Fellow Akron Chapter Members:

December is a time to reflect on the past year, and look into the future to see what it holds.

Our January 16th meeting will be a technical session only with John Pollara, IMA National Chair 2007-2008, speaking on 'This is not your Father's IMA'. If you cannot attend on Wednesday, John will be speaking at the Canton Chapter the night before. We hope you will attend one of the nights. We will also hold our joint meeting with ASWA on January 8th. See the website for more information.

I hope everyone has a safe and joyous holiday season.

Doreen Kuster
President
Akron Chapter IMA

1/8/2008 ** Joint Meeting with ASWA *** Hilton Akron/Fairlawn
1/16/2008 ** No Pre-Tech ** Tangier Restaurant
2/20/2008 ** University of Akron Martin University Center
3/19/2008 *** Tangier Restaurant
4/16/2008 *** Tangier Restaurant
5/21/2008 *** Tangier Restaurant

The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation provides corporate management and individual Members with an objective measure of knowledge and competence in the field of management accounting.The CMA is an invaluable credential for professional advancement and for broadening professional skills and perspective.

For further information contact: E-mail Steve Law (at Home)

or E-mail Steve Law (at Work) or phone (330) 666-8395.

Please welcome Gary Byers a student at the University of Akron and Scot Silbaugh a student at Kent State University.

Please contact Roy Howarter if you have a job available or are looking for an employment opportunity.

Roy Howarter - Akron IMA Employment Director, 1- 800-321-5583

For a complete record of CPE earned at Akron chapter pre-tech, tech session and PD seminar meetings (from September 2000 through May 2007), go to the chapter website, akron.imanet.org, click on "Events", and then click on "CPE History" (bottom of page). The link shows date of meeting, name of speaker, title of presentation, CPE categorization, and number of hours of CPE credit earned.

To recruit and retain top performers in today's employee-driven job market, companies should be prepared to loosen the purse strings and offer appealing perks, according to the recently released 2007 Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations (EDGE) Report from Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.com. The annual survey highlights employment, hiring and compensation trends from the perspectives of both hiring managers and employees.

For the consecutive third year, employers reported a competitive recruiting environment. Hiring managers said it's difficult to attract skilled workers, especially for professional staff-level positions and supervisory roles. The vast majority (91 percent) of employers said it is equally or more challenging to find skilled candidates compared to 12 months ago. The low unemployment rate (around 2 percent) for college- educated professionals is contributing to the recruitment challenges, according to the study.

The EDGE Report indicates that workers are more attuned to their market value and plan to use that leverage at the bargaining table. Fifty- eight percent of workers said they are more likely to try to negotiate higher salaries with new employers today versus 12 months ago. This is a significant increase from 2006 when only 29 percent of respondents said they would attempt to negotiate a better offer. Moreover, 55 percent of employees polled said their compensation has increased over the last 12 months.

The survey also addressed the perks and programs that hold the most weight with employees. The top benefits that workers said would lead them to choose one job over another were flexible schedules (65 percent), telecommuting options (33 percent) and employee stock purchase plans (33 percent). On-site fitness facilities, cafeterias and childcare also are appreciated.

To level the recruiting playing field and keep pace with competing firms in this tight labor market, employers should consider boosting starting salaries and offer work arrangements that help employees better balance professional and personal obligations.

Accountemps is the world's first and largest temporary staffing service specializing in the placement of accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. The company has more than 350 offices throughout North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and offers online job search services at www.accountemps.com.

email: floyd@sssnet.com

web: http://akron.imanet.org