Marketing

I write the "M&A" update box in Practical Accountant's Profession Watch section, and one of the details we give for firms recently merged or acquired is "Niches/Concentrations."

Stefano Vranca, a principal at Rothstein Kass’s Beverly Hills, Calif., office, sees lawsuits in the entertainment industry up close.As head of the firm’s litigation and forensics practice, he often handles royalty reviews and negotiations for various movie studios. Vranca has noticed an increasing reliance on “creative accounting” by businesses of all types as the economy goes sour and companies try to eke out revenues whatever way they can.

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.

Memphis CPA firm Watkins Uiberall has teamed up with management consultancy J. William Appling & Associates to form Watkins Uiberall Strategic Consulting Group.

Many accounting firms and their clients are going to continue facing staffing shortages, so a great deal of attention will be paid on attracting and retaining talent. The focus so far has been primarily on entry-level and more senior staff with a few years’ experience. I believe that more firms and businesses will soon also be paying increased attention to retiring and soon-to be-retiring individuals.

Intuit has introduced a light-hearted online rock-and-roll jingle generator for small businesses, featuring an Austin Powers look-alike named Tommy Silk.

Wolf, Weis & Horowitz has merged into Kutchins, Robbins & Diamond, combining two Chicago-area firms.

The Marketplace provides you, the tax and accounting professional, a tool to help find the products and services you need to easily and efficiently run your practice or to recommend to your clients. Browse by category below or search by company name.

When I am a loss for the subject of a column, all I have to do is go to the Internet and I quickly find something to write about. What I found is a SEC press release that states the SEC has charged a mutual fund manager with violating socially responsible investing restrictions in socially responsible mutual funds that investors were told would not contain securities issued by companies involved with producing weapons, alcohol, tobacco, or gambling products.

The American Institute of CPAs has deepened its alliance with the U.S. Small Business Administration, meeting in Washington recently with agency officials to discuss plans for how CPAs can help and advise struggling small business owners.

Unlike many others, I love getting tons of e-mail as it helps me see what makes an accounting firm stand out. And that was the case with the Summer 2008 issue of Rachlinnews, a PDF of which was e-mailed to me. I receive a great number of firm newsletters, those done by firms and by third-party providers.

Camico Mutual Insurance, the largest CPA-owned mutual insurance company in the U.S., named Ric Rosario as its new CEO.

The event may be have been billed as The Forum for Women in Accounting, but the issues and topics discussed at the three-day confab here were decidedly not just for one gender.That was the overriding sentiment during the course of the conference, and one that resonated with the majority of the 250 attendees, which even included a handful of men.

Florida accounting firms Cross, Fernandez & Riley and Beckert, Price & Rowse plan to merge August 1, allowing CFR to expand operations in a populous part of the state.

Two Southern California accounting firms have joined forces, with Newport Beach-based Squar, Milner, Peterson, Miranda & Williamson merging with Los Angeles-based Thomashow, Brown & Paialii.

The Bonadio Group has merged with Dorfman-Robbie and its affiliated companies, the DR Group, to create an accounting firm with annual revenues of nearly $45 million.

Maybe because I am so literal, I am a firm believer in transparency. Perhaps that was why I was intrigued by a newsletter from a leading firm association that goes to association members and friends. Included was a two-pager entitled “Vision for Our Future,” that identifies ten possible goals of the association for 2008-2012. The process, which included member surveys, conference calls, and meetings, was also detailed. The proposed goals were developed by a 15-member team and facilitator, all listed in the two-pager.

A shortage of experienced accounting and finance professionals is affecting employers around the world, according to a new survey.

Accounting firm Weaver and Tidwell reported that its net revenues for the 2008 fiscal year ending May 31 reached $51 million, a 28 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

Accounting firm Reznick Group has partnered with Palladium Pacific on a service to provide help to real estate lenders, investors, builders and developers with their troubled real estate assets.