2018 - Page 4 of 4

What Can You Do to Show Past Success in Your Accounting Career?

When searching for your next accounting position, you want to demonstrate ways you provided value for previous employers and how you can do so for your next employer. You will set yourself apart from the competition and come closer to landing your new role.

Give Statistics on Your Accomplishments

Your key performance indicators (KPIs) are what show how you add value to an organization. For example, to measure your timeliness, focus on time to process invoices/transactions/payments, percent of financial reports submitted on time or days to close the books and sign off the month/year. To measure your quality, focus on your percent of accuracy in transactions/payments, percent of collection rate of outstanding amounts or percent of audit recommendations implemented. General measurements may include your percent of tasks finalized on time, percent of internal procedures updated or percent of processes optimized.

Demonstrate Your Commitment to Professional Development

Employers want to know you value keeping current with changes in the accounting industry, learning new skills and taking the initiative to help both your career and the company. For example, show you use the most current accounting software to ensure the organization’s financial operations are both easily done and compliant with all laws and regulations. Subscribe to professional blogs and publications to stay updated on accounting trends. Continuously learn about new accounting techniques and changing guidelines and business laws from the FASB and updated tax forms and rates from the IRS. Remain aware of new accounting techniques in financial institutions, including fee structures and account offerings, that impact how companies manage their liquid capital and investments. Participate in professional associations such as the AICPA, IMA or IIA for self-study courses, live web events, group study options, conferences, and training modules to stay current on regulations, GAAP and IFRS policies.

Provide Recommendation Letters

Potential employers will gain more insight into your background and capabilities than they would by calling a former employer’s HR department. Ask two former managers and two former colleagues to create an endorsement for your skills and experience. Have them include their title and a brief background to show they were in a position to determine your good fit with the organization. Request the writers include the number of years you worked for the company, specific examples of your accomplishments, and your credentials and awards. Ask the writers to mention your professional qualifications and which traits and skills make you qualified for the role you want. Have the writers show that you were a valuable contributor and left on good terms.

Find Your Next Accounting Position Through a Staffing Industry Leader

Find your next accounting position through Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, an award-winning financial recruiter in Chicago!

Observations Regarding the January 2018 Employment Situation

“January 2018 was a solid month, reassuring in that it eliminated any anxiety that may have been caused by December’s below trend performance. The unemployment rate remained constant for the fourth consecutive month at 4.1 percent suggesting that the tight labor market may not be contracting as quickly as expected. Moreover, the labor force participation rate also remained constant for the fourth consecutive month, at 62.7 percent. The most encouraging metric in the report was the improvement in average hourly earnings which grew at a year-overyear rate of 2.9%, the highest rate since April of 2009. While one month does not make a trend, this is a long-awaited step in the right direction.”

To read more: check out the full report here:

January 2018 Employment Report

What Does the Reversal of the Joint Employer Standard Mean?

During the Obama Administration in 2015, under the Joint Employment Standard, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined that companies were joint employers if both exercised direct and immediate control over essential employment terms. As a result, the NLRB ruled that Browning-Ferris Industries of California was a joint employer for workers employed by staffing firm Leadpoint Business Services at Browning-Ferris’s recycling site.

Reason for the Reversal

In December 2017, under the Trump Administration, the NLRB reversed the Joint Employment Standard due to a case involving two construction companies. Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors fired five employees and Brandt Construction fired two employees after they stopped work due to concerns over wages, benefits, and safety. An administrative law judge ruled that Hy-Brand and Brandt were joint employers. Although the NLRB agreed with the judge, it disagreed with how he reached his decision. For this reason, the NLRB began a discussion about the 2015 Joint Employment Standard. They concluded by rewriting the test for determining whether multiple companies are joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

How the Reversal Affects Joint Employment

In pending and future cases, companies will be considered joint employers if one company directly and immediately exercises control over essential employment terms of another company’s employees. Therefore, when you work with a staffing agency, you must be extremely clear on your relationships with their employees, especially if you exercise control over the agency’s employees. If you are considered a joint employer, you may become liable for paying wages, employment taxes, unemployment insurance, and other expenses.

Questions to Consider About Joint Employment

As an employer who works with staffing agencies, you need to determine whether joint employment exists with the agency. For example, does one company own all or part of the other? Are there overlapping officers, directors, executives or managers? Do the companies share control over hiring, firing, payroll, advertising, overhead costs or other operations? Are operations intermingled, such as having one administrative operation for both companies? Does one company supervise the work of the other? Do the companies treat the employees as a pool of employees available to both of them? Do the companies share clients or customers? Are there agreements between the companies?

Talk with Accounting and Finance Staffing Specialists

Talk with the financial recruiters at Casey Accounting and Finance Resources for your recruitment needs and partner with an award-winning financial staffing agency in Chicago!

The LinkedIn Strategy That Helps Your Job Search in 2018

Although you probably use LinkedIn to stay in touch with friends and colleagues, you are missing out by not using it to find your next job. Learning to properly connect with influential leaders in your industry may help you land your next position.

Cultivate Relationships

Comment on posts you find especially engaging. Share insightful content that may be of interest to others. Participate in LinkedIn Group discussions. Notice the individuals you commonly interact with. Determine their job titles and whether they may be able to help with your job search. Ask individuals to connect with you through LinkedIn. Start sharing resources such as articles and case studies that may be of interest to them. Send a short message acknowledging birthdays, work anniversaries, new jobs and other special occasions. When you see articles about a connection’s company or content the person wrote, like, comment on and share the information. Provide endorsements for your connections’ skills. If someone endorses your skills, send a quick message of thanks.

Send an InMail

Research the individual, the company they work for and their role. Find out the person’s interests and commonalities you share. Explain why you want to connect and what benefit the individual may receive. Include a personal interest you both share to make a memorable connection. Let the person know you would like to speak to them about a specific topic, such as a post they wrote or an article involving their company. Ensure your message is clear and concise.

Follow Up

Find the person’s email address and ask to set up a time to talk about their job and the company they work for. Mention you are looking for a job and are very interested in learning more about the employer. If your contact is not in a position to hire you, ask whether they will connect you with the hiring manager. After being introduced, mention to the hiring manager your top skills and experience and how you can benefit the company. Have your LinkedIn profile or resume available when you ask about potential job openings. Be ready to answer questions about your work or to schedule an interview.

Work With a Leader in Accounting and Finance Staffing

Work with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources for help finding top accounting and finance professionals! Our team of award-winning financial recruiters in Chicago is ready to help your career grow.

2018 Accounting and Finance Salary Survey Available!

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources has compiled updated salary data for the fields of accounting and finance. With the start of 2018 now passed and the recruitment industry getting busy, having the most up-to-date information is vital!

With compensation trends changing on a monthly basis, both sides can benefit from having this information during job negotiations.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources can help financial professionals who want to learn more about what salary expectations should be. We have compiled our salary survey list with updated facts and figures including job descriptions for more than 110 accounting and finance positions for the Chicago metropolitan area.

Email us today at FinancialSalarySurvey@caseyresources.com and we will be happy to share this with you. In the “YOUR MESSAGE” section, please enter “2018 Accounting & Finance Salary Survey”.

Exciting News for Casey Accounting & Finance Resources!

As Casey Accounting & Finance Resources completes our 42^th year in business, we are committed as ever to being a strategic partner helping our clients locate top Accounting & Finance talent and staffing resources for their organizations. Through our affiliation with Arlington Resources we are very proud to announce our combined accomplishments in 2017, including:

Forbes 2017 Lists of America’s Best Recruitment Firms
Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces in 2017;
2017 List of Best and Brightest Companies To Work For^®in Chicago and Nation;
Inavero’s 2017 Best of Staffing® Client Award; and
Inavero’s 2017 Best of Staffing® Talent Award.

One of our strategic goals for 2018 is to expand our resources to further help our clients, not only in the Chicago area, but by expanding our reach nationwide. To accomplish this, we are very excited to announce that on December 25, 2017 we became part of the CornerStone Staffing Solutions family, a $100+ million staffing firm with offices in California, Nevada, Michigan, Texas, New Jersey and Maryland.

Our firms, Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, Arlington Resources and CornerStone Staffing Solutions, exhibit strong core values, have stellar reputations for “doing the right thing” for and with our customers and associates, and our core competencies match well. We are very excited about our partnership and the additional resources we can offer our clients!

Most importantly, we will continue to operate under the Casey Accounting & Finance Resources brand name with the same great Casey Accounting & Finance Resources team and the same great Casey Accounting & Finance Resources service!

We look forward to 2018 with best wishes for good health, happiness and prosperity in 2018!

Yearly Archives: 2018