July 31, 2008

Social Media Gurus Present to PKF Texas

I want to give a shout out to Marc Nathan, Director of Entrepreneur Development, Information Technology for the Houston Technology Center, Kelsey Ruger, VP Technology and Operations for Pop Labs and Josh Tabin, founder/President of Mosaic CFO and Startup Houston. They gave a presentation on social media to our firm at our PKF University.

Raissa Evans, Sr. Manager in our Practice Growth department said, “The presentation this morning was particularly effective in that it was tailored specifically to our industry, and gave both the theoretical and then the tactical insights to how accountants can use social media.”

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!

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July 27, 2008

Comments from a Houston Young Professional

I’ve asked my colleague and Next Gen “advisor” Jen Lemanski to comment on the Forbes list of Best Cities for Young Professionals. Houston is number three on the list. Jen is the Practice Growth Specialist for PKF Texas and is a member of several young professional initiatives in Houston and the accounting industry.

Forbes was absolutely right when they put us on their list of best cities for young professionals (YPs). Houston is not an obvious choice for YPs that are outside the oil/energy industry. while we don’t have the shiny, sleek reputation of New York City or the laid back, beachy atmosphere of Los Angeles, Houston is one of the country’s best kept secrets. The ratio of cost of living to salary is much better than our counterparts on the East and West coasts. The Houston economy hasn’t seen the downturn that other major cities have seen, business is booming and it’s an exciting time to be here.

The diverse population and international flavor isn’t something that you can copy. Many of us are transplants (I’ve lived all over the country), we may not be native Houstonians, but we’ve made the conscious decision to call Houston our home.

There are YP initiatives around the city that are growing by leaps and bounds. For those who join, it’s an opportunity to get in on the ground level and steer the ship so to speak. We are able to get involved and shape our city. With the Baby Boomers beginning to retire, the city is ready for us to step up and show what we can do.  The Boomers are ready and willing to help us make connections in the marketplace to expand our centers of influence. 

All in all, Houston is a great place to be right now and I can't wait to find out how the YPs (myself included) will shape our city!

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July 26, 2008

PKF Texas - The Entrepreneur's Playbook™ - The Financial Close

Note: Running Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the Entrepreneur's Playbook™ page of the PKF Texas website.

How quickly do you execute your financial close each month? Do you take 7 days? 10 days? Can you close in 5 days?

Recent research has confirmed an indication by many CFOs for closing more quickly, with a recognition that existing processes at most organizations already take too long. Demands are increasing for financial information more quickly, and a desire for more analysis of results, is close on its heels.

A variety of sources suggest that you should be able to close your accounting periods within 4-5 days of month, quarter, or year end. To start improving the time for your financial close, consider the following:

  1. Make sure your financial close is a well defined process, understood, and consistently applied.
  2. Understand the barriers of disparate systems and spreadsheets contributing to the delays.
  3. Move towards simplicity within people, process and technology that supports your close process. 
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July 23, 2008

Houston #4 Best Large City for Business

Joel Kotkin, whom you’ll remember from previous posts co-wrote a great article with Michael Shires, that appearing on Inc.com that analyses the best cities to business.

A whole section of the article deals with Texas and how it’s a great place to be right now. “Texas’ boom reflects solid growth in a variety of industries from energy to agriculture to manufacturing and trade,” he said. This definitely describes Houston. 

Jumping up 13 spots from last year, we rank #4 on the list of best large cities to do business in. We fall behind Raleigh, NC, Austin, and Salt Lake City, UT. Not bad!

The Greater Houston Partnership has a comprehensive list of Houston’s rankings right on the homepage. 

Have you seen growth in your business in Houston this year? If you’re looking to expand, is Texas on your list?

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July 21, 2008

Aggie 100 Update & FastTech 50 Reminder

We’ve received a record number of Aggie 100 nominations this year. We’re currently analyzing the date as I write. While I can’t say much, I can tell you that this year’s group is full of great companies. I can’t wait for you to find out who they are at the award banquet this fall.

Speaking of award banquets this fall,  I want to get one last reminder in about the FastTech 50. The nominations are due Thursday, July 31st. You can log on to the Houston Business Journal site or PKF Texas’ FastTech 50 site to download the nomination form. You don’t want to be left off this year’s list, so don’t delay!

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July 18, 2008

PKF Texas - The Entrepreneur's Playbook™: Is Your Corporate Strategy and Budget Aligned?

Note: Running Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the Entrepreneur's Playbook™ page of the PKF Texas website.

As a CPA, I get to work with lots of organizations of all sizes and types and yet I am perplexed by a fundamental fact that I see at most organizations. At a time when corporate strategy and budgets could be aligned to drive an organization forward, I see few instances when both work together in concert.

As budgets go, most are probably pretty accurate on what they report, the inflow and outflow of cash and a report detailing the background on each. What they lack is the intersection of other non-financial performance benchmarks that are necessary to supplement your budget and give you a Balanced Scorecard that can assist you in driving your company to the next level.   A study conducted by the Harvard Business Review over 10years ago is still valid in this area.

Three key non-financial areas that you can consider include:

  • Your Human Capital experience. The training and learning programs you have in place.
  • Your relationship with your customers. 
  • Agreement on your core internal processes.

As easy as this sounds, many companies struggle to gain consensus in just one, let alone these areas. By bringing these areas into focus you can begin to set your balanced scorecard for driving operational and financial success.

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July 16, 2008

Worldwide Partner Conference Comes to Houston

Last week Houston played host to Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference. According to conservative estimates there was $9.7 million in direct spending into our economy. That is a great figure!

Houston has become more than just an oil town. Successfully hosting an event of this size (third to the Offshore Technology Conference and the International Quilt Festival) and scope in the technology arena will only help cement Houston's place as a leader in the industry. I agree with Greg Ortale, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau who said in last week’s Houston Business Journal that this will definitely attract other tech and business related events to Houston

How do you think this changes the perception of Houston in the tech industry?  Should we as Houstonians try to attract more conferences of this nature?

On another Microsoft front, I’ve got some changes/additions to coming to the blog in the near future regarding Dynamics-NAV. Stay tuned…

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July 14, 2008

Is The New iPhone All It's Cracked Up To Be?

The new iPhone came out last Friday to mixed reviews from Tech Guys and everyday users alike. The main criticism? The glitch that won’t allow you to complete the set-up in store.

I have yet to jump on the iPhone train. I still like my AT&T Tilt. When I was deciding between the two, the guy at the AT&T store told me, “The iPhone is a cool toy and the Tilt is for business functionality.” I use mine for business functionality, though I can’t deny there is a certain cool factor to owning the iPhone.

What do you think? If you had the first generation iPhone, did you trade it in for the new 3G version, or did you just download the updated software? If you are a new iPhone user why did you jump in now and not a year ago?

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July 11, 2008

Are You Going to the World Trade Soiree?

I’ve talked many times in this blog about how Houston is an international city and how the future of business is being a player in the global community. Here’s the perfect opportunity for you and your business to reach out to the international community in Houston, the Greater Houston Partnership’s World Trade Soiree is quickly approaching. This year it will be held on September 20th at Hotel Zaza. Below is information provided by Kristin Smith, the main contact at the GHP.

Larry Kellner
Honorary Chairman, 2008 World Trade Soirée Committee
Chairman and CEO, Continental Airlines, Inc.

Rosanna Moreno
Chairman, 2008 World Trade Soirée Committee
Chief, International Services, Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center

The annual Soirée showcases the Houston region’s star power as an international business center. The region’s global business leaders, government representatives, economic development allies, and our valued Consular Corps take part in this world-class tribute to international business and the world marketplace. This year’s event, themed Fly Away With Me, will include ethnically diverse dinner stations, dancing, a silent auction, and entertainment highlighting the cultures of our regional trade partners. It’s an evening you will not want to miss!

There are still sponsorship opportunities available as well as tables and individual tickets. Contact Kristin at ksmith@houston.org or 713-844-3694, if you have questions or are interested in attending. For business owners thinking about the future is thinking globally and this will be the premier international event in Houston this year.

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July 11, 2008

PKF Texas - The Entrepreneur's Playbook™:Skills Audits

Note: Running Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the Entrepreneur's Playbook™ page of the PKF Texas website.

As a business owner, you need to be aware of how your team members’ skills (or lack thereof) might affect productivity.

Consider conducting a skills audit of your team.   The purpose is to identify the key competencies of any employee or group of employees as it relates to their job role. 

The steps include:

  • Identify the key skills and job requirements for each role
  • Have the employee rate what their competency is now with each skill
  • Score each skill where you want them to be
  • Analyze the gaps and work with the employee to create an action plan to address any and all issues

Conducting a skills audit supports the Marcus Buckingham approach of using a person’s skills where they lie. This method has proven to be effective in both small and large companies. 

The skills audit process can be done close to your annual review time, so both you and your employee can begin a dialogue about goals, growth within your firm and any needed training.

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July 7, 2008

More FastTech 50 News

We welcome another new FastTech 50 sponsor, Capital One Bank.  We’re glad to have you on board!

We recently took a photo of all of the sponsors to be incorporated into a FastTech 50 ad that will appear in the Houston Business Journal. I’ll post the picture as soon as we receive it. 

The nomination forms are now available at www.pkftexas.com/FT50. Contact John Stephenson at jstephenson@pkftexas.com or Lee Ann Semmel at lasemmel@bizjournals.com with questions or for more information. 

Don’t forget, this year’s award ceremony will be held on November 7th at the InterContinental Hotel in the Galleria area. Last year’s event broke attendance records, and I’m anticipating the same this year. 

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July 4, 2008

PKF Texas - The Entrepreneur's Playbook™:Are Customer Relationships a Top Issue?

Note: Running Fridays in FromGregsHead.com, is a continuing series of tips brought to you by Greg Price. These run Saturday mornings during the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show on KPRC 950AM. Audio files can be found on the Entrepreneur's Playbook™ page of the PKF Texas website.

Around the world business executives all believe that the number one business issue within their organization is the customer relationship. And these same executives will tell you that they value innovations and support process improvements that enhance the customer experience.

However, a recent study commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by Forrester Consulting suggests than many executives are saying one thing but actually doing something else as it pertains to investments in IT and the human capital experience to enhance customer’s interactions with their organizations.

In the survey, 55% of the respondents said that the top business issue was customer relationships. However, this same group indicated that only 32% believe that, customer relationships were a top priority for IT spending within their company.

How does this match up with your own organization?   

Have you laid the groundwork to take your organization forward only to pull back on the reins at the critical moment of project approval and selection?

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July 2, 2008

The Entrepreneurial Generation

I ran across a good blog on Inc.’s website, The Entrepreneurial Generation by Donna Fenn.

A lot of what she talks about relates to the Generation Y/Next Generation entrepreneurs, though there are lessons that entrepreneurs of any age can take and learn from. 

One of my favorite entries is from April 15th called “Philanthropists or Narcissists?”.  Fenn discusses how today’s young entrepreneurs are incorporating a level of social responsibility into their businesses from the early stages. If you read the comments there are some very interesting contrasting points. Is it irresponsible to give money to charity before you turn a profit? If you let your investors know that social responsibility is an integral part of your business plan is it ok? Definitely good points to begin a dialogue with. 

Do you think the next generation is the most entrepreneurial? If so, why do you think they are? Why didn’t it happen the same way with Generation X? As more seasoned entrepreneurs, what do you think we can learn from this young eager generation?

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