Accounting Principals Blog
The latest thoughts, advice, views and stories from the world of accounting and finance.
You know the feeling: you walk out the door after a job interview and the self-doubt starts flooding in. You were punctual, prepared and polished. It seems like the conversation went well, but how do you really know?
Read more »In 1970, the life expectancy for a U.S. resident was 70.81 years. By 2016, that number increased by nearly eight years, to 78.69 years. Meanwhile, “full retirement age,” as defined by the Social Security Administration, has crept up from age 65 (for those born in 1937 or earlier) to 67 (for those born in 1960 and later). As people continue to live longer, yet retire around the same age, it becomes increasingly important to shore up and stretch retirement savings longer.
Read more »In the U.S., the average woman working full-time makes just 80.5% of what her male counterpart makes. Individual choices and personal preferences on the part of workers partially cause this disparity. One Harvard study from 2018 found that the female workers within their study favored flexibility, work/life balance and family leave more than the men in the study. The men in the study favored the marginal wage increases in exchange for working more and/or less favorable hours and shifts.
Read more »Has your salary remained stagnant for a while? Do you think you deserve to be paid more?
Read more »Skills Training for Accountants Who is your ideal accounting department job candidate?
Read more »Your employees may not regularly think about compensation aside from salary, but good benefits can truly impact their lives. Paid-time-off may give someone a chance to travel and see the world. Flex hours might allow another person to spend an afternoon volunteering in their child’s classroom. Health insurance can save a life. It’s no surprise, then, that our survey of 1,000+ full-time workers in the U.S. found that benefits really do make up a large part of the employee value proposition.
Read more »Few people like to ask for help. Even fewer people like to ask for help at work. They worry they’ll be perceived as incompetent, annoying or lazy by their coworkers or believe asking for help means they aren’t up to snuff. But whether you’ve just received a promotion, landed your first job out of college or are making a career change, the modern workforce requires collaboration and cooperation – traits you won’t find working on your own.
Read more »In businesses of a certain size, it’s crucial to have someone to act as a buffer between the Chief Financial Officer or Controller and staff accountants. That someone is typically an Accounting Manager, and the position requires a unique mix of qualifications. Accounting Managers need to have in-depth knowledge of everything having to do with financial reporting, managing the work of other accountants and communicating with financial executives. Here’s an idea of what to look for when hiring an Accounting Manager.
Read more »With employers struggling with hiring in a tight job market, many are rethinking their requirements to fill roles. There’s a lot of competition for top talent, so skills and experience that were deemed essential just a few years ago are now considered “nice to have” rather than necessary. So how should hiring managers respond to a climate in which talent is increasingly scarce?
Read more »Companies looking to expand their accounting and finance teams are running into a problem. In the current economy, there just aren’t enough accounting and finance professionals to go around. While total U.S. employment is at just 3.8 percent as of June 2018, the unemployment rate for accounting and finance professionals is even lower than that. This means more employers are having trouble filling job openings. There is also more competition to hold on to the talent they already have.
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