Smart Stops on the Web

THE INTERNET

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY SITES

HOW-TOs FOR HIGHER-UPS
www.executiveblueprints.com
This Smart Stop offers coaching, consulting and training resources for executives looking to motivate staff, including case studies on leadership skills, promoting your services and keeping a strategic focus. Read how to build customer loyalty, grow your business and find words of wisdom from other execs, such as the anonymous: “The beatings will continue until the morale improves.” Get travel tips on airport restrictions and on what are considered acceptable carry-ons, too.

EXECUTIVE HELP WANTED
www.6figurejobs.com
Directors, managers and other $100K-plus executives can join this Web site for free and search for employment by industry, keyword and location. Read breaking news and articles on commuting distances, salaries and travel trends. Executive Resources includes links to online programs for continuing education and interviewing tips. Career Advice has guidance on cover letters and customized resumes, as well as facts on background investigations.

ON THE HUNT
www.careerjournal.com
More $100K-plus positions await job seekers at this e-stop from The Wall Street Journal. Find out who’s hiring and let employers know you’re looking by posting your resume here. Read online job-search secrets and get tips on how to talk pay with executive recruiters. Browse discussion threads on the over-50 job hunt and the state of the market. Use the compensation calculator and read the site’s best careers report.

SOX SITES

ALL ABOUT SOX
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes-Oxley_Act
Newly appointed compliance officers can find background information on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act here. In addition to the full text of the act, visitors can read its history, get a synopsis of the major provisions and research case studies of companies affected by the regulations. Read SOX-related articles, get five steps to successful spreadsheet compliance and find survey data and SOX trivia.

DO THE RIGHT THING
www.s-ox.com
If you’re looking for current compliance guidance, the Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal’s home on the Web offers topical news and feature articles. Read how to use Sarbanes-Oxley to streamline business processes in the resources section, five questions to uncover project fraud and the top 10 financial reporting challenges. Visitors can subscribe to the free Everything Sarbanes-Oxley newsletter and get case studies of SOX success stories.

DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS
www.soxtoolkit.com
Internal auditors can preview sample pages of each section of this Web site’s compliance tool kit. Selections include the Sarbanes-Oxley Guide, with a detailed explanation of the act, a management presentation with explanations of sections 302, 404 and 906(a), and audit and corporate governance compliance checklists. Other features include a working paper on Sarbanes-Oxley internal controls and a management compliance guide.

GENERAL INTEREST SITES

TAKE A TIP FROM A PRO
http://accounting.pro2net.com
CPAs looking for resources on accounting, corporate finance, ethics and compliance and tax can find news, insights and links on this Web site. Research new IRS rulings, get corporate governance tips and learn why college costs and Chapter 7 filings are on the rise. Find a survey of young CPAs in the Human Resources section on why firms fail to deliver key attributes. Read tutorials, white papers and newsletters in the Resource Library.

SCHOOL DAZE
www.collegeanswer.com
Do you have clients with education expense questions? This Smart Stop has an affordability analyzer, loan repayment and monthly budget calculators, and school and scholarship search engines. Register for free and gain access to the Download Library for eight steps to financial aid, a comparison of federal loan programs and a checklist on choosing a lender. Students can get SAT, GMAT and GED exam dates and registration deadlines, in addition to a general year-by-year college planning calendar.

A STUDENT SITE
http://web.utk.edu/~jwachowi/wacho_world.html
Fundamentals of Financial Management coauthor John Wachowicz’s Web stop has resources for finance students including links to finance and accounting blogs, business ethics Web sites and the Encyclopedia of Corporate Governance at www.encycogov.com. Take quizzes from Wachowicz’s text on financial analysis and planning, valuation and working capital management. Read presentations on growing annuities and the time value of money.

—Vince Nolan