In the aftermath of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, most of the nation’s largest accounting firms broke ties with their consulting practices. After Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu scrapped plans to spin off its consulting practice and rename it Braxton, a group of former Deloitte Consulting employees formed their own company, Archstone Consulting. Archstone was formed in June but just officially hung out its shingle on Tuesday. Based in Stamford, CT, Archstone has about 60 professional employees, half of whom once worked for Deloitte Consulting.

Brown Smith Wallace, LLC, a locally-owned CPA and business consulting firm in Missouri, has completed a re-branding process, which includes issuing a written guarantee to reinforce the values, traditions, and commitment to their clients.

"Overcoming Attendance Problems" shines the legal spotlight on mistakes managers can make - and how to avoid them - when dealing with absenteeism and tardiness problems, especially regarding Family and Medical Leave Act and Workers' Comp requirements, along with pitfalls that exist when absenteeism decisions bump up against other anti-discrimination laws.Every time an employee takes an unexpected day off, it not only disrupts your company's schedule, it also wastes company cash.Plus, you have to deal with complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family and Medical Leave

Reprinted with Permission from "The Goals Guy". A personal board provides both wisdom and support for the attainment of a specific purpose. Their objective is to help you cross the chasm from the known to the unknown. Consider the roles each person on your board will play. Consider having an entrepreneur along with a clarifier who asks clear questions, a connector who leads you to other people, a challenger who helps you act boldly, and a wise elder or sage.

By Phyllis Weiss Haserot and Holly EnglishDespite the desire by many professionals at some time in their careers to have more flexibility in their working arrangements, particularly now that technology makes it so much easier, decision makers and even the candidates for flexibility themselves resist such arrangements.The deterrents to faster progress are perceived fears and uncalculated costs and benefits.

By, Melinda Guillemette, Marketing ConsultantAfter all the business development buzzwords and tactics (web sites, brochures, seminars, articles, speeches, coaching, motivating, compensating and on and on) have dulled to a whisper, a few simple things remain. It boils down to a few fundamentals to understand about life as a public accountant, and a few outcomes that will result. Here are ten everyday realities about being a professional in a CPA firm:Know that being a good accountant means a lot more than understanding the technicalities.

Now it's easy to get the free special reports that have been used by over 100,000 managers all across the United States to improve their operations and stay on the right side of employment law. Below are just a few free downloadable reports you may access from Alexander Hamilton Institute, Inc. (AHI).

The company that promises "Always low prices. Always," will soon be able to offer it's customers low cost tax preparation services while they shop.H&R Block Chairman Mark Ernst announced the latest developments on a distribution arrangement with Wal-Mart at Block's annual shareholder meeting this week.According to a company spokesperson, H&R Block will operate modular office units in over 850 Wal-Mart stores around the United States. The kiosks will accommodate up to three tax preparers at any one time.H&R Block also offers tax season preparation services at Sears, Roebuck & Co.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board met yesterday to address a myriad of complicated issues surrounding the expensing of stock options. The definitive decision reached at the end of the meeting: delay the issuance of rules by 6-9 months.FASB has been under pressure from a number of groups, including Congress, to define how companies should expense stock options granted to employees. The sticky point, everyone agrees, is honing in on an appropriate valuation method. The widely used Black-Scholes method has often been criticized as an imperfect tool to value options.