Here is a look at how one accounting firm has sought to boost diversity by offering flexible work-life balance initiatives as well as providing training and developmental programs meant to aid career advancement. To read the full article in The CPA Journal, click: Strategies to Retain and Advance Female Employees. ...

Publicly sharing diversity numbers—positive and negative—can be beneficial to companies because it shows a willingness to openly address diversity issues. Sharing the numbers also allows for a company to be held accountable for future progress in reaching diversity goals. To read the full article in CNN, click: Why Sharing Diversity Data Publicly can be Good for Your Company. ...

With Generation Z coming into the workforce, employers will need to create development programs that cater to the needs of this demographic group. These programs may involve self-directed learning and a focus on soft skills. To read the full article in Chief Learning Officer, click: Designing Development Programs that Work for Gen Z. ...

The Use of Common Sense and Experience The acceptance of tools such as Monte Carlo simulation and Option Pricing models has changed our ability to value options, warrants, and derivative instruments. The list goes on and on. However, as many of us are fond of saying, valuation is as much an art as it is a science. Many of our tools address the science, not so many of them address the art. In my opinion, one ...

Avoid Traps with a Timely Appraisal New basis-consistency requirements make defensible valuations of inherited property even more important. Informed taxpayers are aware that only the wealthiest individuals should have concerns about the federal estate and gift tax, for gifts given and decedents dying in 2018 through 2025. Thanks to the legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, the ...

With millennials constituting a significant chunk of the workforce, it is important for employers to avoid preconceived notions about this generation. Leaders should stay focused on the future and recognize that asking the right questions can encourage self-reflection among employees. To read the full article in Quartz at Work, click: Steps for Becoming a Better Leader for Millennial Employees. ...

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved amendments to Regulation S-K aimed at simplifying and modernizing disclosure by public companies, consultants and money managers. The amendments are required under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015. To read the full article in Pensions & Investments, click: SEC Simplifies Disclosure by Public Companies, Money Managers. ...

On March 4, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Ninth Circuit’s expanded view of "full costs" in copyright cases was improper, going beyond the "costs" typically available to litigants in federal court. Rimini Street, Inc. et al., v. Oracle USA, Inc., et al., No. 17-1625, slip op. (U.S. Mar. 4, 2019.) This ruling overturns a $12.8 million award granted to Oracle USA Inc. for its "nontaxable costs," w ...

Consider Michael Jackson, the Empire State Building, and Myriad of Value Drivers (Part II of II) In this concluding article, the second of a two-part series, the authors conclude presenting additional illustrations that underscore their primary thesis: that in many businesses, value is illusory and there are a host of factors that are unanticipated and cannot be modeled. In this concluding article, the seco ...

Options that Provide Superior Results Compared to Renting Marketers of accounting and valuation firms have long used e-mail marketing to nurture new and existing prospects. But what is the best way to develop a good list in the first place? This article provides seven proven strategies for building your firm’s e-mail list faster. Marketers of accounting and valuation firms have long used e-mail marketing to ...

More than a third (35 percent) of employers intending to hire temporary workers expressed concerns over the availability of agency workers with the required skills—with the construction sector expecting the largest crunch in this area—while almost half (47 percent) of employers said they were using agency staff to manage uncertainty. To read the full article in People Management, click: Falling Economic Con ...

Two-thirds of business leaders fear that their organization could become irrelevant if they fail to move to a “hybrid” workforce. According to research by Capita People Solutions, a successful transition to a combined human and artificial intelligence, or hybrid, workforce is the most important priority for 72% of leaders in the next five years. To read the full article in Personnel Today, click: Business L ...

Many of us today work in a cross-cultural environment. In such a setting, meaning may differ greatly when a writer comes from a culture different from that of the reader, whether the communication is between colleagues or those doing business with one another. This advice can help you compose and interpret professional correspondence. To read the full article in Financial Management, click: Avoiding Cultura ...

Everything is Changing (Part I of II) In this two-part article, the authors present some illustrations that indicate the illusion of value of many businesses. Business appraisers have many tools to determine the value of a closely held business. So many so, that many “official” conclusions of value for the same business generate significant differences. This borne out by the normal expectation of rebuttal r ...

Private Equity’s Fast and Furious Entry into Healthcare (Part III of III) The third of this three-part series examines why private equity and venture capital firms are targeting the healthcare industry and the issues that they encounter managing their healthcare portfolio. Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) firms are attracted by the potential for growth that exists in the healthcare industry; how ...

As the regulatory landscape has evolved, compliance departments and the chief compliance officer (CCO) have become increasingly important, helping organizations to adapt. Many CCOs sit on boards and report directly to the chief executive. They are no longer on the outside looking in on business development; instead, they are a key cog in the machinations of the C-suite. To read the full article in Financier ...

If clients fail to consider their heirs' tax brackets when crafting estate plans, heirs could lose more money to taxes than they need to. Dividing taxable and tax-deferred accounts in accordance with the unique financial situation of each heir can lead to better results. To read the full article in Kiplinger, click: Equal Shares for Heirs? Not Unless You Take Taxes into Account. ...

Of a Successful Negotiation It does not matter if you are going to be involved in direct negotiations or negotiating a settlement during mediation, the key is to determine the answers to five critical questions. In this article, Nancy Neal Yeend shares the five critical questions and answers that must be addressed to successfully negotiate. It does not matter if you are going to be involved in direct negoti ...

Attaining Reasonable Certainty in Economic Damages Calculations (Part III of III) The purpose of this article—the third of three (Part I and Part II) on this topic—is to provide the reader with an understanding of Chapter 3 (What Constitutes Best Evidence) of the 2018 Practice Aid as well as certain other publications containing a body of knowledge on the best evidence to support economic damages in a court ...

After the death of a spouse, a client has several options for handling the retirement accounts that belonged to the deceased. Here is a brief overview of the financial implications of different strategies for managing IRAs and Roth IRAs. This helpful chart shows the rules and requirements related to distributions for clients who inherit a Roth IRA. To read the full article in MarketWatch, click: Tips for Ma ...