Firm Management

Cincinnati-based accounting and consulting firm Flynn & Company, Inc. has acquired Shoemaker & Company, Inc., the companies have announced. Shoemaker is also based in Ohio. The acquisition was finalized on December 24, 2013.

The Illinois accounting firms of Mowery & Schoenfeld and Wolowicki and Associates have merged, the firms have announced. The action was effective Jan. 2, 2014, resulting in a combined CPA firm operating as Mowery & Schoenfeld.

CBIZ, Inc. has announced the acquisition of substantially all the assets of Clearview National Partners, L.L.C., ("Clearview") of Waltham, Massachusetts, effective January 1, 2014.

Big 4 audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP has announced the appointment of Tim Zuber as the firm's U.S. Partner-in-Charge (PIC) of Knowledge & Collaboration Management (KCM).

From top to bottom, firms continually struggle with accountability. Partners face challenges holding one another accountable. With junior staff, managers too often focus on the wrong things: Whether an employee put in enough hours or whether an employee checked Facebook during business hours, for instance.

Two St. Louis accounting firms, Scheffel & Company, PC and J.W. Boyle & Co., LTD, have announced that they will finalize a merger of the two practices effective January 1, 2014. The new firm will be named Scheffel Boyle. Both firms have a long established metro St. Louis presence and serve specialized practice areas.

The end of the year usually signals a time of change in the personal and professional lives of many people. As we prepare to bring in the upcoming New Year, many reflect on the ups and downs of the past year.

Improving workflow by streamlining engagements and following best practices is a continuing effort for successful accounting firms, but implementing workflow management solutions has often been a challenge for smaller firms. This is because they often lack the internal resources and staff to perform and manage the implementation process.