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Most one-liners about accountants cast them as a dreary lot. One has them as the people you hire to explain why you didn’t make the money you thought you had. Another calls auditors “the people who go in after the war is lost and bayonet the wounded.” Actually, accountants are as susceptible to scurrilous gossip, petty rivalries and political intrigues as any other profession. Some of them are as obsessed by letters—particularly those found in their professional designations—as they are with numbers.

That’s a problem for those who’d have them march under one banner. Last year, Canada’s professional accountancy bodies began tense negotiations aimed at setting aside decades of rivalry. Their plan is to merge and adopt a single super-designation: the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA). These efforts will reach a fevered pitch in the coming months.

To understand what just might be the most important issue facing Canadian accountants this year, you need to know several things. One is that not all accountants were created equal. To outsiders, they may seem to be simply number-crunchers, but accountants who work in industry often have very different jobs than their counterparts in education and government. And then there’s coveted “public accounting” work—that is, auditing the financial statements of publicly traded companies. This generally pays best. Unsurprisingly, those allowed to do it have tried to block others from obtaining licences.

Largely on the basis of such historical distinctions, over time Canada’s accountants divided themselves into three rival cabals. The largest, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), is 80,000 strong. Some CAs regard themselves as the profession’s aristocracy—the best trained, the highest paid. The Society of Management Accountants of Canada (CMA Canada) has a membership half that size. Another 75,000 belong to the Certified General Accountants of Canada (CGA-Canada). Because the profession is largely governed by provincial legislation, the provincial chapters of these organizations have a considerable degree of autonomy. All told, that means 39 separate organizations in Canada, each with its own board and executive team.

Read more here: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/66602–canadian-accountants-attempt-merger-confusion-ensues

Is there any value to joining LinkedIn? That’s the debate happening over at Inc., where Marla Tabaka has written a thoughtful post about how to maximize your use of LinkedIn to in some cases find a job, but in most cases network with others. (Meanwhile, Fast Company got LinkedIn’s SVP to serve up his top three career tips for novice networkers.)

The question about whether there is any value in a social platform is typically a statement of frustration from people who don’t seem to understand that a social platform like LinkedIn is not a vending machine where you put a few coins in a slot to get exactly what you want.

When my father would take us to work on the weekends, he definitely had work to do. Yes, there was a vending machine quality to the mission. He had to sort “x” amount of work for “”x” amount of hours to get a “y” result, usually routing trucks to do “hot shot” deliveries of Pepsi to stores that had a sale on Pepsi and lost product faster than they could replenish on a regular route cycle. As a kid, I didn’t pay much attention to that aspect of his work, but I did pay attention to what went on while we were there.

Lots of socializing. My father was a manager. He had to manage other sales personnel, who were also there on the weekend. What I noticed at an early age is that the sales staff at the Pepsi plant were doing more than just fulfilling “x” amounts of work to get a “y” outcome. They were showing up for my dad. They knew he was in a position of influence and could help them with their careers.

These were sales people. They worked by the force of their rhetoric, their logic, and their ability to hustle and solve problems. It was clear that by putting time in for my father, they were also representing themselves as people who could be trusted, who supported his efforts, and had enough ambition to see the job through.

Today, when many of us work remotely, and, if you are like me, you work for clients you see face-to-face intermittently, you need to show up for them. That’s why you would go to a platform like LinkedIn, for example.

You can communicate there. You can recommend clients to others there. You can get your work done, and you can get other people’s work done. That was the subject of my radio talk last night with Soluto’s Tomer Dvir.  We are in this game to win, but we want to win with others. We want and need to help others in the dynamic and chaotically changing structure of capitalism these days.

Read more here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1801059/social-platforms-are-not-vending-machines-finding-value-in-linkedin-or-any-other-social-netw

Area communities waiting for provincial money to kick-start job creation won’t have to wait long.

Cash will flow from the new $80-million Southwestern Ontario development fund in the spring.

Friday, political and economic officials from London and across the region made their pitch to Ontario Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid on how that money should be spent.

“We will sit down with our partners and see how this fund can leverage municipal and private-sector money and create jobs,” Mayor Joe Fontana said following the meeting.

The gathering of regional officials and the minister came on the same day London’s jobless rate, for November, jumped to 9.8% — up more than half a point from October.

“I feel good about the future. Opportunities are there, but we need these jobs today and tomorrow — we need to start commercializing what we have here,” said Fontana.

He said he’d like to see some money funnelled to WorldDiscoveries, the technology commercialization wing of the University of Western Ontario, which he said has 30 incubated businesses needing cash to take them to the next level.

He said he’d also like to see investment in gaming and digital media. “We’ve got all kinds of ideas.”

But there were few details about how the money — from a fund the Liberals promised during the fall election campaign — will be handed out and where it will go.

Queen’s Park is still laying the groundwork for the program, which will see money flow within months, said Duguid.

“The Southwestern Ontario Development Fund is ensuring we build a stronger economy and recover from economic uncertainty,” said Duguid.

While London’s jobless rate last month, Ontario gained 16,600 net jobs, he added.

“There are a lot of good fundamentals in Southwestern Ontario and good local leadership in this part of province,” said Duguid. “What this fund will do is provide leverage to attract investment and attract jobs.”

The fund is based on a similar one for eastern Ontario that saw $52 million generate $480 million in overall investment from the private sector, creating 11,700 jobs, he added.

Read more here: http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/12/02/19058281.html

Commuting to work is a major commitment for Mary Keating. The trip from her home town of Fonthill, Ont. to the downtown Toronto offices of Hill & Knowlton Canada takes a gruelling two-and-a-half hours, and it brings her through a congested traffic corridor that has only gotten worse in the nine years since she took the job.

Happily for Ms. Keating and her co-workers in the public relations firm, commuting is somewhat optional. Flexible policies, new technology and an understanding attitude means most employees can set their own hours in the downtown workplace.

“There’s all kinds of different accommodations that can be made,” says Ms. Keating, who runs the firm’s technology practice with a team of 15 employees. She comes into the office for long days on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but works much of the rest of the week at home, communicating with her colleagues and clients by e-mail, instant-messaging and conference calls. “I feel like I have the best of both worlds,” she says.

Ms. Keating moved to Fonthill two decades ago, and started her own communications consultancy at home when her daughter was born shortly afterwards. She took the job in Toronto with the understanding that the company would support her, both from a cultural and a technological standpoint, in working at home every second day.

“For me, flexibility was the price of entry,” she says. “I wouldn’t even be working at Hill & Knowlton without it; the travel would be too onerous … I’d just burn out.”

Read more here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/top-employers/top-employers-help-staff-steer-clear-of-rush-hour/article2236072/

When cloud computing service provider Nimbula hires employees for its South Africa development office, the Mountain View, California, company turns to social networking, not recruiters, to find workers. The company also uses video conferencing to conduct interviews with job candidates and to demonstrate software to potential customers, which saves travel expenses.

Especially for startups looking to enter new markets, this convergence of technology allows them to maximize resources and save money, according to executives. They use social networking as a business tool to reach potential employees and customers beyond their geographic zones with a minor financial investment. Paired with social media, video conferencing is transformed from a dated technology into a vital communication medium that helps companies sell products and select the most qualified workers. Beyond the fiscal benefits, executives also say utilizing these combined technologies aids in overcoming cultural differences, provides employers with an established talent pool for recruiting and helps generate sales leads.

When Nimbula needs to fill positions at its Cape Town development office, practical reasons dictate its use of Twitter to inform people about the jobs. “As a startup company we can’t afford … things like flying people around,” said Reza Malekzadeh, the company’s vice president of marketing. “We’re trying to leverage these tools because they’re a cost-efficient way to attract folks and they still allow us to have a good experience.”

The 35-hour trip from California to South Africa would cost upwards of US$4,000 for coach airfare and lodging, said Malekzadeh, who also serves as an expert for the business-focused social networking website Focus.com. Traveling to Europe would tally around $3,000 and take 20 hours, he added.

Read more here: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/242717/social_media_virtual_meetings_help_firms_enter_markets_and_save_capital.html

A large group of working Canadians at both the beginning and end of their careers feel companies are missing the mark in terms of what they need and want, according to a recent poll by Monster.ca.

The survey conducted by Harris/Decima of over 1,000 Canadian baby boomers (aged 47-62) and members of generation Y (aged 18-30) shows they share a common complaint that companies are falling short:

• More than 1-in-3 twenty-somethings feel companies do not provide sufficient mentoring, while almost 1 in 2 boomers agree;

• More than 1-in-3 in both generations agree that companies do not use younger workers to their full potential;

• More than 1-in-3 in both generations also believe companies lack vision, and fall short in productivity.

“We know that there are a lot of companies who do a great job at keeping employees happy and engaged,” said Peter Gilfillan, senior vice-president of International Sales and general manager of Monster Canada. “In order to retain the best and the brightest among both the gen Y and boomer generation, leading companies need to find the sweet spot that matches workers’ values with their business objectives.”

Read more here: http://www.ns.dailybusinessbuzz.ca/National-Scene/2011-09-07/article-2742394/Canadian-companies-need-to-work-harder-to-keep-employees-happy/1

The first-ever detailed analysis of summer jobs in Canada shows that students from some programs are finding high-paying work that will help launch their careers. Others are working low-skilled jobs and barely breaking minimum wage.

Those in math, computer science, engineering and other technical fields are making much more cash than arts and humanities students, according to the CanEd Student Research Panel’s study. And nearly half of them say their jobs are related to their education. Those in engineering and architecture programs are making the most money, averaging $15.62 per hour.

That’s $4 per hour more than arts and humanities students are making. Those students are barely beating Ontario’s minimum wage of $10.25. What’s worse? Two-thirds of them say their jobs have little to do with what they’re studying.

Read more here: http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2011/08/11/certain-students-find-high-paying-summer-jobs/

Canada is outpacing many other countries on the hiring front, as companies grow optimistic about their sales prospects and worry they won’t have enough people to keep up with demand.

Against a backdrop of uncertainty ranging from the sluggish U.S. rebound to Europe’s debt troubles and fears that China will move too aggressively against inflation, the domestic economy is chugging along, seemingly outperforming expectations.

Even in a second quarter where growth was held back by the Japanese earthquake’s impact on auto production, and as high energy prices squeeze consumers already worried about their debts, several indicators show the economy hasn’t lost as much steam as feared.

That suggests the labour market, which has already recouped all of the jobs lost during the recession, according to Statistics Canada, will continue to create positions even as some companies remain cautious and public-sector hiring grinds to a halt as governments hold back. Read more here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/canadian-businesses-feeling-upbeat/article2093334/

When Martin Kijazi graduated with a PhD in forestry and environmental science from the University of Toronto in 2007, he thought his chances to find work were good.

With all the talk about climate change and the green economy, Kijazi, 37, chose environmental science so he’d be in demand.

He wasn’t. Instead, despite applying for hundreds of jobs, he spent the last four years drifting between unemployment and contract work.

A new report called Imagination to Innovation: Building Paths to Prosperity reveals that Canada is doing a good job in building the PhD talent pool, but not always in hiring it.

“Our talent pool is holding its own and the number of Canadian university graduates is rising, with especially rapid growth in doctoral degrees in science,” says the report by the Science, Technology and Innovation Council, The advisory group to the federal government is made up of prominent members from academia, industry and government.

However, it notes that in 2006, using data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Canada’s employment rate for PhDs lags behind many European countries, the United States and Australia. Comparable data was not available for many countries including emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil.

In a look at 12 countries ranging from Austria and Portugal to the United States, Canada had the highest unemployment for PhD graduates in engineering and medical sciences.

In Canada, the unemployment rate for those with PhDs in the natural sciences, it was about 3 per cent; for engineering it was closer to 4 per cent. In the U.S., it was slightly higher than 1 per cent in natural sciences and 1 per cent in engineering.

Advisory council chair Howard Alper argues innovation is to key to Canada’s long-term success.

That doesn’t just mean investing in research and development. It means cultivating Canadian workers so they can transform knowledge into products and services that people in the global marketplace want, need and are willing to pay for. Read more here: http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1017994–for-job-hunting-phds-the-degree-was-the-easy-part

College grads about to hit the job market are facing a tough challenge. Experts advise grads to consider where the jobs will be in 10, even 20 years. One such field is social networking.

“Seeing all these headlines about unstable jobs and a tough economy it really makes me want to focus,” Dan Sullivan said.

The beginning of a career is a daunting time. That’s because the job market has changed, and jobs have been scarce. It’s never been more important to think about jobs of the future. But what are they?

“Social media, yeah it was fun and games in college, but now it’s an opportunity for a career,” Joseph Catrino, assistant dean for career services at Quinnipiac University said.

Social media is much more than just a way to connect with friends and family. Facebook has a “find job here” page. Linked In is a powerful networking tool. Job seekers can follow users like Christa Foley, also known as “Electra” or Craig Fisher also known as “Fishdogs.” They Tweet daily about job fairs, interview questions and actual job openings across the country. Not only can social media help you find a job, it can be your job.

“Social media strategists, social media marketers, social media and communications coordinators,” said Catrino.

Also on the high tech track is the mobile media industry.

“I recently just got a smartphone, and it has made my life so much easier,” Patrick Munroe, a job seeker, said.

That’s thanks in part to innovative applications or apps.

Another hot job of tomorrow is a mobile application developer. Imagine what apps will enable the smartphone to do in five or 10 years.