Choose an area of interest:

Technology Five Simple Ways to Secure Your Information If accountants like rules and defined processes so much, why do they seem to have such a difficult time protecting information and preventing security breaches?     Each year, the American Institute of CPAs publishes its annual list of the top technologies most likely to influence the accounting profession over the next 12-18 months. For the seventh consecutive year, “Information Security Management” was voted as the most important issue affecting IT strategy, investment and implementation.

News & Insights

USTR Steps Up Fight Against Piracy Today the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the Administration plans to move forward with the negotiation of an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to step up the fight against global counterfeiting and piracy. Social Media an Increasingly Important Employee Engagement Tool Employers faced with reduced communication budgets and resources are turning to social media to keep their workforce engaged, according to a survey released today. Kiva Launches Online Microfinance in the United States Website that pioneered online microloans to entrepreneurs in developing countries now brings same opportunity to U.S. entrepreneurs. Gartner Fact Checks the Five Most-Common SaaS Assumptions The rise in popularity of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery model has resulted in a number of assumptions about this emerging model, but it has been difficult for many companies to separate truth from fiction. Make Sense of Financial Reporting with XBRL Beginning with fiscal periods ending on or after June 15, 2009, companies with a market capitalization of more than $5 billion will be required to file XBRL financial statements. All other U.S. public companies would have to launch XBRL financial reporting over the following two years. How Small Businesses Can Google Their Way to the Top Three tips to keep your business from becoming a 'billboard in the forest'. Companies Need to Pursue Four Steps to Harness Social Computing in CRM Social computing is becoming a significant customer relationship management (CRM) market trend and represents a disruptive force in this market, according to Gartner, Inc. OP/ED: Will Obama's Technology Push Extend to Financial Regulators? We know Obama is a fan of technology advancement, so this is good news for financial regulators and practitioners concerned about the future of XBRL development. To date, the SEC has made good traction with XBRL, and it's critical that the drive toward XBRL adoption continues with the new administration. "Say on Pay" a Losing Battle with Technology Companies CFOs weigh in on international accounting standards, security issues and whether shareholders should have a say in executive pay. Identity-theft Scammers Pretend to be IRS Online con artists are always coming up with something new. Now they're phishing for private information via fax -- while pretending to be the IRS. IFAC Launches New Sustainability Framework IFAC's Sustainability Framework is a web-based tool that allows users to easily navigate those sustainability issues that are most important to their immediate roles and to select and use those examples of good sustainability practice that can work in their organizations. SEC Reviewing Apple's Actions, Reports Say Amid reports that federal regulators are reviewing how Apple has handled the issue of Steve Jobs' health, experts said an inquiry would probably focus on what Jobs and company officers or directors knew -- and whether they have adequately disclosed it. Top Execs in All Regions Concerned About Infrastructure The majority of C-level executives (77 percent) surveyed believe that the current level of infrastructure investment is insufficient to help sustain the long-term growth of their organizations. Only 14 percent of business leaders globally believe the infrastructure currently available to support their organizations is completely adequate. National Taxpayer Union Tracks State Budget News via Twitter State fiscal policy meets Web 2.0 with the launch of statebooks.org, a Web site designed to provide the latest and most up-to-date information on state budget and spending issues from around the country. With e-Filing on the Rise, IRS to Cut 700 Jobs The Internal Revenue Service will eliminate more than 700 area jobs this year due to consolidation sparked by a rise in the electronic filing of tax returns. Social Media Begins Forcing the Totally Transparent Layoff As the recent downsizing at Yahoo demonstrates, the once-private process of giving pink slips is becoming increasingly public, whether a firm likes it or not.

Spotlight

Corporate Training and CPE SmartPros offers a variety of corporate training and CPE solutions to help meet each of our customer's specific business needs from curriculum to delivery to student management and deployment. SmartPros Price: Prices vary per program. FMN Video DVD Series FMN Video, designed specifically for corporate finance and accounting professionals and used by more than half of the Fortune 500, is a powerful video update program that delivers the experts and hottest topics directly to your office via DVD each month. FMN Online Subscribe to the program that more than half of the Fortune 500 trust for CPE. Stay up to date on Sarbanes-Oxley and other key events impacting corporate finance. SmartPros Price: Courses: $59.98 - Subscriptions: $409

SmartPros Today

Introducing SmartPros Legal Professional Education SmartPros Legal features the Cognistar CLE library highlighting over 150 course titles in areas such as litigation, IP, corporate/securities law, tax, labor/employment law, bankruptcy, ethics, professionalism, substance abuse, bias, and many more.