Wouldn't life be easier if we could just make decisions in a vacuum and not worry about what others thought?Yes it would, but the business environment in which we operate is focused more and more on fostering teamwork. Teams increase the complexity of decision-making because they are composed of members with diverse backgrounds.Naturally, when you get a group of diverse people together to make a decision there will be conflict. However, conflict is not necessarily 100% bad.

Files produced by Excel 2007 are in the new .xlsx format. No other version of Excel can read them unless a special compatibility pack has been installed. If you plan to share your Excel 2007 files with other Excel users, you can set Excel 2007 to save your files automatically in Excel 97-2003 format. This will allow other Excel users who have not upgraded to Excel 2007 to read your files.How to set Excel 2007 to automatically save files in Excel 97-2003 format: Start up Excel 2007. Open an empty worksheet.

At some stage most managers need to conduct a motivational training session with their team members. Bob Selden, who has been a manager and trainer for many years, sets out 10 helpful points to help them reach that goal. So, you're a manager. So, you know you have to run a training session or a team meeting for your team (for the first time) that needs to be motivational, and you're not a professional trainer. So what! With a good plan and a well structured session, training can be enjoyable and most of all rewarding for both you and your team. Here's how....1.

J.H. Cohn LLP has appointed Robert Grosberg to the position of chief information officer. As CIO of J.H. Cohn, Robert leads the Firm’s efforts to implement business solutions through reliable and efficient technology. “Robert’s appointment solidifies our commitment to leveraging technology to the fullest so we can best serve our clients, and build upon our solid technology infrastructure to support our professionals and staff,” said Kenneth J. Kanter, partner and chair of J.H. Cohn’s Technology and Operations Steering Committee.

Presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton’s election campaign is in full swing and there are myriad issues to tackle. Perhaps first and foremost is the fact that Sen. Clinton is a woman. While political correctness often dictates the honesty level in many discussions, the reality is many voters are grappling with how they feel about women in power. Even in the corporate world, female leaders face unique challenges that their male counterparts do not. To demonstrate their strength, many women try to overcompensate and rule with an iron fist, which doesn’t do much for building teamwork.

Sandy Abalos, managing partner of Abalos & Associates, PLLC, a full service CPA firm specializing in small and mid-size businesses, has announced that Cheryl Folkerth has been named a partner in the firm, joining Abalos and Barry Friefield.In this position, Folkerth will manage major client engagements as well as develop the firm’s knowledge management system and its conversion to a near paperless office, which will enable staff to work remotely from locations outside of the main office.Her core expertise includes tax planning and preparation, directing financial statement preparation,

Small practices and businesses are more vulnerable to fraud and have more to lose than their corporate cousins, but a few inexpensive changes can do much to prevent workplace fraud.Advertisement

As Vice President of Strategic Business Development at FileVision, Laurie Shufeldt sees her share of customers in need of improved productivity. Shufeldt helps SMB customers, especially those in the healthcare, financial services and government industries, bridge the gap between digital content and paper documents. Based on her experiences, here are the top five productivity killers capable of slowing down any firm or practice.Productivity Killer No.

At a recent conference, I heard a number of successful firm leaders describe how their firms had achieved significant growth and profitability. A common phrase used by each and every one of these firm leaders was “making sure that all the key people were ‘on the same page.’”Clearly, it was important that something was agreed to and shared among the members of these firms. But what? What does “being on the same page” really mean?