All posts in Employment

News trading is an excellent way of profiting in the Forex market. Economic news usually has the ability to increase volatility and thus potential trade opportunities in the market. However, it is important to only trade the news that has the highest ability to cause movements in the market. As much as the markets often react to the majority of economic news from different countries, those from big economies such as the U.S. and Europe play a significant role on currency market moves.

Here are some news reports that are trade-worthy:

Interest rates
Interest rates have the ability to cause significant movements in the Forex market. By increasing, maintaining, or lowering interest rates, central banks exert influence over the value of currencies. If raised, the exchange rate of a particular currency would appreciate in value, and if decreased, the exchange rate would depreciate in value. When an interest rate rises, it would offer lenders in an economy a higher return as compared to other countries; therefore, there would be an increased inflow of foreign capital that ultimately would cause the value of a currency to appreciate. Generally, it is seen as a good thing when interest rates increase and a bad thing when interest rates decrease.
Economic indicators
Economic indicators give a picture of the general performance of the economy of a country. They enable analysis of current performance and future forecasts of the economy of a country. Economic indicators comprise of various indices, earnings reports, and economic summaries, and some of which include Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross National Product (GNP), Consumer spending, capital expenditure, and government expenditure.
Inflation rates
As a general rule, a country having a high inflation rate usually has a weak currency, since its purchasing power decreases as compared to other currencies of its trading partners. To strengthen the value of a currency, the central bank of a country may make a decision to increase the interest rates.
Employment indicators
In order to comprehend the economic health of a country, it is essential to know the employment statistics of that particular country. Therefore, various employment indicators released on a regular basis are very important in affecting the value of currencies in the Forex market. An example of this is the U.S. Non-Farm Payroll released on a monthly basis.
Balance of trade announcements
As a general rule, a country with a positive Balance of Trade (BOT) usually has a rising currency.

If you are starting up a new business or are just drawing up a new employment contract then there are many things that you should consider. Employment law is ever-changing and so you should ask an employment solicitor to check your contract template before you give it to an employee.

This article looks at the basic points, which should be included and considered when designing your employment contract.

1. Define the basic employment terms – create a section at the forefront of the contract, which defines an employee’s working arrangements. For example, include their pay, annual leave entitlement and working hours. This information can then be amended as per the employee.

2. Specify any probationary and notice period requirements – if the job is only to be granted on a permanent basis after satisfactory performance for 3 months then state this. Also be clear as to how much notice the employee must provide, both within and out of the probationary period. For example it may be reasonable to request the employee to give 1 weeks notice during the probationary period and 4 weeks notice when permanently employed.

3. Consider the availability of flexible working – is the employee going to have the option of flexible working? If so, is this restricted to certain hours? For example an employee may be able to work flexibly as long as he/she is in the office between 10am – 4pm. This type of arrangement is extremely popular with employees that have children or other such commitments. Flexible working also helps prevent employee absence.

4. Highlight any specific requirements – it is important to make an employee aware if a requirement of their job role is contractual or not. A good example of this is having access to a car for travel. If this is a contractual requirement then you should state this on the contract itself.

5. Locations and departments – is your employee going to remain in one department and location throughout the duration of his/her contract? If the role is permanent do you foresee that the employee may have to relocate in line with business development? In order to cover such a requirement a provision can be put within the contract to inform the employee that they may be required to relocate or take on different duties in the future as part of their job role.

6. Non-contractual agreements – state if there are any non-contractual agreements particular to the employee. These agreements are those such as performance related bonuses and commission. These are circumstances that neither party can expect or claim for as part of the contract.

7. Generic terms – it is important that you draw up a set of employment terms and conditions that are comprehensive and will cover every contract. This is the area, which you should seek legal advice when drafting. These terms must be designed in line with your business’s specific needs. For, example, consider how important it is for you to include a confidentiality clause in the contract and how detailed this needs to be? You should ensure that none of the terms are discriminatory or unfair; an employment law solicitor will help confirm this. Use online resources such as ACAS to keep yourself informed of recent employment law changes; these can then be reflected in your template contract.

Steven Sutton is the owner of the Law Offices of Steven R. Sutton and a commercial litigator in New York City. According to Sutton, for employers who are trying to protect their businesses, having new employees sign non-disclosure agreements is a great way to ensure that company information and trade secrets dont get out in the event of an employees departure.

Employment issues are a key part of my firms business, and I have acted as a commercial litigator for New York clients on both sides of this type of case. We have had employers coming to use and asking to have non-disclosure agreements drafted as a way to tie their employees in to the company, and we have also had employees come to us to ask about what the details in the agreement they signed really mean.

On the Employers End
On one hand, for business owners, having their employees sign an airtight non-disclosure or non-compete agreement can be very important in keeping company secrets confidential. These contracts are particularly important when dealing with senior-level management, and any other employees who are privy to very sensitive or confidential company information. Companies that require employees to sign non-disclosure agreements can prohibit these employees from sharing any information that a person outside of the company would not ordinarily be aware of, and having these provisions in place can be key from the employers point of view.

Especially for companies in the health and fitness industries, having these agreements in place is the only way to protect secret client lists and keep sensitive information out of the hands of competing organizations. When a company hires a new personal trainer, it would never want him or her to tell people who the companys famous celebrity clients are. And in addition to that, the company would need to prevent that new trainer from using its client list if he or she were to create a new personal training business in the future.

Besides client lists, in the case of health and fitness companies, non-disclose agreements can also prevent employees from taking their companys techniques or training methods if they leave in the future. In fact, provisions in these agreements can be written to prevent employees from exposing any and all confidential trade secrets to outsiders once employment with the company has been terminated.

From the Employees Perspective
On the other hand, these agreements can take a much different turn for the employees themselves. Rather than protecting them, many employees feel like the contracts they are being asked to sign could actually be prohibiting them from seeking employment with other companies in the future. I have worked with people who said they didnt know what they were getting into when they signed a non-disclosure agreement, and later found out that the agreement they signed essentially prevented them from earning a living in the future.

Very often, when people sign these non-compete contracts, they are not sure whether it does or does not apply to potential future positions. Unfortunately, the contracts that are signed during employment are valid once that employment is over, and certain provisions can in fact prevent people from working in the same field or industry for a period of time once their employment with the company has been terminated. While every contract is different, some non-compete agreements specify that employees may not work in any industry within a certain geographic area once their employment has ended. From the employees standpoint, these types of contracts can be litigated and negotiated. In New York, hiring a commercial litigator to argue the case is a common next step after receiving notice of termination.

What a Lawyer Can Help
Any employees who feel that the contracts they signed were unfair should certainly consult with a commercial litigator for help. If the client feels that the non-compete contract he signed should not be valid, the lawyer would attempt to get rid of any temporary restraining orders that prevent the client from earning a living or feeding his family. By arguing that the non-compete provisions of the agreement should be interpreted in a different way, the attorney will help a lot.

In New York especially, these types of agreements are not always valid, depending on the facts of the case. The only way to determine whether a particular non-disclosure agreement is, in fact, valid is to have a professional attorney give it a close look. Our law firm has actually litigated some of these issues pretty extensively in the Supreme Court in New York, and we have had quite a bit of success in advising employees of what they can and cannot do.

This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website, “Accountants and auditors held about 1.3 million jobs in 2008.” (As of December 17, 2009, these were the latest statistics available.)

As with many other careers, accountants and auditors worked throughout private industry and government. Of these, about 24% worked for payroll service firms, tax preparation, accounting, and bookkeeping firms. Another 8% were self-employed. Among the larger set of management accountants, internal auditors, or government accountants and auditors, there is a subset who are licensed CPAs. Most CPAs work in urban areas because that’s where the jobs are–most corporate regional or central offices and government offices are in urban areas.

A small percent of accounting professionals are employed as full-time college and university faculty; others teach part-time while working as self-employed accountants or as accountants for private industry or government.

Job growth in the accounting sector is expected to grow faster than the average growth rate for all industries during the decade of 2008-2018. Within that group, CPAs should have the best prospects for employment and expected growth rate higher than those accountants and auditors without the CPA professional designation.

Very strong growth (22%) in the number of accountants and auditor jobs (an increase of 279,400 jobs) over the 2008-18 decade is expected because of several factors. We will discuss the factors tomorrow.

1.IF the economy expands, the number of businesses will increase which means that new jobs will be created in the accounting sector to set up the books, prepare taxes, and provide management advice. As these new businesses grow, the quantity and complexity of financial information reviewed by accountants and auditors on the costs, expenditures, taxes and corporate internal controls will increase as well. As the globalization of business accelerates, there will be an increased demand for accounting expertise and services regarding international trade and accounting rules as well as international mergers and acquisitions.

2.Because of financial scandals, investors will be demanding increased accountability for protecting an organization’s stakeholders. The need for these “accounting watchdogs” will spur job growth in the accounting sector.

3.Forensic accountants who can detect illegal financial activity will be even more in demand as the number of financial crimes increases. Crimes such as embezzlement, bribery, and securities fraud by individuals, by corporations, and by organized crime networks are increasing because computer technology has made these crimes even easier to commit and even harder to uncover. But the “good guys” have weapons as well: the development of new computer software and advanced electronic surveillance technology has made detecting financial crimes easier which increases the likelihood of discovery, investigation, prosecution and conviction. As the success rates of the “good guys” rise, the demand for forensic accountants will rise as well.

4.Opportunities for CPAs who are forensic accountants who support the work of attorneys in family law, bankruptcy and business law are increasing as well. For example, the recent high profile divorce of Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills included a dispute over how much the former Beatle, Sir Paul, was actually worth. His side claimed he was worth around USD $785 million while the ex-wife thought he was worth around $1.6 billion. Enter her team of forensic accountants who delved into the situation. As of June 2008, the accountants had not found any evidence which would have compelled the judge to award Ms. Mills more moola than her initial divorce settlement.

5.Changes in laws regarding taxes, financial reporting standards, business investments, mergers and other financial matters will lead to an increased need for accountants and auditors.

6.Changes in financial laws to curb corporate accounting fraud will create more jobs in the accounting sector. With the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 (also known as ‘Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act’ in the Senate and ‘Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act’ in the House), a new layer of accounting oversight was created to thwart the tide of corporate financial misfeasance. Prior to passage, there were a multitude of corporate and accounting scandals (e.g., Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom) which cost investors billions of dollars. When the share prices of these corporations collapsed, the confidence of the public was shaken and the US securities markets trembled. The act established new or enhanced standards for all US public company boards, management, and for public accounting firms.

By creating a new public agency, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (or PCAOB), the act created a number of jobs in the accounting sector for overseers, regulators, inspectors, and those who would discipline accounting firms who were auditing public firms. In addition, another government agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) implemented the adoption of dozens of new rules to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It is estimated that the growth in the accounting sector will be seen in new jobs being created in:

1.Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will expand to hire more accountants and CPAs to provide independent oversight of public accounting firms which audit their corporate clients. The central oversight board will register auditors as well as setting up the procedural framework for compliance audits, inspections and policing conduct, quality control, and enforcing compliance with specific elements of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX Act).

2.Because the SOX Act prohibits auditing companies from providing services such as consulting and management advice to their clients, it is expected that there will be job growth in accounting companies which provide consulting and other non-auditing advice to their clients.

3.Since Sarbanes-Oxley requires that senior executives of a company (such as the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer) take individual responsibility for the completeness and accuracy of the corporate financial reports, it is likely that those who are rise to C-level will have to have more familiarity with accounting than a manager’s passing glance. This opens a career path for CPAs into the CEO chair as well as the CFO chair. (Since the CEO is asked to sign the company’s tax return, this is all the more reason for the person to be a CPA as well as a manager.)

7.Since 2002, funding for the SEC has nearly doubled. The SEC hires accountants who can censure or bar from practice stock brokers, advisors, or dealers. In addition, SEC hires CPAs and accountants in Washington, D.C., *Division of Corporation Finance, *Division of Enforcement, and the *Office of the Chief Accountant. For SEC jobs examining financial statements in public filings, resolving controversial accounting issues, and in rule writing, there are openings in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and San Francisco in the offices of: *Division of Trading and Markets, *Division of Investment Management and the *Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations.

The SEC prefers to hire experienced CPAs with three to eight years of public accounting experience in the securities industry. Desirable previous experience would include audit work involving SEC financial reporting, complex internal audit work involving multi-national corporations, or mergers and acquisitions related work. Typically, these accountants enter at the mid- and senior staff accountant positions–in the SK-13 through 17 levels. The grade at which the person starts their SEC career is based on a combination of the amount of relevant work experience and of graduate education in accounting, finance, or related fields.

In looking at the entire market, the best job prospects will be for CPAs while the prospects for accountants and auditors who have a college degree or any certification are good.

Wages for Accountants and Auditors May 2008 BLS Statistics: Median Income: $59,430 Top 10%: $102,380+ “According to a salary survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, bachelor’s degree candidates in accounting received starting offers averaging $48,993 a year in July 2009; master’s degree candidates in accounting were offered $49,786 initially.

Accounting Employment Rate of Change In the decade from 2008 to 2018, employment opportunities for accountants and auditors are expected to grow by 22% (or 279,400 new jobs), which is faster than the average for all occupations. As previously mentioned, job growth will be driven by a projected increase in the number of businesses/expansion of the economy, changing financial laws, and corporate governance regulations, and increased accountability for protecting an organization’s stakeholders.

Opportunities for CPAs should increase markedly because their oversight is needed to focus increased scrutiny on corporate finances and accounting procedures. Those CPAs who are management accountants and internal auditors will be needed to uncover and eliminate fraud before audits and to make sure that critical processes and procedures are documented completely and accurately. The need for CPAs who are government accountants will increase because of an effort to make government agencies more efficient and accountable.

Job opportunities for CPAs will increase rapidly while opportunities for accountants and auditors will increase but at a slower rate than for CPAs. The need for accounting clerks will increase as consumers opt for storefront tax preparers such as Liberty and H & R Block, rather than hiring a CPA firm. The shift to tax preparation software will take some business away from CPAs who handled the uncomplicated returns of individuals. This will make a very minor adjustment in employment opportunities while increasing opportunities for clerks.

Job Prospects Across the public and private sectors, job opportunities for CPAs will be excellent while those who are accountants and auditors will be favorable. (Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics). Enrollment in CPA preparation courses is now growing as more students are attracted to the profession because of its job growth, increased compensation, stability-and in answer to corporate accounting scandals.

In the wake of the Enron and Tyco accounting scandals, the public views professional certification as even more necessary because it ensures that the accountant’s ethics are sound and his/her knowledge and credentials are up-to-date.

Regardless of specialty, accountants and auditors who have earned professional recognition through certification or licensure should have the best job prospects. Applicants with a master’s degree in accounting or a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting also will have an advantage.

Individuals who are proficient in accounting and auditing computer software or have expertise in specialized areas-such as international business, specific industries, or current legislation-may have an advantage in getting some accounting and auditing jobs. In addition, employers increasingly seek applicants with strong interpersonal and communication skills. Many accountants work on teams with others who have different backgrounds, so they must be able to communicate accounting and financial information clearly and concisely. Regardless of qualifications, however, competition will remain keen for the most prestigious jobs in major accounting and business firms.

In addition to openings from job growth, the need to replace accountants and auditors who retire or transfer to other occupations will produce numerous job openings in this large occupation. —US Bureau of Labor Statistics For accountants, the career path upwards requires that of becoming a CPA, a Certified Public Accountant. Progressing from being an accountant to becoming a CPA offers greater opportunities for promotion to management and higher salaries.

In California, the requirements to sit for the CPA Exam are: *A bachelor’s degree; *24 semester units in accounting-related subjects; *24 semester units in business-related subjects; *150 semester units (or 225 quarter units) of education; *Passing the Uniform CPA Exam; *One year of general accounting experience supervised by a CPA with an active license; and *Passing an ethics course.– Logging 500 hours of attest or auditing experience will allow you to obtain the authority to sign attest reports. In many firms having a CPA license is the only way one is promoted into upper management. Becoming a CPA increases your opportunity for promotions and a higher salary.

An employment service in New Jersey is the best choice when it comes to job hunting in this city. This industry is responsible for providing qualified, skilled and efficient human resources to businesses in return for a fee, depending on the kind of service provided. Employment services in New Jersey work as a consulting medium that links jobs and job seekers and forges a great partnership between the employer and employee. A New Jersey job placement agency has information about what a New Jersey company is looking for in terms of the qualifications and skill-sets of potential employees. Their aim is to cater the right kind of professionals suited to meet the diverse human resource requirements that a company may have.

Benefits of Hiring a New Jersey Job Placement Agency:

1.Training and improving the quality of human resources at hand to meet employer needs.

2.Researching to make sure that this match is mutually beneficial and satisfying.

3.Putting up online advertisements in their websites highlighting job openings that help in faster recruitments.

4.Constant communication with human resource executives of companies gives employment services New Jersey better access to information about job vacancies.

How To Hire A New Jersey Job Placement Agency:

Searching the Internet for a list of names of employment service New Jersey.

Browsing through local directories to find out names of local recruitment agencies.

Browsing through job websites to see which agencies have posted jobs in that area.

Getting recommendations from friends and family members who have had good experiences with working with some agency.

The better defined the service; the greater are chances that clients will offer better jobs.

Exploring what the agency needs from the candidate for screening and what additional services they offer like computer trainings or writing effective rsums.

Finding out if the agency has current or expected possible job openings with a client company that may be just the right one for you as a job seeker.

When hiring an employment service in New Jersey, remember that you cannot be coerced into appearing for job interviews that you do not want to take. Inform your recruiter about the kind of position, company and salary you are expecting from a prospective employer. Finding the right agency for job hunting may take time, but if you are patient, you can find one you have been looking for. So while you are waiting to be hired, make good use of your time by seeking placement agencies to job hunt for you. Enroll into seminars and other training sessions to brush up your interview skills in preparation and hire a rsum service for that extra edge.

For more information please visit http://www.walkerpersonnelservice.com/