The Internal Revenue Service has released a new form to help employers claim the special payroll tax exemption for newly hired workers under the HIRE Act.

Even with high unemployment, businesses are finding that it takes at least a month to fill open accounting and finance positions.

Universal Business Computing Co. is among the first to upgrade its payroll software to handle the provisions of the recently approved HIRE Act.

Small businesses have continued to hire more employees in March, extending a trend that began in mid-2009, according to a new payroll report by Intuit.

The biggest takeaway from the recession for employers could be taking better care of their workers, according to a recent survey of chief financial officers.

Payroll and benefits outsourcing provider Paychex Inc. said a combination of the shaky economy and a litigation expense charge of $18.7 million contributed to a 14 percent decline in third-quarter earnings, to $112 million, versus the year-ago period.

Intuit plans to update its Intuit Payroll service to reflect the HIRE Act that President Obama signed into law on Thursday.

President Obama has signed legislation that provides employers with tax incentives to hire unemployed workers.

The Senate has approved legislation that provides companies with a payroll tax exemption for hiring new employees.

A round of resumes for the upcoming season are beginning to circulate within our audit and consulting office. Undoubtedly, the traditional interviewing process will fall short, resulting in regrettable new hires.

Accounting firm Marcum’s recruiting arm Marcum Search has opened a temporary services division that will offer temporary employee placements for all types of industries.

The recession has affected many companies harder than they anticipated. Most organizations experienced some kind of impact from the financial upheaval, according to a survey by Burlingame, Calif.-based Accountants International of 3,500 accounting, finance and human resource executives nationwide.

Seven percent of CFOs plan to add full-time accounting and finance employees during the second quarter, the highest forecast since the first quarter of 2009, but 8 percent expect staff reductions.

Small businesses lost 18,000 jobs in February, according to a report by payroll giant ADP.

Intuit is seeing small businesses beginning to hire again, based on a survey of its online payroll customers.

The Internal Revenue Service has made an administrative determination to accept the position that medical residents are excepted from FICA payroll taxes based on the student exception for tax periods ending before April 1, 2005, when new IRS regulations went into effect.

The Senate approved a job creation bill Wednesday after 13 Republicans agreed to vote for the measure, which includes tax breaks for businesses that hire or retain employees.

Despite lean budgets for many businesses today, cash bonuses continue to be the leading incentive for recognizing employee performance, according to a survey of CFOs.

The Senate voted to consider a $15 billion job creation bill after five Republican senators agreed to overcome a filibuster on the measure, which would provide tax breaks to companies that hire and retain employees.

Our Generational Viewpoints article this issue features Baby Boomer John Nicolopoulos, born in 1956, assurance partner of Boston-based Caturano and Co. (www.caturano.com), and Generation Y assurance manager Nichole VanPelt, born in 1981, of the same firm. We asked Nichole and John the following question: "How important is soft-skills training to your firm?"