Below please find daily updates pertaining to the latest in financial, business, and tax news:
AccountingWEB.com - NewsExpand your client base by NOT asking for referrals
By Paul Shrimpling, reporting for our sister site, AccountingWEB.co.uk
It’s a given that referrals are the most important source of new clients for accountancy firms, but when it comes to growing your firm from recommendations, it pays to do the opposite of what a salesperson would do. It might sound counter-intuitive, but hear me out.
HIRE Act: Congress approves jobs bill second time around
A new bill – with a price tag of $17.6 billion and a prediction of creating 250,000 jobs – is on its way to President Obama for his signature. It’s the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment, or HIRE Act, informally called the jobs bill.
Blame the economy: More workers are getting to work on time
A tighter job market may be contributing to increased punctuality at work. A new CareerBuilder survey reveals that 16 percent of workers said they arrive late to work at least once a week, down from 20 percent in last year's survey. One-in-ten (8 percent) said they are late at least twice a week, down from 12 percent last year. This survey was conducted among more than 5,200 workers between November 5 and November 23, 2009.
High 401(k) plan fees continue to deplete retirement savings balances
Despite the U.S. stock market's recovery, Americans are still struggling to make up for the historic losses sustained in their 401(k) plans over the past two years. One main obstacle employees face as they struggle to save is hidden, high 401(k) plan fees, which can deprive them of thousands of hard-earned dollars over the course of their career and negatively impact the timing and quality of their retirement.
IRS issues list of Dirty Dozen tax scams
The Internal Revenue Service has issued its 2010 “dirty dozen” list of tax scams, including schemes involving return preparer fraud, hiding income offshore, and phishing.
“Taxpayers should be wary of anyone peddling scams that seem too good to be true,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “The IRS fights fraud by pursuing taxpayers who hide income abroad and by ensuring taxpayers get competent, ethical service from qualified professionals at home in the U.S.”
