Intense Competition for Skilled Candidates is Creating a Need for More Efficient Hiring Practices There may never be a better time for organizations to carefully scrutinize their hiring processes to make sure they are optimized for delivering the best hires.  Ken Tysiac, CGMA Magazine, explains that the global job market is tilted towards candidates right now, and many candidates are not eager to wait long ...

On December 27, 2016 Toshiba Corporation announced the possibility of a goodwill impairment charge related to its U.S. nuclear power plant construction business, which was acquired for $229 million in late 2015 by Toshiba’s Westinghouse Electric Company subsidiary.  Karolina Calhoun, senior financial analyst with Mercer Capital, describes that both the buyer and target have been plagued by financial difficu ...

Tips for Achieving Your Financial New Year's Resolutions The odds are against people who make New Year's resolutions, with research suggesting that less than half of resolutions will be kept six months later.  Here are tips for following through on financial objectives, beginning with setting goals that are specific, measurable, and realistic. To read the full article in CNBC, click: How to Make Your Financ ...

The vast majority of Americans report not feeling engaged on the job.  Fortunately, if you know what to look for, you can find job satisfaction. To read the full article in The New York Times, click: In Choosing a Job, Focus on the Fun. ...

Capital structure decisions have long-term consequences for shareholders.  The purpose of this whitepaper is to equip directors and shareholders to contribute to capital structure decisions that promote the financial health and sustainability of the company. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: Capital Structure in 30 Minutes. This article is republished from Mercer ...

As the start of another tax season draws closer, practitioners would do well to review the new due diligence requirements for preparing returns that claim child tax credits and the American opportunity credit, Internal Revenue Service warnings to safeguard client data from cybercriminals and other important developments. To read the full article in Journal of Accountancy, click: Getting in Shape for Tax Sea ...

Is Cybersecurity Preparedness Lacking Among Boards? Some company boards are failing to take the necessary steps to defend against cyberattacks, with one survey finding that only 19% of directors say their boards have a high level of understanding of the issue.  Many states have data breach notification laws on the books, although such a provision has yet to pass at the federal level. To read the full articl ...

The inauguration of a new POTUS is now behind us.  Time, then, to add to the cacophony of pop-prognostications.  This blog post will make broad observations regarding potential changes to select corporate tax and other pro-growth economic policies in hopes of teasing out inferences for inputs to a basic valuation framework. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: Corpor ...

When Amy Sonstein, CPA, PFS, started her first job in financial planning 12 years ago, she was the only woman in her training group.  Some progress has been made in the past decade, but many financial planning firms still don't have a large number of female advisers on staff.  In this blog post, Sonstein shares how a woman's perspective can help firms provide better service and value to their clients. To re ...

Some American workers are worried about their financial security in retirement, according to a Transamerica survey.  In this article, Todd Campbell looks at five common fears involving retirement and how they can be addressed. To read the full article in The Motley Fool, click: How to Address Common Concerns About Retirement. ...

Sears has booked losses of over nine billion dollars during the past eight years.  The company has had to resort to shedding assets—tangible and intangible—in a bid to right-size operations and manage liquidity.  In January 2017, Sears announced the sale of its Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker.  Samantha Albert, senior financial analyst with Mercer Capital, explains the transaction. To read the ...

Many advisers have plans for growth, but does anyone really know what causes above average sustained progress?  After years of experience and study, Glenn Kautt, CFP, EA, AIFA, concluded that leading a firm requires you to have a detailed plan. To read the full article in Financial Planning, click: The Growth Plan: Keeping your Practice on Course. ...

We’re quickly approaching the time of year when most contributions are made to IRAs and Roth IRAs.  But there are limits to how much can be contributed to an IRA, and exceeding them can result in costly penalties.  Ed Slott, CPA, tells us what to look out for. To read the full article in Financial Planning, click: A Tax Nightmare: Excess IRA Contributions. ...

What risk assets are not near record valuations, aside from assets in a few sectors such as energy and retail?  Investing when multiple expansion occurs over a holding period is a great thing, but multiples cannot expand forever; they also can contract.  Jeff Davis, managing director of Mercer Capital’s Financial Institutions Group, explains. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting ...

The Internal Revenue Service issued its annual revenue procedure containing inflation-adjusted amounts for the 2017 tax year, affecting more than 50 Code provisions, as well as the new tax-rate tables for individuals and estates and trusts.  Sally Schreiber, JofA senior editor, takes us through the revenue procedure. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: IRS Issues 2017 Inflation Ad ...

As cybercriminals become more sophisticated and cast a wider net, tax practitioners should take a number of steps to protect themselves and their clients.  Shannon Smith Retzke, Esq., explains that practitioners need to be careful about everything they do online as cybercriminals proliferate. To read the full article in The Tax Adviser, click: Phishing Scams Target Tax Professionals. ...

2016’s 10 most popular posts from Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Blog.  2016 proved to be an interesting year, both in terms of developments in financial reporting and the range of topics covered on this blog.  We’ve enjoyed sharing our thoughts in this forum over the last three years and look forward to new challenges and opportunities in 2017. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial R ...

Startup Gives Employees a Way to Trade in Unused Time Off Many employees do not use all of their vacation time, which can create liabilities for the companies they work for. A startup called PTO Exchange is trying to address that problem by allowing employees to exchange unused time off for perks, such as 401(k) contributions or help with college tuition. Jena McGregor introduces us to this fresh concept. T ...

Try This Instead of Traditional Performance Management A technique known as performance motivation may replace traditional performance management among companies interested in inspiring maximum effort and loyalty among employees. Instead of focusing on scoring employees and offering standardized feedback, companies can focus on creating intrinsic motivation to inspire their workers. Christine Comaford expla ...

Boosted by solid consumer spending and improving international trade, the expansion of the U.S. economy rose to 2.9% in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said. Nelson Schwarts reports that economists said the biggest quarterly gain in two years will probably be enough to persuade the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December. Charles Paikert discusses several avenues to take advantage of ...