DARTON GROUP co-founders Rochelle Rivas and Mark Weber attended last Monday’s 2009 Annual Meeting of the Charlotte Chamber at the Charlotte Convention Center.
The meeting was built around the theme “Charlotte Remixed“ – right on the mark given how Charlotte has fought back (and changed) given the stormy economy and the implosion of the city’s financial services industry.
Outgoing 2009 Charlotte Chamber Chairman Tim Belk (of Belk, Inc.) and his successor, David Darnell (of Bank of America), provided perspective on the Queen City from a “looking back” and “looking forward” vantage point. Both leaders spoke of ongoing and major change in Charlotte.
Need proof of Change?
In a city known for financial services jobs, Charlotte has 55,000 such jobs. Contrast that with the number of healthcare jobs in the Queen City. That number stands at 75,000 jobs.
One of the meeting highlights was the debut of “I See“, a moving video that creatively delivers a diversity-centered vision for Charlotte. Watch the video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYYZAIUzcGQ.
DARTON offers hearty congrats to Balfour Beatty Construction (recipient of The Belk Innovation in Diversity Award) and Jim Rogers (Chairman, President and CEO of Duke Energy) who received the 2009 Citizen of the Carolinas Award.
Visit the Charlotte Chamber online at http://www.charlottechamber.com/.
Posted in Charlotte Region, In the News | Tagged 2009 Citizen of the Carolinas Award, Balfour Beatty Construction, Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte Remixed, Darton Group, Diversity in Charlotte, Duke Engery, I See, Jim Rogers, Mark Weber, Rochelle Rivas, The Belk Innovation in Diversity Award | Leave a Comment »
As International Fraud Awareness Week continues this week, DARTON GROUP suggests that our clients take a few minutes to complete a “fraud prevention checkup“.
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) has created a terrific tool that allows companies to efficiently assess their fraud prevention processes.
Learn about the benefits of taking ACFE’s Fraud Prevention Checkup and review the checkup document at http://www.acfe.com/documents/Fraud_Prev_Checkup_IA.pdf.
Learn more about ACFE at http://www.acfe.com/.
Call DARTON GROUP to learn more about our ability to assist with your anti-fraud initiatives at 704+525+9378. www.dartongroup.com
Posted in Fraud Prevention | Tagged ACFE, anti-fraud education, anti-fraud training, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Charlotte accounting jobs, Charlotte Consulting Firms, Charlotte finance jobs, Darton Group, Fraud Prevention Checkup, International Fraud Awareness Week, www.dartongroup.com | 1 Comment »
As an “Official Supporter” of International Fraud Awareness Week (November 8-14, 2009), DARTON GROUP encourages you to learn more about the local Charlotte chapter of ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners).
The Charlotte chapter of ACFE is a non-profit organization dedicated to education and community outreach related to the prevention, deterrence, and detection of fraud and the advancement of the field.
Visit ACFE’s Charlotte chapter on the web at http://www.charlotteacfe.org/main/page_home.html.
Posted in Continued Education | Tagged ACFE Charlotte, anti-fraud training, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Darton Group, fraud education, fraud training, International Fraud Awareness Week, White Collar Crime, www.dartongroup.com | Leave a Comment »
DARTON GROUP www.dartongroup.com is proud to announce today that we are participating in International Fraud Awareness Week www.FraudWeek.com (November 8-14, 2009) as an Official Supporter to promote anti-fraud awareness and education.
Fraud Awareness Week comes during a time when intense financial pressures caused by the economic crisis have led to an increase in fraud, according to a survey of fraud experts conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).
ACFE President James D. Ratley, CFE, said that the support of organizations around the world helps make Fraud Awareness Week an effective tool in raising anti-fraud awareness. “Fraud continues to be a serious problem, and the state of our economy requires all organizations to be even more vigilant,” Ratley said. “Once again, we want to say ‘thank you’ to all of the Fraud Awareness Week supporters for helping to shine a spotlight on the urgent need for fraud prevention and detection.”
ACFE is the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and educations. Together with nearly 50,000 members in over 125 countries, the ACFE is reducing the incidence of fraud and providing the training and resources to fight fraud more effectively. For more information about the ACFE, visit www.ACFE.com.
Click here to read DARTON GROUP’s press release: Press Release 11/09/09.
Posted in Continued Education | Tagged ACFE, Anti-Fraud Training and Education, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Darton Group, Fraud Awareness Week, Fraud Awareness Week 2009, International Fraud Awareness Week, James D. Ratley, Official Supporters of International Fraud Awareness Week, www.dartongroup.com | Leave a Comment »
H1N1 is in the daily headlines.
Our clients have executed pandemic drills.
We have secured remote computer access for some of our senior-level consultants on engagement.
The count of people we know who have had (or are now fighting swine flu) grows weekly.
DARTON GROUP is doing its part in helping to keep our consultants, clients and internal team on the healthy (and productive) side of life.
We like the handy “Pandemic Quick Card” that OSHA has created to minimize the impact of illness during pandemic influenza. Unlike many tip sheets, OSHA has focused on the concept of “social distancing” in addition to providing standard hygiene tips.
View OSHA’s “Pandemic Quick Card” here: http://www.osha.gov/Publications/protect-yourself-pandemic.pdf.
For more information and tips to remain healthy:
- FLU.GOV http://flu.gov/
- H1N1 (Swine Flu) http://flu.gov/individualfamily/about/h1n1/index.html
- Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist http://www.flu.gov/professional/business/businesschecklist.html
Posted in Health & Fitness, In the News | Tagged Business Pandemic Influenza Planning, Charlotte Flu Statistics, Charlotte Influenza Statistics, Darton Group, Flu.Gov, H1N1 Tips, Influenza Tips, OSHA Quick Card, Pandemic Quick Card, Pandemic Tips, Swine Flu Tips, www.dartongroup.com | Leave a Comment »
This week brought news that the USA’s unemployment rate jumped to 10.2% in October 2009 (an increase over 9.8% in September). Representing a 26-year high since April 1983, the latest unemployment statistics sparked lively conversation among the DARTON team, our project professionals and clients.
To address this week’s #1 question…what is DARTON seeing?
For starters…we are seeing improvement in a very challenging market.
The project and temporary staffing industries are showing signs of a rebound. Recently published national statistics support what DARTON – a growing project staffing and consulting firm – is seeing on a localized basis in greater Charlotte.
- Temporary employment added 34,000 jobs in October 2009.
- A total of 44,000 temporary jobs have been added since July 2009.
- Temporary help penetration rate rose to 1.4% in October from 1.3% in September.
- Demand for contract professionals is strongest in technology, tax accounting, compliance and customer service.
- The employment services industry as a whole added 36,000 jobs in October after adding 10,100 in September and 6,100 in August.
So the bottom line according to DARTON?
While the economy remains very challenging for our clients, we are seeing continued improvement in the senior-level contract staffing market with an increased propensity of clients to invest in project professionals to move their businesses forward.
For more information:
- U.S. adds temp jobs in October (Staffing Industry Analysts) http://www.staffingindustry.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=9B6FFC446FF7486981EA3C0C3CCE4943&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=6EECC0FE471F4CA995CE2A3E9A8E4207&tier=4&id=04580879D745427FBFECB4BD3A587750
- Employers turn to temporary help (The Wall Street Journal) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125752581635334109.html
Posted in Charlotte Region, In the News, Research + Statistics | Tagged accounting jobs, Audit Jobs, Charlotte Consulting Firms, Charlotte Consulting Jobs, Charlotte jobs, Charlotte labor statistics, Charlotte Tax Jobs, Charlotte Temp Jobs, Compliance Jobs, DARTON Equation, Darton Group, dartongroup.com, financial consulting, October 2009 Labor Statistics, project consulting, Staffing Industry Analysts, Temporary Help Statistics, The Wall Street Journal | Leave a Comment »
Duke University and CFO Magazine have released the findings from their latest Business Outlook Survey (whereby 657 USA finance executives were polled in early September 2009).
Based on team DARTON’s review of the findings, CFOs are providing mixed feedback on the economy. 58% of the CFOs polled are more optimistic about the economy than they were in the last quarter. And even more good news…48% of CFOs are more optimistic about their firms than they were 3 months ago. That said, only 26% of the CFOs polled believe the recession is over.
So what are the top concerns that CFOs have about their own companies?
- Ability to forecast results
- Tie: Maintaining morale/productivity during economic turndown; working-capital management
- Balance-sheet awareness
- Tie: Cost of health care; attracting and retaining qualified employees
- Supply-chain risk
- Managing IT systems
- Tie: Data security; counterparty risk; pension obligations; protection of intellectual property
Read the full results from the latest Business Outlook Survey courtesy of CFO Magazine at http://cfo.com/article.cfm/14443126/c_14443798?f=magazine_alsoinside.
Posted in Research + Statistics | Tagged Accounting Trends, Business Outlook Survey, CFO Consulting, CFO magazine, CFOs, Charlotte accounting jobs, Charlotte finance jobs, Darton Group, Duke University, finance trends | Leave a Comment »
Learning should be a life-long pursuit.
With a passion to help our consultants excel in their careers, we proudly introduce our newest employee benefit…
DARTON University.
DARTON University is a natural extension of the learning culture upon which DARTON is founded. DARTON University provides outstanding professional development and training opportunities designed to deliver a competitive edge.
In partnership with the very best “thought leaders” and “subject matter experts” in the Carolinas, DARTON University offers ongoing learning opportunities (including some that offer CPE credits) to our valued consultants.
The benefits of partnering with DARTON are many. Call us today at 704+525+9378 to learn more.
Posted in Continued Education | Tagged Charlotte accounting jobs, Charlotte finance jobs, Charlotte Professional Training, Charlotte Project Consulting, Continued Professional Education, CPE, CPE North Carolina, CPE South Carolina, Darton Group, DARTON University | Leave a Comment »
DARTON GROUP welcomes guest blogger Denise Altman!
Denise is founder and President of Altman Initiative Group – a management consulting firm (based in the greater Charlotte area) known for its expertise with a topic near and dear to those of us on team DARTON….interpersonal skills.
As a CPA and MBA, Denise truly understands the critical role that interpersonal skills play in the careers of successful consultants in the senior-finance and accounting space. Now on to Denise…
People skills ARE skills…
Have you ever heard someone say, “he’s just not a ‘people-person’”? Many people seem to believe that you’re either born with people skills or you’re not. Why would that be so?
How many of you were born knowing accounting? It’s a skill, right? Skills can be learned. If this applies to accounting, it also applies to “people skills.” I won’t debate that some people are more naturally inclined to certain skill sets – engineering, accounting, drama, music. But that doesn’t preclude others from successfully participating in those areas. That same principle applies to soft skills.
Think back to your college days. How many courses in “people skills” did you take? How many were even offered? Not many, I would guess. We focus our attention on technical skills, and we get better at those. If we focused as much attention on non-technical skills, we’d get better at those as well.
What could you accomplish if you had better people skills? You might improve your ability to:
- Teach others
- Persuade others to accept your ideas
- Resolve or avoid conflicts
- Improve relationships
- Break down resistance
- Get more accomplished through others.
People skills are critical as we move up in our careers. Technical skills will take us far, but at some point, the lack of people skills will limit our career choices. The good news—we CAN improve those skills as well, even if we don’t think we were born with them.
What have you done to improve your people skills today?
To learn more about Denise Altman:
- Altman Initiative Group, Inc. http://www.altmaninitiative.com/
- LinkedIn Profile http://www.linkedin.com/pub/denise-altman-daltman-altmaninitiative-com/1/312/7b9
Posted in Continued Education | Tagged Altman Initiative Group, Charlotte Management Consultants, Communication Skills for Accountants, Darton Group, Denise Altman, Interpersonal Skills, People Skills | 1 Comment »
Pages
-
Flickr Photos
More Photos DARTON “Tweets”
- DARTON GROUP is now on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/DARTON-GROUP/185417293223 1 day ago
- DARTON GROUP enjoyed a great brainstorming session yesterday with Dawn Brown of the Charlotte Business Journal. 1 day ago
- Years can be assets in a job hunt. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125883913412859245.html?mod=rss_careers 2 days ago
- 5 corp. tax issues board members should know. http://www.directorship.com/five-corporate-tax-issues-every-board-member-should-understand/ 3 days ago
- Mark Weber of DARTON is participating in the next meeting of The CFO Alliance in Charlotte on 12/1. http://thecfoalliance.org/ 3 days ago
Charlotte Business Journal- FairPoint goes further into red
- Charlotte officials mobilize on I-485 funding
- N.C. gets $2.2M from Aventis
- 3D Systems acquires AdvaTech
- ACN donates $1.3M to Ronald McDonald House
- Duke hikes tab on Indiana plant
- US Airways outlines cost-saving plan
- Report: Fed asks for TARP repayment plans
- FDIC fund tumbles into red
- US Airways, TACA Air in code-share pact
- Charlotte Observer – Business News
- Gaston Gazette – Business News
- The Herald (Rock Hill, SC) – Business News
- Careers (WSJ)
Archives
Categories
- Charlotte Region
- Classroom Central
- Community Service
- Compensation
- Continued Education
- Financial Reporting
- Fraud Prevention
- Health & Fitness
- IFRS
- In the News
- Interviewing Tips
- Job Search Strategies
- Middle Market
- Networking
- Nonprofit
- Professional Resources
- Reporting
- Research + Statistics
- Resume Tips
- Strategy
- Technology
- The Darton Equation
- Treasury
- Trends
- Uncategorized
- Workplace Trends
Tags
Meta
