Co-opetition: Compete and Cooperate MarketingWhen you combine the words cooperation and competition, a new word emerges: Coopetition. Coopetition works when competing organizations come together cooperatively to serve a client.

The IRS has issued a reminder to employers and retirement plan administrators that they must amend their employees' retirement plans to comply with the changes made by the "GUST" laws by the February 28, 2002, deadline. The deadline affects qualified retirement plans, including Code Sec. 401(k) plans, defined benefit pension plans, profit-sharing plans, ESOPs and Keogh plans.An exception to the February 28, 2002, deadline exists for plans with a fiscal year other than a calendar year. The deadline for those plans is the last day of the fiscal year that began in 2001.

Preliminary statistical data show the difference between operating (pro forma) earnings and net income under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) reached an all-time high in 2001. These statistics cover the largest U.S. public companies, collectively known as the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P-500). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and accounting firms have been cautioning companies about the risks of disclosing pro forma earnings and the need to reconcile these earnings to net income under GAAP.

A survey of Canadian business executives shows immense support for auditing reforms.

Responding to a petition by the Big Five accounting firms, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a statement entitled Commission Statement about Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.The SEC's statement contains suggested steps that public companies should take when preparing disclosures.

Email has made it so much easier to communicate with clients and employees, but with the increase in the use of e-mail comes the concern of sending sensitive documents.Whether you are a CPA sending tax information back and forth to your clients, or a company trying to pass invoices to your customers, secure, private delivery of these documents is paramount to your relationship.A new service called Vault Inbox was introduced this week as one possible commercial solution to the problem faced by e-

This article written by Steven T. Erickson CPA, CVA Consultant-Advisor to Professional Service Firms.In these days of personnel shortages, high labor costs and the resulting price-cost squeeze, you might want to take some of your own good advice to maximize the profitability of your firm.Gross revenue measures (realization percentage, billed rate per hour, etc.) are not the most useful tools to manage your practice when rapidly escalating personnel costs can’t be passed on to the client.

The September 11 terrorist attacks, which cut down thousands of people in their prime, have caused many Americans to examine what would happen to their families if they were to die unexpectedly.

The trend of outsourcing key functions in the financial services sector has a long-term negative impact on shareholder value, Ernst & Young has found.Senior executives from 26 leading financial service companies said that since they have outsourced major parts of their operations they appreciated the short-term cost saving, but admitted that it could mean a loss of control in their relationship with the customer.Companies are increasingly outsourcing activities that have traditionally been regarded as core, such as check processing, loan administration, and fund management, the study sai