A competitive job market and emerging technology have made seniority only part of the advancement equation. As co-managing partner at accounting and consulting firm Friedman LLP, Harriet Greenberg, CPA, PFS, uses seniority as a factor in deciding whom to promote. But that's just one piece of the puzzle: She also believes in skills-based promotion—now more than ever. To read the full article in the Journal o ...

Excuse me, did Todd Thomson just say there too many financial advisors, not too few? Puncturing one of the RIA industry’s most widely-accepted axioms, the Dynasty Financial Partners chairman did indeed make that assertion at the recent MarketCounsel Summit in Las Vegas. Contrary to ominous reports of a talent shortage, Thomson said, too many advisors are serving too few clients. To read the full article in ...

At Flint Hills Resources, robotic process automation is supercharging, not eliminating, finance professionals.  The Koch Industries subsidiary shows us how. To read the full article in Financial Management, click: Empowering the Human Element in Automation. ...

One purpose of artificial intelligence (AI) is to capture, manage, and analyze amounts of data too large for less advanced technology to handle, and to produce insights faster and more accurately than people can. While AI promises to help businesses prepare better for potential opportunities and risks, the technology presents a challenge for management accountants in financial planning and analysis (FP& ...

Employment and salary prospects for accountants are healthy across the board, but professionals with up-to-date expertise in data collection and analysis are most in demand, say recruitment specialists. To read the full article in InTheBlack, click: The Accounting Skills Most in Demand. ...

Technology is rapidly changing the way advisors meet clients, so much so that the relationship may look completely unrecognizable in just a few years.  And that transformation opens up several key opportunities for innovators. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: An Amazon for Financial Services?  The Race is On. ...

As technology continues to change the investment landscape, a new Merrill Edge report has found that nearly 40% of mass affluent Americans are comfortable consulting artificial intelligence for financial advice.  But that’s not all… To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: 40% of Americans are Comfortable Seeking Financial Advice From AI. ...

Top 5 Business Challenges The author discusses the top five business challenges identified by professional accounting and financial services firms, and proposes ways professionals can readily address those issues. ...

The accounting profession sits on the cusp of unprecedented change.  Transformative technologies will reshape virtually every corner of the accounting world.  For CPAs to survive and thrive, they will need to learn—and unlearn—on a scale and at a pace that can seem overwhelming.  To help CPAs prepare, the JofA gathered three of the profession’s top technology experts for its annual accounting technology rou ...

Alexa, can you be my financial planner?  Artificial intelligence is getting more sophisticated, but where does that leave the professionals?  I asked that question of my new device, a birthday present from my son.  The answer?  “I don’t know that.”  But for how long?  Just as other industries have been disrupted by technological advancement, so, too, will the financial industry. To read the full article in ...

As the learning capability of machines continues to improve, advisors are increasingly finding themselves outmaneuvered by robots.  These digital advisors are particularly appealing to millennials, who now represent close to half of the U.S. online banking population.  To that end, there is a technological gap as well as a demographic vulnerability that advisors are facing, especially as they help consumers ...

Wealth management firms of all sizes are trying to streamline their operations to benefit clients, and mobile is a prime example, according to the recent Financial Planning Tech Survey.  Forty percent of respondents cited mobile apps as a potential difference maker for the industry.  This article will cite which technologies offer the most promise to advisors, and which could fall by the wayside. To read th ...

Creativity is a very 21st century virtue.  Relying on your skills as a technician does not seem like a very good idea in the nascent age of AI, regardless of your field.  But being able to generate innovative and imaginative ideas can mark you out as a star, a shining goose laying golden eggs. To read the full article in Management Today, click: Four Ways to Generate Ideas Fast. ...

CFOs are eager to make the finance function more efficient and useful.  Samantha White, CGMA Magazine senior editor, explains what leading finance functions have in common. To read the full article in CGMA Magazine, click: Six Traits of Leading Finance Functions. ...