By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter at CNN Money.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Europe’s debt crisis. Companies still not hiring. The Gulf oil spill. These are uncertain times to say the least. But while you might think economists would be running for the hills and looking ahead to a so-called “double dip recession,” that’s not necessarily the case.

In fact, some economists think a double dip is even less likely than it was earlier this year.

David Wyss, chief economist with Standard & Poor’s, said that even though he thinks slower U.S. growth is practically a sure thing, the odds of a double-dip actually have shrunk to 20%, from 25% earlier this year.

Same goes for Derek Hoffman, founder and editor of The Wall Street Cheat Sheet, who also puts the odds of a double dip at 20%, when just a few months earlier he saw them at 50-50.

The term “double dip” refers to a recession followed by a short-lived recovery that then slides back into a second recession. It can be measured by fluctuations in gross domestic product, or GDP — one of the broadest measures of economic activity.

Read more at CNNMoney.comSimilar Posts:

• SBA small biz lending doubles
• Economy getting better, but still ‘a long way to go’
• US Home Prices Seen Falling 40% Overall: Analyst
• Google: Worst is behind us
• Consumer behavior shows recession is over

We need to understand the accounting side of our businesses so we can at least respect what it can and cannot do for our businesses. In other words, if we don’t understand what accounting is and how that non-understanding of accounting impacts our ability to manage our businesses, we could be in for a truly disappointing shock related to why our businesses are failing.

Sure, most of us have a CPA or an accountant that guides our business well enough. Some of us might even have an employee who is an accountant that manages our books. But, as I have preached for years, there is a huge and distinct difference between tax accounting (CPA, Accountant) and operational accounting. I have written numerous articles on the topic over the years and I still stand firm on the fact that I can prove that there is a huge difference between taxes and operations.

Unfortunately I have come across yet another example of how not understanding the accounting side of our business related to operations negatively affects the ability to keep the business afloat. Out of respect and confidentiality I cannot name names nor mention where exactly this example comes from but I will tell you that I am currently working with an electrical contractor in the mid-west.

Long story short, because the owners of this business “believed” their accountant and their employee managing QuickBooks for them were doing a good job – and the owners not knowing enough about accounting to “manage” the process, this business may now have to consider taking on yet another loan to survive. Simply put, these owners trusted their accounting firm to guide them accordingly as it relates to QuickBooks and they trusted their employee who is managing the daily inputs of Quickbooks to be doing as she should.

When I took a closer look at their books, I found numerous errors on top of the fact that the employee managing QuickBooks truly does not know enough about accounting to be in that role. Her response to many of my questions was, “well, that’s what I did at my other job”. Well, that other job (company) went out of business because it ran out of money!

My point with this story is that as business owners we need to know three basic things about business ownership:

1) Accounting and Finance are not the same
I have been saying this for years now, where accounting is an apple and finance is an orange. It just is. Most business errors occur because of erroneous financial reports. In other words, financial reports about a business are the result of the accounting process of a business where if the accounting is off, then so too is the financial report. Business owners and managers make decisions off of financial posture not accounting entries (debits/credits) where an error in entering a debit or credit will ultimately reflect on any report the inherent accounting software prints.

An example here is that the business owners above knew they had union payments to make as well as truck payments but those expenses were never reflected on their income statement, where all this time the owners had believed those expenses were embedded in one of the line items in their income statement. They never knew to ask and their employee never knew to identify it. What’s worse is the accounting firm they use was never asked; therefore no one realized those expenses were not being tracked. At the end of every month the owners would ask themselves, “Where’s all the money”, “Why are we always broke”? Sound familiar?

2) Qualify your CPA/Accountant
Ask your CPA/Accountant questions like how come this number is what it is? And how did you come up with this number? Show me how you came up with this number, etc, etc. It is rare as a do-do bird that a CPA firm or an accounting firm know what operational accounting truly is. After over eleven years of doing what I do, I have never met an accountant or a CPA that does what I do and I doubt I ever will. CPAs and Accountant are great with TAXES, not operations. It’s just how it is. CPAs or Accountants cannot tell you how to set up effective job costing process, they cannot tell you how to factor marginal contributions and they cannot tell you your precise overhead rate. I know this for a fact. Do not discount CPAs or Accountants as we definitely need their expertise related to tax management but they simply cannot help you operate the day-to-day of any business and I can prove it. I’ve always believed that business should always have access to a great attorney, a great CPA and a great consultant. Qualify the people who you turn to for help with your business.

3) Test before you hire
You have the right as a business owner to test those who come to you and apply for work. You have the right to test even your suppliers and vendors to include CPA and accounting firms. You have the right to test someone if they come to you and say they know accounting by having them belly up to your computer and actually show you what they know. The accounting and finance side of a business is soooo important that you SHOULD take the time to test someone before you hire them. It’s your right. There are no rules on how to OPERATE your business where you should be testing and questioning everyone that claims to be there to help. Personally, I have my clients test me by talking to as many my references they choose to. It’s your right.

Look at it this way, your car performs relative to the type of gas and the weight of oil you put into it. Imagine you putting the wrong gas or the wrong oil into your car. How would it perform?
Similar Posts:

• Top 3 Most Valuable Reports in Your Business
• Jobless Report
• We need accurate and relevant accounting in business
• Once Again, Are Things Getting Better?
• Organizational Management

Erika Kinetz, AP Business Writer
MUMBAI, India (AP) — A rebound in manufacturing and recovering farm output drove India’s quarterly economic growth to 8.6 percent, the best in two years as Asia’s third-largest economy returns to pre-crisis levels of expansion.

Growth for the financial year ended March was 7.4 percent, beating a government forecast of 7.2 percent, officials said Monday. The acceleration in the January-March quarter is likely to add to pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates to contain inflation.

India has rebounded from the global downturn faster than expected thanks to strong domestic consumption and investment, but two uncertainties loom: Rain and Europe.

As India’s farmers wait for the monsoon, hoping last year’s drought won’t be repeated, the nation’s business elite watches Europe — which accounts for a fifth of India’s exports — hoping its sovereign debt crisis won’t dampen the investment that’s needed to drive growth.

Manufacturing surged an unsustainable 16.3 percent off a low base for the March quarter, up from 0.6 percent a year earlier and its strongest performance in at least two years. Agriculture — which remains an important source of employment — limped along at 0.7 percent, up from the prior quarter’s contraction of 1.8 percent, but worse than a year earlier, when it grew 3.3 percent.

Read more at YahooFinance.com Similar Posts:

• GDP up 3.5 percent; jobless claims fall
• Manufacturing, banking reports lift stocks
• Economy finally back in gear
• Recession over? Nation’s GDP rises 3.5 percent in third quarter
• U.S. manufacturing contraction slowest since August

Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy trudges ahead yet debt dogs many Americans, stressing them out even as they firm up their own financial foundations.

There are new jobs produced but old worries persisting for people despite belt-tightening and boosted savings, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll.

About 46 percent of those surveyed say they’re suffering from debt-related stress, and half of that group described their stress as “great deal” or “quite a bit.” On the other hand, about 53 percent say they feel little or no stress at all.

That’s in line with findings from last year, even though times seem better today: The economy is growing and generating jobs, and households have made progress in repairing their financial footing, trimming debt, watching spending and saving more.

Read more at YahooFinance.comSimilar Posts:

• Americans Keep Racking Up Debt
• Walking away from credit cards
• Consumers Debt Falls for 7th Month in Row
• Slowly, Americans are regaining their lost wealth
• Manufacturing, banking reports lift stocks

By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON — Regulators must do all they can to help banks make loans to creditworthy borrowers, especially small businesses, a development critical to strengthening the economic recovery, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.

It’s a delicate dance for the Fed and other banking regulators. As regulators encourage banks to make loans to sound borrowers, they are also working to make sure banks get back on firmer footing after suffering through the worst financial and economic crises since the 1930s.

“Our message is a simple one: Institutions should strive to meet the needs of creditworthy borrowers, and the supervisory agencies should do all they can to help, not hinder, those efforts,” Bernanke said in remarks prepared for a conference on banking in Chicago.

“We are also supporting efforts to work with troubled borrowers to bring them back into good standing,” he added.

Getting credit to flow more normally again to both people and businesses is an important ingredient to helping the economic recovery gain momentum. Improvements have been made but problems remain.

Ordinary Americans— trying to pare their debt and rebuild their finances — have shown a weak appetite for new loans.

Read more at USAToday.comSimilar Posts:

• Obama Says Small Businesses Must Be at Forefront of Recovery
• Where’s my stimulus?
• Geithner: ‘The credit crunch is not over’
• The Economy Today
• Why Banks Can’t Lend: U.S. Financial System “Not as Good as Wall Street Says”

Good article by CNNMoney.

By Catherine Clifford, staff reporter

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Main Street’s job hemorrhaging has slowed.

Companies with fewer than 50 workers added a net 1,000 jobs in April, according to a report released Wednesday from payroll processor ADP. But the upswing actually began last month: ADP (ADP, Fortune 500) revised its March data to reflect a gain of 4,000 positions, marking the first month in nearly two years that small companies expanded their payrolls.

But even as the pink slips have slowed, they’ve left behind a massive jobs shortfall. Small companies have shed 3 million workers since the recession began, by ADP’s count.

In a speech Tuesday before the Business Council, a group of CEOs from major companies, President Obama emphasized the need to rebuild the country’s decimated employee rolls.

“Last year, the economy was in freefall. Today, the economy is growing again,” Obama said. “Now, by no stretch of the imagination can we declare victory. Not until the millions of our neighbors who are looking for work can find work. … Spurring job creation and economic expansion continues to be our number-one domestic priority.”

But many small business owners say they’re still sitting tight and holding off on new hires. The economy’s still-tentative recovery — witness Thursday’s sharp stock-market selloff — has companies treading cautiously.

Read more at CNNMoney.com

Similar Posts:

• White House Eyes Bailout Funds to Aid Small Firms
• Economy adds jobs at fastest pace in three years
• Can You Afford to Hire?
• Obama: US economy has ‘core strengths’
• Economic recovery depends on health of small companies

This is a great article where the operative word is “modestly”. Remember folks, it is what it is. I’ve said it a million times, get used to living like we did in the ’70’s and get over your dependance on credit!

Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer – Thursday April 22, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) — Home sales rose sharply last month and claims for jobless benefits fell last week. The two reports Thursday sketched a picture of a modestly improving economy.

Sales of previously occupied homes increased more than expected in March after three straight months of declines, the National Association of Realtors said. The housing market benefited from government incentives that drew in buyers.

Purchases jumped 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million last month, the highest level since December. The median sales price was $170,700, nearly unchanged from a year earlier.

Some economists expect healthy sales to continue, but caution that a clearer picture of the housing market will emerge after federal tax credits expire at the end of this month.

Read more at YahooFinance.comSimilar Posts:

• Construction spending rises unexpectedly
• Ford returns to the number 1 spot
• Stocks climb on upbeat earnings, economic reports
• New jobless claims fall more than expected to 550K
• U.S. Economy: Retail Sales Rebound From Year’s Biggest Drop

Monday, April 19 – Kansas City Business Journal
The U.S. economic recovery seems to be gaining strength, according to new figures from The Conference Board.

Its Leading Economic Index reached its highest level in March, rising 1.4 percent, after having lifted 0.4 percent the month before and 0.6 percent in January, The Conference Board, a New York City-based nonprofit, said Monday.

Its U.S. Coincident Economic Index, which measures current economic conditions, rose 0.1 percent in March, after having increased by the same amount in February. It didn’t change in January.

Read more: The Conference Board: U.S. economic recovery is strengthening – Kansas City Business Journal
Similar Posts:

• Recession over? Nation’s GDP rises 3.5 percent in third quarter
• Recession has hit bottom
• Construction spending rises unexpectedly
• UPDATE: Beige Book: Economic Conditions Continue To Improve
• Fed survey finds recovery gaining momentum

Read this article.

By Jennifer Liberto, senior writer;

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) — With the health care fight and two weeks at home behind it, Congress is taking on proposals to reform Wall Street and prevent future financial collapses.

Nothing has really changed since the Senate Banking panel passed an overhaul measure along party lines in late March – except that the rhetoric on both sides has sharpened.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., came out swinging Tuesday, slamming Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd’s bill as a “perpetual taxpayer bailout of Wall Street banks.”

His counterpart, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., defended the bill, saying it “ends bailouts by liquidating these big firms” that contributed to the crisis.

Earlier in the week, the Democratic National Committee started airing an ad on cable networks, including CNN, criticizing Republicans for not joining the Obama administration’s push for regulatory overhaul.

And in the latest display of urgency, President Obama – fresh off two days of meeting with world leaders on nuclear issues – will meet Wednesday with congressional leaders from both parties and chambers at the White House to talk about the issue.

Read more at CNNMoney.comSimilar Posts:

• What health care reform means for your business
• Health care reform: How it might work for real people
• Why Banks Can’t Lend: U.S. Financial System “Not as Good as Wall Street Says”
• Health overhaul promises pain, gain for businesses
• Geithner: ‘The credit crunch is not over’

Some of it is pure consumer confidence. Confidence in a recovery.

Read this article.

BusinessWeek.com By Bob Willis

April 13 (Bloomberg) — The trade deficit in the U.S. widened in February more than anticipated as Americans bought more foreign-made televisions and computers, illustrating the rebound in economic growth.

The gap increased 7.4 percent to $39.7 billion from a revised $37 billion the prior month, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Imports climbed 1.7 percent, outpacing a gain in exports that pushed sales abroad to the highest level since October 2008.

The global recovery from the worst economic slump in the post-World War II era means imports and exports will probably keep growing in coming months. Rising surpluses with emerging economies in Asia and Latin America point to gains in overseas demand that is giving companies like General Electric Co. and Dow Chemical Co. a boost.

Read more at BusinessWeek.comSimilar Posts:

• U.S. Economy: Confidence Rises as Consumers See Brighter Future
• A Must Read; Krugman says world avoided second Great Depression
• U.S. Economy: Consumer Spending Increases as Incomes Stagnate
• Unemployment Fell in Nine U.S. States as Michigan Made Headway
• Recession over? Nation’s GDP rises 3.5 percent in third quarter