A decade's worth of tax returns provides an interesting insight into how people prefer to work

More and more Americans are moving away from traditional jobs, and choosing to be self-employed or do freelance work instead.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, self-employed workers now make up 10% of the workforce overall. 

That's nearly 15 million workers in the US.

Those numbers have grown considerably over the past decade, as shown in the two charts below from Zen99, a startup offering tax help to freelancers.

The number of people claiming self-employment income on their tax returns rose steadily between 2002 and 2012, the latest data available.

To read full article, click here.

Source: Antonia Farzan (www.businessinsider.com)

Is it intelligence or personality that matters?

It probably goes without saying that most organizations strive to attract the most talented people, whether it’s through direct employment, or more recently via open innovation challenges. It doesn’t always work out however. I’ve written before about studies that explore this topic, and in particular the belief that having lots of talented people will inspire and cajole the best out of each of them. The study found that having talented people in a team did little to raise the performance of less talented people in that team.

Studies throughout the past few decades have generally correlated intelligence with good performance at work. Most of these studies were conducted in an environment where the duties expected of an employee were relatively tightly controlled, and certainly didn’t account for things such as collaboration or anything outside of the job description.

A more recent study highlights how in the more modern work environment, intelligence is a much less accurate proxy for performance. The study, conducted via a meta analysis, honed studies down to a final short list of 35 that explored things like collaboration and citizenship within the workplace.

Whilst the meta analysis did reveal a small link between general intelligence and citizenship behaviours, this link was significantly smaller than between intelligence and task performance. The researchers instead found that personality was at least as influential to collaborative behaviours as was intelligence...

To read full article, click here.

Source: Ado Gaskell (www.linkedin.com)

3 Resolutions to Position Your Accounting Firm for 2015

Once busy season begins, you’ll have precious little time to consider whether your accounting firm has made the right moves to build client relationships and grow in 2015.

Instead, you’ll be feverishly working to meet imminent deadlines and to survive the grueling work schedule.

Studies have shown that accountants’ top pain points consistently include winning new clients, retaining current ones and managing a compressed workload. Now is the perfect time to work toward addressing these concerns.

Here are three resolutions accountants should make to help turn this busy season into your firm’s most productive ever in terms of developing business for the entire year.

1. I will use busy-season meetings to cultivate engagements for the rest of the year. As you talk with and meet with business clients in the coming days and weeks, commit to taking steps that will help secure advisory engagements during the rest of the year. For example, develop a list of all services your firm offers, using terms the client can understand or including examples. Distribute the list by email or in person to each client when you present their financials or tax returns. 

Another option: Make sure you ask each client about their pain points or challenges so that you can look for opportunities to help with those issues. A client may tell you they worry about being able to retire and sell their business, or they may worry they aren’t keeping up with competitors. Asking questions and initiating dialogue will deepen the client relationship and reveal opportunities for additional engagements later in the year....

To read full article, click here.

Source: Mary Ellen Biery (www.accountingtoday.com)

IRS: Tax season to start on time

The IRS announced that tax season will start on time this year and it will begin accepting e-filed and paper returns on Jan. 20, as originally planned (IR-2014-119).

Last year, the agency warned that late passage of legislation extending expired tax provisions could delay the start of filing season (see coverage here). But, in announcing the Service’s ability to start tax season on time, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said, “We have reviewed the late tax law changes and determined there was nothing preventing us from continuing our updating and testing of our systems.” The on-time start will mark a change from recent filing seasons; practitioners have faced delayed starts the past two years, making those tax seasons even busier than usual.

The IRS also reiterated that, as in earlier years, filing a paper return before Jan. 20 will not accelerate the refund process and reminded taxpayers that e-filing is more accurate than paper filing and results in faster refunds.

To see full article, click here.

Source: Sally P. Schreiber (www.journalofaccountancy.com)

The 2010 Workplace

The 2008-2009 economic downturn has triggered and/or accelerated many changes in the workplace. Below are several trends to look out for in 2010:

1. A second job. In addition to a salaried job, more individuals will likely seek out a second income source – through a side business, freelance project, consulting gig, etc.
   
   
2. More flexible work schedules. To promote better work-life balance, more employers are expected to offer options for telecommuting, compressed workweeks, summer hours, etc.
   
   
3. Less “off hours” work. In the midst of “voluntary” pay cuts and furloughs, employees are less likely work beyond their designated work hours - meaning that they will not be on call 24/7 through their Blackberries.
   
   
4. Delayed Retirement/Hiring Retired Employees. Companies are more opened to hiring retired employees because of their years of experience and knowledge. Older employees are also looking to delay their retirement to extend their income stream.
   
   
5. Temporary/Contract Work. Employers remain cautious as they prepare for the economic rebound. Rather than committing to full time hires, many are turning to the flexible option of hiring temporary and contract workers.

Sources:
10 Workplace trends for 2010
Predictions for 2010: Five Changes in the Way We Work

Is the recruiting process becoming more impersonal?

It is not unusual for companies to receive hundreds to thousands of job applications these days. For job seekers, it is sometimes as easy as clicking an “apply” button and attaching a resume. As a result, many companies are now experimenting with new ways to review applications and interview candidates to deal with the influx of job applicants.

These new approaches, however, are decreasing the level of human interaction between candidate and employer.

One method is to require candidates to fill out extensive profiles or take pre-qualifying questionnaires. To reduce the amount of face-to-face interviews, employers are also inviting applicants to virtual interviews where applicants are asked pre-recorded questions. Their responses are then either recorded or videoed for the employer to access at his or her convenience.

While these new resources can be more cost effective or time efficient, they may not be the best option for every type of job search, such as technical and high-level positions. Employers can sometimes go overboard with the online profiles, which leave candidates frustrated with answering 15+ pages of questions. Pre-recorded interviews also do not allow for more detailed follow-up questions.

The whole process seems impersonal and cold, like talking to one of those automated customer service answering machines – not a good first impression to give a potential future employee.

Read More:
Resume overload
Copying with resume overload
Overabundance of resumes creates resu-mess