90 million

The number of tax returns filed electronically this year; a new record, led by a big increase in people using home computers

Source: Internal Revenue Service

The World’s Top 10 Business Risks

Late last year, Aon began surveying business leaders from 40 countries in 31 industries to determine the world’s greatest emerging and escalating business risks The recently released Definitive Report on Risk – Aon’s 2009 Global Risk Management Survey reveals that the top 10 most pressing risks are: 1 The economic slowdown 2 Regulatory/legislative changes

3 Business interruption 4 Increasing competition 5 Commodity price risk 6 Damage to reputation 7 Cash flow/liquidity risk 8 Distribution or supply chain failure 9 Third-party liability 10 Failure to attract or retain top talent

For more on the survey, visit www aon com

Question Your Way to Success

According to the Gallup Organization, determining why one organization, division, department or any other managerial unit is happier and more profitable than another comes down to the answers to these 12 questions:

1 Does everybody know what is expected of them?

2 Do they have the materials and equipment they need to do the work correctly?

3 Do team members have the opportunity to do what they do best every day?

4 In the last seven days, have they received recognition or praise for good work?

5 Does their manager, or someone else in the team, care about each individual as a person?

6 Does every person in the team have someone who encourages his or her development?

7 Does everybody's opinion in the team seem to count?

8 Is the company ’ s mission explained in such a way that the team feels its work is important?

9 Are all the people in the team visibly committed to doing quality work?

10 Does everybody in the team have a best friend at work?

11 In the last six months, has the manager talked to each team member about progress?

12 Does every person have the opportunities to learn and grow at work?

The questions and their ability to analyze managerial performance are documented in First Break all the Rules, by Marcus Buckingham (Simon & Schuster, 1999) [Source: Coaching for Leadership, coachingleadership blogspot com]

Worries Linger Among Real Estate CFOs

A recent Grant Thornton LLP survey of 28 CFOs and senior comptrollers from public and private companies in the real estate industry reveals that 93 percent expect commercial real estate values to continue their decline through the year What’s worse, 63 percent report that their property tax assessments have continued to increase during the past three years

Adding to the glum outlook is the fact that more than four-out-of-five (82 percent) real estate CFOs believe the US economy will remain in a recession through the end of the year; 75 percent expect it to remain the same or get worse during the next six months; and 39 percent expect layoffs at their companies

Facing pricing pressures themselves, 71 percent of real estate CFOs are concerned about the cost of employee benefits, while 74 percent are cutting costs by not giving raises this year and refining and streamlining processes

For more on the survey, visit www.grantthornton.com.

The Illinois CPA Society has made it easier than ever to identify the up and comers in the accounting profession. Just visit the Illinois CPA Society’s Career Center and search student resumes to fill your next internship.

All across the state, Illinois CPA Society student members have uploaded their resumes for you to view online. These students represent the future of the profession and your guidance as a seasoned member of the profession can put them on the right track. These students are available for summer, fall or spring internships.

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