As evidence of weakness in the overall labor market, jobs in the private sector fell by 8,000 over September with medium and large businesses especially hard hit — reporting losses of 30,000 and 6,000, respectively.

Red Wing Software, a provider of financial management products for agribusiness and producers, has unveiled CenterPoint Payroll Version 4, an upgraded version of its payroll product.

Barry Salzberg became CEO of Deloitte LLP in June of last year after serving four years as U.S. managing partner and has steered the firm toward increased revenues, better education, green consulting and even an employee video festival.

The Treasury Department's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession has approved and adopted a final report with recommendations on how to improve the sustainability of the profession, but not without some dissension.

Payroll and benefits outsourcing provider Paychex Inc. posted first-quarter profits of $148.1 million, a 2 percent dip from the year-ago period.

Neil Romano detests the word "accommodation" when it refers to people with disabilities.

KPMG plans to host a 48-hour worldwide recruiting fair over the Internet next week.

Approximately $7.6 billion of potentially collectible taxes is lost annually due to withholding noncompliance, according to a report from the Treasury Department's inspector general.

Federal taxes are the most important issue for small business owners, according to a survey by payroll processor PayCycle.

Despite the gloomy employment statistics reported by the Labor Department, payroll processors are still seeing increases in hiring by small businesses.

Employment in the private sector fell by 33,000 jobs in August, according to the latest monthly report by payroll giant ADP.

Comparatively few universities will be educating students in international accounting standards this academic year, despite plans by the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose the new standards on U.S. companies.

Chief financial officers plan to hire more accounting and finance employees in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a newly released survey.

Drake Software has enlisted InterceptEFT to provide direct deposit of payroll through Drake's Client Write-Up software.

There might be a new, ready supply of seasoned CPAs for the busiest time of year. Staffing is still a problem for many firms, and it is particularly felt during the tax prep season when many accountants have to work extra hours because firms often aren’t able or can’t afford to hire additional full-time staff. The results of a recent Charles Schwab and Age Wave study, entitled ”Rethinking Retirement,” point to a possible solution. Surprisingly, 71 percent of the pre-retirees surveyed want to work in retirement. Even more fascinating is that 40 percent want to cycle back and forth between periods of work and leisure. In the write-up to the study, there is the observation that this is “a new style of work with which most employer policies are unaligned.” These numbers indicates there will be a ready supply of seasoned retired CPAs, which can supplement a firm during its busiest times, say February to April 15th, and maybe a month before tax return extensions are due. Firms benefit, as they only have to pay for these individuals when they are needed, they are employing experts at tax preparation, and those individuals are used to working during the pressured tax season. The retirees are happy because they are working on a limited basis, and, rather than working part-time, they have the desirable cycle of back and forth between periods of work and leisure. And with remote access, firms can tap into retired CPAs all across the country. Initially, firms will be using retirees from their firms, but I would expect that would extend quickly to other retired CPAs, and the AICPA and state CPA societies will help by publicizing best practices with regard to cycling back and forth. And like bike riding, which might have been difficult to learn but natural when mastered, this type of cycling will become another readily available staffing solution for firms.

Sage Software has signed a deal with CompuPay to provide outsourced payroll services for Sage customers, including those using Peachtree Managed Payroll.

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy is looking into administering the Uniform CPA Examination outside the U.S.

Fifty-four percent of the accounting and finance professionals in a new survey said that economic uncertainty was making their jobs more complex.

An Ernst & Young partner has teamed up with a movie studio accountant to produce an online comic book based on the TV series and recent movie Get Smart that provides an overview of tax deductions for the film and TV industry.

Education consultancy Professional Education Services has created an affiliate program for CPAs and certified financial planners to give them access to its college-funding software.