The Power of Virtual Staff for Accounting Firms
In today's fast-paced digital era, accounting firms are embracing new technologies and innovative strategies to stay ahead of the competition. One such transformative solution that has gained significant traction is the utilization of virtual staff. With their expertise in handling various accounting tasks remotely, virtual staff members offer a range of benefits to accounting firms, including enhanced efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and increased productivity. In this blog post, we will explore how virtual staff can revolutionize the way accounting firms operate and help them thrive in the modern business landscape.
Flexibility and Scalability: Virtual bookkeepers for CPA firms the flexibility to scale their workforce based on changing demands. Whether you need assistance during peak tax season or support for ongoing bookkeeping tasks, virtual staff can seamlessly adjust to accommodate your business's evolving needs. By leveraging virtual staff, accounting firms can maintain an optimal staffing level without the constraints of physical office space or geographical limitations.
Cost-Effective Solution: Hiring in-house employees often comes with significant expenses, including salaries, benefits, office infrastructure, and training costs. Virtual staff, on the other hand, offer a cost-effective solution for accounting firms. By leveraging virtual staff services, firms can eliminate the need for additional office space, reduce overhead costs, and save on employee benefits. This cost savings can be reinvested in the growth of the firm or passed on to clients, making virtual staff an attractive proposition for both accounting firms and their clients.
Expertise and Specialization: Accounting functions encompass a wide range of tasks, from bookkeeping and payroll to tax preparation and financial analysis. Virtual staff members are typically experienced professionals with specialized knowledge in specific areas of accounting. By utilizing virtual staff, accounting firms gain access to a pool of talented professionals who can handle complex tasks efficiently, ensuring accuracy and compliance with industry regulations. This expertise allows the firm's core team to focus on high-value strategic activities, such as financial planning and advisory services.
Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity: Virtual staff can significantly enhance the efficiency and productivity of accounting firms. With their expertise and specialized skill sets, they can handle routine tasks with speed and precision, allowing the firm's core team to concentrate on critical business operations. By offloading time-consuming activities to virtual staff, accounting professionals can allocate their time and energy to value-added tasks, such as client relationship management and business development. This increased efficiency not only improves client satisfaction but also contributes to the firm's overall profitability.
Seamless Collaboration and Communication: In the digital age, effective communication and collaboration are crucial for the success of any organization. Virtual staff members are adept at leveraging a variety of communication tools and project management platforms to stay connected with the core team. With real-time access to shared files and secure communication channels, virtual staff seamlessly integrate into the accounting firm's workflow, ensuring smooth coordination and timely completion of tasks. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of unity among team members, despite working remotely.
Conclusion: Virtual staff have emerged as a game-changer for accounting firms, offering a wide range of benefits, including flexibility, cost-effectiveness, expertise, and improved productivity. By leveraging virtual staff services, virtual accounting firms can streamline their operations, focus on core competencies, and deliver exceptional value to their clients. As technology continues to advance, the role of virtual staff in accounting firms will only grow, enabling firms to thrive in a competitive marketplace while adapting to the changing demands of the industry. Embracing virtual staff is a strategic decision that can elevate accounting firms to new heights of success in the digital age.
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Palestinian seb3 baharat recipe roundup
#1
Arabic-language, Palestinian youtuber, from her mother
1/2 Tbsp nutmeg (جوزة الطيب) (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp cassia cinnamon (قرفة) (quills or bark)
3 Tbsp allspice (بهار حلو)
1 1/2 Tbsp cardamom (هيل)
1/2 Tbsp cloves (قرنفل)
1 1/2 Tbsp black pepper (فلفل أسود)
1/2 Tbsp ginger (زنجبيل)
1 1/2 Tbsp coriander (كزبرة)
1/2 Tbsp dried lemon / loumi (لومي)
Measurements after grinding. Tbsp = ملعقة ك��يرة, tsp = ملعقة; not US customary measurements.
Comment says ginger is modern; Wikipedia says loumi is commonly an ingredient in Gulf-region 7-spice.
#2
English-language, Palestinian youtuber, from her grandmother
1 cup black pepper
1/3 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup allspice
1/4 cup cardamom
1/4 cup cumin
3 cloves
2 nutmeg pods
Measurements before grinding. US customary measurements.
#3
English-language, Palestinian food writer.
6 tablespoons whole allspice
6 cassia bark sticks or cinnamon sticks
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
10 whole cloves
2 blades mace
1/2 whole nutmeg, crushed
Called "nine-spice" but it's the same blend. Measurements before grinding; US customary measurements.
#4
East Jerusalem Goods store, seems to be owned by Israelis?
"Our baharat is a mixture of: clove spice, English pepper, black pepper, nutmeg, cardamom spice, cumin, and a touch of dry coriander."
"English pepper" refers to "فلفل انجليزي" "falfil inglizi" "English pepper" aka "فلفل افرنجي" "falfil afranji" "French pepper" aka "بهار حلو" "bhar hloo" "sweet spice" aka allspice. A direct translation of the Hebrew "פלפל אנגלי"; it doesn't seem to be in common use in Arabic otherwise.
#5
English-language, some white lady living in the "Middle East" claims this is used by "Arabs in Israel"
1 tbsp ground cardamom pods (the black seeds inside)
1 tbsp ground dry ginger
½ tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
½ tbsp allspice
Measurements after grinding. US customary measurements.
#6
English-language, "Levantine" food blogger, recipe from mother & grandmother
1 tablespoon Coriander
1 tablespoon Allspice
1 tablespoon Cumin
1 tablespoon Cloves
1 tablespoon Black pepper
1 tablespoon Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Nutmeg
Measurements after grinding. US customary measurements.
#7
Arabic-language, labelled "Palestinian", page with various regional recipes
2 parts allspice berries (فلفل إفرنجي حب؛ بهار، فلفل هلو؛ كباب صينية)
1 part black peppercorns (فلفل أسود حب)
1/2 part cloves (قرنفل)
1/2 part ground cinnamon (قرفة مطحونة)
1/2 part cumin seeds (كمون حب)
1/2 part ground ginger (زنجبيل مطحون)
1/3 part nutmeg, whole or ground (جوزة الطيب مطحون أو حب)
The recipe gives various terms for allspice which in fact refer variously to allspice (the first three) and cubeb berries (the last one). In this context allspice is certainly what is meant.
Measurements variously before and after grinding. It's unclear whether the "parts" (جزء) are by volume or weight; black pepper is almost twice as dense as allspice...
#8
English-language, comment on "Middle Eastern" recipe that calls for "baharat":
"My family is Palestinian and came from Jordan. The 7 Spice Mixture we use is Allspice, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove, Black Pepper, Cumin and Coriander.”
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Me, looking through books on Palestine: "Ilan Pappé wrote one called 'The Biggest Prison On Earth?!' People in Gaza hate it being called a prison. There's an entire hashtag for it. There's been an account dedicated to collecting pics and videos of #TheGazaYouDontSee for 6 years.
"Is Pappé even Palestinian? oh god wait I can tell already. this is gonna be an 'Israeli apologist' isn't it."
Internet: "Yeah, Pappé's Israeli."
Me: "For fuck's--- so people will believe Israelis unquestioningly if they're shit-talking Israel, but in all other situations, Israelis are all liars?"
Internet: "Pretty much. Also, at best, Ilan Pappé must be one of the world’s sloppiest historians."
Me, admittedly in full schadenfreude now: "What?!?!"
Internet: "Benny Morris. That historian who's extremely hard-core about primary source documentation, who wrote that detailed book about how and why each group of Palestinian refugees left in 1947-9. He reviewed three books about Palestine."
Me: "Holy shit. And the book by Pappé is about the Husaynis. The family that Nazi war criminal Amin al-Husseini came from, the guy who fucked absolutely everything up for both Israel and Palestine."
Internet: "That's the one. Morris wrote, 'At best, Ilan Pappe must be one of the world’s sloppiest historians; at worst, one of the most dishonest. In truth, he probably merits a place somewhere between the two.'"
Me: "Why??"
Internet: "He says, 'Here is a clear and typical example—in detail, which is where the devil resides—of Pappe’s handiwork. I take this example from The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine'....
"Blah blah blah, basically in 1947 the UN voted to partition the land into Palestine and Israel, and extremist militias started shooting at Jewish towns and people. David Ben-Gurion was the leader of the Jewish community there, and his journal describes a visit from a scientist named Aharon Katzir, telling him about an experiment codenamed "Shimshon." Morris gives us the journal entry:
...An experiment was conducted on animals. The researchers were clothed in gas masks and suit. The suit costs 20 grush, the mask about 20 grush (all must be bought immediately). The operation [or experiment] went well. No animal died, the [animals] remained dazzled [as when a car’s headlights dazzle an oncoming driver] for 24 hours. There are some 50 kilos [of the gas]. [They] were moved to Tel Aviv. The [production] equipment is being moved here. On the laboratory level, some 20 kilos can be produced per day.
"Morris says, 'This is the only accessible source that exists, to the best of my knowledge, about the meeting and the gas experiment, and it is the sole source cited by Pappe for his description of the meeting and the "Shimshon" project. But this is how Pappe gives the passage in English:
Katzir reported to Ben-Gurion: 'We are experimenting with animals. Our researchers were wearing gas masks and adequate outfit. Good results. The animals did not die (they were just blinded). We can produce 20 kilos a day of this stuff.'
"'The translation is flecked with inaccuracies, but the outrage is in Pappe’s perversion of "dazzled," or sunveru, to "blinded"—in Hebrew "blinded" would be uvru, the verb not used by Ben-Gurion—coupled with the willful omission of the qualifier '"for 24 hours."'
"'Pappe’s version of this text is driven by something other than linguistic and historiographical accuracy. Published in English for the English-speaking world, where animal-lovers are legion and deliberately blinding animals would be regarded as a barbaric act, the passage, as published by Pappe, cannot fail to provoke a strong aversion to Ben-Gurion and to Israel.
"'Such distortions, large and small, characterize almost every page of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. So I should add, to make the historical context perfectly clear, that no gas was ever used in the war of 1948 by any of the participants. [Or, he later notes, by either Israel or Palestine ever.] Pappe never tells the reader this.
"'Raising the subject of gas is historical irrelevance. But the paragraph will dangle in the reader’s imagination as a dark possibility, or worse, a dark reality: the Jews, gassed by the Nazis three years before, were about to gas, or were gassing, Arabs.'"
Me: "Uuuuggghhhhhhhhh. Yeah, it will."
Internet: "He does say, 'Palestinian Dynasty was a good idea.' Then he does some really detailed historian-dragging about the lack of primary sources and reliance on people's interpretations of what they say instead.
"'Almost all of Pappe’s references direct the reader to books and articles in English, Hebrew, and Arabic by other scholars, or to the memoirs of various Arab politicians, which are not the most reliable of sources. Occasionally there is a reference to an Arab or Western travelogue or genealogy, or to a diplomat’s memoir; but there is barely an allusion to documents in the relevant British, American, and Zionist/Israeli archives.
"'When referring to the content of American consular reports about Arab riots in the 1920s, for example, Pappe invariably directs the reader to an article in Hebrew by Gideon Biger—“The American Consulate in Jerusalem and the Events of 1920-1921,” in Cathedra, September 1988—and not to the documents themselves, which are easily accessible in the United States National Archive.
"'Those who falsify history routinely take the path of omission. They ignore crucial facts and important pieces of evidence while cherry-picking from the documentation to prove a case.
"'Those who falsify history routinely take the path of omission. They ignore crucial facts and important pieces of evidence while cherry-picking from the documentation to prove a case.
"'But Pappe is more brazen. He, too, often omits and ignores significant evidence, and he, too, alleges that a source tells us the opposite of what it in fact says, but he will also simply and straightforwardly falsify evidence.
"'Consider his handling of the Arab anti-Jewish riots of the 1920s.
"'Pappe writes of the “Nabi Musa” riots in April 1920: “The [British] Palin Commission... reported that the Jewish presence in the country was provoking the Arab population and was the cause of the riots.” He also quotes at length Musa Kazim al-Husayni, the clan’s leading notable at the time, to the effect that “it was not the [Arab] Hebronites who had started the riots but the Jews.”
"'But the (never published) [Palin Commission Report], while forthrightly anti-Zionist, thereby accurately reflecting the prevailing views in the British military government that ruled Palestine until mid-1920, flatly and strikingly charged the Arabs with responsibility for the bloodshed.
"'The team chaired by Major-General P.C. Palin wrote that “it is perfectly clear that with... few exceptions the Jews were the sufferers, and were, moreover, the victims of a peculiarly brutal and cowardly attack, the majority of the casualties being old men, women and children.” The inquiry pointed out that whereas 216 Jews were killed or injured, the British security forces and the Jews, in defending themselves or in retaliatory attacks, caused only twenty-five Arab casualties.'"
Me: "Yeah. I'm looking at that report right now and it says there had been an explosion, and then people were looting Jewish stores and beating Jews with stones, and in one case stabbing someone. Some people said that some Jews got up on the roof of a hotel and retaliated by throwing stones themselves.
"And then it literally says, 'The point as to the retaliation by Jews is of importance because it seems to have impressed the Military and led them to imagine that the Jews were to some extent responsible for provoking the rising.' That's the only thing it really says about anyone blaming the Jews.
"Except.... the very beginning gives some historical context. And it does say that when the Balfour Declaration came out, Muslims and Christians 'considered that they were to be handed over to an oppression which they hated far more than the Turk's and were aghast at the thought of this domination....
"'If this intensity of feeling proceeded merely from wounded pride of race and disappointment in political aspirations, it would be easier to criticise and rebuke: but it must be borne in mind that at the bottom of all is a deepseated fear of the Jew, both as a possible ruler and as an economic competitor. Rightly or wrongly they fear the Jew as a ruler, regarding his race as one of the most intolerant known to history....
"'The prospect of extensive Jewish immigration fills him with a panic fear, which may be exaggerated, but is none the less genuine. He sees the ablest race intellectually in the world, past-masters in all the arts of ousting competitors whether on the market, in the farm or the bureaucratic offices, backed by apparently inexhaustible funds given by their compatriots in all lands and possessed of powerful influence in the councils of the nations, prepared to enter the lists against him in every one of his normal occupations, backed by the one thing wanted to make them irresistible, the physical force of a great Imperial Power, and he feels himself overmastered and defeated before the contest is begun.'
"Wow! What a great fucking example of how 'positive' stereotypes are actually used to fuck people over! We're not antisemitic, we actually think Jews are the smartest, most powerful, richest group with tremendous global power! So positive!! Not at all being used here to justify antisemitic violence!
"Also, immigration from all over the world actually meant that different agricultural and manufacturing techniques were brought into the region, and yes, financial investments to start businesses sometimes, which meant that Arab Palestinians there had the highest per capita income in the Middle East, the highest daily wages, and started a lot of businesses of their own. But go off, I guess."
"Anyfuckingway.... it basically says that the Muslims and Christians were angry and scared, the Jews were too quick to set up the functioning government that the Brits were supposed to be there to help both sides create -- and which the Arab leaders completely refused to create for Palestine, because (1) fascists and (2) didn't want Jews nearby -- and that they were "ready prey for any form of agitation hostile to the British Government and the Jews." Then it says the movement for a United Syria was agitating them real hard, and so were the Sherifians.
"Is that what Ilan Passe, I mean Pappe, meant by the Palin Report blaming the Jews?! That when it says it's understandable the Arabs were freaking out, because antisemitism, Pappe thinks it's saying the Jews were provoking them?!"
Internet: "I don't know. I kinda tuned out after the first hour you were talking."
Me: "OGH MY GOD"
Internet: "So anyway, then Morris ALSO says, 'About the 1929 “Temple Mount” riots, which included two large-scale massacres of Jews, in Hebron and in Safed, Pappe writes: “The opposite camp, Zionist and British, was no less ruthless [than the Arabs]. In Jaffa a Jewish mob murdered seven Palestinians.”
Me: "What the ENTIRE FUCK? There was no united 'Zionist and British' camp! The Brits would barely let any Holocaust refugees in, ffs!"
Internet: "Morris says, 'Actually, there were no massacres of Arabs by Jews, though a number of Arabs were killed when Jews defended themselves or retaliated after Arab violence.
"'Pappe adds that the British “Shaw Commission,” so-called because it was chaired by Sir Walter Shaw (a former chief justice of the Straits Settlements), which investigated the riots, “upheld the basic Arab claim that Jewish provocations had caused the violent outbreak. ‘The principal cause... was twelve years of pro-Zionist [British] policy.’”
"'It is unclear what Pappe is quoting from. I did not find this sentence in the commission’s report. Pappe’s bibliography refers, under “Primary Sources,” simply to “The Shaw Commission.” The report? The deliberations? Memoranda by or about? Who can tell?
"'The footnote attached to the quote, presumably to give its source, says, simply, “Ibid.”
"'The one before it says, “Ibid., p. 103.”
"'The one before that says, “The Shaw Commission, session 46, p. 92.”
"'But the quoted passage does not appear on page 103 of the report.
"In the text of Palestinian Dynasty, Pappe states that “Shaw wrote [this] after leaving the country [Palestine].” But if it is not in the report, where did Shaw “write” it?'"
Me: "I'M ON IT. [rapid-fire googling] OMG. This is.... Not the first time. In 'The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine,' he reported that in a 1937 letter to his son, David Ben-Gurion declared: 'The Arabs will have to go, but one needs an opportune moment for making it happen, such as war.'
"It's not in the source he gave. It's not in any of the three different sources he's given for it.
"He apparently has never responded to any requests for an explanation, either from the journal he published in, or from other historians. But it says he did "obliquely [acknowledge] the controversy in an article in Electronic Intifada, in which he portrayed himself as the victim of intimidation at the hands of “Zionist hooligans.”'
"This is absolutely fucking wild. THEN it says the chair of the Ethics Committee where he was teaching eventually said that the second part of the quote ('but one needs,' etc) was a (combined?) paraphrase of a diary entry and a speech Ben-Gurion gave, and that the first half is 'based on' a letter to his son.
"And it's so convincing! The chair says, 'Shabtai Teveth[,] Ben Gurion’s biographer, Benny Morris and the historian Nur Maslaha have all quoted this letter. In fact their translation was stronger than the quotation from Professor Pappé: ‘We must expel the Arabs and take their place.’ Professor Pappé has documentary evidence of these quotations and the source will ensure that this is correctly cited in any future editions of the publication or related studies.'
"And IT'S NOT EVEN TRUE?!
"Ben-Gurion's actual diary entry (not a letter) says the opposite.
“'We do not want and do not need to expel Arabs and take their places.... All our aspiration is built on the assumption – proven throughout all our activity – that there is enough room in the country for ourselves and the Arabs.'
"Benny Morris misquoted it as "We must expel the Arabs and take their places" in the English version of his 1987 book The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, although it was correct in the Hebrew version. He corrected himself in the 2001 book Righteous Victims.
"Teveth also misquoted it in the English version of his 1985 book Ben-Gurion and the Palestinian Arabs, but again, had it correct in the Hebrew edition.
"And both Morris and Teveth explicitly point out the rest of the entry. The part about all their aspiration being built on the assumption and experience that there was enough room in the country for everyone.
"Historian Efraim Karsh’s 1997 book Fabricating Israeli History pointed out and corrected their mistakes.
"This is apparently a very well-known issue among historians of Israel and Palestine. It was a big deal in 2003, when an evangelist Christian publisher put out a book FULL of disinformation, which not only used the same quote as Pappe does, but also could not give a real source for it.
"But Pappe STILL USED THE MISQUOTE AND DOUBLED DOWN ON IT EVERY SINGLE TIME."
Internet: "Are you done? I know all this already."
Me: "Also, there are literally only two places where the phrase 'twelve years of pro-Zionist policy' shows up online, and they're both about Pappe making quotes up.
"NOW I'm done."
Benny Morris wasn't, though. The review continues at the link below. And the next part starts, "To the deliberate slanting of history Pappe adds a profound ignorance of basic facts. Together these sins and deficiencies render his “histories” worthless as representations of the past, though they are important as documents in the current political and historiographic disputations about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Pappe’s grasp of the facts of World War I, for example, is weak in the extreme."
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Why accounting firms outsource bookkeeping?
In today's competitive business landscape, accounting firms face numerous challenges. From managing complex financial data to staying up to date with changing regulations, firms are under constant pressure to provide accurate and efficient services to their clients. To tackle these challenges, many accounting firms are turning to outsourcing bookkeeping services. In this blog post, we will explore the reasons why accounting firms are choosing to outsource their bookkeeping operations and the advantages and benefits it offers.
Cost Savings:
One of the primary reasons accounting firms outsource bookkeeping is to reduce costs. Hiring and training in-house bookkeepers can be expensive, as it involves salary, benefits, office space, and other overhead expenses. By outsourcing bookkeeping functions, firms can eliminate these costs and instead pay a fixed fee or hourly rate to the outsourcing partner. This allows accounting firms to allocate their resources more efficiently and focus on core competencies, such as financial planning and advisory services.
Access to Expertise:
Outsourcing bookkeeping provides accounting firms with access to a pool of highly skilled professionals who specialize in bookkeeping and accounting. These outsourcing partners often have extensive experience and knowledge in managing financial records, reconciling accounts, handling payroll, and ensuring compliance with tax regulations. By leveraging the expertise of these specialists, accounting firms can ensure that their clients' financial data is accurate, up to date, and in compliance with regulatory requirements.
Scalability and Flexibility:
Businesses go through periods of growth, seasonal fluctuations, and varying workloads. Accounting firms that outsource bookkeeping online can easily scale their services up or down as per their requirements. During busy seasons, when the workload increases, outsourcing partners can provide additional resources to handle the extra workload efficiently. Conversely, during slower periods, accounting firms can reduce the level of outsourcing to match the demand, avoiding underutilization of in-house staff.
Enhanced Focus on Core Competencies:
Bookkeeping can be time-consuming and can distract accounting firms from their core competencies. By outsourcing these tasks, firms can redirect their focus on providing value-added services to their clients, such as financial analysis, tax planning, and strategic consulting. This enables accounting firms to enhance their overall service quality and differentiate themselves in a competitive market.
Improved Efficiency and Technology Integration:
Outsourcing bookkeeping allows accounting firms to leverage the latest accounting software and technologies without incurring additional costs. Many outsourcing partners use advanced software and cloud-based platforms, streamlining the bookkeeping process, improving accuracy, and increasing efficiency. By embracing these technological advancements, accounting firms can improve their workflows, reduce errors, and provide real-time financial insights to their clients.
Risk Mitigation and Compliance:
Staying compliant with ever-changing tax laws and regulations can be challenging for accounting firms. Outsourcing bookkeeping to experts who are well-versed in the latest regulatory requirements reduces the risk of errors and non-compliance. Outsourcing partners ensure that financial records are accurately maintained, deadlines are met, and tax filings are error-free, helping accounting firms avoid costly penalties and legal issues.
Conclusion:
Outsourcing bookkeeping services offers numerous advantages to accounting firms, ranging from cost savings and access to expertise to scalability and enhanced focus on core competencies. By leveraging the expertise of outsourcing partners and adopting modern technologies, accounting firms can streamline their operations, deliver superior services to clients, and gain a competitive edge in the industry. As the business landscape continues to evolve, outsourcing bookkeeping will likely remain a viable solution for accounting firms seeking efficiency, accuracy, and growth.
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