Outsourcing Accounting and Financial Services

A recent article in Forbes talked about the benefits of companies who outsource financial and accounting services instead of keeping them in house. A lot of people perceive outsourcing for these services as being an additional or heavy expense that could be unnecessary if you hire correctly in house. Chief Financial Officers tend to see it differently and they believe outsourcing these services results in better efficiency within their company. As stated in the Forbes article, "Driving efficiency is a high priority for CFOs who want to outsource F&A processes, according to an Ovum study of 150 large companies in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Most survey respondents saw the main strategic aim of the accounting department as delivering efficiencies, whether that is within the department itself or across the company as a whole." One of the main advantages of outsourcing for these services is that these financial and accounting companies usually have better in house technology than companies with internal accounting departments.

I like the fact that accounting companies are becoming increasingly more sought after for businesses. Companies can build great accounting teams within their organization, but sometimes outsourcing for these services is a better fit. These accounting companies have more of an expertise because they focus solely on that certain function of business.

via Wayne Essex http://wayneessex.net/outsourcing-for-accounting-and-finance/

Less Is More When Speaking Publicly

According to a recent article in Forbes, the single most important rule to public speaking is less is more. Nick Morgan feels that people get themselves into speaking mistakes when they try to include to much information into their public address. Sometimes only making a couple of points based on a subject is better than trying to go over the top and drive a point in with too much backed up material. One should also consider the subject they are talking about and the audience at hand. If they already have a strong grasp of the material it would be wise not to drive points home that most people understand - it might be overkill than helpful.

People often don't try and pause nearly enough as they truly should. Instead of saying "um" or "like" it is more appropriate to simply not say anything at all and collect your thoughts. Pausing also allows time for your point to be understood by the audience.

Another important part of public speaking is connecting with the audience. According to the article, "When you’re connecting with an audience, you must connect with them on an emotional level as well as an intellectual one. Get rid of the extraneous emotions – the nerves, the anxiety, the fight-or-flight worries, the stuff that’s on your mind – and instead focus on the one, two, or three emotions that matter the most to the story you’re telling and to the audience.  Take the audience on a simple emotional journey as well as an intellectual one." Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that speaking is somewhat of a form of entertainment. You want the audience to be engaged, to enjoy what you are speaking about, and to not be bored.

via Wayne Essex http://wayneessex.org/less-is-more-when-speaking-publicly/

State Gas Mileage Tax?

A recent article in USA Today expressed the new development for Oregon drivers in that they won't be taxed on the amount of gas their cars burn but instead on the number of miles they drive. It would be a VMT tax, or vehicle miles traveled. Many people are curious if this new taxation will work, and if so, will we start seeing it implemented in other states around the country. Jamie Rall, a transportation specialist, commented on the new tax, "Per-mile charges are the most high-profile and discussed possible alternative to the gas tax. There's no question about it: States want to know if this is going to be a viable way to fund transportation into the future."

Oregon has introduced the new taxation to a preliminary group of 5,000 volunteer drivers. The state is hoping this will show the public and lawmakers the new alternative is fair and easy to implement while not needing crazy tracking devices to monitor car mileage traveled. This new program will be introduced in 2015 and will include two forms of tracking systems. The first option is a more traditional solution in which miles traveled is simply tracked by taping into the cars odometer. The other alternative is to be tracked via GPS. This will give an indication of how far a car traveled and where it traveled (people won't be charged for out of state or off road trips).

The state of Oregon is considering the fact that cars are now becoming more fuel efficient and how people with newer cars might shy away from the program. They are trying to find ways to give people with highly fuel efficient cars more incentive to buy into the program. It'll be interesting to see how successful the initial program of 5,000 volunteer drivers performs. I'm sure if it does well we will begin to see some other states following suite and so on.

via Wayne Essex http://wayneessex.net/state-gas-mileage-tax/

Getting Over The Fear of Public Speaking

I came across a great article in Forbes recently that talks about public speaking and how it can be such a scary thing for a lot of people. Richard Quest, a CNN commentator was featured in the article. As a commentator Richard isn't necessarily in front of many people speaking but merely a video camera. He has no problem addressing millions of people on the television, but when he is live in front of an audience he can't be more nervous. He has been suffering with this fear for many years and he finally enlisted help to combat his nervous tendencies. He decided to take a class for public speaking for business leaders at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA).

At the academy, he was taught to breathe deeply from the belly. Taking the time to pause, breathe and collect your self sets you up for success and enables you to remain calm and relaxed. "With practice, belly breathing will eliminate the shaky voice.  And, as I’ve suggested, it should also help generally with your nervousness, because we tend to breathe shallow, quick breaths when we’re alarmed, and deep, slow breaths are the opposite of that.  Thus, your body will send a signal to your brain that things are OK."

Anxiety can be such a pain for so many people and its unfortunate how much it can effect your well being. Sometimes the best thing is to just get up there and do it. The more speeches you deliver, the more confident you will become and the less fear you will feel. You never know too, with more practice you might even start to crave the feeling of speaking publicly. Being a great public speaker is a fantastic attribute to have and can really carry you in your endeavors.

via Wayne Essex http://wayneessex.org/getting-over-the-fear-of-public-speaking/