The Accounting Podcast

Show NotesIntuit Reports First Quarter Revenue Increased 12 Percent Led by 42 Percent Growth in Small Business Online Ecosystem Revenue — Intuit Investor Relations — The company announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2019, which ended Oct. 31. QBConnect 2018 - the review no-one else will write — Matt Paff on LinkedIn — Intuit’s theme for QuickBooks Connect was “Anything is Possible” but Matt thinks it should have been “Legacy.” Blink and it’s a Bank: Intuit Blurs Boundaries of Accounting Software — Digital First — Sholto Macpherson highlights Intuit’s not-so-secret plan to disrupt traditional lending with its new releases announced at QuickBooks Connect. 38 Percent of Employees Don’t Want Management Dictating the Tech They Use for Work — SmallBizTrends — According to a new report from NexPlane, 38% of employees don’t want management dictating the tech they use for work. And more than half have pushed back on IT or management when they tried to dictate the technology they use. Will Waiting For Pay Day Soon Be A Thing Of The Past? — PYMNTS — According to a CareerBuilder report, 75 percent of consumers reported living paycheck to paycheck in 2017. That’s why an increasing number of firms embracing instant payments as an option for workers, and as a tool to both recruit and retain employees. The Best Day For Payday — NPR — Most Americans get paid biweekly. One of The Indicator's listeners wanted to know why. So they looked into it. 2018 High Growth Study - Hinge Marketing - Check out this survey of over 1,000 professional services firms from across the globe.  Blockchain Promise to Revolutionize Accounting Hits Reality Wall — Bloomberg Tax — Blockchain a year ago seemed poised to revolutionize accounting. Now, it doesn’t quite seem so hot. A leaky database of SMS text messages exposed password resets and two-factor codes — Tech Crunch — A security lapse has exposed a massive database containing tens of millions of text messages, including password reset links, two-factor codes, shipping notifications and more. Microsoft details the causes of its recent multi-factor authentication meltdown — ZDNet — Microsoft has posted a root cause analysis of the multifactor authentication issue which hit a number of its customers worldwide last week. Here's what happened. SubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play

Show NotesVIDEO: Blake chats with Amy Vetter at the AICPA Controllers Conference — LinkedIn — I caught up at the FloQast booth with award-winning executive, author, and keynote speaker Amy Vetter at the AICPA Controller's Conference to chat about how modern accounting departments are refocusing to become proactive service centers as opposed to reactive cost centers.Xero’s half year 2019 financial & operating results — Xero Blog — Xero is up to 1.6 million subscribers, with 380,000 added in the past year. Revenue is up 37%. Annualized monthly recurring revenue increased by 40% to $589.1 million.  Xero increases dominance of cloud accounting with 37 per cent growth — Canberra Times — Xero has 981,000 subscribers in Australia and is growing quickly in the United Kingdom, where it increased subscribers by 40 per cent to 355,000. Its growth has been slower in North America, where it has 178,000 subscribers but CEO Steve Vamos said it was "relatively early days" in that market. Xero to spend NZ$10m on Instafile purchase — ZDNet — Instafile is a cloud-based accounts preparation and tax filing solution that connects UK accountants, bookkeepers, and small businesses to UK compliance bodies. We’re accelerating our UK banking connections with five brand new fintech integrations — Xero Blog — Here are five brand new Xero integrations with leading UK fintechs: Tide, Starling, TransferWise, Revolut and Soldo, all of which were made possible by Xero's new Bank Feeds API. 10 new ways Xero will transform how small businesses, their employees and accountants work together — Xero Blog — A roundup of all the new features announced at Xerocon London. Gusto — Simple time tracking — Gusto — Gusto’s new, simple time tracking syncs perfectly with payroll. Review and approve hours with one click, then run payroll as usual. How Small Businesses Ride Their Payment Rails — PYMNTS — NACHA released new statistics late last week on the growth of ACH transaction volume in the U.S. According to the firm, B2B transactions were a key driver of ACH transaction growth in the third quarter of the year, leading NACHA Chief Operating Officer Jane Larimer to describe the ACH Network as “thriving.” Tempted to Expense that Strip Club as a Business Dinner? AI Is Watching — Bloomberg — AppZen, an 18-month-old AI accounting startup, has already signed up several big companies, including Amazon.com Inc., International Business Machine Corp., Salesforce.com Inc., and Comcast Corp. and claims to have saved its clients $40 million in fraudulent expenses. Four In 10 Road Warriors Use Corporate Cards For Personal Items — PYMNTS — Carlson Wagonlit Travel has debuted a study that shows that as many as 46 percent of American and European business travelers have said they used company cards to make personal transactions. In the Asia-Pacific region, that tally stands at about 38 percent. SubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play

Show NotesAccounting firms challenged in adapting to technology changes — Accounting Today — Only 25 percent of accounting firms feel extremely confident about their ability to keep pace in the current environment of technology changes, according to a report Accountants in small and midsized practices embracing more technology, but feeling pressures — Accounting Today — Accountants who work in small and midsized practices are using more technology to serve their clients better, as well as attract and retain top talent, but are feeling pressures to lower fees and differentiate themselves from competitors, according to a new survey by the International Federation of Accountants. Intuit's incoming CEO: 'We have a huge opportunity to win the mid market’ — Silicon Valley Business Journal — Intuit's incoming chief tells the Business Journal why it thinks it can win the mid market as its aggressive plans to do so. Sage Group Elevates CFO Steve Hare to CEO — CFO — The U.K. software firm had launched an external search for a new CEO but was impressed with Hare's performance as interim COO. SubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play

SubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play

SubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play

Show NotesSage Intacct delivers quadruple win for Finance teams — Enterprise Times — Sage Intacct announced new features at its annual conference, including Sage Intacct Budgeting and Planning, an Interactive Custom Report Writer, and General Ledger Allocations. David Leary joins AutoEntry — Intuitive Accountant — David Leary has joined AutoEntry and will be serving as their principal technology evangelist moving forward.Are you getting paid what you are worth? Results of the 2018 Intuit Average Billing Rate Survey — Long for Success — Notable results include the finding that hourly billing has decreased 35% and value pricing has increased 56% since 2016. New this year is an interactive tool that allows you to drill down into the results for insights.The CPA’s First-Round Pick: Attracting and Retaining the Next Generation of Accountants — Accountex Report — As fear of a talent shortage looms, employing the right people with the right mix of skills and providing a culture that allows them to thrive will be the key to the success of any accounting firm. Here are three key steps that accounting firms can take to attract and retain the industry’s top talent. The Dark Side of Accounting Expertise — CFO — For top executives, managerial experience at an auditing firm is not necessarily a virtue, especially among those who are highly paid, a study finds. SubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play

 Show NotesJoin Blake and David at the Practice Ignition QBC Precon Party! — It’s November 4th (the night before QuickBooks Connect) Register here: https://landing.practiceignition.com/qbc-preconFrom the mail bag: Heather Smith shares that Australia is introducing PAYID, an ID that allows people to direct payments independent of what bank you use. Should give Australians an amazing freedom to more easily change banks! Worldpay Finds Contactless Payments Surpass Chip, Pin Card Purchases — PYMNTS.com PayPal Posts 25 Pct Jump In Payments Volume — PYMNTS.comThe Case for a 4-Day Work Week — CPA Practice Advisor — “Nearly half (45 percent) of full-time workers say it should take less than five hours each day to do their job if they worked uninterrupted.” That’s from a survey of nearly 3,000 employees across eight countries conducted by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated.Microsoft Debuts Expense Management App — PYMNTS.com Email Scammers Still Tripping Up Finance Personnel — CFO.com12 signs that your firm is outdated — Journal of Accountancy13 Important Questions to Ask Before You Sign Up With a SaaS Provider — Small Biz TechnologySubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play

Show Notes53% of accountants’ clients ready for Making Tax Digital launch — Accountancy Daily — Significant numbers of accountants’ clients are still struggling to prepare for the advent of Making Tax Digital for VAT, which is now only six months away, according to the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Outsource Everything but Accounting, Quality Control and Sales — Entrepreneur — Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey argue that "It’s almost impossible to get... critical numbers in a timely manner from an outsourced accountant.” Sounds like an opportunity! `Warns of Hackers Using Remote Desktop Protocol, Is Your Business at Risk? — SmallBiz Trends — According to the FBI, use of Remote Desktop Protocol as an attack vector has increased, and intrusions are difficult to detect.  6 Things Your Remote Accountant Policy Should Include (But Probably Doesn’t) — AccountingFly  — Here are six excellent items to include in your policy about working with remote staff. — Also check out this related story on the legal liability of freelance remote accountants.Outsourced CFO Engagements: A Risk/Reward Perspective for CPA Firms — CPA Practice Advisor — Outsourced CFO work is a lucrative practice area, but firms must be sure to assess the risk of these client engagements.  SubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play 

Scott runs Operations at Kruze Consulting, a fast growing Startup CFO Consulting firm that works with over 160 startup clients. Kruze is based in San Francisco with clients in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and New York. In addition to his Operations responsibilities, Scott runs the Venture Debt Consulting practice at Kruze. In his spare time, Scott publishes the Founders & Friends Podcast, which interviews Startup CEO's, Investors and Other Service Providers in the Startup Ecosystem. Connect with Scott on LinkedIn.  Show Notes(2:05) Learn how Scott made the move from investment banking and venture debt, to accounting & finance for startups.  (5:23) Scott shares what makes his firm, Kruze Consulting, a leader among providers of outsourced accounting services. We also discuss the importance of standardizing processes so that you can move away from being just another “high hourly rate” expert and build a business that can scale. (11:05) Venture Debt Fetch, Kruze Consulting’s new automation-assisted tool to analyze term sheets and connect startups to the best banks and lending funds, is a great example. SubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play

Blake and David reconnect to talk about what's new in the worlds of QuickBooks and NetSuite. Intuit is discontinuing their QuickBooks Desktop Advanced ProAdvisor Certification — could this be the beginning of the end for desktop? Meanwhile, NetSuite is soaring according to the latest Oracle quarterly results. NetSuite also announced their new "Banking as a Service" or "BaaS" offering, which will allow banks to connect directly to NetSuite's ERP to process payments and reconcile transactions, just to start. Also, blockchain is no longer a much-hyped theory. Walmart will require all its suppliers of leafy greens to use IBM's blockchain to track its supply chain starting in 2019.For this and more, listen to Episode 38! Show NotesIntuit Discontinues QuickBooks Desktop Advanced ProAdvisor Certification — Insightful Accountant — Intuit has just announced the discontinuation of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Desktop Advanced Certification effective December 31, 2018.  They cited a 'declining number of certifications' over the last several years as the basis for this decision.QuickBooks Online Advanced - September Update — Firm of the Future — QuickBooks® Online Advanced is a new offering for customers who are outgrowing QuickBooks Online Plus. It includes up to 25 simultaneous users with full access, a dedicated customer success manager, priority technical support, and free online training. NetSuite soars in Oracle results — Enterprise Times — Mark Hurd says, "NetSuite ERP had a spectacular quarter.” He added that revenues were up 26% and bookings up 40%, 39% in the quarter. He also added that the growth followed a huge fourth quarter where bookings growth for NetSuite had been 70%." Customers Achieve Efficiency and Cost Savings with NetSuite Banking as a Service — NetSuite Blog — The recently released Oracle NetSuite Banking as a Service (BaaS) Program strengthens bank-to-customer relationships in a digital transformation where banking services are delivered within the ERP system. The US Census Bureau says there are 32m small businesses. They're wrong — The Guardian — According to Gene Marks, only a third of these reported ‘businesses’ have actual employees – the rest just report extra income on their tax returns. Maybe in 2018, Every SaaS Contract Should Have An Automatic Out Clause — SaaStr — Jason Lemkin argues that SaaS companies should stop selling annual contracts, make onboarding and buying as simple as possible, and let customers cancel whenever they want.  Walmart Requires Lettuce, Spinach Suppliers to Join Blockchain — Wall Street Journal — Walmart Inc., in a letter to be issued Monday to suppliers, will require its direct suppliers of lettuce, spinach and other greens to join its food-tracking blockchain by Jan. 31. The retailer also will mandate that farmers, logistics firms and business partners of these suppliers join the blockchain by Sept. 30, 2019. The AICPA’s Twitter Totally Got Hacked by Bitcoin Scammers — Going Concern — The AICPA Twitter account was recently hijacked by someone masquerading as Coinbase. The hackers then used the @AICPA account to tweet out cryptocurrency scams.   SubscribeListen on iTunesListen on Google Play