Dennis J. Elbert

Boards of Directors for Small Businesses and Small Private Corporations: The Changing Role, Duties and Expectations

Today the governance and management structure of business organizations, particularly publicly traded corporations uti lizes a board of directors. Organization use of boards of directors is considered an openly accepted and utilized structure to provide leadership and management direction in business organization. Because large public companies recognize the value to the corporation and because of the increased regulatory requirements placed on publicly traded companies, the use of boards of directors are strongly endorsed. For small businesses and privately held companies, however, a board of directors is not always viewed as a useful part of the corporate structure. This paper reports on the results of a study which focused on the board functions and operations of small privately held corporations. A survey of 180 small, of ten family owned, non‐public corporations was conducted in one Mid western state. The study corroborated the expanding body of literature suggesting the lack of formality in board functions for small privately held companies. Critical factors influencing board function and action included needs of the company, abilities of the directors, sophistication of ownership and management, as well as life cycle stage, percent of family ownership and trading status of the corporation’s stock.

Public Accounting: Marketing a Changing Profession

Abstract The accounting profession is changing at a rapid pace. The easing of restrictions on advertising, the mergers and acquisitions among accounting firms and with non-accounting firms, and the flood of new technology have all fostered increased competition within the accounting profession and a heightened awareness of the need to market accounting services. This study was conducted to replicate and extend an earlier study in 1990 by Gillett, Hiltner, and Elbert (1993) to explore how these changes have affected the marketing of accounting services. Opinions were solicited from CPAs regarding their use of various marketing activities categorized by the six Ps of product, price, promotion, place, public opinion, and political issues. The results were compared with the earlier study and additional items were included to explore the use of new technology. The results of the study revealed that CPAs still consider the reputation of the firm and personal contact as their most important marketing tools, consistent with the earlier study. A number of differences from the earlier study were noted, however. One of the significant findings of this study was that accountants appear increasingly willing to employ nonCPA marketers. Networking was viewed as increasingly important as a marketing tool, along with increased use of such traditional marketing tools as client surveys, market research, and seminars for clients. In addition, new technology is being incorporated into the marketing of accounting services via the use of e-mail, fax machines, and the internet.

Student Reaction to Local vs. Published Cases: Is there a Difference?

This study examines a proposed method to increase student interest in a case course in marketing management. Cases involving local business firms were introduced to the class as a supplement to cases in the required textbook. Student reaction to the use of local cases is described.