August 2006 Boomer Bulletin
Boomer Consulting is committed to offering innovative and relevant instruction as a valuable resource for our readers. Each month we feature an industry leader selected from our Boomer Technology Circles who shares his or her insights, wisdom and accomplishments. These feature writers offer the value you have come to expect from our publication.
Our contributing authors for August are Brian Joyce, Joseph Decosimo and Co, and Cris Currenti, Brigante, Cameron, Watters & Strong, LLP. We'd like to thank both for contributing to this month's Boomer Bulletin, and hope you enjoy reading their insights on firm security.
Simple Steps to Help Secure the Enterprise
August 8 | Brian Joyce, Joseph Decosimo and Company, PLLC
In 1999, over 1800 security experts meeting at the Federal Computer Security Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland determined the top seven management errors that lead to computer security vulnerabilities. Although polled seven years ago, these errors are still commonly made today:
Protecting Your Employees Against Identity Theft
August 8 | Cris Currenti, Brigante, Cameron, Watters & Strong, LLP
Most of us have read a dozen or more articles about identity theft. So most of us know this crime is fairly simple to commit, and that perpetrators are seldom caught and prosecuted. Tragically, most of us also know someone – a close friend or relative – who has been a victim of this crime.
Introducing The Performance3™ Management Program
August 8 | Sandra L. Wiley, COO and Senior Consultant
Retention is the key to success in our industry! The Performance3™ Management Program will help you develop your best managers and, in turn, retain them.
Performance Evaluation for IT Professionals
August 8 | L. Gary Boomer, CPA, CITP, CEO
How do you evaluate your professional IT staff? Who is responsible for that evaluation and how often do evaluations occur? While these are basic human resource questions, we find many firms do not have fair and equitable systems in place to ensure anticipated results or provide a professional career path for internal information technology professionals. Simply using currently available tools to evaluate accountants may not be enough. Additionally, we recommend multiple tools and frequent communication with IT personnel.
Small Firm Marketing – Have a Plan
August 9 | by Eric Hunt, Director of Client Relations
Partner compensation, succession planning, staffing, technology improvements and training are just some of the most important issues facing accounting firms today. What about marketing your practice to gain the best clients possible? Firms don’t often have marketing on their Top 10 list of worries. Is it because marketing isn’t important? Absolutely not, but small firms need to look at their marketing efforts as one of the cornerstones of building their practices. Strong marketing helps firms understand their current clients better so they can attract strong new clients.
Using an Issue Tracking System
August 9 | by Andrew Sterling Hanenkamp, Interaction Developer
As an IT person, I must face the daily trivial problems of printing and email in addition to the big projects. With the interruptions, it can be hard to stay on task. An issue tracking system can help you or your IT staff deal with these issues. However, for your tracking system to be a success, you must take care to build good policies, stay on top of tasks in the system and review how the system is used, and keep feedback between yourself and your clients personal.
The Changing Face of Boomer Consulting
August 8 | Eric Benson, Director of Interactive Communications
Welcome to the new Boomer Bulletin! As the Director of Interactive Communications, my goal in the past year has been to look at, manage and implement a new online presence at Boomer Consulting. Our company has always used technology as an accelerator to bring change to accounting firms. In this day and age, we felt that it was time to start using new technology to accelerate our firm’s communication with you.