By Gale Crosley, CPAFirst, Consider Hiring a Business Development Professional. For years, the Big Four have used business development professionals. Now, Sarbanes/Oxley and other environmental changes make it a wise best practice for mid-size firms, as well. Although smaller firms have greater potential to pursue larger, more sophisticated clients, they may lack the needed large opportunity development skills. But it’s more complex than simply hiring the right person.

According to a survey conducted by BusinessWeek Research Services, 72 percent of 500 senior-level business executives surveyed said their current position is not their "dream job," and many named creative professions when asked their fantasy careers. Those surveyed included CEOs, presidents, controllers, department managers and consultants, and although many of them have reached top positions in their fields, they still dream of a fantasy career.

The Uniform CPA Examination consists of multiple-choice questions and condensed case studies called simulations. Within the simulations, candidates must do an online search of professional literature databases to answer questions. Here are some ways that candidates, students, educators, and schools can get access to helpful online resources. CPA exam candidates can get a free six-month subscription to professional literature used in the computerized CPA Examination. This online package includes AICPA Professional Standards, FASB Current Text, and FASB Original Pronouncements.

Have accountants finally shed their dry bean-counter image? Can accounting be viewed as a ‘sexy’ career choice?Maybe so, if the number of new accounting majors among college freshmen is any indication. Academics say the seemingly never-ending series of corporate scandals over the last few years has piqued the interest of today’s students.Consider these numbers provided by the AICPA and reported by the Wall Street Journal: The number of accounting degrees awarded nationwide in 2003 jumped 11 percent from the year before.

By Bruce Pounder Many accounting and finance professionals find themselves frustrated in their career progress. Few of them expect something for nothing - most recognize that hard work and talent are necessary to secure desirable career opportunities and superior compensation. Yet so many smart, hard-working financial professionals find that their intelligence and diligence goes unrewarded while colleagues who exhibit the same talent and effort enjoy much more rewarding careers.

Ernst & Young LLP has learned that staying connected to employees who leave the firm is good for business.About five years ago, the Toronto-based accounting firm decided to ask former employees what the company could do for them, even though they no longer drew a paycheck from E&Y. Colleen Albiston, E&Y's director of national marketing, traveled around Canada and found a strong desire for continuing education. Former staffers were given the same access as current employees to E&Y-sponsored webcasts that discuss developments in the field.

Men in the accounting field aren't alone anymore on the path to becoming partners in their firms. CPA firms are making great strides toward assuring women the same opportunities as men by providing mentoring and a clearly defined path to success.The latest data available from American Colleges and Universities shows that in the 2001-2002 academic year, 57 percent of those receiving bachelor's degrees in accounting were women, compared to 43 percent male accounting graduates. Over one-third of all these graduates will take their first job in public accounting.

Last year the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) resolved 87,755 charges of employment discrimination for $236 million in monetary and other benefits. Sexual harassment and gender-related claims made up only 30 percent of the cases. So what are employers doing wrong now? The largest number of EEOC complaints (35.1 percent) came from allegations of race discrimination.

Chief financial officers (CFOs) surveyed for the Robert Half International Financial Hiring Index anticipate a net four percent increase in the hiring of accounting and finance professionals during the third quarter, down two points from the second-quarter forecast but up four points from hiring projections made this time last year.