A joint endeavor of the Great Place to Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management provides an opportunity for small-sized companies (50-250 employees) and medium-sized companies (251-999 employees) to compete for the honor of being named one of the "Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America."Competing companies win marks for low turnover, providing employee training programs, and work/life flexibility. Surveys are filled out anonymously by employees. Companies can nominate themselves for the award and they pay a fee to be included in the competition.

As we move towards the halfway point of the year, now is the perfect time for small businesses to organize their finances and streamline business processes for the coming months.

Prompted by the online networking of the MySpace and Facebook generations, top managers in big companies are rushing to join the online business networks once frequented by client-starved consultants and lonely entrepreneurs. Posting a profile on networks such as LinkedIn could soon be as routine as handing round your business card. The future of financial knowledge-gathering, marketing and recruitment may also lie online.

Many tax professionals look for ways to increase their business and, of course, their income, in the slower, summer months. Opportunities for increasing your business might be lurking in your existing client base. Review client files when you've got time on your hands and you might find there are many useful suggestions you can offer that will help your clients and increase your business.Take the time to look back at the questions your clients raised when you prepared their tax returns, review their tax returns, and examine their financial conditions.

The manufacturing and wholesale distribution segments in the United States continue to see positive growth across several industry segments, according to the RSM McGladrey 2007 Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution National Survey, released Thursday. Conducted this spring, the second annual RSM McGladrey survey provides insights into what CEOs, CFOs, and other senior industry executives are thinking, doing and planning to grow their businesses in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Financial Accounting Standards Board Interpretation No. 48 (FIN 48), Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, is intended to substantially reduce uncertainty in accounting for income taxes. Its implementation and infrastructure requirements, however, generate a great deal of uncertainty. This feature provides an overview of FIN 48, addresses some of its federal and international tax issues, as well as issues arising at the state and local level.

Regionally, businesses in the Northeast, South, and Midwest have increased confidence and anticipate higher staff levels and more hiring during the next 12 months. Confidence levels of businesses in the Western U.S. ebbs and is now more in line with the rest of the nation says an SBRB report prepared in conjunction with International Profit Associates.The Small Business Research Board (SBRB) U.S.

With growth slowing in the consumer credit card market, credit card companies are offering new small business cards designed for the smallest businesses, from two or three-person operations up to firms with a few million dollars in annual revenue, The Wall Street Journal reports. Only one in four of businesses this size uses a business card, according to Advanta, a Spring House, PA company, that specializes in small business plastic, The Journal says.