The Value Contract Employees Can Bring to Your Organization

Adding contract employees to your accounting and finance team provides value for your organization. Because of the flexibility contract roles provide, more employees are choosing these roles over full-time employment. As a result, you have an increasing pool of professionals to choose from.

Hiring contract accounting and finance employees provides you with access to specialized skills needed to take on additional projects. The reduced cost helps improve your bottom line.

Discover the value contract accounting and finance employees can bring to your organization:

Greater Flexibility

Adding contract employees to your accounting and finance team increases flexibility in your hiring process. The main reason is that you can hire a contract employee faster than you can hire a full-time employee:

  • The staffing agency recruiter sends you a small number of vetted candidates to interview.
  • You offer a contract to the desired candidate.
  • The recruiter negotiates the contract on the candidate’s behalf.
  • The contract employee goes through an accelerated onboarding and training process to begin producing.
  • When the contract ends, the employee can secure a contract with another company.
  • Your full-time employees remain busy without feeling overwhelmed.

Specialized Skills

Hiring contract employees can provide you with candidates who have niche accounting and finance skills:

  • The contract employee can help fill your team’s skills gap.
  • You can take on additional projects that require hard-to-find skills.
  • Your ability to hire a contract employee with the exact skills and experience you are looking for ensures you add the right member to your team.

Reduced Cost

Hiring contract employees typically costs less than hiring full-time employees:

  • Although contract employees usually have higher wages or salaries than full-time employees, your company typically doesn’t pay for health insurance, provide access to the company’s retirement plan, or offer paid time off or other benefits. The staffing firm often provides some of these benefits.
  • The staffing firm is responsible for the contract employee’s employer and employee taxes.
  • These employees usually require less onboarding and training than full-time employees to begin producing.
  • You are not responsible for contract employees’ unemployment claims.

Are You Ready to Hire Contract Accounting and Finance Employees?

Hiring contract employees provides your accounting and finance team with additional flexibility and niche skills. The money you can save makes adding contract employees to your team an attractive choice.

When you need to hire contract employees, turn to Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Learn more today.

Four Underrated Skills to Seek in Today’s Accounting & Finance Professionals

Knowing which skills to look for when interviewing accounting and finance professionals helps narrow down your candidate list. Targeting candidates with the knowledge, skills, and experience you are looking for helps add the right talent to your team.

Focusing on underrated skills in today’s accounting and finance professionals helps find the most effective candidates who can add value to your organization. The results include a stronger bottom line and increased business growth.

Seek these four underrated skills when interviewing today’s accounting and finance professionals.

1. Open-Mindedness

Accounting and finance professionals who are open-minded can effectively collaborate with colleagues and coworkers. These professionals consider new ways of approaching things to increase efficiency and productivity.

Open-minded people listen to others’ ideas, perspectives, and input. They use this insight to make more effective business decisions.

2. Emotional Intelligence

Accounting and finance professionals with emotional intelligence are in touch with their feelings and exhibit strong social skills. These professionals ask questions to gather information, look beyond the facts, and use a human-centered approach to make decisions based on the bigger picture.

People with high emotional intelligence typically perform well at work. These professionals are equipped to communicate effectively, handle difficult situations, and stay motivated to attain their goals. They also can facilitate difficult conversations and implement constructive feedback to improve their performance.

3. Story Telling

Accounting and finance professionals who use stories to discuss the numbers help relate the company’s financial performance to individual employees and teams. Explaining how an employee’s or team’s performance impacts the company’s numbers encourages the individual or team to improve their performance. The results may include increased revenue, decreased expenses, and a stronger bottom line.

4. Implementation of Feedback

Accounting and finance professionals who embrace constructive feedback prioritize learning and growth. They want to improve their performance to take on bigger challenges and opportunities. The more knowledge, skills, and experience these professionals gather, the more effectively they can secure promotions for career growth.

Are You Looking for Accounting and Finance Professionals?

Open-mindedness, emotional intelligence, story-telling, and feedback implementation are four underrated skills you should seek in employees. Hiring candidates with these skills helps add value to your team and organization.

If you need help adding qualified professionals to your team, contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Reach out today.

Communication Practices to Incorporate in Your Organization Today!

Effective communication practices in your organization promote employee relationships, team bonding, and a positive work environment. These practices also elevate employee engagement, performance, and productivity. The results include greater job satisfaction, higher employee morale, and increased attraction and retention rates.

Strong communication practices elevate collaboration and your bottom line. As a result, you should implement effective practices in your organization today. These strategies can help.

Start incorporating these communication practices into your organization today.

Develop a Communication Plan

Consider where your organization’s communications are now, how they can improve, and when you want to start to see results. Then, use your answers to develop a strategy to move toward your goals. Include timelines and measurements for success.

Implement Communication Tools

Use relevant technology to reach your communication goals. Include communication software and systems that your employees will understand and use. Examples include cloud-based technology, videoconferencing, and group chats.

Promote Collaboration

Encourage managers to have their teams collaborate on projects. Inter-departmental teamwork helps employees get to know and learn from each other. The results include increased cohesion and productivity among your workforce.

Ensure Understanding

Ensure your organization’s communication practices include clear, concise exchanges of ideas, information, and input. These verbal or written exchanges should use plain language and enough detail to facilitate understanding. Clear exchanges encourage employees to take action based on the information.

Encourage Feedback

Ask employees at all levels to provide constructive feedback on your communication practices. For instance, you might send out an employee survey, encourage managers to discuss communication practices during team meetings or organize group chats to request open, honest input.

Determine which communication practices are working, which need to be improved, and specific steps to do better. Then, implement the most effective ideas to improve your organization’s communication practices.

Start Incorporating Communication Practices into Your Organization

Develop a communication plan, implement communication tools, and promote collaboration to incorporate better communication practices in your organization. Also, request employee feedback to determine how well your practices support understanding and how they can be improved.

When adding experienced accounting and finance professionals to your team, include Casey Accounting & Finance Resources in your hiring process. Learn more today.

I-9 Verification Is Changing: What You Need to Know

The temporary COVID-19 accommodations for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) created in March 2020 expire on July 31, 2023. As a result, employers who have been remotely inspecting the identity and employment authorization documents of employees who work remotely have up to 30 days to inspect these documents after the accommodation period ends physically.

Employers have until August 30, 2023, to physically inspect the original I-9 documents that were inspected remotely under the temporary policy. Exceptions include if a physical inspection was triggered earlier under the temporary accommodations.

Find out what you need to know about the changes to I-9 verification.

Information About the Temporary I-9 Verification Policy

Due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing requirements, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) let ICE provide temporary accommodations to remotely verify the identity and employment authorization documents of employees who were working remotely:

  • I-9 documents could be remotely verified through video, video link, fax, or email until the employee stopped working remotely or until July 31, 2023, whichever came sooner.
  • These accommodations end on July 31, 2023.
  • I-9 documents that were inspected remotely under the temporary policy must be inspected in person by August 30, 2023.

Alternative Procedures to Verify I-9 Documents in Person

DHS plans to develop a regulation that allows alternative procedures to verify I-9 documents:

  • An employer with employees working remotely can have an authorized representative complete the in-person verification of the identity and employment documents.
  • This verification must be consistently done in a non-discriminatory manner.
  • DHS will establish a regulation regarding these alternative procedures for I-9 verification.
  • A proposed regulation was published in August 2022.
  • The public comment period for the regulation closed on October 17, 2022.
  • DHS is reviewing the feedback and will publish a final regulation later in 2023.

Do the I-9 Verification Requirements Impact Your Accounting and Finance Team?

The temporary COVID-19 accommodations for Form I-9 that ICE issued in March 2020 expire on July 31, 2023. Employers who have been performing remote I-9 inspections have until August 30, 2023, to physically inspect the identity and employment authorization documents of employees who were hired to work remotely. DHS will provide a regulation in 2023 that lets employers have an authorized representative complete the in-person verification process for employees who continue to work remotely.

When you need to add qualified professionals to your team, turn to Casey Accounting & Finance Resources for assistance. Learn more today.

Words NOT to Use as a Manager

As a manager, monitoring how you say things to your employees is important. You want to be respectful and encourage your team to remain open-minded, creative, and innovative.

How you say things to your employees can have long-lasting effects. Therefore, there are words and phrases you should avoid using when speaking with your team. The following are five examples.

As a manager, these are words NOT to use when talking with your employees.

Obviously

Most things are not obvious to everyone. Therefore, using the word “obviously” can put your employees on the defensive. As a result, they are unlikely to effectively listen and respond to what you say.

I Think

Saying “I think” discredits your opinion and diminishes your authority. For instance, saying “I think we should implement this strategy” is less powerful than saying “We should implement this strategy.” Your tone also remains more open and engaging by not using these two words.

Should

Using the word “should” leads to ambiguity. Your employees may be unsure about what you mean.

For instance, if you say to an employee, “Don’t you think we should do that?”, they might say they agree with you even if they do not. Instead, you could say, “Let’s do X because of Y. Do you agree or disagree and why?”

Can’t

Although there are limitations on what your team can do, avoid saying they “can’t” do something. Instead, work with your employees to develop innovative ways to accomplish something that would benefit the company. Changing the focus to creatively solve problems encourages your team to continue moving forward.

I Don’t Have the Time

Telling your employees that you “don’t have the time” to do something suggests they are not important to you. This implication can lead to disengagement, reduced performance, and lower productivity.

If what you are doing truly cannot wait, ask your employee whether you can schedule a time to discuss the issue. Providing support shows you value and respect your employees.

Do You Need Help with Hiring?

Understanding which words and phrases not to use as a manager helps facilitate open communication with your team. Knowing how to focus on more positive language inspires your employees to remain open-minded, creative, and innovative.

If you need help hiring accounting and finance professionals, get in touch with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Learn more today.

The Best Accounting & Finance Podcasts to Listen to Right Now

Are you searching for ways to stay informed about the latest accounting and finance news, trends, and best practices? If so, choose among these accounting and finance podcasts.

Discover the best accounting and finance podcasts to listen to right now.

Count Me In

Count Me In is hosted by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). Learn the latest perspectives on the accounting and finance field from experts and thought leaders.

AICPA Town Hall Series

AICPA Town Hall Series is hosted by Susan Coffey, CEO of Public Accounting for AICPA, and Erik Asgeirsson, President and CEO of CPA.com. Discover the latest news and updates in the accounting profession from leading subject matter experts.

Grow My Accounting Practice

Grow My Accounting Practice is for accountants and bookkeepers who want to expand their businesses. Learn sales, marketing, hiring, management, pricing, and other business skills needed to scale your company.

The Abundant Accountant

The Abundant Accountant shares tips to build accounting skills, increase revenue, and expand firms. Topics include networking, pricing, finding ideal clients, increasing cash flow, and setting boundaries with clients.

Building the Premier Accounting Firm

Building the Premier Accounting Firm helps accounting professionals confidently offer quality services and get paid what they are worth. Learn tips and tricks to apply accounting principles to build a successful business.

Accounting Marketing Doesn’t Suck

Accounting Marketing Doesn’t Suck is hosted by Hugh Duffy. Learn from successful accountants, CPAs, and other professionals how to grow a profitable business.

Where Accountants Go

Where Accountants Go is for accountants in all industries. Learn as accounting guests share their stories about career development.

Accounting Technology Fireside Chat

Accounting Technology Fireside Chat hosts Nick and Trevor have been working with technology for accountants for over 10 years. Gain insight into where technology is going and how accountants can use technology to increase efficiency.

Accounting Matters

Accounting Matters is hosted by Sarah Cage Richter and Adam Olden from Embark. They start with a new topic and definition in each episode, then highlight and discuss the key areas from evaluation to reporting.

Do You Need to Add to Your Accounting and Finance Team?

Partner with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources to add accounting and finance professionals to your team. Learn more today.

How to Write a Good Job Description

Writing a good job description involves sharing the duties, responsibilities, expectations, and requirements for the role. This information helps job seekers determine whether they can see themselves in the position and should apply.

Creating a clear job description helps create questions for the interview process. It also supports the hiring team throughout the candidate selection process.

Having an effective job description helps create new hire goals and training and development plans. It also supports job performance evaluations, career pathing, and company growth.

Implement these tips to write a good job description.

Choose a Targeted Job Title

Use a title with keywords that many job seekers search for. Titles that indicate what the role involves, such as “Call Center Agent” rank higher in search engine results than vague titles, such as “Rock-Star Marketer.” Job postings that rank well typically have a high number of clicks that can lead to qualified applicants.

Outline the Job Duties and Responsibilities

Highlight what would be expected of the new hire. Include the day-to-day activities and to whom the individual would report. Help job seekers determine whether this is the right position for them.

Limit the Qualifications

List the most essential education, skills, and experience required for the role. Keep in mind that hard skills can be taught while on the job. Limiting the number of qualifications encourages more candidates to apply.

Share the Salary Range

Let job seekers know what type of compensation to expect. Candidates who desire a higher salary can apply for other positions. This saves time reviewing resumes and scheduling interviews.

List the Benefits and Perks

Let job seekers know which benefits and perks make the role desirable. Examples include health insurance, a retirement plan with a company match, paid time off, a remote or hybrid work environment, and a flexible schedule. Supporting job seekers’ quality of life encourages them to apply to your openings.

Are You Looking for Help with Writing Job Descriptions?

Choosing a targeted job title, outlining the job duties and responsibilities, and limiting the qualifications encourage top talent to apply for your open positions. Sharing the salary range and listing the benefits and perks show job seekers what they can gain from working for your organization.

For additional help with writing good job descriptions, get in touch with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Contact us today.

5 Tips for Starting Q2 Strong

Starting Q2 strong involves capitalizing on your Q1 successes. You can use your momentum to continue moving the company forward.

You can use what you learned from your setbacks in Q1 to start Q2 strong. This increases the likelihood of achieving your goals over the next 3 months.

Implement these five tips for starting Q2 strong.

1. Capitalize on Your Momentum

Build on your successes from Q1 as you move to Q2. Balance your short-term urgency with your desired long-term gains. Focus on how your course corrections over the past 3 months can improve efficiency over the next 3 months.

2. Focus on the Future

Spend 10% of your time determining what went wrong in Q1 and 90% of your time planning for Q2. Figure out why you did not attain the desired outcomes and how you can do better going forward.

Focus on what you learned in the past 3 months that you can apply to the next 3 months. You might need to create systems and strategies or resolve process issues to reach your goals.

3. Analyze Market Trends

Pay attention to the trends that are impacting your industry. Focus on the internal and external factors that might impact your company’s financial performance in Q2. Adjust your plans to adapt to these changes for growth in your numbers.

4. Reassess Your Goals

Meet with your team to determine whether the goals set in January still are relevant in April. If they are, find ways to promote engagement to attain these goals. Otherwise, use the latest data and insight to adjust your Q2 goals.

5. Clarify Your Team’s Capacity

Use your team’s capacity to plan your Q2 goals. For instance, if your employees work 40 hours per week, their individual capacity is 40 hours. Therefore, your team’s collective capacity is 40 hours x your number of employees.

Ensure you leave at least 30% of open space for your team. For instance, if your employees work 40 hours per week, commit them to only 28 hours of work on reaching Q2 goals (40 – 30% = 28). This should allow adequate time for tasks that take longer than anticipated and for unexpected circumstances that arise.

Planning adequate time to reach their goals helps your employees fulfill their regular job duties and responsibilities while working toward Q2 objectives. It also helps prevent your employees from overworking to attain their 90-day business goals.

Get Help with Hiring

Capitalizing on your successes, focusing on the future, analyzing market trends, and reassessing your team’s goals help start Q2 strong. Being realistic about your team’s capacity should provide adequate time for them to fulfill their regular job duties while working toward their 90-day goals.

Let Casey Accounting & Finance Resources help with your hiring so you have more time to reach your Q2 goals. Reach out today.

6 Effective Ways to Build Trust with Your Employees

As a manager, building trust with your employees is essential for success. You need your employees to carry out daily tasks related to their jobs. Your employees need you for guidance, support, and leadership.

Effective ways to build trust with your employees must be worked on daily. This is especially true if your employees work remotely or hybrid.

The more your employees trust you, the more engaged and productive they will be. This elevates job satisfaction, employee morale, and retention. It also increases your bottom line.

Choose among these six effective ways to build trust with your employees.

1. Openly Communicate

Build trust with your employees by initiating or joining in conversations. This may involve sharing company news and insights or answering questions. Also, be attentive to your employees’ concerns. Ongoing communication with your employees builds confidence in your leadership abilities.

2. Provide Flexibility

Although you want your employees to work full days, situations will arise when they must take care of their personal needs. Show compassion by letting your employees take care of family issues or other priorities that come up.

Your employees are likely to go above and beyond when you need them to. Being there for your employees shows they are trusted and valued team members.

3. Be Direct

Communicate with your employees in a clear, honest manner. This is especially important if you have bad news to deliver.

Calm, direct engagement in conversations lets participants be heard and understood. This supports respect and trust with your employees.

4. Delegate Responsibilities

Ask your employees to take on high-priority tasks and duties. Show that you trust them to follow through and reach deadlines with little oversight.

5. Offer Guidance

Reassure, support, or lead your employees when needed. Show that they can depend on you in good and bad times.

Help your employees move through challenges and come out stronger than before. Being there for your employees helps build trust.

6. Lead by Example

Model the behavior you want your employees to follow. This includes being authentic and vulnerable. Your employees are likely to trust you enough to be authentic and vulnerable in return.

Add Employees to Your Team

Openly communicating in a direct manner and providing flexibility help build trust with your employees. Delegating responsibilities, offering guidance, and leading by example show that your employees are valued and respected members of your team.

When you need to add employees to your team, get help from Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Learn more today.

Challenges in Recruiting for Accounting & Finance Positions and How to Conquer Them

As The Great Resignation goes on, many employees are leaving their jobs for other opportunities. Therefore, the challenges in recruiting for accounting and finance positions continue to increase.

Many accounting and finance professionals are expected to accomplish more with fewer resources. This increases stress levels, especially during busy seasons. The inability to maintain work-life balance often leads to burnout.

As more accounting and finance professionals leave the industry or retire, fewer professionals are entering the field. This increases the challenges in recruiting for accounting and finance positions.

Because accounting and finance professionals are needed to drive business, company leaders must find ways to increase employee attraction and retention. These tips can help.

Learn the challenges in recruiting for accounting and finance positions and how to conquer them.

Loss of Talent

Many experienced accounting and finance professionals are leaving the industry. Job-related mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression, are among the top reasons why.

Lack of work-life balance, especially during busy seasons, also contributes to the decision to leave. Constant exposure to work-related stress can lead to burnout.

Seasoned professionals are the hardest professionals to replace. This is especially true for mid-career professionals.

Increased Automation

Fortunately, you can support your accounting and finance team by implementing robotic process automation (RPA). This software emulates human actions and mimics how humans interact with technologies.

RPA can help with essential accounting and finance functions:

  • Analytical procedures
  • Financial statement preparation
  • Dual-purpose audit tests
  • Forecasting
  • Investment decisions
  • Cost allocation
  • Expense reimbursement
  • Accounts payable
  • Accounts receivable
  • Reconciliation
  • Tax reporting
  • Cloud-based applications

Providing access to the necessary tools, systems, and support helps accounting and finance professionals complete their work. This helps maintain work-life balance and positive mental health while reaching company goals.

Work with an Accounting and Finance Staffing Agency

You can conquer the challenges in recruiting for accounting and finance positions by partnering with a staffing agency that specializes in the industry. The agency has a vast network of experienced professionals with the skills and qualifications needed to help you achieve your company’s goals.

You can choose from temporary, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire workers to blend with your full-time employees. Taking advantage of this flexibility helps save money while filling your staffing needs.

Partner with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources

The loss of talent in the accounting and finance industry requires increasing use of automation to support your workforce. Working with an accounting and finance staffing agency can help you find the qualified professionals you need to reach your business goals.

Reach out to Casey Accounting & Finance Resources for help filling your recruiting needs. Get started today.