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Accounting News Roundup: PwC’s New Women Partners; Give Better Negative Feedback; Best Questions to Ask an Interviewer | 07.03.14

Payrolls in U.S. Rise More Than Forecast; Jobless Rate at 6.1% [Bloomberg]
An interesting datapoint: "Today’s Labor Department’s payrolls report also showed factory hiring increased by 16,000 in June. Employment at private service-providers jumped 236,000. Retailers took on 40,200 employees."

PwC promotes record women partners [economia]
Someone in the UK is feeling good about themselves: "PwC chairman and senior partner Ian Powell highlighted the importance of diversity as the firm promoted a further 53 new equity partners; four in every ten of whom were women and a further two in every ten were from a 'culturally diverse background'. Powell said, “I was very conscious of the fact that when I was elected in 2008 there was not enough diversity, and by that I mean wider diversity, not just gender. 'It takes a while, but you need to make sure you operate a level playing field that maximises the potential for people, whatever their background and gender.' "

Stop starving the beast of the IRS [WaPo]
For the conspiracy minded people out there: "Perhaps most alarming, a shortage of funds has caused the bureau to chronically underinvest in infrastructure, threatening its ability to operate effectively and efficiently. Some IRS computers, for example, run on an operating system so old and outdated that Microsoft has stopped supporting it. Given this, perhaps it’s not so far-fetched to believe that lost e-mails were the result of crashed computers and bureaucratic incompetence rather than malevolent cover-up and conspiracy."
 
SEC official dissented on BNP Paribas waiver [Reuters]
The waiver allows BNP to continue doing business in the U.S.: "Kara Stein, a Democratic SEC commissioner who has recently demanded more accountability for big banks who break the law, was the sole dissenting vote on Monday on the temporary waiver, according to a document made public this week. BNP's application was granted the same day that BNP, France's largest bank, pleaded guilty to criminal charges it violated U.S. sanctions and agreed to pay a $9 billion penalty. The temporary waiver will become permanent, unless an 'interested person' in the matter is granted a hearing. The deadline for requesting a hearing is July 25."
 
H&R Block lobbies for IRS tax preparer certification [KCBJ]
Act surprised: "H&R Block CEO Bill Cobb wrote a letter to the IRS in support of its new voluntary program. The letter encouraged the federal government to continue further down that path of action.
'We believe Congress should set standards for professional tax return preparers,' Cobb wrote. 'Until Congress is able to act, however, a voluntary certification program is essential for protecting consumers. The components of an effective voluntary program should leverage the key components of the Registered Tax Return Preparer program previously implemented by the IRS. These include preparer registration, demonstrated competency, continuing education and background screening. We support efforts to implement a voluntary preparer program for tax season 2015.' "
 
Everything You Need to Know About Giving Negative Feedback [HBR]
For starters, don't feed them a BS sandwich: "Don’t bookend your critique with compliments. It sounds insincere and risks diluting your message. Instead, separate your negative commentary from your praise, and don’t hedge."
 
The Five Best Questions a Job Candidate Can Ask [Lifehacker]
Not among them: "Where do you get good falafel around here?"
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