'I'm convinced it's all about our team," said Christy Pierce, managing partner at Atlanta-based Braver Schimler Pierce Jenkins, about her firm's success. "We have an extraordinary group of people who work very well together, we respect each other from a multitude of different places - from professional strengths as well as personal characteristics and abilities - and when we need each other, we're there. It permeates the office."

In response to the downturn in the economy, this year BlumShapiro decided not to hold an outside party in January for its employees and their families. Instead, it opted to keep the party in-house and donate the money it saved to local homeless shelters.

In the second annual Best Firms to Work For survey - a joint effort between Accounting Today and the Best Companies Group in Harrisburg, Pa. - we set out to find which firms are doing their best at keeping their workforce productive and content, even in these tumultuous times. The winning firms were divided into three categories for ranking: small firms with between 15 and 24 employees, midsized firms with between 25 and 249 employees, and large firms with more than 250 employees. Mark Bailey & Co. in Reno, Nev., Braver Schimler Pierce Jenkins in Atlanta, and BlumShapiro in West Hartford, Conn., garnered the first-place rankings in the small, midsized and large categories, respectively.

Small firms (15-24 employees)

Small firms Midsized firms Large firms All firms

Accountants expecting noticeable increases in their salaries next year shouldn't get their hopes up.

The employment outlook in accounting and finance is expected to stabilize in the first quarter, according to a new survey of CFOs, although the hiring environment remains challenging for now.

Ohio’s CPAs are delaying their earlier prediction for when a sustainable U.S. economic recovery will begin, according to a new poll by the Ohio Society of CPAs.

Private sector businesses cut 169,000 jobs last month, according to the latest employment report by payroll giant ADP, but that was the eighth consecutive month in which the decline in employment was less than in the previous month.

For many, an internship is an introduction to a whole new world — it provides the foundation for a professional career.

Universal Business Computing Company has added an automated clearing house tax payments feature to its payroll service bureau program.

One of the most vexing challenges for CPA firms large and small is how to effectively welcome women into the ranks of partnership. Graduation statistics and workforce demographics confirm that future new hires will most likely be composed of a majority of females. Not only does this impact the number of candidates for partnership, but it also has important implications for the gender of the firm¾

Although the unemployment rate nationally is close to 10 percent, accountants with a tax specialty are still in demand.

Reprisals from recently departed employees and a lack of adequate security budgets and resources are becoming major concerns for senior information technology professionals, according to a new survey by Ernst & Young.

Businesses with less than 50 employees shed 75,000 private sector jobs in October, according to the latest monthly employment report from payroll giant ADP.

For years, offering payroll services to clients had been the proverbial double-edge sword.

1. What are the major current issues in payroll that accountants should be aware of?

In today's challenging economic environment, companies are increasingly looking for ways to bolster revenues, and for some accounting firms that means offering payroll services for clients.

1. What are the major current issues in payroll that accountants should be aware of?