Many thanks to all of you who participated in our reader study. Look for more in the near future!

The postponement applies to filing returns, making tax payments and related time-sensitive acts that would normally be due between Sept. 1, 2008 and Jan. 5, 2009.

IRS will also waive failure to deposit penalties for employment and excise taxes due between Sept. 1, 2008 and Sept. 16, 2008 — as long as the deposits are made no later than Sept. 16.

The relief extends to businesses located in the following parishes:

• Acadia
• Allen
• Ascension
• Assumption
• Avoyelles
• Beauregard
• Cameron
• East Baton Rouge
• East Feliciana
• Evangeline
• Iberia
• Iberville
• Jefferson
• Jefferson Davis
• Lafayette
• Lafourche
• Livingston
• Orleans
• Plaquemines
• Pointe Coupee
• Rapides
• Sabine
• St. Bernard
• St. Charles
• St. James
• St. John the Baptist
• St. Landry
• St. Martin
• St. Mary
• Terrebonne
• Vermillion
• Vernon
• West Baton Rouge, and
• West Feliciana.

you may fall victim to burnout. So says a recent survey by Accountemps.

It’s easy enough to do in a job that is often repetitive and has high stakes. Let’s face it, a few missed keystrokes can cost your company a wad of cash. Which is why it’s actually a good sign that it’s on CFOs’ radar screens. It means they know just how much work you do.

So while you may not be worried about falling victim to burnout, it’s not a bad idea to demonstrate to the boss that you’re still on top of your game. Taking classes to keep up to date, discussing current business trends, etc. all show that you have a genunine interest in your work — and that you’re not just watching the clock.

Feel like burnout might be creeping up on you? Look for ways to keep the job fresh. That could be crosstraining to do other tasks or building up skills where you might be a little weaker. Even smaller changes, like finding time to take a walk every day at lunch can give you a much-needed boost.

Everyone faces a small case of burnout from time to time. How do you deal with it when you hit that point? Let us know in the comments.

The latest in IRS’ war against tax-avoiding tool reimbursement plans means more work for you — and more money out of your company’s pocket. As you know, IRS has been taken a careful second look at tool and equipment reimbursement plans t under its new enforcement program. And so far, IRS says each every one it’s looked at has failed the “accountable plan” test. As a result, it expects those payments to be included in employees’ income — and to have appropriate employment taxes withheld from the amounts reimbursed.

For all the details, see IRS’ latest coordinated issue paper on the topic. 

Most of the plans are failing the accountability test for one of two reasons, either they:

1. risk reimbursing more than the employees actually spend on tools, or
2. don’t require employees to substantiate either the actual cost, or the business purpose for the tools.

For more info, check out the companies most likely to be targeted for an audit and the steps IRS requires your company to take to stay in compliance.

For 2009, domestic airfares are expected to increase 12% while international fares will increase between 16-20%. That’s according to Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Much of the increase is driven by fuel surcharges and the fact that airlines are cutting the number of seats per route.

If travelers can avoid taking a plane, your company’s travel costs should be reasonable next year. Carlson predicts hotel rates will increase only slightly next year, due to less demand. And car rental rates are expected to stay flat.

Data fom the most recent Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud shed some light on the most recent trends in attempted — and successful — fraud:

•  U.S. organizations lose an average of 7% of their annual revenues to fraud.
• The median loss caused per company was $175,000.
• If a scam or fraud scheme does get past a company’s controls, it generally will continue for two years or more before it’s caught.
• The most common perpetrator of a fraud attempt is someone in the accounting department or upper management. And most crooks are first-time offenders, so a background check doesn’t offer much help. Only 7% of fraud perpetrators in the study had prior convictions. Only 12% had been terminated by a prior employer for fraud or related issues.
• The most common way for fraud to be uncovered is by a tip.  

Salaries for finance and accounting professionals were up an average of 4.5% in ‘07 — that’s more than 36% higher than the rest of the workforce.

That data comes to us from the Association of Financial Professionals.

What’s driving the increase? As the financial world gets more complicated and moves faster, management is realizing that accounting and finance pros who have the skills and temperament to keep up are worth their weight in gold to the company’s bottom line.

If your income hasn’t kept up with the average boost your peers saw, make sure that you’ve keeping up in these key areas — and that you’ve made your boss aware of your value by:

• Increasing your responsibilities at work
• Earning professional certifications, and
• Making measurable contributions to profits.

Those are the factors that are driving most of the growth in salaries.

The magazine’s recent list of “Top 10 recession-proof jobs” had three accounting titles on the list: Accounting Executive (No. 4), Accounting Staff (No. 5) and Finance Staff (No. 10).

While Accounting jobs may be among the safest, there are no guarantees of course. If you suspect your company may be looking to downsize in the future, you can best protect yourself by:

• keeping up to date on the latest technology
• being aware of industry trends, and
• ensuring your manager knows the true value of the work you do.

Keeping other department’s errors from creeping into Accounting is a never-ending battle. Get a handle on these three mistake breeding grounds and you can sleep easier at night.

1. Poor communication– A purchaser amends a contract verbally and doesn’t tell A/P. The new HR manager forgets to tell Payroll about two new hires that started last week. The simplest oversights in other departments can cause huge headaches in Accounting. You can’t do the communicating for them, but staying visible — and making sure other managers understand why you need certain info — can improve your odds of actually getting what you need when you need it.
2. Inefficient workflow/Unclear procedures  – When employees don’t understand what the procedure is for changing their withholding or submitting an expense report, you end up spending twice as much time answering questions and fixing mistakes. Once a year, set aside time to review policies, clarify questions that have popped up recently and send a friendly “reminder” memo to staffers. It helps keep your procedures airtight and it serves as a re-training tool for veteran staffers and newbies too.
3. Handling things more than once — The more times you (or a co-worker) handle a piece of paper, make notations or access a file, the more likely it is that something gets lost or transposed, or a deadline is missed. As much as possible, make “One and done” a goal when it comes to handling routine paperwork and requests.

What tactics do you use to rein in these bad practices? Share your tips and strategies in the comments.

Even if you have a generous budget — and especially if you don’t — there are two key factors in making sure you have a smooth transition to a new system. You’ll want to:

• Choose areas to automate that will get you the most impact, and
• Know when to say ‘no’ to bells and whistles that look good but only complicate your processes.

The most important areas to automate depend on your own company’s needs. Review your processes and controls to see where you spend the most time, and where the most errors slip through. Those areas should get priority attention.

For reference, most companies have targeted automation at the following functions: word processing, billing and A/R, A/P, and inventory control.  That’s according to data from Sage Software.

But when asked later where they got the most benefit from automating, the companies cited information for decision-making (spreadsheets, custom reports), cash flow information, A/R and inventory control.

Read Part 1 of this report on how to get internal buy-in and support for changes here