsoft's severance package gaffe - first overpaying about 25 laid off workers, and then asking for the money back - brings up a question: Are former workers legally obligated to return money to a company that's let them go? |
| TU for the Interview? NVR! | 02/27/09 | | Thanks to mobile technology, you can find new job opportunities, network online and research prospective employers on the run. But be warned: When you call a prospective boss or send him a post-interview thank you e-mail, you should sit down and turn off your Blackberry. Formal communications standards and traditional etiquette rules still apply to the job hunting process. |
| How to Do Unto Others | 02/25/09 | | A recent blog post by corporate consultant Richard Skaare serves up a fresh slant on networking: the best ways to help a friend who is unemployed. |
| How to Manage an Exit Interview | 02/23/09 | | For whatever the reason - maybe you've been let go, maybe you're leaving for another firm - you're facing a human resource officer on your last day of work. |
| What NOT to Include in Your Resume | 02/18/09 | | Its a tough job-hunting environment, so in your zeal to stand out you may have made a mistake on your resume that could sink your chances instead of enhancing them. So, in the interests of helping you stay safe, we present highlights of HR Worlds list of 25 things you should never include in your resume. |
| Economy Pressures Smaller Firms | 02/13/09 | | If the economy continues to crash, accounting firms may find themselves forced to lay off employees to balance the books after the busy season. |
| Grow Professionally Online | 02/09/09 | | Looking for career guidance or growth? Want to share your wisdom with others? Then consider becoming an online mentor or protégé and let the coaching begin. |
| Half of CFOs Plan to Retire On Schedule | 02/06/09 | | Economic conditions have led about a quarter of chief financial officers (CFOs) to delay their retirement - bad news for those who were hoping to move up when the boss stopped working. |
| Good Background, Strong Skills - And No Job? | 02/04/09 | | Despite a perfect resume, flawless references and years of experience, some finance professionals are finding it difficult to land a job suitable to their skills. Even people who've put in time at Big Four accounting firms or well-known investment banks have sometimes gotten less-than-receptive reactions from prospective employers. |
| Firms Still Hiring, But More Slowly | 02/02/09 | | If there's an unwritten rule not to change public accounting jobs during tax season, plenty of accountants are ignoring it. And despite the emergence of some interesting staffing options, hiring in accounting and finance has slowed. |
| A Career Change Road Map | 01/30/09 | | Changing careers requires intensive research, self-knowledge, and passionate commitment to a goal. Ultimately, getting hired may rest on devising a marketable idea you can present to an employer in the field youve trained your sights on. |
| Coping With Difficult People At Work | 01/28/09 | | Vicky Oliver's book, Bad Bosses, Crazy Coworkers & Other Office Idiots, comes at the right time. Until a year or so ago, "retention" was a mantra for HR officers. Now the shoe is on the other foot: It's employees who obsess about retaining their own jobs. So a tool kit for coping with difficult workplace personalities falls on fertile soil. |
| How Managing Up Positions You For Growth | 01/26/09 | | Even if no one reports to you, your job still involves managing people - the ones occupying slots above yours on the organization chart. It's called "managing up," and those who do it well can become indispensable to their organizations, resulting in choice assignments and promotions. |
| Fraud Threat Creates Opportunities, Too | 01/23/09 | | The financial crisis and recession will stimulate both fraud and employers' efforts to combat it. That spells danger as well as opportunity for financial professionals, says fraud expert Ralph M. Fatigate of BDO Seidman's consulting division.
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| SEC Could Add Enforcement Jobs | 01/21/09 | | The SEC might add as many as 120 new slots for enforcement lawyers and accountants later this year. That's how many new bodies one securities law expert believes the agency will need to restore its reputation as a market watchdog. |
| Strategic Career Change | 01/19/09 | | Since Change is the national theme of the week, we thought we'd look at a recent article in Psychology Today that, while it focuses on personality change, can apply to the idea of career change, as well. If nothing else, it's a helpful guide to taking stock of your position and whether it's really the right one for you.
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| More Ways to Hurt Yourself with E-Mail | 01/14/09 | | The day before we warned about new ways to injure yourself online - in particular, by losing control of important correspondence - a personal experience hammered home the message. |
| Analysts, Accountants Needed At FBI | 01/12/09 | | If you're looking for a way to utilize your analytical skills and the Madoff story makes you hopping mad, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has several openings with your name on them. But you'd best act fast, because most of those career doors are set to shut on Jan. 16. |
| Our Take: Networking is Hard | 01/09/09 | | Networking your way to a job opportunity takes both ingenuity and a significant time commitment. That's why so many of us get it wrong. |
| Wield New Tools, But Wear Protective Gloves | 01/07/09 | | Job-seekers are often urged to ramp up their use of online tools like personal Web sites, social networking, live-blogging and mobile Web-based e-mail. Just as with physical tools, however, any relatively new product poses a risk of self-injury. |
| Finance Smarts Needed at NCIS | 01/05/09 | | You won't get to work with Mark Harmon, star of the television drama NCIS, but if you take a job at the real Naval Criminal Investigative Service, you could find yourself leading the real-world version of his on-screen life. |
| Preparation Tops the list of 2009 Resolutions | 12/30/08 | | The events of 2008 remind us that job security can be fleeting. Job market vigilance has become a modern day career survival technique, requiring professionals to keep a constant eye open for that next opportunity and be prepared to launch a job search on a moments notice. |
| Dating for Jobs | 12/29/08 | | Having spent the last six months of my life on a fairly concentrated job search - I'm looking for a position as a financial writer or communications professional - it's become obvious to me there are parallels between finding the perfect job and finding the perfect date or future mate. |
| Success with Behavioral Interviewing Questions | 12/19/08 | | Interviewing for a job can be nerve racking. Even experienced professionals can have a hard time demonstrating their capabilities and expressing themselves effectively, given the tension of an interview situation. The best way to reduce your anxiety and increase your interviewing proficiency, is to eliminate the element of surprise by anticipating the questions youll be asked, and preparing some answers. |
| Charting a Course to the Controller's Office | 12/12/08 | | So, you want to be a corporate controller. To make yourself a viable candidate, you'll need a CPA, acumen in auditing, finance and operations, and a career focus on a narrow set of industry sectors. |
| Strategize Your Job Search | 12/10/08 | | There's always room for good, solid people in the workplace. Industries may be different, but there's always a need for good managers. But if you're searching for a job in today's marketplace, you need a plan of attack. The fact is most people are skilled as job holders - but not as job hunters. |
| CareerWire: Clueless on MySpace | 12/08/08 | | If you don't want your private life to ruin your career, then take steps to keep it private. And stop whining about free speech.
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| Ex-Bankers Make Good Accounting Candidates | 12/03/08 | | If hordes of unemployed investment bankers and fund managers are contemplating a switch to finance-related jobs, Seiki Murono hasn't seen the evidence. The managing director of Boyden Global Executive Search's San Francisco office says he's received a few extra resumes from ex-bankers - but hardly an onslaught. |
| CareerWire: Watch Your Back! | 12/01/08 | | An economy in recession encourages the in-house blame game. Take steps to avoid being scapegoated by an ill-motivated colleague or boss. |
| Selecting Your Ideal Boss | 12/01/08 | | It's often said people don't leave companies - they leave bosses. The expression suggests that bad chemistry with their supervisors can cause employees to quit. But the relationship between you and your boss is more complicated than that, and in truth even a boss you adore may not be a good match for you professionally. |
| CareerWire: Zig Where the Market Zags | 11/24/08 | | Classic bear-market specialties like litigation support, risk management and crisis management are among areas spawning opportunities for accounting and finance pros lately. |
| Considering Coaching? Consider This | 11/24/08 | | Many financial professionals view a personal cheerleader as a necessary investment on their way to achieving their goals. But before you embrace the idea that coaching is indispensable to success, think carefully about whether it's the best approach for you. To start, consider whether any of these descriptions apply to you. |
| Six Ways to Not Get the Job | 11/21/08 | | If you want to know all the stupid things people do when job hunting, ask Ed Navis. He's been reading resumes for two decades as a human resources consultant to mid-size companies and non-profits. Here are the top six mistakes he sees job hunters make. |
| Valuation Experience Needed in N.Y. Area | 11/19/08 | | Despite concerns over layoffs at Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions, CPAs remain positive about valuation work. With increasing regulatory oversight and forced consolidation in the financial services sector, more accountants are needed to deal with valuation matters. |
| Correcting Your Credit Report Before Your Job Interview | 11/17/08 | | More and more companies are checking the credit and background reports of their employment candidates. Before sending in a resume, smart job-seekers should pull their own documents to make sure their information is correct. Here's how you do it. |
| Recruiter Sees Drop in CPA Searches | 11/14/08 | | A leading California-based recruiter of CPAs and finance executives says his business has fallen off significantly since the start of the year. Paul Herrerias, who heads the San Francisco office for Stanton Chase, says his volume of search assignments is down to a trickle, and he is having to market himself more vigorously than he has before. |
| Profiting From Performance Reviews | 11/12/08 | | To many, the annual performance review is about as welcome as a colonoscopy. Could any good ever come from a one-on-one where your boss - no matter how much he might respect your work - is required to detail your strengths and (mostly) weaknesses? Surprising as it may seem, experts answer in the affirmative. |
| Interviewing in Cyberspace | 11/07/08 | | Virtual jobs fairs and interviewing by avatar instead of by phone are moving into the mainstream, and could be standard several years from now. Here are some perspectives and coping tips from people on the front lines of cyber-recruiting today. |
| Public Accounting Still Favors Job Seekers | 11/05/08 | | While it may appear that all jobs in the financial markets are evaporating or experiencing severe reductions in compensation, public accounting continues to be healthy, with salaries increasing at high levels for experienced tax and audit professionals. |
| CareerWire: Tax Work, N. Calif. Top Pay Gains | 11/03/08 | | New surveys by Robert Half and Ajilon Finance provide detailed insights into expected movement in accounting and finance salaries for various specialties and metropolitan areas. |
| Options, Demand in Corporate Accounting | 10/31/08 | | Despite layoffs and a tightening job market in various industries, corporate accounting remains a strong line of work nationwide. Not only is there continued need for corporate accountants in a variety of positions, salaries are holding steady - and even increasing in certain high-demand areas. |
| Guide to Surviving a Merger | 10/29/08 | | The news hits you like a truck: the corporation or financial institution you work for has agreed to be acquired. Now what to you do? |
| SALT Skills Needed in N.Y., N.J. | 10/24/08 | | Given the ever-increasing complexity of the region's state and local corporate tax laws, New York and New Jersey CPAs with SALT experience are in increasing demand. The jobs offer strong pay and job security, but require some grueling hours and tons of reading. |
| Mass Customization and Your Job Search | 10/22/08 | | By utilizing a direct marketing technique called "mass customization," a job seeker can send out volumes of documents to prospective employers without having to hand-tailor each one individually. |
| Building Your Internal Network | 10/17/08 | | Building a network within your company can be as important to your success as developing contacts outside. But watch out: The wrong moves can sink you. Heres how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls. |
| Q&A: Greg Burke, Chair, CalCPA | 10/15/08 | | California Society of CPAs Chair Greg Burke has an ambitious agenda. At the top of his list, Burke, wants to overhaul educational requirements that are beginning to restrict California CPAs from practicing out of state and can limit career opportunities. He also wants to recruit more veteran accountants to academia, and revamp committees to address industry trends more quickly. |
| Craft Cover Letters, Resumes that Earn You a Second Look | 10/10/08 | | If you plan to make a job move soon distinguish yourself from the thundering herd of job-seekers that's building in the market. You'll need a dazzling cover letter and a brilliant resume: a total package designed to sell your skills and talents to potential employers. |
| Financial Tumult Pressures N.Y. Area CPAs | 10/08/08 | | Recent staff cuts at some of the Big Four, coupled with the woes in financial services, are beginning to concern the New York area's accounting community. Are the Big Four simply performing their usual annual pruning? Are CPAs working in the financial services industry vulnerable? The answers depend on who you talk to, and what sort of experience you're talking about. |
| Economic Woes Color California Hiring Strategies | 10/03/08 | | Although Ernst & Young doesn't anticipating making major changes to its business plans in the region, the firm is adapting its hiring strategy to address new demands spawned by the growing financial turmoil in the U.S. |
| Timing the Transition to IFRS | 10/01/08 | | Now that the Securities and Exchange Commission has set a 2011-2015 timetable for moving from U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to International Financial Reporting Standards, how long will it take the accounting world to make the change? |
| Networking Tips for Introverts | 09/30/08 | | Effectively building - and leveraging - a network of professional contacts is essential to your ultimate success. But if glad-handing isn't your style, networking can look like a high hurdle. The good news: There are several ways to make effective networking more comfortable. |
| Relocating Means Negotiating the Best Package | 09/29/08 | | You live in Baltimore and you've been offered two jobs: one in Kansas City and the other in Columbus. The jobs pay the same, but the company in Kansas City will pay your relocation expenses. How hard will your wallet be hit if you decide Ohio's the place for you? |
| The Initial Interview: Don't Be Screened Out | 09/26/08 | | Every interview I've had began with an initial phone screen, where the HR person/internal recruiter wanted to assess basic skills for the job and asked a few internal assessment questions. The skills questions should be a slam-dunk, as they're almost always just an extension of the job requirements. The internal assessment questions, however, can be potentially dangerous. You need take care not to be screened out of the next round of interviews. |
| Succession Plans Offer Opportunities to Firm Staff | 09/24/08 | | As accountants age and look for exit strategies from the firms they own, their succession plans become key factors to consider for those looking to move up the ranks and perhaps takeover the business. |
| Near-Term Stability for Wall Street Accountants | 09/23/08 | | The move by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to convert to bank holding companies will mean more work for accounting and compliance professionals in the short run, but may lead to eventual layoffs, industry observers say. |
| CareerWire: Good Time to Switch | 09/22/08 | | If you've been considering moving to another sector, the time might be right. As long as you're switching into the right industry, of course. |
| What's Behind Layoffs at the Big Four | 09/19/08 | | Recent layoffs at Deloitte weren't the first cuts made by a Big Four firm this year, but they were the most highly publicized. Every year, Big Four and next-tier firms have layoffs, but they do them in small pieces, spread them out geographically, and tend not to send out press releases about them. |
| Tech Skills Become Vital to Accounting Careers | 09/16/08 | | It's a given you have finance and accounting skills. But what's the next most important item in your career tool belt? If you'd asked CFOs that question five years go, they would have said "operations." But today, they'll answer "technology." |
| N.Y. Area CPAs Face the Economy | 09/12/08 | | Accounting professionals in New York and New Jersey are often seen as immune to changes in the financial markets, bumps in the economy and even employment changes on Wall Street. Skilled CPAs, after all, are always in demand. Aren't they? |
| Ins and Outs of Contract Accounting | 09/10/08 | | Accountants who want the stimulation of multiple clients but not the long hours of public accounting may find they can have it all by working for a contract accounting firm. But, as those who run such companies warn, project-based work isn't for everyone. |
| California Aids Prospective Academics | 09/09/08 | | As part of an effort to address a shortage of accounting professors in California, CalCPA is expanding its program to help accountants interested in academia shoulder the costs of their studies. |
| CareerWire: Layoff At Deloitte | 09/08/08 | | It's now official: The slowing economy is impacting demand for accounting work. So says Deloitte & Touche, the first of the Big Four to announce a mass layoff this business cycle. |
| Our Take: Age Matters | 09/03/08 | | Recently, two sports stories caught my eye by showcasing opposite poles of an issue many financial services professionals grapple with every day: the perceived relationship between job performance and age. |
| CPAs Need Communications Skills to Advance | 09/01/08 | | Communication skills are more important than ever when it comes to climbing the corporate ladder. But what are accountants to do, when they spend more time number crunching than dealing directly with people or learning to write effectively? The answer: Learn the communication skills you need to rise to the next level. |
| Tune Up Your Grammar | 08/27/08 | | Is your resume grammatically correct? For many job seekers, writing a flawless resume is difficult enough, yet nothing is more important. If it contains grammatical errors, reviewers may surmise you're uneducated, lack good communication skills or attention to detail. |
| Where You Went Wrong | 08/22/08 | | It's been months since you started looking for a job and you still haven't found anything. Wondering where you're going wrong? |
| Tracing The Career of Wikimedia's CFO | 08/20/08 | | California's many non-profit and education organizations offer some of the best opportunities for CPAs who want to advance their careers. Veronique Kessler has spent most of the past decade - more than half her career - working for such organizations. |
| Creating Your Personal Career Vision | 08/19/08 | | In an earlier post, I explained why it's important to create a "Personal Career Vision" before you leap into a job search. Once you've done that, it's time to stop the daily mad rush, reflect on where you've been and where you are now, and assess where it is you want to end up. |
| How to Stand Out, Make Friends, and Influence People | 08/15/08 | | We all want to be the whiz kid, the one whose brilliance makes us stand out. Ironically, deep down inside, we resent the very type of person we aspire to be. In other words, standing out has its dangers. Here's how to deal with them. |
| Economy Pressures Accountants' Optimism. Should It? | 08/13/08 | | A shaky global economy, rising oil prices and falling home values have cut into the optimism that accounting and finance professionals typically report when asked about their employment prospects. |
| CareerWire: Broadening the Mission | 08/11/08 | | A growing number of CPA firms are taking a wider view of their business. Beyond obvious extensions like tax planning and business consulting, some are offering marketing and communications services. |
| Our Take: Be Humble | 08/08/08 | | Humility helps. Haughtiness hurts. That's a message I'm hearing with increasing frequency when career experts discuss interviewing skills. |
| Fundamentals of the Functional Resume | 08/06/08 | | If you have a background that's not traditional for an accountant, or you're considering a career change, the Functional Resume Format may be your best option. |
| In California, Hint of a Slowdown - But Just a Hint | 08/05/08 | | The slumping economy may be impacting hiring at West Coast CPA firms. One hint: The managing partner at one of Los Angeles's largest full-service accounting firms says he won't be hiring as much as he has in the recent past. |
| Tax, Business Consulting Grows in N.Y. | 08/01/08 | | Outside of traditional accounting firms New York and New Jersey CPAs are finding growing opportunities at specialized tax and business consulting practices. To succeed, accountants must learn to play up their marketing, communications, and negotiation skills. |
| Risk Management Jobs in Chicago | 07/29/08 | | As the credit markets continue to deteriorate and large financial institutions tighten controls, a number of Chicago firms are seeking risk management professionals in many specialties. |
| Podcast: Earning the CMA Credential | 07/25/08 | | Listen in as the Institute of Management Accountants ' John M. Brausch, CMA, CFM, CPA, talks with Contributing Editor Dona DeZube about obtaining the Certified Management Accountant credential, including his experience in preparing for the exams. |
| The Value of a Personal Career Vision | 07/23/08 | | If you think you'll be happier in your career simply by switching companies, think again. To be successful and love your work, you'll need more than a job. Before you focus on resume writing, networking, and job hunting, you'll need what I call a "personal career vision" - a tangible blueprint of the direction you want your life to take. |
| E&Y Shuffles Executives in the West | 07/22/08 | | CPAs seeking Big Four experience in Southern California and the Southwest will have to reshuffle their contact files after a chain reaction of promotions in three of Ernst & Young's major Western offices. |
| CareerWire: Poll Finds Robust Job Market | 07/21/08 | | The accounting job market remains as strong as ever, in the view of most respondents to a JobsintheMoney poll. However, 32 percent saw some degree of slowing. |
| Salaries Up, But Gender Gap Widens | 07/18/08 | | The Institute of Management Accountants' 2007 salary survey uncovered both good news and bad news for accountants. The good news: Average salary for IMA members now tops $100,000, having risen 6.9 percent last year. The bad news: The gap increased between men's and women's pay. |
| Credentials as a Lever into Management | 07/16/08 | | If you're interested in moving into management, credentials can often provide the boost you need. A designation can move your resume to the top of the pile but you'll still have to win the job during the interview process. |
| Northeast Mergers Impact Staff Loyalty | 07/15/08 | | Just when it seemed that merger mania was over, the New York and New Jersey metro region saw a crop of announcements of CPA firm combinations. Accountants facing the tumult that goes along with such changes should remember they have options: Being under demand means the "loyal to the end" staff accountant may be a thing of the past. |
| CareerWire: Firm Aims to Double Its Staff | 07/14/08 | | Mitchell & Titus, the nation's largest minority-controlled accounting firm, looks to add about 150 people to its staff over the next three years under incoming CEO Anthony Kendall. |
| Globalization Impacts Diversity Programs | 07/11/08 | | Globalization of operations, products and services means multinational firms must redefine the nature of their diversity programs. But morphing inclusion policies present benefits and challenges to both companies and local employees. |
| Calif. FBI Offices Seek Accountants | 07/08/08 | | California CPAs looking for a different career path might consider - the FBI. Its offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities are seeking accountants to work in areas such as counter-terrorism, drug enforcement and corporate crime. |
| Do I Need a Resume if I'm Not Looking For a Job? | 07/07/08 | | Ask the Expert: "I'm a manager in the finance department of a mid-sized, private firm and haven't had a resume since college. One of my colleagues says I should have one. I'm not looking for a job, so why would this be important?" |
| To Manage Your Career, Know Thyself | 07/06/08 | | When Socrates said "know thyself," he probably wasn't offering career management advice. But whether he intended it or not, it's career advice that works. Just listen to the experts. |
| Moving onto the Management Track | 07/02/08 | | If you're happy where you work, your near-term goals probably include a move up into management. In that case, you need to prepare by picking up new skills and possibly more credentials. |
| CFOs See Concern Over Long Hours | 07/01/08 | | Accounting and financial professionals have never enjoyed short hours and light workloads, but have things gotten even worse in recent years? According to a new survey by Accountemps, one in three chief financial officers (35 percent, to be precise) cited heavy workloads as the top workplace concern for their financial teams. |
| CareerWire: Another Angle on IFRS | 06/30/08 | | When the time arrives to transition to International Financial Reporting Standards, accounting program curricula and the CPA exams could prove a potential Achilles heel. |
| Little Compliance Hiring in Chicago | 06/27/08 | | While compliance jobs at all levels abound in New York, San Francisco and other parts of the U.S., in Chicago the market remains sluggish. |
| In Getting Ahead, Your Words Count | 06/25/08 | | A career in finance presupposes that you're good with numbers. To get ahead, you have to be good with words, too. That's not to say you have to be F. Scott Fitzgerald, but you do have to convey your thoughts, plans and data clearly, concisely and in a jargon-free style that any audience can understand. Plus, you want to write in a way that makes you look good. |
| Standing Out from the Competition | 06/24/08 | | What are the likely trends in the California job market for the remainder of 2008? What should job seekers be doing to boost their prospects - in the short and long terms? |
| Our Take: Watch What You Say | 06/20/08 | | Our topic sounds like old hat in the context of a job interview. But many tried-and-true rules of interview behavior are just as valid for other professional situations.
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| From Public to Private - Accounting, That Is | 06/17/08 | | With demand so high, today's accountants have an enormous number of opportunities to choose from when shifting their career gears. Once you've got some experience under your belt, you can pursue any number of specialties that match your strengths and interests. So how do you plot your direction? In part, the answer depends on where you started your career and where you sit now. |
| Tech Skills Gives CPAs a Leg Up | 06/10/08 | | While CPA firms in New York and New Jersey are beefing up their business advisory and consulting arms, they need more than accounting and business talent. They're looking for business experts who are tech-savvy, and able to understand how IT efforts can benefit accounting and business processes. |
| Accounting Job Market Holds Steady | 06/06/08 | | A new survey shows the accounting job market appears to be holding steady, with employers neither increasing or decreasing their staff. |
| Our Take: Active Job Search Techniques | 06/04/08 | | Recently we explained our philosophy of career planning and growth, which can be summed up as "active career management." Now, here are some techniques to help you maximize expected returns from the effort you put into your job search. |
| New Designation for Fraud Experts | 06/03/08 | | Accountants seeking to bolster their forensic and litigation-support credentials have a new option starting this fall, when the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants launches its Certified in Financial Forensics designation. |
| Number of New CPAs Soars in Bay State | 05/30/08 | | The number of people that have passed the Massachusetts CPA exam rose by more than 66 percent in 2007, according to the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants. The jump comes in the wake of changes to state regulations. |
| Accountants Dodge Wall Street Layoffs | 05/28/08 | | CPAs in New York and New Jersey often face the unenviable task of delivering bad news to a company's management. The region's financial services firms, after all, are in the midst of contraction, hit by the credit crunch, the sub-prime blowout and a variety of regulatory pressures. While being the bearer of bad tidings certainly takes a toll, accountants in the financial world are by and large being spared one thing: layoff notices. |
| San Francisco Firm Relies on Organic Growth | 05/20/08 | | Some CPA firms succeed by being all things to all people: Their growth stems from their ability to serve a varied clientele. Others focus on narrow specialties, and develop their staffs to thrive in the challenges posed by their target industries. |
| Learning by Doing Overseas | 05/16/08 | | When it comes to cultural awareness, immersion in a country's daily life beats reading about it every time. That's the thinking behind a new KPMG program that puts interns into short-term international assignments the year before they graduate. |
| CareerWire: SOX Workload Under Control | 05/12/08 | | Although demand for auditors won't vanish any time soon, the quantity of work needed to fulfill the much-feared Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 requirements appears to have peaked. |
| Our Take: Your Portfolio, Your Career | 05/09/08 | | "Career path." That's a phrase often spoken by HR staffers eager to show young employees that management is meeting their need for professional growth. Does the phrase mean anything - or is it simply hot air? |
| N.Y./N.J. Firms Bulk Up Offerings Through Associations | 05/07/08 | | A number of CPA firms in the New York/New Jersey area are joining together in alliances that allow them to access expertise they might not ordinarily have. These non-profit associations illustrate a new tactic in facing today's shortage of accountants. |
| Spanish Ability Aids California CPAs | 05/06/08 | | California CPAs may want to consider boning up on their Spanish as a career-advancement strategy. With the state's Latino population growing rapidly, accounting firms are serving more Hispanic-owned businesses and Latin American companies seeking to expand in the U.S.
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| 'Authenticity' Serves Women Executives Well | 05/02/08 | | Women who rise to the upper levels of business follow the same recipe for success as men as they combine vision, intellect, guts and hard work with their ability to influence others. They also add another ingredient: authenticity. |
| Chicago CPAs and Accountants in Demand | 04/29/08 | | Recruiters and accounting firm insiders report a strong demand for accountants and CPAs in public accounting, the corporate market, and financial services and alternative investment firms in Chicago. |
| Real Paths to the CFO's Chair | 04/25/08 | | Forget everything you've heard. The road to the CFO's chair doesn't always pass through public accounting firms and big company detours that could leave you stranded, staring at spreadsheets in your cubicle for decades. Here's some advice from two CFOs about how to break into the management game. |
| 'Fairness Opinion' Expertise Sought in N.Y. | 04/22/08 | | New York and New Jersey CPAs with fairness opinion expertise are in hot demand. Just what's driving the boom, and what skill sets are needed to get into this growing area of accounting? |
| San Francisco Firm on Fast Track | 04/18/08 | | CPA job seekers on the look-out for firms on the rise take notice. Burr Pilger and Mayer took top honors as California's fastest growing accounting firm in 2007. In a state with firms like Armanino McKenna, Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt, and Novogradac & Co. posting 20 to 30 percent gains - or more - that's no small feat. |
| Call Me Anything I Want | 04/16/08 | | Would you jump to a new firm if it agreed to give you any title you wanted? Like, say, Chief of the Known Accounting Universe? Don't laugh. More companies are dangling "chief" titles as lures to keep current leaders onboard as well as to entice new employees. |
| CareerWire: Working Abroad | 04/14/08 | | A Chicago-area magazine describes some day-to-day concerns of Big Four accountants temporarily posted to India, Europe, Australia and elsewhere. |
| Tech-Risk Experts Needed in New York | 04/11/08 | | Considering the nature of business today and the growth of legal and financial reporting requirements, it's not surprising technology risk professionals are needed by many corporations. The demand is especially critical in the New York and New Jersey area. |
| When Negotiating, Look Beyond Base and Bonus | 04/09/08 | | Even in a ragged job market, candidates who get job offers can improve them. The key is being flexible about what you ask for - and having the confidence to ask in the first place. |
| How Accountants See Jobs in Non-Profits | 04/08/08 | | Compared to the rest of the people working in the non-profit sector, accounting and finance professionals are more likely to be male, have an MBA and work in middle management. |
| California Firms Leverage Growth | 04/04/08 | | Fast growth has been a common theme among California accounting firms. In Accounting Today's annual survey of the country's largest firms, four in the Golden State were among the 20 fastest growing. Revenues at Burr, Pilger & Mayer, Armanino McKenna, Novogradac & Co. and Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt each rose by at least 23 percent. |
| Master's Program at Western Washington | 04/02/08 | | Western Washington University's College of Business and Economics and Department of Accounting will unveil a new Master of Professional Accounting program tonight. |
| Despite Crunch, Hedge Funds Hire Accountants | 04/01/08 | | Discussion of hedge fund careers usually focuses on portfolio management, where top performers enjoy rock-star status and routinely pull seven- or eight-figure incomes. But funds' need for additional bodies actually is strongest in supporting roles - like accounting. |
| Detroit Firm's Focus is Over the Horizon | 03/28/08 | | Clayton & McKervey serves only middle-market entrepreneurs who want to expand globally. Such focus makes it easy to train employees, but harder to find the accountants it wants: Those who already know both IFRS and GAAP. |
| Show Up, Show Off, Get On The Team | 03/25/08 | | Globalization and increased regulation are making business more complex and causing multifaceted challenges for large and mid-sized businesses. To face them, more companies are creating cross-functional teams that include professionals from a variety of disciplines. This means opportunity for candidates who can be effective team players as well as great technicians. |
| CPAs Eyes Jobs as Recruiters, Consultants | 03/19/08 | | For many New York-New Jersey CPAs, saying goodbye to the 80-hour work week entails leaving their corporate, Big Four or regional firm to pursue jobs at small consulting firms, specialized recruiters, and others. |
| CareerWire: The IRS Got There First | 03/17/08 | | Some people say working for the IRS isn't glamorous, but it was the Service's investigators who first suspected something was amiss in (former) N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer's financial records. It just led them in a direction they didn't expect to go. |
| Roundup: Executive Moves in the Northeast | 03/13/08 | | The AICPA steps up its campaign for mobility laws, while Thomas Rollauer joins Deloitte's regulatory and capital team and Benjamin Gadon becomes a tax partner at New York's Mahoney Cohen & Company. |
| Few Women See Financial Workplace Gains | 03/12/08 | | Nearly all women working in finance believe they are paid less than men for the same work, and most don't feel they've made much progress when it comes to issues of parity. |
| Corporate Options Abound in N.Y., N.J. | 03/11/08 | | Accountants in the New York-New Jersey area are fast becoming well-respected experts in business issues beyond accounting, and are gearing up for choice spots in the boardroom. |
| CFOs See Slowdown in Hiring | 03/05/08 | | Chief financial officers expect hiring activity in accounting and finance to slow during the second quarter, with the great majority seeing no change in their hiring levels at all. |
| The Ins and Outs of International Assignments | 02/27/08 | | You're no longer competing only against the accountant in the next cubicle, now you have to beat out the accountant in the next country, according to a survey of more the 850 C-suite executives in the U.S., the European Union and Asia. |
| Q&A: Kenn McFarland, CPA, Hospital CFO | 02/26/08 | | "Young accountants don't want to make decisions because they want to do more analysis. I got some wonderful advice: Don't be afraid to make the decision. You've got to have it in your head but you've got to move with your heart." |
| The Art of Effective Presentations | 02/22/08 | | Although speaking in public frightens many people, it can help you gain visibility and exposure, and increase your chances of getting that new job or promotion. |
| Hedge Funds Expected to Add CPAs | 02/20/08 | | Hedge funds in New York and New Jersey need CPAs who can handle risk management. Even in the midst of the credit crunch - and maybe because of it - funds will bring on board more accountants as they mature and receive more scrutiny. |
| CareerWire: Recruiting Tools and Challenges | 02/19/08 | | Separate surveys by BDO Seidman, Robert Half and a professional association took different tacks to quantify the challenges of recruiting and retaining accounting talent, and the best tools for doing so.
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| Switch Jobs During Tax Season? | 02/15/08 | | With so many empty seats to fill, public accounting firms may be willing to overlook a candidate's willingness to jump during the busy season. But that doesn't mean doing so is a good idea. |
| Roundup: Mergers and Promotions | 02/14/08 | | Flexible scheduling is losing ground as a recruiting tool. Dixon Hughes absorbs a Memphis firm, while Archer Daniels Midland, CNET and Conn's name new CFOs. |
| Merger Trend Can Impact Careers | 02/12/08 | | If you work in a small CPA firm, would your career suffer if your employer were to merge with a larger organization? If you think so, you'd better start preparing now.
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| CareerWire: PwC Tops Professor's Survey | 02/11/08 | | Accounting professors ranked PricewaterhouseCoopers first among the Global Seven accounting firms in an annual poll that covers various dimensions including client service, staff training, ethics and compensation, and ranks employers separately in each. |
| Shrunken Bonuses Spark Grumbling In New York Area | 02/08/08 | | Accountants in financial services firms in New York and New Jersey remain secure in their positions. But with all of the flux going on in the sector, they're beginning to feel a tad discontented.
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| Roundup: Mergers, Moves Across U.S. | 02/06/08 | | The hiring landscape's still good, CFOs are sweating about recruitment, and firms are making business moves from Texas to California. |
| Pay Moving Higher in California | 02/05/08 | | Why are California employers nervous? Because a whole lot of accountants are open to the idea of changing jobs, and their replacements are nowhere in sight. |
| Opportunities in Healthcare Companies | 02/01/08 | | Whatever's happening in the economy, healthcare companies continue to need accountants to keep business going and handle a maze of regulation. |
| Roundup: Firm Mergers, Hires, Promotions | 01/30/08 | | CPA firms merge in South Florida, Chicago, Long Island, N.Y., and Fort Worth. In Tucson, a local CPA firm adds two staff accountants, while an industrial firm names a permanent CFO. |
| What Mid-Size Firms Seek in California | 01/25/08 | | Despite the slump in real estate and worries about the economy, the market for accountants in Los Angeles and Orange County shows few signs of tailing off. Several small- and mid-sized firms will be adding employees in upcoming months, and even beyond.
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| The View From Over 50 | 01/24/08 | | Twenty one percent of the U.S. workforce will be 55 or older by 2014, says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. So if you feel superannuated among your Gen X and Y colleagues, you've got age-appropriate company. And the good news is: Employers will value your experience. |
| Demand Rising from N.Y. Non-Profits | 01/18/08 | | Large not-for-profit associations and philanthropic organizations pick the Big Apple as a key spot to locate. For area CPAs with the right credentials, the nonprofit sector holds good, though specialized, opportunities. |
| A New Way to Injure Yourself Online | 01/14/08 | | Job-seekers are often urged to ramp up their use of online tools like personal Web sites, social networking, live-blogging and mobile, Web-based email. Just as with physical tools, however, using any relatively new product poses a risk of self-injury. |
| CareerWire: Sleep Working | 01/14/08 | | If your firm can't find the accountants it needs, guess who's going to keep things moving? That's right. You are. |
| Midsize Firms Act to Retain Young Accountants | 01/09/08 | | To keep junior staffers from bolting, midsized accounting firms are moving to provide more feedback from managers, formal input into firm decisions, departmental and individual employee work schedules calibrated to minimize the 24/7 syndrome, and mentoring programs. |
| New Skills Required for CFOs | 01/08/08 | | If you have designs on a chief financial officer's office in California or other points west, you'd be wise to strengthen your communication and other "softer" skills. The region's employers are more likely to hire executives who know how to present information clearly and work well with others. In other words, financial skills aren't enough any more. |
| N.Y. Area Mergers Driven by Need for Growth | 01/07/08 | | New York and New Jersey CPA firms are still in the midst of a serious reshuffling, as merger mania continues across the Empire and Garden States. But even an attractive merger deal can be fraught with angst for accountants wary of change. |
| Balance at Deloitte | 01/02/08 | | We talk with Deloitte Services' Anne C. Weisberg, a director specializing in talent diversity, about the firm's experience in keeping up with the changing workforce. |
| Follow Ups Are Important - Even When There's No Reply | 12/27/07 | | Conventional wisdom says you should always follow up with prospective employers after you've sent them a resume or met them for an interview. But many candidates find such tactics fruitless: Either they receive no response from their actual contact, or find no way to reach a live human being. We asked Dawn Fay, a New York vice president for recruiter Robert Half International, how best to proceed. |
| CareerWire: Escaping to Interview | 12/26/07 | | If you're job-hunting while working, there are better options than using your sick days to get away from your office for job interviews. |
| 'Average' Monthly Confidence Among Accounting Workers Gained in 2007 | 12/21/07 | | Employee confidence looks to end 2007 at a record low among both accounting and finance workers and the overall U.S. population, according to one widely followed monthly survey. But connoisseurs of rear-view-mirror driving can take comfort from this: averaged throughout the first 11 months of 2007, the monthly Hudson Employment Index slightly exceeded the monthly average for 2006. |
| More Risk Opportunities for N.Y. Area CPAs | 12/20/07 | | Management accountants in the New York metropolitan area are finding increasing opportunities in the burgeoning field of enterprise risk management. But the jobs require the right combination of technical, financial, industry, and managerial savvy. |
| Introverted? Consider Accounting and Auditing
| 12/19/07 | | Opportunities for accountants and auditors are expected to grow more than 22 percent between now and 2014, which may be good news for people who want to strike a balance between working with others and working alone. |
| CareerWire: Tips for Career Changers | 12/17/07 | | Thinking of changing careers? When it comes to making a plan, you've got to sweat the details. That and more in this week's CareerWire. |
| Office Politics and You | 12/12/07 | | Pam Hedges has spent nearly thirty years advising senior executives - including CFOs, controllers and other financial executives in a range of industries - about how to do their jobs better. Among her themes: being "politically competent" in the workplace by building strong ties with people, including subordinates and peers. |
| Big Four Diversity Programs: A Wrap-Up | 12/11/07 | | The Big Four initiated diversity programs before much of the finance world. But just what do those efforts consist of today? In recent interviews, the firms offered up details of their current programs. |
| Calif. CPA Focuses Practice on 'Special Needs' Families | 12/07/07 | | Some California accountants believe they don't have many options when it comes to what industries or areas they cover. But a few have broadened the playing field by creating practices around their own outside interests or causes. |
| N.Y. Area Litigation Experts in Demand | 12/05/07 | | Area CPAs acting as litigation experts are enjoying prosperity as New York and New Jersey accounting firms and corporations lean more heavily on their specialized skills. |
| Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Get Me a Job | 12/04/07 | | Fiddler on the Roof had Yenta, the matchmaker. The corporate world has recruiters. Same principle, slightly different parameters. But if you want to find a job you love, developing a relationship with a recruiter, says Heidrick and Struggles' Michele Heid, "is a phenomenal idea." |
| CareerWire: Ethics and the Real World | 12/03/07 | | Some recent surveys indicate the push toward corporate responsibility may not be as strong as many say - at least as far as job-hunters are concerned. |
| Is This Job Offer for Real? | 12/02/07 | | How do you protect yourself from fake job offers you might receive from spammers? Here are some tips. |
| It's Not About Balance - It's About Reality | 11/30/07 | | Notoriously long hours, detail-oriented work, and considerable face time are parts and parcels of the CPA's working life. For accounting firms, changing this kind of culture may be even more important than money in the quest for new hires. |
| 'Responsibility' Reporting Poised to Widen? | 11/28/07 | | Corporations and investors are increasingly adopting environmental, social and governance measures of performance, alongside the usual financial ones. That means expanded career opportunities for internal auditors, management consultants and other professionals who can apply a new generation of non-financial reporting tools. The activities of finance departments and external auditors will be affected as well. But it's going to happen slowly. |
| Area Accountants Feel Wall Street's Pain | 11/27/07 | | With record write-downs reported at large banks and investment firms, many of which are headquartered in the tri-state region, it's not surprising that hiring is slowing down. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut accountants needn't rush to these firms looking for a golden opportunity, at least not in the short-term. |
| Getting Credit When Credit is Due | 11/21/07 | | You're doing all the work and someone else is taking all the credit. It's not only unfair, but it may affect your career. Handling the situation requires tact, diplomacy and a plan. |
| How Clothes Make the Accountant | 11/20/07 | | In California, most accounting firms favor business casual attire. Staples of twentieth century office life - like ties and jackets for men or hosiery for women are largely passe. So, what do the well-dressed accountants wear? Pay attention if you want to look the part. |
| What to do With Ethical Questions | 11/16/07 | | If you stay in finance and accounting long enough, someone is going to ask you to fudge something. What should you do? First, clarify the situation, then refuse to act unethically and seek input from outside sources and people further up the chain of command. |
| Network Your Way to the Top | 11/15/07 | | "I can find my next job all by myself" is one myth that needs to be exploded, say search experts. The old conventional wisdom, "It's not what you know, it's who you know," is alive and well. So get out of your chair, into some social and professional events, and nurture your network. |
| How Long Should Your Resume Be? | 11/14/07 | | For any resume, a key to success is length - or lack of it. It's critical to understand not only how a resume is reviewed, but what its length says about your professionalism. |
| CareerWire: How You View Networking | 11/12/07 | | Online or offline, on LinkedIn or through e-mail, many accountants and financial professionals understand the importance of keeping in touch. |
| Conflict Resolution Skills Can Boost Careers | 11/09/07 | | While accountants are used to helping clients solve difficult problems, they're often less adept at resolving issues within their own firms. Reserved by nature, they tend to shy away from conflict and let situations fester. What they may not realize is the ability to resolve disagreements can be a great tool in developing their careers. |
| Success with Telephone Interviews | 11/08/07 | | Telephone interviews can be trying. There are no visual cues from the interviewer, no body language to read and, in some cases, you've got to answer questions posed by a panel of voices over conference lines or speaker phones. Here's some tips on engaging successfully - long-distance or local. |
| How to Leapfrog the Pay Scale | 11/07/07 | | Through a recruiter, a former co-worker got an offer for 30 percent more than he was making. His employer offered him 50 percent more to stay. How do you orchestrate a deal like that for yourself? |
| Ask the Expert: How to Find Solid References | 11/02/07 | | "I've interviewed for a position with a company that wants to contact my current employer for a reference. Obviously, I don't want anyone in my firm to know I'm looking for a new job, in case I decide to stay put. However, I've worked here for the last 15 years, and so no other references seem relevant. What should I do?" |
| Accounting Workers' Confidence Slides | 11/01/07 | | Accounting and finance workers' confidence appears to be swinging downward more steeply than among the U.S. adult population as a whole, new surveys show. |
| Relocating Means Negotiating the Best Package | 10/31/07 | | You live in Baltimore and you've been offered two jobs: one in Kansas City and the other in Columbus. The jobs pay the same, but the company in Kansas City will pay your relocation expenses. How hard will your wallet be hit if you decide Ohio's the place for you? |
| Calif. CPAs Meld Tech, Accounting Skills | 10/30/07 | | The use of technology for business is opening up new job opportunities for California CPAs. Consider the growing number of consultancies that need CPAs to help implement and support business management software. The work can be stimulating for accountants who want to try something beyond public firms or private industry.
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| CareerWire: Networking Survival | 10/29/07 | | Networking is an important - most would say critical - tool to use in managing your career. Yes, there are drawbacks to it. But there are ways to address the downsides. |
| It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time
| 10/26/07 | | The new job sounded perfect: a great working environment, the right amount of travel and an exciting accounting challenge. But a month after you started, you realize the working environment is toxic, the travel is non-stop and your biggest challenge is figuring out what to do about it.
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| Accountants' Starting Salaries Pushed Higher | 10/25/07 | | Starting salaries for accounting and finance professionals are expected to increase an average of 4.3 percent in 2008, according to Robert Half International's 2008 Salary Guide. Public accountants, financial analysts and internal auditors are expected to see the largest gains. |
| Employers Open to Jobless CPAs | 10/24/07 | | With a dearth of talent on the market, companies in the New York metro area are considering candidates they might not have looked at before. That's good news for CPAs who got pushed out of large firms for growing too old, and for mass-layoff victims. |
| Q&A: Jerrold Pellizzon, CFO, Ceradyne Inc. | 10/23/07 | | "I don't think you can be focused on just being the guy who crunches numbers. It's the analytics that you need to put together with those numbers. To quantify something is great but you have to look at the quality aspect of something. I think a lot of times financial people are stuck on the quantifying approach too much." |
| Accounting, Job Security, and You | 10/19/07 | | Pretend you're a techie: Someone offers you a raise or even just an opportunity to work with a product that's new and cool. You'll probably happily leap to the new job. But you're an accountant. Someone offers you $10,000 more a year, and maybe - maybe - you'll consider their offer. What's up with that? |
| Should You Take Notes in an Interview? | 10/18/07 | | If a job interview is an exchange of information, is it proper for you to take notes during the conversation? It depends who you ask. We checked with a variety of career authorities and received a diversity of answers. |
| Firm Merging? Your Job's Probably Safe | 10/17/07 | | The perpetual search for talent and leadership is propelling a wave of mergers and acquisitions among accounting firms. If your shop is involved, should you be concerned about your job?
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| Ask the Expert: Waiting for the Right Offer | 10/16/07 | | "I've been offered a job at one firm, but also interviewed for a position at another, a place where I'd prefer working. How do I hold off replying to the first firm until I have a sense of what's happening at my first choice?" |
| N.Y., N.J. Companies Recruit Auditors Out-of-State | 10/12/07 | | New York and New Jersey recruiters are looking high and low for CPA audit pros as the field continues to churn and burn staffers. Now, firms are filling openings with folks from outside the area - another sign the market is red-hot.
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| Negotiating Severance Upfront Can Be Tricky | 10/11/07 | | If you're a below-C-level employee, a golden parachute may be beyond reach. But you may be able to get a golden umbrella that protects you if it starts raining pink slips.
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| CareerWire: Sometimes You Have to Sell | 10/09/07 | | If you prefer tooling through spreadsheets or a QuickBooks problem to chatting people up at a chamber of commerce breakfast, you may need to make a conscious effort get out more.
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| Firms Venture into New Territories | 10/05/07 | | Last month, California-based Armanino McKenna LLP ventured into new territory, launching what could be the accounting industry's first media consulting practice, Armanino McKenna Foster. The move is just one illustration of how some firms are expanding their non-accounting services. |
| Considering a Career Change? Plan Ahead | 10/04/07 | | Many career experts say modern workers will have multiple careers over the course of their lifetimes. Certainly a number of accountants mull what life would be like if they were focusing on something besides tax returns and accounting rules. But changing careers is difficult. It requires a great deal of perseverance, conviction and quite frequently a temporary downshift in lifestyle. However, the rewards can be fruitful. |
| Move to a Non-Profit With Open Eyes | 10/03/07 | | If you day dream about using your skills to sway the electorate, shelter the homeless or spread your religion, a move into the non-profit sector may brighten your workday. It'll also lighten your wallet. |
| Calif. Demand Strong, But Lags Other Areas | 10/02/07 | | The market for accountants and finance professionals in California will remain strong during the fourth quarter, according to the latest Robert Half International Hiring Index. But demand will lag behind the regional and national average in the state's four largest cities. |
| CareerWire: Listening to Your Critics | 10/01/07 | | As painful as it may be to listen to, honest criticism can help improve our performance on the job. Here are some ways to spin negatives into positives. |
| Looking for a New Job - Discreetly | 09/26/07 | | Elizabeth Taylor excepted, most people change jobs more often than they do mates. But no matter how many times you do it, looking for a new position when you already have one can be tricky. |
| CareerWire: Thoughts on Diversity | 09/24/07 | | Can diversity programs succeed without real culture change - change that extends far beyond the offices of accounting firms? |
| Mature Workers: A New Challenge for Employers | 09/23/07 | | By the end of this decade, some 64 million baby boomers will stare down the road to retirement. This fact leaves some companies facing an about-turn on their employment practices. |
| Audit Sector Outlook Remains Bright | 09/21/07 | | Auditing client companies' books was the traditional raison d'etre of public accounting firms. The growth of newer services such as consulting, merger advice and compliance testing has reinforced the market power of both CPA firms and the professionals who work in them. |
| Choosing a Resume Consultant | 09/20/07 | | It's a daunting task for anyone to prepare a good resume, especially if you're the kind of person that has difficulty expressing yourself on paper. If you are one of those people, or just figure you'd like some help, does it make sense to hire one of the countless writers out there who profess to be resume professionals? |
| Do Minority Women Have a Reason to Stay? | 09/19/07 | | For many minority women, cultural challenges and a feeling of exclusion make it easy to leave their current firms. They can empower themselves to succeed, but many are asking if it's worth it. |
| CFOs Less Upbeat About Economy and Hiring | 09/14/07 | | Business sentiment among CFOs dived this quarter, according to a survey by Duke University and CFO magazine. A Duke finance professor says the results raise the odds of recession. |
| A Blog on Certification Woes | 09/13/07 | | Building on the popularity of the Internet as a form of communication for younger CPAs and accounting students, the New Jersey Society of CPAs' Web site now features the Exam Cram Blog. |
| Fewer Top-Level Shifts in Finance - For Now | 09/12/07 | | For better or worse, if you work at a giant public company your odds of having a new CFO this year are the lowest since 1995. But that's about to change, a C-suite headhunter predicts. |
| Will This Recruiter Get Me a Job? | 09/11/07 | | Time is money. So, should you make an investment by interviewing with agency recruiters when looking for a new opportunity? The answer is yes - if the recruiter has available jobs that match your skill set and career goals. |
| United Commercial Bank Adding Financial Staff | 09/10/07 | | United Commercial Bank is on the prowl. Over the next year, the San Francisco-based commercial bank wants to add to its treasury and controller departments, in positions ranging from low-middle to more senior posts. |
| Ask the Expert: How Do I Resign 'Professionally?' | 09/06/07 | | "We've had a management change at our firm, and I am very unhappy with my new supervisor. The one I worked with for the last five months has just disappeared. I'm planning to resign and wonder whether I can do this verbally, or must I write a resignation letter?" |
| In Job-Hunting, Subtle is Best | 09/05/07 | | Of course, you want to stand out. But when you're trying to convince a firm you're the solution to their problems, there's a fine line between creative and weird. |
| To Blog or Not to Blog? | 08/30/07 | | Visibility and Web-savvy are useful when job-hunting. So, should you merge those goals by starting your own financial Web site or blog? In most situations, experts say no. |
| Facing the Tough Stuff | 08/29/07 | | What do Steven Jobs, Howard Stern and Terrell Owens have in common? They've all been fired. While at the time it seems devastating, most people rebound after termination and move on to new opportunities. One thing is certain: To get your next job you'll need to answer questions about why you left your last one. |
| Compliance, M&A Drive Hiring in N.Y., N.J. | 08/28/07 | | Compliance initiatives and merger and acquisition work are driving CPA hiring in New York and New Jersey. Meanwhile, professional ethics remain in focus for Empire State accountants, as the state's industry association appoints the first public member - a former New York State comptroller- to its professional ethics committee. |
| Certifications Boost Pay for Management Accountants | 08/17/07 | | Despite demand, salaries for management accountants have been rising only modestly. However, bonuses and profit sharing are picking up, and the money for those with relevant certifications - like the CPA and CFM - remains much higher than for those without. |
| Calif. Program Targets Industry CPAs | 08/16/07 | | An increasing number of CPAs have been filling leadership roles in California's non-accounting firms. Yet traditionally, most programming from the state's leading accounting organization has targeted CPAs at public accounting firms. Now, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants thinks it's fixed that. |
| Recruiters Hunt in Association Directories | 08/15/07 | | Joining a professional association for accounting or financial professionals may have an added benefit beyond networking and keeping up-to-date on industry trends: Recruiters are increasingly combing their membership lists of potential job candidates. |
| Get Ready: Four Trends to Watch | 08/14/07 | | Just as CPAs have caught up with the changes wrought by Sarbanes-Oxley, a whole new set of dynamics is coming down the pike. The time to prepare is now. |
| CareerWire: The Inside Scoop | 08/13/07 | | Learning what life is really like at a potential employer takes a strategy, discretion and contacts - and contacts only come with a long-term networking effort. This and more were covered on our blog last week. |
| AICPA to H.S. Students: Look Over Here! | 08/10/07 | | As the pressure for talent continues, the AICPA is looking for ways to encourage high school students to pursue the education they need to become accountants - and to remember who their friends were along the way. |
| CalCPA Chair Focused on Women, Corporate CPAs | 08/09/07 | | Three months into her one-year term, the chairman of the California Society for Certified Public Accountants has two major goals: Encouraging more firms to promote women into partnership roles, and providing more resources for accountants in senior positions throughout the state. |
| Ace the Interview at Age 50+ | 08/08/07 | | Rejecting a candidate because of their age is illegal, right? Ask anyone over the age of 50 and they will probably tell you that, despite what the law says, there have been times where they felt discriminated against because of their age. |
| N.J. Sees Need for Forensic Accountants | 08/07/07 | | A New Jersey community college is responding to the demand for forensic accountants, and an executive recruiter observes the specific job needs in the area around Parsippany. Across the river in New York, the state's CPA society holds its annual leadership conference. |
| CareerWire: Stand Up, Get Up, Network | 08/06/07 | | Networking is really pretty simple. But you have to get up out of your chair to do it - Facebook or not. This and other highlights from our blog are here. |
| Winning Strategies for Loser Projects | 08/03/07 | | It's unavoidable: Projects appear that no one wants to tackle. Some of them are bound to end up in your lap, and when they do you might as well take them on cheerfully. If nothing else, your attitude may get you noticed. |
| In Networking, Making Introductions Pays Off | 08/02/07 | | When people think about networking, they usually put it in the context of meeting other people. But when you're out there developing a group of contacts who can help you with advice, job tips and raw information about potential employers, it's important to remember these same people are looking for you to help them. |
| How to Ask for a Raise | 08/01/07 | | You've done your homework, methodically assessed your skills and experience, consulted salary surveys, and determined you're worth more than you're getting. So, how do you broach the subject with your boss, much less negotiate a successful outcome? |
| CareerWire: The Big Four Approach to Retention | 07/30/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among them: Why and how the Big Four focus on retention. |
| Think Carefully When Weighing Counter Offers | 07/24/07 | | Have an offer on the table? While candidates are enjoying good times, with employers dangling more money and higher bonuses in a bid to get them to jump ship, local recruiters say you should think twice before accepting any generous counteroffers from your present employer. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 07/23/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Are you networking enough? |
| Ask the Expert: A Coach or Not a Coach? | 07/19/07 | | "I've been working at my firm for four years and I'm having difficulty moving into management. I'm considering a coach but wonder if it's worth the expense. What do you think?" |
| Networking Doesn't Have to be Hard | 07/18/07 | | Although better networking can boost career opportunities, many accountants don't spend enough time doing it. Of those who do, many got about it in the wrong way, without enthusiasm or strategy. Here's some tips on networking effectively. It's not that hard. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 07/16/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week's: Can you NEVER burn a bridge? |
| Higher Profile Seen For Internal Auditors | 07/16/07 | | Internal auditors believe they are gaining influence and visibility with senior corporate managements, a broad-based international survey suggests. The sector "is predicted to expand its role in organizational governance and risk management," according to the Institute of Internal Auditors, which released the survey last week. |
| Howard Organizes Effort to Add, Retain Black CPAs | 07/13/07 | | A partnership that includes Howard University, a number of minority-owned accounting firms and several large firms are seeking to increase the number of African-Americans who become accountants, and increase the proportion of those who remain in the field. |
| NY/NJ: Risk, Compliance, Process Firms Seek Pros | 07/11/07 | | While regional risk, tax and audit firms are enjoying good times with plenty of work on the horizon, the graying of their workforce may present problems in the near future. And, since summer generally offers a slower pace at work, this might be a good time to brush up on critical CPE credits. |
| Sometimes Smaller is Better | 07/10/07 | | While there's no question that larger organization - whether corporations or public agencies - offer solid career paths, a number of California accountants continue to find success in smaller, family run businesses. And, because they play a bigger part in their company's performance, these CPAs believe their experience has been more professionally rewarding. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 07/09/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week's: Negotiating a flexible schedule. |
| Standards Convergence: Further Spur to Offshoring? | 07/05/07 | | The accelerating movement to adopt international accounting standards within the U.S. could eventually force accountants into the same sinking boat as Americans in other businesses, warns accounting educator Bruce Pounder. |
| CFOs Scramble to Find Qualified Workers | 07/03/07 | | An influential quarterly survey of CFOs of primarily midsize companies found reduced hiring expectations compared with three months ago, yet more than one in four respondents said their greatest business challenge is "finding qualified workers." |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 07/02/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week's: Don't be afraid to request relief. |
| N.Y./N.J.: Wall Street, Hedge Funds Seek Finance Pros | 06/28/07 | | Investment firms are driving demand for risk pros and industry-knowledgeable accountants in the New York area. In New Jersey, the State Board of Accountancy posted some clarfications to its continuing education requirements for licensees. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 06/25/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week's: Beware of job-board scams. |
| Ask the Expert: Is My Resume Too Long? | 06/22/07 | | "I was unexpectedly laid off and I'm not prepared to retire. My resume is four pages long and spans a 35-year career. Do I need to get it down to two pages and if so, how do I do that?" |
| Growing Role For CPAs in Risk Management | 06/21/07 | | Michael S. Kridel, partner in Daszkal Bolton LLP in Boca Raton, Fla., talks about the risk management role for today's CPA: "We look for strong communicators, and those who are interested in being respected, but not necessarily in being liked. These are the people who will make the right decisions regardless of personal relationships." |
| Five Ways to Become Job-Search Savvy | 06/20/07 | | Some people scour jobs boards, others network like there's no tomorrow. Whatever your job-search strategy, here's five tips to help you stand out from the pack. |
| N.Y./N.J.: Generalists Still Needed | 06/19/07 | | Specialized CPAs are at work in many area financial firms, but generalists are still sought. Meanwhile, reform legislation is on the horizon in the Empire State. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 06/18/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week's: Raising your visibility - nicely. |
| The Rise of the Part-Time CFO | 06/14/07 | | They sport names like B2B CFO, CFO Network, and Your CFO For Rent. Most are one-man shops, vehicles for semi-retired accountants or full-time freelancers to control their own work lives. But the ranks of part-time CFO vendors also include some team practices with support staffs and a regional, or even nationwide, client base. |
| 'Fiduciary Accounting' a Growing Niche | 06/12/07 | | With the responsibilities - and liabilities - of those who oversee direct investments growing, opportunities are increasing for CPAs in the area of fiduciary services. As accountants branch out beyond traditional tax services, their roles here can fit easily with many of their pre-existing skills. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 06/11/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week's: Auditing on Broadway (and we don't mean at the Tonys). |
| Ten Ways to Show You Don't Want That Job | 06/08/07 | | During the dance that goes on between a candidate and employer, you've got many chances to shoot yourself in the foot. In no particular order, here are 10 ways to pull the trigger. |
| Firms Showcase Concern for Staff Success | 06/07/07 | | How do you handle problem employees? Growing accounting firms in California are learning the answer: with great care. These firms have come to understand that how they treat workers who've gone astray speaks volumes. Demonstrating they are genuinely concerned with their staff's success can be a boon to their recruiting efforts. |
| CPA Shortages Impact Work at Senior Levels | 06/06/07 | | CPAs with a few years of experience are benefiting from a supply-demand imbalance that's pushing up salaries at a double-digit clip. That's good news for younger accountants still working their way toward certification. |
| Shape an Offer Through Shadow Negotiating | 06/05/07 | | You've made it through five interviews, a personality test, a sample assignment, and weeks of nail-biting. At last, you get an offer. But it's 25 percent less than you'd hoped for. Now what? |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 06/04/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week's: Why are audit costs exploding? |
| UK Seeks Accountants for Risk Jobs | 06/01/07 | | British banks have exhausted the their supply of senior risk specialists and are seeking accountants from overseas to fill open risk positions. |
| Women Gain at Illinois Firms - Slowly | 05/31/07 | | A survey by the Illinois CPA Society found only slight shifts in hiring and retention patterns among women from last year, and says women are still underrepresented in key leadership positions at firms throughout the state. |
| Five Steps to a Standout Resume | 05/30/07 | | Before you land an interview, you'll need to make sure you've got one of your job-hunting tools honed to a razor's edge: your resume. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 05/29/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week's: Your resume should be focused. |
| Are Employers Too Picky? | 05/25/07 | | It takes months to fill an opening, hiring managers lament. It takes months to land a job, applicants complain. If both sides want speed, what's taking so long? |
| Stepping Off the Fast Track | 05/24/07 | | So, you're six or eight years into your career and you've decided the partnership track isn't for you. What happens now? |
| Standing Out in the First Five Minutes | 05/23/07 | | Although most job interviews take at least an hour, hiring managers often decide how they feel about a candidate within a few minutes of shaking hands. So, it's critical that you separate yourself from the pack right away. Here's how to do it. |
| California Conference Focuses on Careers | 05/22/07 | | The success of the recent Young Professionals Conference in California underscores rising interest in the accounting profession nationwide. More than 300 professionals from around the state gathered to hear, among other things, tips for developing a successful career. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 05/21/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week: How happy are you? |
| CPAs Weigh Outsourcing Certification | 05/18/07 | | As more corporations consider business-process outsourcing, professionals involved in related decision-making - including management accountants - are seeking to establish ways to recognize their expertise and build on their skills sets. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 05/14/07 | | Our blog offers daily news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. Among this week: How confidant are accountants? |
| Fine-Tune Your Recruiter Connections | 05/10/07 | | For many job-seekers, working with search firms is an emotionally laden topic. We asked recruiters and career counselors for some do's and dont's to help you make the most of opportunities these agencies can offer. |
| MBAs See Lowest Pay Within Accounting Sector | 05/08/07 | | MBA candidates ranked accounting as the lowest-paying among 47 industries included in Fortune Magazineâs 2007 survey of attitudes toward various employers and professional roles. |
| Your Boss is Going - Do You Follow? | 05/08/07 | | Imagine you're working for a high-flying boss who asks you to join her at a new company. Or a former supervisor rings you up to say there's an opportunity at his firm that's too good to pass up. Should you stay or should you go? |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 05/07/07 | | We update our Blog daily with news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. |
| N.Y./N.J.: Revised 'Qualifying Experience' | 05/03/07 | | The New York State Board for Public Accountancy expands the definition of experience for first-time CPAs and increase mandatory education hours; New Jersey accountants stay ahead of the market with certifications, and Garden State's CPA association hosts a conference for controllers looking to become CFOs. |
| Calif. Financial Firms Embrace Telecommuting | 05/02/07 | | In California, some small and mid-sized financial services firms are making increased use of telecommuting. They're allowing more employees to work part- or full-time at home, sometimes at great distances from any office hub. |
| Getting the Lowdown on Potential Employers | 05/01/07 | | Of course, you want to know what it's like to work for a firm before you relocate your coffee mug and family pictures to your new desk. Save for having a friend on the inside, how do you get the dirt on a company's culture? |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 04/30/07 | | We update our Blog daily with news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of our recent highlights. |
| Return-to-Work Roundtables Planned in Four Cities | 04/27/07 | | Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth is convening roundtable discussions in four cities to explore how professionals can make "the cultural and logistical leap" back to the workforce after they've been away from office for a long period of time. |
| Calif. Wrap-Up: Non-Profits Can Be Intense, Too | 04/26/07 | | Opportunities in non-profits can be as challenging as in business... Educational institutions seeks financial professionals... Education Foundation plans conference for young professionals. |
| XBRL Know-How Means Extra Pay for CPAs | 04/25/07 | | If you're an analyst who's on a first-name basis with EDGAR, you might want to meet its new cousin, XBRL. A beautiful, and profitable, relationship could result. |
| IRS Seeks IT, Appeals Specialists | 04/24/07 | | The IRS is stepping up recruitment to fill anticipated gaps in a number of specialized fields, including information technology and appeals officers. |
| CareerWire: Best of the Blog | 04/23/07 | | Several times a day, we update our JobsintheMoney Blog with news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of last week's best items. |
| To Open Doors, Woo the Gatekeeper | 04/20/07 | | Even before they get to the job interview, applicants must be articulate, polite and compelling. It's not the hiring manager you're trying to impress - it's the corporate gatekeepers. Make friends with them, and whole new worlds can open up. |
| A Tip on Managing Your Career | 04/19/07 | | Richard Franchella, senior managing director at RBC Dain Rauscher in New York, has a simple suggestion for approaching career management. |
| Banking Firms Prepare for Slowdown | 04/17/07 | | Citigroup isn't the only bank taking a knife to its expenses. Wachovia, First Horizon and SunTrust are also girding for a slowdown. |
| CareerWire: The Best of the Blog | 04/16/07 | | Several times a day, we update our JobsintheMoney Blog with news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of last week's best items. |
| Q&A: Mitchell & Titus CEO Bert N. Mitchell | 04/13/07 | | A conversation with Bert N. Mitchell, chairman and chief executive of Mitchell & Titus, the largest African-American controlled accounting firm in the U.S.: "As you advance in accounting, you start managing more than just the numbers. You have to manage people." |
| Solution to CPA Crunch is On-Campus | 04/12/07 | | The salad days are continuing at California's accounting programs. At a number of schools, inquiries and enrollment have continued rising over the past year, continuing an upward trend that's half a decade long. |
| Managing Up: True Life Tales | 04/11/07 | | The guidelines for managing up sound simple and straightforward. Among other things, you must communicate clearly and openly, anticipate your boss's needs, avoid surprises, be sensitive to his work and management styles and, in general, make him look good to both superiors and subordinates. Tales from the trenches tell a similar story. |
| Managing Up: True Life Tales | 04/11/07 | | The guidelines for managing up sound simple and straightforward. Among other things, you must communicate clearly and openly, anticipate your boss's needs, avoid surprises, be sensitive to his work and management styles and, in general, make him look good to both superiors and subordinates. Tales from the trenches tell a similar story. |
| California CPAs Urged to Be Aggressive | 04/10/07 | | Financial professionals need to be more aggressive job seekers, says one executive recruiter. "The war for talent is still on and getting larger," Paul Herrias told two groups in California recently. "This is your chance to get ahead." |
| CareerWire: The Best of the Blog | 04/09/07 | | Several times each day, we update our JobsintheMoney Blog with news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of last week's best items. |
| N.Y. Focus Shifts to Regional Banks | 04/06/07 | | The job market for New York area retail bankers appears to be improving. However, the better opportunities are with regional players, with many offers coming from outside Manhattan. |
| Retailers Need Accounting Managers | 04/05/07 | | Retail stores are pressed to find managerial accountants, controllers and chief financial officers who possess retail and consumer-business experience. |
| Dropping CPA Supply Pressures Balance Debate | 04/04/07 | | As the number of seasoned CPAs dwindles, will those seeking balance be able to address the quality of life concerns discussed with such fervor throughout the profession? |
| CareerWire: The Best of the Blog | 04/02/07 | | Several times each day, we update our JobsintheMoney Blog with news and advice for accountants and finance professionals. Here are some of last week's best items. |
| Surviving the Subprime Slowdown | 03/29/07 | | Bank regulators' pronouncements on alternative loan products, the closing of subprime lenders and rising foreclosure rates are churning the mortgage employment market. |
| Safe From Outsourcing? Maybe Think Again | 03/28/07 | | Economist Alan Blinder thinks the impact of free trade is about a lot more than moving customer service jobs to India or manufacturing to China. It could very well be all about you. |
| Letters: Your Comments on Outsourcing | 03/23/07 | | When we asked for your thoughts on outsourcing, we got a lot of e-mail. We learned both outsourcing and age discrimination are on a lot of people's minds. |
| Career Advice from the Top | 03/22/07 | | Terri Dial, executive director of retail banking for Lloyds TSB in London and formerly of Wells Fargo, offers her advice on managing your career. |
| Building Careers for Hispanic Professionals | 03/21/07 | | Ann Marquez, executive director of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting's New York chapter: "Once you get past seven years, or the partnership level, that's where we need to do more." |
| The 'American Idol Factor' in Job Interviews | 03/20/07 | | With so many accounting and auditing positions up for grabs, it should be easy for qualified candidates to land a new job. So why do some feel like off-key singers on American Idol - the ones whose voices sound good to them, but make everyone else in the room wince? |
| What Wealth Managers Seek in New Hires | 03/15/07 | | What are the traits upper-tier wealth managers look for in new hires? Richard Franchella, senior managing director at RBC Dain Rauscher in New York, has some definite ideas. |
| Restaurant Firms Seek Tech-Savvy, Creative Thinkers | 03/14/07 | | The food industry, which generates one in seven new U.S. jobs, has an especially strong need right now for professionals in accounting and finance. Those in highest demand have sophisticated analytical skills, an understanding of the latest business technology and compliance issues, and a keen ability to think outside the proverbial box. |
| New York Real Estate Drives Financial Positions | 03/13/07 | | Despite the downturn in other sectors of the country, the outlook for real estate in the New York City and New Jersey area, particularly for office and retail space, remains strong, as does the prospect for finance jobs related to the field. |
| New York Real Estate Drives Financial Positions | 03/13/07 | | Despite the downturn in other sectors of the country, the outlook for real estate in the New York City and New Jersey area, particularly for office and retail space, remains strong, as does the prospect for finance jobs related to the field. |
| CareerWire: CFOs Under Pressure | 03/12/07 | | CFOs heading for the door under as compliance, board pressures mount... HSBC won't make new U.S. acquisitions... Reasons for continued CPA demand... and more |
| In Getting Ahead, Your Words Count | 03/02/07 | | A career in finance presupposes that you're good with numbers. To get ahead, you have to be good with words, too. That's not to say you have to be F. Scott Fitzgerald, but you do have to convey your thoughts, plans and data clearly, concisely and in a jargon-free style that any audience can understand. Plus, you want to write in a way that makes you look good. |
| Opportunities, Challenges In Supermarket Banks | 03/01/07 | | The number of bank branches opening in supermarkets is again on the rise, presenting job opportunities for banking professionals with the right combination of banking and sales skills. |
| California Compliance Salaries Reflect Demand | 02/28/07 | | The job outlook for internal and outside auditors, financial analysts and staff accountants in California looks good for the balance of 2007. Compliance specialists with SEC experience are especially coveted. Growth in demand, coupled with a shrinking pool of top talent, dovetails with national trends and has forced companies to bid harder for skilled employees, bolstering salaries in the process. |
| Looking Good | 02/27/07 | | If the U.S. job market is strong, the accounting and finance market is Paul Bunyan. But how long will this last? Do you update your resume every time reports indicate a drop in housing starts, or a hike in interest rates? Will the Iraq situation send us packing our Far Side desk calendars and family photo mouse pads? |
| CareerWire: Price Opens Office in Toronto | 02/26/07 | | T. Rowe Price begins push in Canada... Accounting professionals are optimistic... Federal court dismisses most claims in wrongful dismissal suit against Morgan Stanley... and more. |
| Ask the Expert: How Do Plan for My Own Business? | 02/23/07 | | So you're thinking it's time to your for yourself? Running your own financial business can be rewarding emotionally as well as financially - if you're realistic and prepared in your approach to starting it up. Robbie Miller Kaplan explains the basics. |
| Ask the Expert: How Do I Plan for My Own Business? | 02/23/07 | | So you're thinking it's time to go into business for yourself? Running your own financial business can be rewarding emotionally as well as financially - if you're realistic and prepared in your approach to starting it up. Robbie Miller Kaplan explains the basics. |
| Is Faster Better for Executive MBAs? | 02/22/07 | | A number of executive MBA programs are changing their schedules so that students can earn their degrees in less time, and with more flexibility. But some of the top-tier schools are keeping their more traditional schedules, for fear of diminishing the value of their credentials. |
| Researchers Find Uncomfortable Realities in 'Balance' | 02/21/07 | | Talk to recruiters in the financial world - and in accounting in particular - and they'll tell you how options for work-life balance are key components of their hiring and retention strategies. Now comes research indicating that perhaps accounting firms aren't so whole-heartedly behind the concept, after all. |
| CareerWire: MetLife Seeking Summer Interns | 02/20/07 | | MetLife is seeking applicants for its summer fellowship program... The California CPA Education Foundation's third annual business and industry conferences will have a career and hiring flavor... Marsh & McLennan contributed an additional $23 million to its 401(k) program... and more. |
| Morgan Stanley Hires for Latin Wealth Management | 02/16/07 | | Morgan Stanley's Private Wealth Management group appointed Jon Mallon as Regional Sales Manager for Latin America and hired a team of five from Lehman Brothers to serve high-net-worth Brazilian clients and institutions in Latin America. |
| Career Focus at California CPA Conferences | 02/15/07 | | The California CPA Education Foundation's third annual business and industry conferences will have a career and hiring flavor when they take place in Long Beach and San Francisco late in March. Each one-day event will feature sessions on career management, recruiting and employee retention. An additional session will offer advice on compensation, a timely subject in the present job market. |
| Retail Bankers Expect Modest Raises in '07 | 02/14/07 | | From branch managers to sales reps, retail banking professionals can count on modest pay increases during 2007, with their raises tracking slightly ahead of inflation. They can thank rising profits and increased operating efficiencies. |
| UBS Seeking Wealth Managers | 02/13/07 | | UBS plans to nearly triple the number of financial advisors working in its wealth management group for super-rich clients in the U.S. It's part of the Swiss bank's strategy to gain a top position here. |
| CareerWire: Insurers Develop Overseas Markets | 02/12/07 | | International insurance companies are developing new channels in emerging markets... The number of Americans who work remotely continues to rise... Retail bankers shouldn't expect their employers to be comfortable with their tattoos and body piercings... and more. |
| Growing Demand in Micro-Enterprise Sector | 02/08/07 | | The Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), a Washington D.C. non-profit trade group, has roughly 500 member, micro-enterprise organizations that provide access to capital and support for aspiring and active entrepreneurs from low-income communities. Most of these organizations are small with only a few employees. But in all, they provide about 4,000 jobs, many of them for financial professionals who want to switch to the non-profit sector. |
| Skilled Brokers Can Weather The Rates Downturn | 02/07/07 | | Commercial insurance brokers are balking as rates soften to levels not seen since the 1990s. And, with contingency fees becoming a thing of the past at many of the large firms, money worries are dominating the industry. However, cost-cutting measures neednât impact the IT-savvy and seasoned professional on the brokerage side. |
| E-Banking's Scope Spurs Need for Product Managers | 02/01/07 | | In just a few years, electronic banking has evolved from a simple way to check balances to a nearly essential tool for paying bills. It's also become ubiquitous - meaning banks are searching for ways to make their online channel even more important to their customers. As a result, say industry observers, people who can understand how online banking tools can be packaged to attract and retain customers will be in demand. |
| A Recruiter's View of Accounting and Finance | 01/31/07 | | A Q&A with Shane Hill of Hudson Highland Group: "The higher you go on the organizational chart, the more paramount are communication skills. I know when I've got a good candidate, even if their technical skills aren't exactly what the client's after, if the candidate articulates well, you can teach them a lot of other things." |
| Flexibility Can Aid Laid-Off Bankers | 01/30/07 | | Amidst continued news of bank mergers and projected layoffs, bankers in New York and New Jersey should be prepared for uncertain times ahead. However, regional financial institutions could offer opportunities to the right banking professionals. |
| CareerWire: HR Faces Torrents of Resumes | 01/29/07 | | Be prepared: HR managers face a crush of resumes... Deloitte launches blog on work-life balance... Bryant University adds "master of professional accountancy" program... and more. |
| Hotel Industry Needs Accounting Staff | 01/25/07 | | A healthy economy, thriving business travel and a general demand for financial professionals have tightened the market for back-office accounting and finance staff at hotels. It's a sharp reversal of the post 9/11 landscape, when many hospitality firms were forced to freeze employee salaries. |
| Change Afoot in the CFO's Role, Approach | 01/24/07 | | Pity the CFOs. They've got Sarbanes-Oxley requirements to meet, Securities and Exchange Commission and Internal Revenue Service officials to contend with, and answer to increasingly energized boards. How do they deal with it? Increasingly, the answer seems to be "move on." |
| Some Firms Eye Real Estate Agents as FAs | 01/23/07 | | Always on the hunt for financial advisors with potential, many wealth management firms are looking beyond their traditional, industry-centric pipelines. Successful real estate agents - especially those who've worked with high-income clients - are often attractive candidates. |
| CareerWire: Credit Suisse Hires Wealth Management Head | 01/22/07 | | Credit Suisse appoints new head of U.S. family wealth management... KPMG's Forensic Practice hires former IRS special agents⊠LoanCity appointed Jeff Minch as senior vice president and national sales manager⊠|
| Is 40 the New 50? Do the Discrimination Math | 01/20/07 | | When, like diffident dowagers, two well-known corporate-finance recruiters say, "We don't talk about age," there's probably something to hide. Is age discrimination the workplace's dirty little secret? |
| Independence Isn't for All Financial Advisors | 01/19/07 | | Anyone mulling a career change into the ranks of financial advisors should realize the field's intricacies can be difficult to grasp. For starters, it's important to understand that managing assets and offering investment advice is only part of the job. |
| Franklin Templeton Expands Training Program | 01/18/07 | | Franklin Templeton Investments is expanding its training program for financial advisors from Europe and Asia into the U.S. and Latin America. The program, called the Franklin Templeton Academy, is designed to help financial advisors develop financial planning and business development skills, and ultimately provide better service to their clients. |
| Franklin Templeton Expands Training Program | 01/18/07 | | Franklin Templeton Investments is expanding its training program for financial advisors from Europe and Asia into the U.S. and Latin America. The program, called the Franklin Templeton Academy, is designed to help financial advisors develop financial planning and business development skills, and ultimately provide better service to their clients. |
| CareerWire: Schwab Incents Independent FAs | 01/16/07 | | Schwab Institutional introduces incentives for independent-minded financial advisors... Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance moving to Iowa... Commerce Bancorp plans 65 new branches in 2007... and more. |
| Licensure a Key to Accounting Success | 01/12/07 | | A number of accounting and finance professionals wonder why they can't find good jobs despite their years of experience. The solution lies in becoming a CPA. |
| In N.J.: CPA Clients Seek Wealth Management Advice | 01/11/07 | | Some accounting firms in New Jersey are leveraging their knowledge of the state's complex tax structure to offer wealth-management services to their clients. We interview Vincent Pallitto, president of Summit Asset Management and a partner in Kirsch, Pallitto & Abbate, who believes, "Tax preparation is a reactive approach. Tax consulting is a different story, as it's more proactive. Honestly, tax practices are dwindling." |
| Plotting Your Path to the CFO's Office | 01/10/07 | | If you want to be a CFO, recruiter Scott W. Simmons has some thoughts you can use now - observations about the market and advice on how you can prepare. For one thing, he says: "Clients tell us, 'Donât get me a bean counter. Get me somebody who I can talk with from a strategic perspectiveâŠ'" |
| Lawyers Fit As Wealth Managers | 01/09/07 | | When Jamie Smith graduated from law school, he knew he didn't want to be a lawyer. A chance encounter with a recruiter led to a career in financial planning. Now, nearly four years later, he's the hiring manager of AXA Advisors' San Diego office, and he's trying to convince other JDs to follow a similar path. |
| CareerWire: FAs' Pay Lagged in 2005 | 01/08/07 | | Financial advisors' compensation lagged revenue increases in 2005... HSBC chief sees opportunities... Banks must focus on retail experience... and more. |
| Calif. CPA Firm Seeks Experience, Communication Skills | 01/05/07 | | A conversation with Zandy Ryder, recruiting manager for Armanino McKenna LLP: "Softer skills are just as important as having the experience and hard skills. Our employees, particularly on the consulting side, are representative of our firm and out in front of clients all the time. Being able to communicate effectively is very important." |
| Morgan Stanley Sued for Age Discrimination | 01/04/07 | | A 56-year-old former managing director is suing Morgan Stanley, charging the firm fired him because of his age. Edward Sullivan, who earned as much as $1 million annually for his work at the firm's retail division, claims two human resources executives created a "poison-pen critique" of his performance as a way to justify discharging him after a 24-year career. |
| A CEO's View of Financial IT | 01/03/07 | | Yacov Wrocherinsky, CEO of Infinity Info Systems: "The people we are looking at have an entrepreneurial spirit. They are willing to take initiative, and they have to be able to work in teams. We look at how people view their career journey, and we also look at the choices they make. We want good listeners so they will work well with our in-house team and our customers." |
| CareerWire: Salary Guide Available | 01/02/07 | | Robert half publishes 2007 salary guide⊠Deloitte has greatest percentage of women partners⊠Virginia banks divest mortgage businesses⊠and more |
| ABN AMRO To Cut 900 U.S. Jobs | 12/29/06 | | ABNÂ AMRO will eliminate some 900 jobs from its North American workforce during 2007, a five percent reduction. The cuts will be in the Dutch bank's LaSalle Bank Corporation and its subsidiaries, and also in ABNÂ AMRO's global businesses operating in the U.S. Most of the reductions will take place by the middle of 2007. |
| Broad View Helps Tax Executives | 12/27/06 | | While tax professionals believe they can play a more strategic role in their companies, often the financial executives who oversee corporate tax functions don't fully understand their priorities. The dynamic is making tax executives with a broad perspective on business issues ever more attractive. |
| How to Catch a Rising Star - and Not Get Burned | 12/22/06 | | You know the type: They're your firm's rising stars. They're the people named as team leaders. They're picked for plumb projects and seen chatting in the vice president's office. As for you, you're good at your job, but you're not standing out. Does that mean you can't rise along with a star? Not necessarily. |
| More Online Options for California CPA Credits | 12/21/06 | | The California Certified Public Accountants Education Foundation will nearly triple the number of webcasts it stages for CPAs seeking to renew their state credentials in 2007. Less than a year after introducing webcasts as part of its Continuing Professional Education services, the foundation will hold 60 such events, up from 24 in 2005. |
| Finding the Manager Behind the Ad | 12/20/06 | | The advertised position might be a solicitation for a seasoned controller or a skilled SOX specialist. Nowadays, the ad likely offers few details on the company hiring or the person handling the screening process. You might fit the bill for the job, but applying to such ads seems like a shot in the dark. How can you get in touch with the hiring manager directly? |
| Ask the Expert: Researching New Possibilities | 12/19/06 | | You're interested in exploring options beyond your current role - but finance is so big, you're not sure where to begin. Career expert Robbie Miller Kaplan offers some help. |
| Sovereign Bancorp Cuts 800 Jobs | 12/15/06 | | Sovereign Bancorp is cutting 800 jobs, or about 7 percent of its workforce, in order to cut costs. The company's announcement confirms reports that surfaced earlier this week that it would cut positions. |
| A 'Micro' Alternative to Traditional Banking | 12/14/06 | | Micro-lending has gotten a lot of press since Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace prize for his work providing seed capital to micro-borrowers throughout the developing world. In the U.S., the number of organization involved in such loans - they call themselves micro-enterprise organizations - has skyrocketed over the past 15 years, creating opportunities for financial professionals seeking alternatives to traditional accounting and banking positions. |
| How N.Y., N.J. Advisors Keep Business When Clients Move | 12/13/06 | | New York and New Jersey are expensive places to live and work, spurring a number of well-to-do families to retire or relocate elsewhere. So what's a financial planner to do when their clients are considering moving to greener - and cheaper - pastures? |
| Employers Cautious About 2007 | 12/12/06 | | Employers in finance, insurance and real estate are planning a cautious approach to hiring early next year. According to the recruiting and consulting firm Manpower, employers in the financial sector expect to do less hiring during 2007's first quarter than they'll do in the last three months of 2006. |
| Accounting, Finance Professionals Sought in California | 12/08/06 | | The news continues to be upbeat for accountants and financial professionals seeking jobs in California. According to the Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index, more chief financial officers in the state's four largest cities expect to increase staff than to cut jobs. |
| The Need for GAAP Knowledge Overseas | 12/07/06 | | Globalization brings a new set of headaches to finance executive in charge of hiring. Do they opt for local talent who understand local accounting practices, corporate culture and U.S. GAAP? Or, do they try to find U.S.-trained accountants who can learn to navigate local laws and customs? |
| Communicating is Vital - Even in Finance | 12/06/06 | | We hear it again and again: Finance isn't all about numbers. It's about communications, too, whether you're reporting results, working with colleagues in other departments, or developing client relationships. Here, Petter Wendel, chief financial officer of Greystone & Co., shares lessons he's learned about communicating and relationship-building. |
| The Gang's All Here: Surviving a Group Interview | 12/06/06 | | Itâs rare for multiple candidates for the same job to be interviewed at the same time, experts say. What's not uncommon is for one applicant to be interviewed simultaneously by several people at a hiring company. Stressful, yes, but there are ways to turn a group interview to your advantage. |
| John Hancock Helps Producers Move to Management | 12/05/06 | | John Hancock Financial Network has introduced a program to help producers prepare to become sales managers. Dubbed "the Protege Program," it integrates coursework with development goals and closely involves local managers. |
| Banks Seek Help Selling Mortgages to Minorities | 12/01/06 | | Since the refinancing wave has washed out of the mortgage industry, companies have sought to build volume by hiring employees who can tap diverse, emerging markets. Consequently, mortgage bankers who know how to build business in the African-American, Latino, Asian and other immigrant communities are in demand. |
| Challenges for Corporate Accountants in N.Y. | 11/30/06 | | If you're a CPA seeking a license in New York State, and most of your experience is in corporate accounting or investigations, you should be aware: Documenting your qualifying experience may be a bit more difficult than you expect. Here's an overview of the requirements. |
| Skeptical? A CPA? FCPA Work Might Be For You | 11/28/06 | | If you're a certified public accountant with an innate skepticism, and you enjoy foreign travel, problem-solving and out-of-the box thinking, you're a perfect fit for a rapidly growing accounting niche: the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. |
| CareerWire: The IRS On Campus | 11/27/06 | | IRS brings "Adrian Project" to campus... Atlanta attracts young professionals... Deloitte chair talks of mentoring... jobsinthemoney.com is blogging for accountants. |
| Strategies to Help You Move Up | 11/21/06 | | Even if you're just beginning your career, it's never too early to start planning your rise through the ranks. At a panel discussion sponsored by the Urban Financial Services Coalition's New York chapter, banking executives discussed strategies to help you develop a plan. |
| Foreign Firms Seek U.S. Talent for Expansions | 11/20/06 | | Though the rise of London as an investment banking center has gotten much media play in recent months, financial professionals with international expertise can benefit from the expansion of European firms right here in the U.S. |
| CareerWire: Private Bank for Physicians | 11/20/06 | | Illinois bank launches private banking service for physicians... Montana, New Jersey seek CPAs... Schwab, Fidelity plan to enhance technology for FAs... and more. |
| Wachovia Turns Its Eyes West | 11/17/06 | | Wachovia will close about 200 of its 3,400 branches across the country by the end of 2008. At the same time, it will open between 100 to 130 branches in the western U.S. during 2007 as part of its efforts to expand in what one executive calls "high-growth markets." |
| Ask the Expert: Job Searching After Age 55 | 11/16/06 | | Healthy, able and over 55. No matter how good the job market might be, older workers face their own unique challenges. How can you organize your job search? Robbie Miller Kaplan offers some tips. |
| Banks Increase Focus on Women | 11/14/06 | | Banks are grappling with understanding the differences between their male and female customers, and searching for ways to better serve women business people. |
| CFOs Value Employee Loyalty | 11/13/06 | | Chief financial officers like candidates who've spent time in their previous positions. Nearly 90 percent of them say the length of a candidate's tenure with earlier employers is an important part of the equation they consider when deciding whom to hire. |
| CPA Firms Still Need SALT Expertise | 11/09/06 | | It's been a boom time for state and local tax (SALT) professionals as accounting firms have worked to address a rising demand for their highly specialized and increasingly valuable services. However, experts believe recruiting will grow at a slower pace over the next 12 months. |
| Career Changers Attract Financial Recruiters | 11/08/06 | | When recruiters consider candidates who are transitioning into a financial advisor's job from previous careers, they often look for one common trait: success. It doesn't always matter what skills you may bring from another profession. Investment firms first want to know how well you put those skills to work. |
| Experience in Demand for Boston CPAs | 11/03/06 | | Like other cities around the country, Boston is suffering a talent shortage in public accounting. Those with some experience and time spent managing others are the hottest commodities. |
| Asian Advisers Leverage Community | 11/01/06 | | When building their businesses, Asian financial advisers have a unique opportunity to leverage their insight into their own communities. |
| Edward Jones Has 10-Year Plan | 10/31/06 | | Edward Jones plans to continue its expansion efforts by hiring investment advisers and support staff, strengthening market share in the U.S. and Canada, and investing up to $260 million to expand its headquarters near St. Louis. |
| Offshoring Comes to the Back Office | 10/27/06 | | An evolution in offshoring could eventually move a number of back office jobs outside of the U.S., saving large corporations as much as $58 billion a year and impacting some 1.5 million positions between now and 2016. |
| Demand Seen Pushing Financial Salaries in 2007 | 10/25/06 | | Continued demand for accounting and finance professionals will push starting salaries higher in 2007, as businesses mull expansions and continue to wrestle with compliance requirements. In particular, professionals in compliance, internal audit, financial analysis and public accounting should benefit. |
| Bonuses Boost Risk-Technology Compensation | 10/24/06 | | Risk professionals in software and technology earned a 7 percent average increase in total compensation in 2005 as an 11 percent rise in bonuses bulked up a 3 percent bump in salaries. |
| Ask the Expert: Reaching Beyond Company Networks | 10/23/06 | | "I take advantage of my company's networking and mentoring programs, but sometimes feel like I see the same people at each event. How can I extend my network beyond this regular circle?" |
| Atlanta's HomeBanc Cuts Workforce | 10/20/06 | | As it announced its expectation for a wider-than-anticipated third-quarter loss, Atlanta-based HomeBanc Corp. said it's reducing the workforce of its HomeBanc Mortgage unit by 4 percent. The move will save the firm about $19 million. |
| For Brokers, Training Issues Come into the Open | 10/19/06 | | Are financial services firms on the edge of a new model in broker training? As Morgan Stanley's James Gorman urges firms to be "brutal" in sending their least effective advisers packing, and executives of smaller firms remark on the inability of wirehouses to expand the ranks of successful FAs, some wonder if the time is right to adapt new approaches to developing novices. |
| Corporations Use Project Professionals to Fill Gaps | 10/18/06 | | Sarbanes-Oxley, increased regulatory scrutiny, globalization and downsizing has left Fortune 100 companies lacking well-credentialed, senior-level personnel to meet ever-increasing professional demands. But the corporations' challenge can be the outside professional's opportunity. |
| Mid-Size CPA Firms Form National Network | 10/17/06 | | Twenty two mid-size accounting firms have formed a national network, designed to act as a single firm and better compete with the Big Four. The network, Baker Tilly USA, offers tax, audit and consulting services under one brand name. |
| Treasury Departments Staff Up to Field Wider Roles | 10/16/06 | | The responsibilities of corporate treasurers are growing as they play a greater role within their companies. While these executives have long been responsible for managing cash flows, they're now being drawn further into the strategic framework of their organizations, creating new opportunities and responsibilities for themselves and those in the treasurer's department. |
| How Managing Up Positions You for Growth | 10/13/06 | | Even if no one reports to you, your job still involves managing people - the ones occupying slots above yours on the organization chart. It's called "managing up," and those who do it well can become indispensable to their organizations, resulting in choice assignments and promotions. |
| One Author's Tactics for Women, Minorities | 10/12/06 | | In Minority Rules: Turn Your Ethnicity Into a Competitive Edge, Kenneth Arroyo Roldan and Gary Stern identify what they say are key strategies women and minority executives can use to rise through the ranks of corporate America. In an exclusive interview Roldan, chief executive of search firm Wesley, Brown and Bartle, says: "You can't change a company that doesn't embrace the principles of diversity. So, you have to control your own destiny." |
| Firms Seek Advisers From Range of Backgrounds | 10/11/06 | | A financial background may not be the most important part of an erstwhile financial planner's resume, which is good news for newcomers trying to break into a field that's feeling pinched for qualified talent. |
| Tips for Finding That Overseas Job | 10/06/06 | | If you're interested in finding a finance position abroad, there are a few things to consider before you start packing. First on the list: the economic health of the country you're interested in, as well as the jobs considered "hot" there. |
| First American Launches Subordinate Lien Group | 10/05/06 | | First American Corp. launched First American Subordinate Lien Outsourcing group, a unit that will develop information solutions for the subordinate lien market. The group will serve as "a storefront" for many of First American's second lien products, leveraging the company's property and credit databases. |
| Top Interview Mistakes - And How to Avoid Them | 10/03/06 | | Few people really like job interviews: You have to be "on," the stakes are high, and you have to show off your expertise and intelligence every step of the way. "Successful interviewing reflects your ability to sell yourself," says Steve McMahan, president of Kforce Professional Staffing. "That becomes easier when you recognize the potential pitfalls and learn to avoid them." |
| Compensation Stable for Energy Risk Professionals | 09/29/06 | | Risk professionals in the energy sector received modest compensation increases during 2005, but should benefit if investment banks and hedge funds increase their activity in the area and the markets' instability continues. |
| Recruiters Can Make You More Likeable | 09/27/06 | | It's an age-old conundrum: How do you promote yourself to managers or prospective employers without sounding too impressed with yourself? The answer, says Jeffrey Pfeffer of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, is to get a recruiter to do the promotion for you. |
| Countrywide Warns of Layoffs | 09/27/06 | | Countrywide Financial Corp. has warned its staff to expect layoffs as falling home sales take their toll on the firm's mortgage business. |
| CFOs See Steady Hiring in Fourth Quarter | 09/25/06 | | Hiring within accounting and finance departments will remain steady during the last quarter of 2006, with six percent of chief financial officers planning to add full-time personnel and two percent anticipating a cut in staff levels. That net four percent increase is unchanged from the third-quarter forecast of the quarterly Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index. |
| CareerWire: Morgan Stanley Pauses in Layoffs | 09/25/06 | | Morgan Stanley is taking a break from layoffs in its wealth management division... Financial firms fuel job changes with hefty compensation to advisers... U.S. workers value health benefits over pay. |
| From Independent CPA to Corporate Finance | 09/22/06 | | Big companies expect their CPAs to have experience with accounting issues unique to public firms, especially compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulations. The need for that kind of track record makes jumping from an independent firm to a corporate finance department challenging. The key is to understand the CFO's needs, and set about building a resume that demonstrates you can meet them. |
| Mellon Names Wealth Management Head in S. Calif. | 09/20/06 | | Mellon Financial Corporation has appointed David Emmes managing director of Private Wealth Management in southern California. Russell Kartub has been promoted to managing director of portfolio management. |
| 50? You're Not Old, You're Seasoned | 09/14/06 | | Whether you're pushing or pulling the big five-oh, it can be tough to find a job. So it's not unethical to give your resume - and your waistline - a few nips and tucks. |
| CareerWire: UBS Strengthens U.S. Presence | 09/12/06 | | UBS to acquire McDonald Investments of Cleveland to strengthen U.S. presence⊠A record 462 of FORTUNE 500 companies provide sexual orientation protection⊠Securian named âGreat Place to Work in the Twin Citiesâ⊠and more |
| CareerWire: UBS Strengthens U.S. Presence | 09/12/06 | | UBS to acquire McDonald Investments of Cleveland to strengthen U.S. presence⊠a record 462 of FORTUNE 500 companies provide sexual orientation protection⊠Securian named âGreat Place to Work in the Twin Citiesâ⊠and more |
| CareerWire: UBS Strengthens U.S. Presence | 09/12/06 | | UBS to acquire McDonald Investments of Cleveland to strengthen U.S. presence⊠a record 462 of FORTUNE 500 companies provide sexual orientation protection⊠Securian named âGreat Place to Work in the Twin Citiesâ⊠and more |
| Some Hiring Managers May Up the Ante | 09/06/06 | | Most hiring managers say its more difficult to find qualified candidates than it was a year ago, a dynamic that may play into candidates' hands as they negotiate the terms of a new position. However, indications are few candidates are taking advantage of the pressure. |
| Is Your Boss a Bully? | 09/06/06 | | Thought you left that playground bully for good back around the third grade? Guess again. He - or she - can come back to haunt you in the form of your boss. |
| Position Yourself for a New Job - Discreetly | 09/01/06 | | Recruiters say financial professionals can gain an inside track for plum jobs through a proactive approach that includes regular networking, researching potential employers, working selectively with recruiters and undertaking projects that will broaden your skills. All of these activities, they point out, can be pursued without signaling an interest in leaving one firm for another. |
| Do Your Homework on Prospective Employers | 08/31/06 | | Doing your homework on prospective employers is critical to your chances of landing a new position. Nearly half of the executives recently polled said that not knowing about their company was the most common mistake they saw job-seekers make during interviews. |
| Diversity at Deloitte _ampersand Touche USA | 08/30/06 | | Kaplan Mobray, U.S. diversity recruiting leader for Deloitte & Touche USA, discusses his firmâs efforts to diversify its workforce: "We know that diverse and satisfied team members foster innovation." |
| Public Company Executives Lured by Private Equity | 08/30/06 | | Private equity groups are working hard to recruit senior executives away from public companies, offering more money and a chance to leave behind the short-term pressures that are part of dealing with the capital markets. |
| Torn Between Two Job Offers | 08/30/06 | | Your technical skills, interpersonal communication and references are top-notch. Your shoes are shined, your suit is pressed, every hair's in place and there's a smile on your face. And so you find yourself in the enviable position of having multiple job offers to consider. You can only accept one, so now what? |
| CareerWire: Return of the Perk | 08/28/06 | | Companies are bringing back low-cost perks⊠Merrill Lynch asks panel to end its obligation to broker who won discrimination suit⊠Residential mortgage brokers eye commercial loans⊠and more. |
| Women Make Inroads to CFO's Office | 08/23/06 | | Although women have long been underrepresented among corporate executives, theyâre making modest inroads to the CFO's office. In the S&P 500, women presently hold about seven percent of CFO positions, according to an informal analysis of data from Hoover's, a service which maintains a database on 16 million companies. |
| Demand for CPAs Rising Globally | 08/22/06 | | As if financial executives didn't have enough trouble finding CPAs in the U.S., word is spreading that companies overseas are seeking the very same talent. |
| CareerWire: From CFO to CEO | 08/21/06 | | From CFO to CEO⊠Insurance Training Benefits Financial Advisers⊠Citigroup Expanding in Key Markets. |
| MBA Applications Rise | 08/21/06 | | Applications to full-time MBA programs have risen for the first time in three years, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council. Much of the increase comes from international students, the GMAC said, although more women are applying as well. |
| What Tax Directors Look for When Hiring | 08/16/06 | | Whether you aspire to be a tax manager or a tax accountant, you need certain skills to get ahead working in a corporate tax department. Here are five things tax directors consider before hiring new staff. |
| How to Move Around The Baby Boomers | 08/15/06 | | Efforts by companies to retain baby boomers are frustrating younger professionals by delaying promotions and infringing on their independence at work. If you're in Generation X or Generation Y, you've got to be creative to attain the position you want. |
| CareerWire: Private Firms Buy Into SOX | 08/14/06 | | More private companies comply with at least some parts of Sarbanes-Oxley... Court won't dismiss overtime suit against A.G. Edwards... Federal agencies face mass retirement of procurement officers... and more |
| Five Things CFOs Look For in Job Candidates | 08/11/06 | | "What are they looking for?" Everyone who has responded to a job ad has asked themselves that question. To shed some light, we called several CFOs to find out what those elusive honchos seek in new hires. |
| Piper Advisors Depart Ahead of Takeover | 08/10/06 | | Around 81 - or nearly 10 percent - of Piper Jaffray's financial advisers resigned from the firm's retail brokerage unit during the second quarter, followed by 31 more during two weeks in July. The departures come as Piper's takeover by UBS Wealth Management USA approaches. |
| Leadership Skills As Career Tools | 08/09/06 | | The quality of your leadership skills can impact your career path. In fact, industry sources say, strong managerial skills are almost as important as the ability to sell a product. But the key word there may be "almost." |
| Tips for Responding to Online Ads | 08/02/06 | | Job-seekers often complain their responses to online ads disappear without any reply from employers. In reply, HR departments and hiring managers say their work is made harder by e-mails that are too long, inappropriate or simply miss the mark. To help you break through, here are some tips on making your message as effective as it can be. |
| Salary Increases Slowing for Accountants | 07/28/06 | | While demand for professionals in audit, tax and management services at public accounting firms is expected to continue for many years, salary increases will be less dramatic in 2006. |
| IT Hiring Ramping Up | 07/26/06 | | Demand continues strong for technology professionals across a range of industries. In fact, nearly half of all companies plan to use summer interns to help out their IT departments. |
| Certifications Showcase 'Real-World' Expertise of CPAs | 07/26/06 | | The sheer number of advanced certifications available beyond the CPA designation can be daunting. But what's the best one to earn to advance on your career path? It seems specialization is key to figuring out the best certification for you. |
| CareerWire: Changing the Gender Equations | 07/24/06 | | Women are still making slow progress into executive suites... Merrill Lynch says attracting FAs a cornerstone of growth strategy... DaimlerChrysler mulls outsourcing accounting jobs. |
| Hispanic FAs Find More Opportunities | 07/21/06 | | The growth in the Hispanic market means financial companies must develop a workforce representative of the customers they want to reach. While many Hispanic FAs prefer to work for themselves, opportunities are increasing for those interested in joining a larger organization. |
| Top 3 Banks Focus On Internal Growth | 07/20/06 | | Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are focusing on growing from within, a strategy that could help position them to face a cooling economy. |
| Goldman Sachs Leaders Emphasize 'Doing' | 07/19/06 | | Financial companies like people who get things done. Students looking for ways to position themselves might want to consider the backgrounds of the Goldman Sachs Global Leaders, a group of 100 high achieving college students from 20 countries. Their common thread: real accomplishments, some made even before they've entered college. |
| UBS Opens Office For 'Ultra-High-Net-Worth' Clients | 07/19/06 | | UBS has opened an office in New York dedicated to serving ultra-high-net-worth clients. The Park Avenue office will be staffed by 13 wealth advisors and three private bankers, and will offer a suite of brokerage, trust and private banking services, the company said. |
| Merrill Official Says Firm Can 'Do Better' In Diversity | 07/18/06 | | Even as they contend with a class-action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in its brokerage operation, officials at Merrill Lynch say they have to do better when it comes to hiring and promoting black financial advisors. |
| DWS Scudder Expands Distribution | 07/07/06 | | The ranks of DWS Scudder, the U.S. mutual fund business of Deutsche Asset Management, have swelled to include 19 new staff. |
| Internal Audit Still Faces Talent Shortage | 07/06/06 | | Although a number of companies have tried to expand their internal audit departments to cope with the demands of Sarbanes-Oxley, a lack of talent has kept many positions unfilled. |
| Ace that Interview - Top Ten Tips | 07/05/06 | | Last week Alcoa, Ameritrade, Ford, Interstate Bakeries and Winn-Dixie all announced reductions in their respective workforces. |
| Dramatic Pay Increases For Risk Executives | 06/30/06 | | Pay for risk professionals has risen dramatically over the last five years as companies have become more pro-active, and less reactive, in their approach to risk. |
| SOX Leads To IT Opportunities | 06/22/06 | | Sarbanes-Oxley has opened up a growing range of opportunities for accountants and other financial professionals with solid IT skills. |
| Certified Fraud Examiners In Demand | 06/21/06 | | Whether they're ferreting out tax improprieties, securities fraud or money laundering, financial professionals certified as fraud examiners are hot properties on the job market. |
| Static Networks Can Be Dangerous To Your Career | 06/07/06 | | They say it's good to have friends in high places. Yet many in the accounting and retail banking sector - particularly women and minorities - spend most of their time with people just like themselves. |
| CareerWire: Tax Departments Need More Resources | 06/05/06 | | Corporate tax departments need additional resources... Turnover among Fortune 500 chief financial officers increased last year... More than 84,000 people were expected to take the CFA exam... and more |
| Demand For Socially Responsible Investing Jobs Outpaces Need | 06/02/06 | | While socially responsible investing has been a buzz word for nearly 20 years, interest in the practice of encouraging corporate sustainability through sound social and environmental practices has gained momentum in recent years. But while the financial industry is paying more attention to SRI, the number of professionals trying to enter the field still outstrips the demand of investors. |
| Women Reach Beyond Internal Networks | 05/31/06 | | Tell a woman CPA in Connecticut sheâs being transferred to California and within a day sheâll have a list of the best pediatricians in Los Angeles and a list of local womenâs soccer teams looking for players. |
| Diversity At Citigroup's Corporate and Investment Banking Division | 05/26/06 | | jobsinthemoney.com recently spoke with Patricia David, managing director and global head of diversity/talent and employee programs for the corporate and investment banking division of Citigroup. David is responsible for overseeing, developing and implementing the diversity strategy for nearly 49,000 employees around the world. |
| Starting Salaries Climb For New MBAs | 05/24/06 | | Starting salaries of newly graduated MBAs have risen 4.2 percent since 2005, spurred by hiring among employers confident about the overall economic outlook. |
| CareerWire: HSBC The Leading Firm For Women Executives | 05/22/06 | | Financial firms dominate Diversity Inc.'s list of best companies for women executives... NewStar Financial hiring for West Coast office... Royal Bank of Scotland to offer corporate banking services... and more. |
| CFOs Gain Higher Profiles At Hedge Funds | 05/19/06 | | As hedge funds continue to grow in both numbers and assets, the role of the chief financial officer is becoming more challenging and high profile, according to industry experts. |
| IT Auditors Salaries At Premium | 05/16/06 | | Information technology auditors, professionals who determine whether corporate IT systems are effectively maintaining Sarbanes-Oxley controls, are in demand from a wide range of companies. |
| CareerWire: Jobs Outlook Strong - For Now | 05/15/06 | | The overall U.S. job outlook is strong for the next 6-12 months, but predictions for financial services might be described as ''steady, but slow''... The number of women in leadership roles in Illinois CPA firms has remained largely unchanged over the last four years... A Massachusetts stockbroker has sued Citigroup Smith Barney for allegedly failing to pay him overtime... and more. |
| Feeling Burned Out? Accountants Have Options | 05/12/06 | | In college, you majored in accounting. You sweated through the CPA exam and put in countless billable hours as a young practitioner. Now you're well into a successful career. But what happens if you discover making numbers talk no longer carries the thrill it once did? |
| Women, Minorities Lag In Executive Ranks | 04/28/06 | | Women and minorities continue to lag in gaining management positions in large financial firms, according to a report by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ''This report shows that we still have some ways to go,'' EEOC Chair Cari Dominguez said. ''The report found that women of all races and backgrounds advance more slowly as they climb up the career ladder.'' |
| Mortgage Banking Jobs Hold Steady | 04/28/06 | | Some economists believe the market for new homes isnât as strong as the surge in March sales figures would suggest. Media reports note that builders have been cutting prices to address rising mortgage rates, and the number of available homes is increasing. Whatâs it all mean for mortgage bankers? Despite some fallout on the consumer side, observers see their job security as being pretty solid. |
| Pay Rises In Corporate Tax Departments | 04/26/06 | | Itâs no secret the job of corporate tax departments has become tougher. The challenges they face, and the ongoing scramble to find talent to meet them, is translating into higher compensation for tax professionals at the top of their game. |
| IRS Recruiting Revenue Agents | 04/21/06 | | The Internal Revenue Service is seeking hundreds of revenue agents, many for its small-business/ self-employed division, and is offering signing bonuses to those willing to work in ''hard-to-fill'' locations. |
| Corporate Finance Compensation Jumps | 04/19/06 | | Macro trends are creating macro pay increases for those in the corporate finance world. Double-digit compensation increases stem from stiffer federal regulation and a push for corporate growth â two movements that have companies scrambling for top-notch finance staff in a time of short supply. |
| Executives Look For Resume Follow-Ups | 04/17/06 | | You've submitted your resume to a prospective employer. Now what? Most executives think you should follow up within two weeks: It shows you to be self-motivated and pro-active - traits managers value. |
| CFOs Predict Increased Hiring For Finance Staffs | 04/14/06 | | When business is good, chief financial officers hire. According to the latest quarterly survey by Financial Executives International, business is good. Over the next 12 months, 77 percent of the 200 CFOs surveyed by the organization expect to hire more staff for their companiesâ financial areas. |
| BET Founderâs Bank Expects To Offer 'Opportunities' - Eventually | 04/10/06 | | Robert L. Johnson, founder of the cable network Black Entertainment Television, is positioning himself to become owner of the largest African-American controlled financial services business in the U.S. Although the company has no specific hiring plans to reveal just yet, a representative said experienced financial professionals can look for ârich opportunities in the future.â |
| Private Banking Opportunities On The Rise | 03/29/06 | | As more banks and other financial companies work to develop a wealthier client base, opportunities are rising for bankers and others considering a move to private banking. |
| Are Companies Serious About Diversity? | 03/27/06 | | Nearly 80 percent of the jobsinthemoney.com users who responded to a snap poll asking whether their company is serious about diversity said "no." |
| For SOX Staffers, Workload May Be Key Challenge | 03/24/06 | | Many accounting managers have said the intricacies and tedium of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance has discouraged accountants and auditors from getting into the field â or made them itchy to get back into what they regard as âcoreâ financial functions. But could the challenge be simply that SOX specialists are overworked? |
| Unintended Consequences Of Work/Life Programs | 03/22/06 | | A decade ago, professional service firms began offering women more flexibility as they replaced their âup-or-outâ attitude with flextime, maternity leave and part-time options. But as more women take advantage of programs that allow them to pursue the "mommy track" or "family track," the pool of women remaining in leadership roles has been shrinking. |
| Thrivent Financial To Hire 675 Representatives | 03/13/06 | | Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, the not-for-profit financial services firm focused on the Lutheran markerplace, said it plans to hire 675 financial representatives by the end of this year. |
| Five Signs It's Time To Move On | 03/08/06 | | Knowing when to quit your job usually boils down to instinct. Yet in banking and finance, where takeovers and lackluster bonuses are regular occurrences, there can be telltale signs it's time to move on. Here are a few. |
| Rising Above Your Past Employer | 03/03/06 | | If you worked at one of the accounting firms or corporations implicated in the creative accounting scandals of the last few years, will prospective employers hold it against you? |
| Commercial Real Estate Firms Seek Financial Professionals | 02/17/06 | | As commercial real estate has become more sophisticated and Wall Street-friendly, professionals with backgrounds in accounting or experience in controller or chief financial officer functions are seeing their value rise. |
| Pension Expertise In Growing Demand | 02/15/06 | | As reform and funding pressures increase the challenges involved in running a plan, financial professionals whoâve stayed on top of pension issues may find themselves in increasing demand. |
| Price Expects Hiring To Stay Flat, Despite Strong Business | 02/10/06 | | T. Rowe Price expects to keep its hiring essentially flat this year, despite record results in 2005âs fourth quarter and a growing institutional business thatâs gotten the attention of the likes of Institutional Investor. |
| Merrill Lynch Cuts Brokers' Cash Compensation | 02/08/06 | | Merrill Lynch has quietly reduced the cash compensation of its brokers by 1 percentage point while crediting an extra 1.5 points to the companyâs deferred stock plan, according to the trade newspaper Investment News. |
| IRS Needs Agents, Auditors as Retirements Loom | 01/31/06 | | The IRSâs Large and Medium Size Business Division (LMSB) is staffing up as many of the career staffers who conduct or manage corporate audits approach their retirements. Pay packages could prove taxing to some, however. |
| Your Own Best Cheerleader: Find a Coach | 01/31/06 | | Lauren*, a long-time employee of Big Four accounting firm Deloitte, had worked her way up to manager of Northeast operations in a New York-metropolitan area division that then underwent an organizational transition. That set a career change into motion. |
| Know Your File Before a Background Check | 01/25/06 | | Got something in your background that you'd rather not discuss during your next job interview - like a conviction for disorderly conduct or a really low credit score? Do your homework before you start mailing out your resume, because most companies are going to look your background right after they look at your resume. |
| Certifications Aplenty in Financial Planning for Seniors | 01/19/06 | | Years ago, one big baby boomer question was, âDad, can I have the car tonight?â Now the boomers have their own cars. Dad, now retired, might be sitting on a comfortable-to-substantial nest egg. But heâs still being pestered. |
| H-1B Visas Put U.S. Financial IT Jobs at Risk | 01/19/06 | | The foreign job threat for American technology workers isnât limited to work that can be sent abroad. Companies are using skilled workers brought in under the H-1B visa program to replace American staff with foreign workers who are paid substantially less â nearly $13,000 a year less on average according to a recent study. |
| Accountants' Pay Jumps on Lack of Supply | 01/10/06 | | If youâre an accountant who can both crunch numbers and talk management through them with the same panache, you are in high demand and low supply in many U.S. markets. And you may be worth more than you think. |
| Balance of Power Shifting to Employees | 01/10/06 | | If one of your resolutions for 2006 is to find a new job, youâll be happy to know that the hiring picture for accounting and finance is robust, particularly if your skills are strong. |
| Industry and Big 4 Want Audit Managers | 01/03/06 | | One thingâs for sure if you aspire to become an audit manager at either a Big 4 firm or in private industry: Youâll need to be a CPA. But the demand is high and salaries are up over last year. |
| Sarbox Costs Down but Hiring Still Strong | 12/20/05 | A recent study commissioned by the Big 4 shows that total Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 implementation costs, not surprisingly, are projected to decline substantially for both larger and smaller companies in the second year of implementation. What does this mean on the hiring and pay fronts?
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| Bank Branch Managers See Huge Churn | 12/19/05 | | As the talent pool for branch managers continues to shrink, commercial banks have responded with stock options, increased compensation, business casual dress codes and recognition events like paid resort vacations. |
| CFOs say Pay, Hiring to Freeze | 12/13/05 | | Chief financial officers are holding the line on 2005 bonuses and raises. And good luck if you decide to seek a fatter paycheck elsewhere, because those same CFOs arenât planning to do much hiring in the first quarter of 2006, according to two recent surveys. |
| CPAs Back in the Black | 12/09/05 | | Financial firms are pushing recruiters to find Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) or candidates with Bachelorâs or Masterâs degrees in Accounting. Theyâre also offering all the right incentives for the right candidates. |
| Surviving Sarbanes-Oxley | 11/29/05 | | As the Sarbanes-Oxley Act enters its second year of implementation, organizations and individuals are looking back to assess the costs of compliance and the sustainability of the consequent infrastructure, and forward toward streamlining those elements. |
| Unhappy at work? You're not alone | 11/15/05 | | Are you dissatisfied with where you work? If so, join the 80% of finance professionals who are unhappy with their employers. It could be time for a rebalancing act. |
| Workplace Diversity Is a Bottom-Line Issue | 11/01/05 | | Female entrepreneurship has grown rapidly over the last decade, and the numbers of women at corporations, including those in corporate finance and those in leadership positions, continue to increase. But the numbers also show that women â both as employees and as board members â arenât just taking up space. Theyâre also enhancing the bottom line. |
| Wal-Mart Goes A-Banking | 10/31/05 | | Retail giant Wal-Mart filed an application in July with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to establish an industrial bank in Utah to process its monthly volume of 140 million credit and debit transactions. The FDIC received over 1,000 letters â many times the norm â commenting on the proposal and had to extend the public comment period to two months from one. |
| Annual Bonuses: Carrots Dangle Higher, Sticks Get Longer | 10/24/05 | Annual bonuses are being scrutinized in an effort to design equitable pay packages in the wake of corporate accounting scandals and criminally excessive compensation paid to top executives at many firms. And everyoneâs feeling the fallout.
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| Market Is Strong for Temporary Accounting Pros | 10/18/05 | | The recent announcement by H&R Block that it plans to increase its tax networkâs peak temporary work force by 39,000 professionals â nearly 40% â in the coming filing season prompts the question, âWhat besides tax season drives the market for temporary accounting pros?â |
| Where are the Good Actuarial Candidates? Guest Comment | 10/17/05 | Scott Rollins is President of the Chicago area executive search consultancy S. C. International, which has specialized in the recruitment of actuaries and employee benefits talent since 1984.With more than thirty years in recruiting, the last twenty of which have focused on the actuarial and employee benefits marketplaces, I have seen both strong and weak job markets. And in order to adapt to a changing job market, savvy employers and job seekers alike have had to improve their processes and procedures for working with executive search firms. But unfortunately, a good number are still approaching the job market blindly and not reaching their maximum potential.
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| Retail Banking: Sell, Sell, Sell or Else | 10/11/05 | | The banking trend that has tellers selling home loans is making its way into the back-office, as more and more institutions are requiring everyone from the CFO on down to bring in new business. |
| Bye-bye Stock Options, Hello Incentive Pay Mix | 10/03/05 | Reaction to the excessive compensation paid to top WorldCom, Tyco, Enron and other executives is driving more than media attention. Itâs also responsible for a spate of new government regulations designed to curb future abuses and concomitant trends in overall compensation.
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| Compliance Demands Controllers | 09/16/05 | | The recent emphasis on enhanced corporate governance reporting and controls has focused mainly on the growing demand for accountants well versed in them. But the demand for controllers, and what controllers can command in pay, is rising, too, recruiters say. |
| Treasurers Usually Promoted, Not Hired | 09/12/05 | | In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as with 9/11, many companies are turning to their treasurers - and paying them a bundle - to reevaluate their insurance coverage and reassess their risk-management scenarios. But donât expect to see tons of treasurer jobs being advertised. |
| Summer Reading: Manners Matter | 08/25/05 | | Sure, your parents always taught you to say âpleaseâ and âthank youâ and not put your elbows on the table. They coached you to write prompt thank-you notes because they knew that having good manners would help to smooth out your life. But could they have known to instruct you not to give a clock as a gift in Japan because itâs a symbol of death? Business etiquette â whether around the dining table or the conference table â is a whole different ball game. |
| Sarbox Makes Salaries Snowball | 08/12/05 | Remember those Saturday morning cartoons? The ones where a little snowball kept jouncing downhill, growing and growing until it was as big as Mars? The recent rapid increase in compensation for any corporate accountant involved with Sarbanes-Oxley reporting, SEC reporting or auditing is giving similar momentum to accountantsâ salaries.
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| Staff Accountants Show Slight Uptick in Salary | 08/08/05 | Thereâs good salary news for staff accountants at all levels in most industry sectors â including those who work in South Carolina â according to pay experts. South Carolina?
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| Market for Actuaries on the Rise | 08/04/05 | The market for actuaries in all disciplines has been quite strong this summer, says recruiter David Simpson, managing principal of D.W. Simpson & Co. http://www.actuaryjobs.com/ âWeâre getting 20 to 30 new positions an all disciplines and at all levels each week. Thatâs just our firm, although we are the biggest,â he adds.
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| Fraud Examiners Do Good | 07/26/05 | | It sounds like the lineup on the six oâclock news: Identity theft. Money laundering. Gaming control and surveillance. Health care, insurance, bank, mail and Internet fraud. And this is by no means a complete list of fraud examinersâ remits. |
| Forensic Accountants Follow Trail of More Jobs, Pay | 07/19/05 | | If youâre a CPA whoâs technically proficient, intellectually curious, persistent, creative and discrete â and who always secretly yearned to be Sherlock Holmes â grab your deerstalker hat and your magnifying glass and find a position in forensic accounting. The field, while niche, is booming. |
| Financial Analysts Ascend in Pay, Hiring | 07/12/05 | | After playing second fiddle to accountants recently as the rush to compliance dominated corporate finance, financial analysts are back in demand, recruiting experts say. |
| SOX Moves Management Accountants' Pay Up | 06/21/05 | | Love it or hate it, Sarbanes-Oxley is proving a boon for management accountants. A new salary survey claims their pay has leapfrogged pay for public accountants even amid one industry association's calls for cutbacks to SOX. |
| Open the Door to the Big 4 | 06/07/05 | | 'No one wants to work for me, although I could use the help. They all want to work for the Big 4,' laments one New Jersey CPA with a small private practice. But how does a Big 4 aspirant become a Big 4 employee? |
| Where You Went Wrong | 06/01/05 | | It's been months since you started looking for a job and you still haven't found anything. Wondering where you're going wrong? JobsintheMoney.com has created a 10-step checklist you can use to figure out just where your search is derailing. Starting with Step #1, have you accomplished each task? |
| Career Shift: Housing Counsellors Earn High Karma And Low Pay | 05/31/05 | | If you love the counseling aspects of financial planning or loan origination, but can't stomach sales, there may be another option for you â a move into the non-profit sector where about 3,500 organizations provide homeownership and financial fitness counseling to consumers. |
| Auditing Auditors' Salaries | 05/27/05 | | Stringent regulations, corporate scandals, and a spate of prosecutions have created a need for competent auditors. But while some experts in the field describe a hiring and compensation frenzy, others have a more dispassionate view. |
| Interim Managers See International Growth | 05/16/05 | | Cliché has it that variety is the spice of life, and after several years in the same job it may well be easy to see why. In search of renewed vigour, some Chief Financial Officers are reinventing themselves as interim managers. |
| Insurance Jobs Are Spring's Hot Spot | 05/16/05 | | Despite ongoing investigations of fraud, allegations of bid-rigging and even interest on the part of the FBI, the hiring picture in the insurance industry is strong, employment experts say. |
| Mortgage Banking Designations: Nice-To-Haves or Must-Haves? | 04/18/05 | | Looking for a way to separate yourself from the herds of people who went into mortgage banking during the refinance boom? Earning a designation from the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA) may give you the edge over the competition when youâre job hunting, but it may not raise your salary in your current job. |
| Career Path: PwC US Tax Services Principal | 04/13/05 | | Carl Dubert is a principal in the Washington National Tax Services practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Washington, DC. Here he explains his route to PwC (for the second time) via Deutsche Bank and the U.S. Treasury. |
| Just How Good IS That Offer? | 04/07/05 | | Youâve been offered your first job in banking, accounting, finance or insurance. It seems like your new employer is offering you a good compensation package, but wouldnât you like to know what everybody else is getting before you decide how good their offer is? |
| More Jobs, Pay for June Grads | 04/04/05 | | The outlook on pay for this Juneâs graduates is warming up, with offers in the high 30s to low 40s, thanks to growing demand for entry-level finance, accounting and banking professionals. |
| Take the Offer and Run | 03/29/05 | | A recruiter has brought you an offer of a better salary from a competing firm. You go into your managerâs office to resign and receive a counteroffer. Should you take it? |
| DoD to Feed Army of Auditors | 02/18/05 | | If you've got a CPA and secret security clearance, Washington, D.C. is about to become a very lucrative place for you. The Department of Defense (DoD) has just let an almost $1 billion contract to 20 accounting and IT companies who will help the agencyâs Office of Inspector General earn clean audits from each of the military services and dozens of defense agencies. |
| Get Up to Speed on Sarbox | 02/18/05 | | Many readers have been writing in to ask about training venues for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, both in general and in terms of Sarboxâs IT component. If you feel youâre not up to snuff on the various Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements (can you say SOX 404?), or the technology to help get the job done, there are conferences and websites that can help. |
| CFOs Take Sweet Time to Fill Jobs | 02/15/05 | | The typical chief financial officer takes four weeks to fill a staff-level accounting position and six weeks to bring a new manager on board, according to a recent survey from Robert Half International, Inc. |
| Ante Up for Chief Risk Officers | 02/11/05 | | Corporate entities are beginning to realize that Kenny Rogers was right all those years ago. You gotta know when to hold âem. Know when to fold âem. Thatâs why theyâre now hiring chief risk officers (CROs). |
| Financial Planners Get Top Pay in Growing Sectors | 02/04/05 | | Among the alphabet soup of certifications for financial planners - CPA, CLU, ChFC, CFP and more - there is one constant: Those who earned the right to put those initials after their names make more money than those who didn't. |
| Ask the Expert: How Can I Make My Sarbox Skills Convincing? | 02/01/05 | | After reading an article here on Sarbanes-Oxley auditors, a job seeker wrote in for help on landing a job without Big 4 experience. Read below for what our panel of industry experts had to say. If you need some job advice, your questions are put to our experts by Carol Lippert Gray. |
| So you want to be a CFO? | 01/27/05 | | Be prepared. Be versatile. Be articulate. And multitask. In one day, you might be talking to anyone from your CEO to a disgruntled shareholder, from the staff at the SEC to your local plumber. |
| No End to Internal Audit Hiring Spree in Sight | 01/11/05 | | Looking to increase your salary (and who isn't)? Geography, education and experience levels, company size and a CPA or graduate degree obviously enter the salary equation. But two areas â Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and fraud examination â are where the bigger bucks are right now. |
| Mortgage Banking Operations Staff Prepare for Layoffs | 01/11/05 | | When mortgage volume is off, as it was in 2004, mortgage bankers are known for layoffs of operational staff. Which back office employees are going to get the axe first, where can they go, and what are the pay prospects? |
| Multiple Offers for Internal Auditors Come With Pay Raises | 01/11/05 | | In real estate, the mantra is location, location, location. Today in corporate finance, the mantra is internal audit, internal audit, internal audit â a direct result of the new Sarbanes-Oxley legislation governing corporate reporting and compliance. |
| Time for Mortgage Producers to Jump Ship? | 01/11/05 | | Rising interest rates, declining conventional mortgage origination volumes and the explosion of the subprime lending market have mortgage banks hiring sales staff. |
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