THE MARCONIAN 
Volume III, Issue 19
May 15, 2015 - In This Issue:
Weekend Weather
Storm
Fri., May 15
PM Thunderstorms
High 77 Low 44
Storm
Sat., May 16
Scattered T-Storms
High 79 Low 66
Storm
Sun, May 17
Scattered T-Storms
High 77 Low 65
Chicago Sports 
   Friday, May 15
Cubs vs. Pirates
1:20 PM, CSCh

Saturday, May 16
Cubs vs. Pirates
3:05 PM, FS1, WGN

Sunday, May 17
Cubs vs. Pirates
1:20 PM, WGN
  Friday, May 15
Sox @ Athletics
9:05 PM, CSCh

Saturday, May 16
Sox @ Athletics
8:05 PM, WGN

Sunday, May 17
Sox @ Athletics
3:05 PM, CSCh
  TBD - Based on Thurs. night game. Wait to put info in.
  Sunday, May 17
  Hawks @ Ducks
  2:00 PM, NBC, CBC
  *Playoff Game 1
Networking Events
Speednetworking in Chicago

Wednesday, May 20 - 6:00 PM
Union Park Lounge

228 S Racine Ave

Join us for a night of fun, drinks & networking in the West Loop. Expand your network through Speednetworking. Come find out why Speednetworking is so popular and effective!

We encourage you to come prepared with an elevator pitch - a 1 to 2 minute talk about your business (i.e. what you do, what makes your business stand out from others in the industry).  Brings lots of business cards!

 

Click HERE to RSVP and find out more. 

FEI Chicago Chapter Events
Northwestern Kellogg School of Management and the FEI Chicago Chapter Professional Development Program

Thursday, May 21 - 8 AM - 6 PM
Northwestern Kellogg School of Management

2169 Campus Dr, Evanston

 

A three hour morning session will be taught by Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Clinical Professor of Management and Strategy. Harry's topic will be Values Based Leadership: Going From CFO to CEO. Members who attended last year's program got a taste of Harry's valuable insight and rated the session "outstanding."

An alternative three hour session in the morning will feature Edward Zajac, James F. Bere Distinguished Professor of Management and Organizations, in the Kellogg School of Management. Ed's topic will be Creating and Managing Strategic Alliances. 
 

In the afternoon, we will have a second three hour session with Harry Kraemer. He will base this session on his new book Becoming the Best. 

This book continues the journey that began with From Values to Action and the four principles of values-based leadership: self-reflection, balance, true self-confidence, and genuine humility.


The full day program will include continental breakfast, buffet lunch, coffee breaks and closing cocktail reception. Participants will also receive a copy of Professor Kraemer's new book, Becoming the Best. 

 

Click HERE to RSVP and find out more. 

Weekend Events
Mayfest

May 15 - 17
Lakeview, Chicago

3100 N Ashland Ave

Mayfest is the Annual kickoff to Chicago's hectic summer festival season. It's held under a heated tent, so the festival goes off no matter the weather. Featuring some of the best music, entertainment, and cuisine in all of Chicago. Also at Mayfest, is a Chicago Pet Pageant & Expo to showcase the latest and greatest for pet enthusiasts and a Chicago Kids Day to put special focus on health and wellness of city's youth.

Click HERE to learn more! 

AICPA Releases 6-Point Plan to Enhance Audit Quality
by Ken Tysiac | Journal of Accountancy

In a six-point plan released Thursday, the AICPA describes extensive ongoing and new efforts to improve audit quality.

Continued improvement in the quality of audits has long been a core focus of the AICPA. In May 2014, the Institute launched its Enhancing Audit Quality (EAQ) initiative, which focuses on addressing quality issues on a holistic, ongoing basis. The initiative focuses on audits of private entities, employee benefit plans, and governmental agencies in the United States.

"Audit quality has always been a CPA profession imperative," AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, said in a news release. "And as the issue has risen in importance worldwide, we recognized that a bigger, bolder step was needed to address challenges related to financial statement audit performance. This concerted effort is at the core of the profession's quality-driven mission to meet the needs and challenges of a rapidly changing financial marketplace."

The AICPA's six-point plan outlines the road map to enhanced audit quality. The plan covers several stages in the process of becoming or being an auditor:

  • Pre-licensure. Steps for improving skills before individuals become CPAs include updating the CPA exam to increase assessment of higher-order skills, such as professional skepticism and critical thinking; working with the College Board to establish an advanced placement course in accounting; implementing the recommendations of the Pathways Commission on Higher Education; and funding doctoral students with real-world experience who concentrate in audit and will accept college and university faculty positions around the nation.
  • Standards and ethics. The AICPA is developing new resources around the Statements on Quality Control Standards, and the Auditing Standards Board is working to make the auditor's report more communicative and relevant. In 2014, the AICPA completed a reorganization of its Code of Professional Conduct, which includes mandates to act with integrity and objectivity, maintain independence, and exercise due professional care and competence when performing audit and attest services for clients.
  • CPA learning and support. The AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center has undertaken numerous new initiatives designed to improve audit quality. The AICPA | CIMA Competency and Learning site now offers practitioners a way to assess and build their employee benefit plan-related competencies. The U.S. Department of Labor is preparing to release a study of employee benefit plan (EBP) audits that is expected to show a need for improvement. The AICPA also is developing similar competency assessment tools for single audit, another area identified by peer review for additional focus. Under its Future of Learning initiative, the AICPA issued recommendations on ways to modernize how CPAs learn and grow their competencies. Separately, the Center for Plain English Accounting assists regional and local firms with understanding complex and challenging accounting and auditing issues.
  • Peer review. The AICPA is increasing qualifications required for reviewers to perform a review, enhancing oversight of reviewers and firms, and expediting removal of poor reviewers. An enhanced approach will include deep-dive reviews of specialized areas such as employee benefit plan audits. The AICPA also is working on measures to ensure that firms thoroughly comply with peer-review requirements.
  • Practice monitoring of the future. An initiative designed to promote discussion as to how practice monitoring might evolve into a technology-based system that will allow firms to identify and correct potential problems in near real time. Feedback on an AICPA concept paper on this topic can be submitted by June 15.
  • Ethics enforcement and NASBA collaboration. AICPA members found to be in violation of the Code of Professional Conduct are subject to remediation and discipline, up to and including expulsion from AICPA membership. The AICPA also is collaborating with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy on an initiative that would allow the AICPA Ethics team to share its investigative files with state boards.

"This six-point plan will promote the pursuit of quality throughout a CPA's journey-from before an individual is licensed to when he or she builds professional competency and engages in peer review and practice monitoring," Sue Coffey, CPA, CGMA, AICPA senior vice president-Public Practice & Global Alliances, said in a news release. "It places the necessary emphasis on areas that we believe will help our members stay focused on achieving the highest level of performance for financial statement audits."



Consultant Spotlight
Could Your Team Benefit from Having Additional Resources? 

 

Possesses a flexible and innovative business style, able to decide quickly and to address both current and long-term needs. Thinks creatively and recommend new and unique ways to enhance the overall performance of the business in order to increase the company's profitability. Possess excellent analytic skills; able to ask the necessary questions to see underlying or hidden patterns or problems. Able to analyze/understand issues and to communicate a strategic vision. Highly motivated and self-directed and have a tenacious approach and commitment to excellence.        

  • Led Epicor 10 ERP software implementation from multiple non-integrated systems
  • Renegotiated health and property insurance policies, saving $75k
  • Reduced overstaffing by 15 full-time employees
  • Established bank relationships in nine states securing the lowest financing rates available saving $50k
  • Eliminated obsolete inventories by implementing special pricing methods, increasing cash flow by $25k

Interested parties are encouraged to contact Chris Samaan at 312.546.9800 or at CSamaan@marcofinancial.com
Potential Opportunity
Looking for a new opportunity?  

Financial Information Expert

 

We are currently seeking experienced Financial Informatics Expert for a contract engagement of up to six months.

 

Scope of work:

  • Analysis of all financial operations on daily, weekly and monthly basis
  • Identify trends, issues and areas for improvement within the company's facilities and/or physician practices
  • Design and develop reports and analyze data to measure financial performance and to support strategic initiatives
  • Investigate key business problems through quantitative analyses of utilization, quality and healthcare cost data

 

Interested parties are encouraged to contact Jason Winchell at 312.546.9800 or at JWinchell@marcofinancial.com