Comments for NumberInsights.com

Comment on Score one for value based pricing by Rick Telberg

Rick Telberg — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:54:07 +0000

Well said. And, Thanks for the shout-out!

Comment on National sales tax by Mike Harmon

Mike Harmon — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:37:35 +0000

Hi there,

I looked over your blog and it looks really good. Do you ever do link exchanges on your blog roll? If you do, I’d like to exchange links with you.

Let me know if you’re interested.

Thanks..

Comment on NolaPro leads the pack on web based accounting software alternatives by Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:36:41 +0000

I read similar article also named leads the pack on web based accounting software alternatives | NumberInsights.com, and it was completely different. Personally, I agree with you more, because this article makes a little bit more sense for me

Comment on Universities don’t instill technical proficiency by shane

shane — Wed, 21 May 2008 20:25:45 +0000

Like you, I find it astonishing just how little emphasis and technical training is given from the university in using some basic tools, rather than theories, to solve real problems. We used Excel daily in stats class, but the data applications there were of a much higher level and for a different purpose than what an accountant uses.

It seems to me that more universities would at least be requiring testing to establish a baseline expectation for employers to rely upon. Some people are good at picking this up on the job, but others will defer to someone else throughout their whole career or worse yet, do things the slow and hard way. I guess it’s good that most accountants bill by the hour, but it seems you could make better use of those hours with better use of tools.

Comment on Universities don’t instill technical proficiency by Logan

Logan — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:39:48 +0000

I’m currently a senior accounting major at UNL and absolutely loved your post. I’m a slight tech nerd and converted from a computer science major to accounting in the middle of my junior year. Since, I’ve been continually amazed with the lack of Excel knowledge of many of my classmates. Granted, I’ve basically taught myself what I know up to this point so I’m ahead of most, but the only course offered for accounting students that integrates any software instruction whatsoever is Accounting Information Systems (ACCT309). We get about 3-5 basic tutorials of Excel and the same in Access, and those are mediocre at best.

The largest competitive advantage I’ve had in every office job I’ve worked thus far in my life has stemmed from my computer skills. Every firm/company seems to retrain their employees to their own strategies, business plans, and processes. The one constant requirement that doesn’t change is being able to utilize Excel, Access, and even Word to do work efficiently. The use of these applications varies little across organizations, and yet they are what we learn least about in school. It’s highly disappointing in my mind, especially in a professional that makes a living out of manipulating large amounts of data and formulas.

Comment on Leveling the playing field by Heidi Adkins

Heidi Adkins — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:59:46 +0000

I think you must rethink your business model or you both the partners and the staff will be unhappy, if you are to survive in the accounting industry of today and the future. Staff retention is one of the top problems firms are having. The problem won’t just go away or fix itself on its own.

We have rethought our business model, and have rid of the billable hour and time sheets, and retention is the last thing we have had to worry about. We’ve grown so much since we’ve done that that we’ve outgrown our office space 2 years sooner than we thought! Our staff actually loves their careers and enjoys coming to work. But even more than that, they have a life. The office is nearly empty by 5:00 and the staff is on their way home to their families, or whatever they enjoy doing. The families are happier, the staff is happier, and the clients are happier.

I really hope other firms open their eyes to these types of solutions. They only staff we have lost this past year, left because they have had to move out of state. We felt bad, because it’s difficult to recommend and help them find other firms that could offer them the same. They are far and few between.

Comment on Payday Problems by shane

shane — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:12:27 +0000

Jan, what about the “refund anticipation loan”, which is what I was referring to in the original post that allows the taxpayer to receive money instantly based on a percentage of their refund? Is that product not similar to the products offered by the payday predators? Essentially the refund anticipation loan says, I will take the money later as long as you forfeit a high percentage of it as my fee, the same as the payday predators do with paychecks..

Comment on Payday Problems by Jan

Jan — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 23:23:22 +0000

H&R Block has the Emerald Card - a reloadable prepaid debit card that clients can load their refunds on. They no longer have to pay the high check cashing fee of the payday predators! Good news is that these clients who choose the Emerald Card for their refund may also qualify for a line of credit they can access at any time during the year. Another reason to use H&R Block for your taxes! No need to pass more useless laws……