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6 Reasons To Ditch The Excel Spreadsheet (Content Princess – SEO)

Hailing from the mid-1980’s, Excel has had its heydays. Now it’s time to shut down and put the spreadsheet to rest.

Managing contacts effectively is an essential part of running your company well. These days there is much more information to one contact than simply a name and address. One client alone may have an email, a cell phone number, a landline number, a website, and multiple social media pages.

A survey by Daptiv showed that 76{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of IT companies still rely on spreadsheets. It also showed that spreadsheets are only useful for smaller amounts of data.

Excel was great at its peak. We’ve learned from it. Here are 6 reasons why it’s time to ditch the outdated software known as an Excel spreadsheet.

It’s Not Secure

As per Forrester Research, almost 81{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of businesses make use of Excel spreadsheets for data management. Excel doesn’t track users and is, therefore, open to being misused. Someone can easily log-in, incognito, and change or send data. An opportunist can easily commit a fraud.

Outdated for Millennials

Chris Pope, senior director of strategy at technology services company ServiceNow, says that Millennials, who have grown up online, lack the knowledge of programmes such as Excel and are discombobulated by spreadsheet software.

This generation is used to doing work quickly, at the touch of a finger. Their usage of spreadsheets is going down year on year.

Doesn’t work well on mobile devices

The spreadsheet was designed when work done with old fashioned pen and paper was instead to be done on a PC. Now, the PCs are looking old fashioned as more of our business and online work is done on tablets and cell phones.

Have you ever looked at spreadsheet data on your phone and thought “hey, this is easy to read!” Yep, thought not.

Error ErrorError

A 2013 Market Watch reports claims that up to 88{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of spreadsheets have errors. That’s a huge percentage of potentially incorrect contact data.

Why is this? Well, it could be down to the fact most spreadsheets have their data entered by humans. And, yep, we get stuff wrong sometimes.

The best example that shows the impact of Excel errors is the one of JPMorgan Chase, where it lost a whopping 6 billion dollars due to spreadsheet errors in the London Whale incident.

Not web-based

How did we get to number 5 before bringing this one up?

When information is put into a spreadsheet, that data is stored on the computer’s hard drive and then separately sent to other people who need that information. If they update their spreadsheet, the data changes. The Barclays bank incurred losses in an acquisition deal, just because around 200 cells in their offer details in the worksheet weren’t deleted but rather hidden! Also, duplication of an Excel file can create havoc for business.

Cloud based systems work more efficiently. Up-to-date information can be shared, merged and synced instantly by anyone and with anyone. Employees prefer this. According to a survey, 25{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of employees have left a job because they didn’t feel included in some aspects of the business.

It’s time to move forward folks!

It is 2017 now, didn’t you know? It’s time to steam ahead. You are losing a lot of employee potential by making them work tediously on Excel spreadsheets. It is necessary to choose the right solution to make the most of the employee capabilities & efforts and avoid wastage of your organization’s time and resources.

So, ditch Excel and rise to glory!

Keywords/LSI

spreadsheet, operating system, spreadsheet software, contact management system, Excel spreadsheets, Cloud based systems, spreadsheet errors, spreadsheet data

References

https://www.inc.com/guides/protect-against-fraud.html

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/88-of-spreadsheets-have-errors-2013-04-17

http://time.com/3844483/millennials-secrets/

https://www.fullcontact.com/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/06/16/spreadsheet-reporting-5-reasons-why-it-is-bad-for-business/#517dac3565e3

http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/what-s-so-bad-about-spreadsheets#axzz4edjrxF5B

http://www.zdnet.com/article/forrester-google-still-a-distant-office-competitor/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/salesforce/2014/09/13/sorry-spreadsheet-errors/#647d3cc056ab

What the oil crisis means for Australia (Content Princess – SEO)

The oil crisis has been an ongoing global problem since as early as 2014, but what does this crisis mean for Australia?

The current oil crisis

Oil prices fell from above $100 per barrel in 2014 and dropped down to the low levels of $30 per barrel in 2016; the market has since recovered. However, there is worry that we may dip to these levels once again.

The current crisis has been attributed to excess supplies of US shale oil. Oil companies and suppliers depend on the revenue generated from oil sales, so excess stock makes it hard for them to fund their fiscal budget.

Increasing rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has not helped the oil crisis and has caused the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to intervene, leading to an agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC members to freeze/ cut oil production in November 2016.

The deal was due to continue until March 2018. However, cracks have started to appear, and there are fears that the deal will break apart.

The effect on the rest of the world

The oil crisis has affected the economy; this has a knock-on effect on the remainder of the world. Modern society relies heavily on economic growth and the slightest economic dip has a rippled effect.

The oil industry, when booming, brings tremendous economic growth. However, this also means any hit to the oil industry negatively affects economic growth. The oil crisis in the past have caused recessions and brought countries to their knees.

Economist always pays close attention to the oil industry due to the major impact price increase and decreases have.

The effect on Australia

In the 1990s, years of strategic planning meant that Australia almost reached oil self-sufficiency, however, in the 2000s trends changed and suddenly the gap between consumption and production started widening. Currently, Australia is only 38{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} oil self-sufficient.

Instead of being, self-sufficient Australia has been turning to oil imports. While this may improve the supply of crude oil, this leaves the country vulnerable. The current oil crisis means that supplies have had to freeze/cut production, this means that another price dip could cause an economic catastrophe.

It is in the countries best interest to start aiming towards oil self-sufficiency rather than relying on oil imports since the oil industry is incredibly unstable with little signs of stability.

Conclusion

The oil crisis has been brewing since 2014 but reached its peak in 2016; however, despite signs of recovery increased instability has meant that economists fear that another dip is imminent.

Excess stock of American shale oil and ongoing rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has said that the OPEC has had to work together as members and non-member to reach an agreement to freeze or cut production.

An agreement was reached in November 2016. However, there have already been signs of stress, and it is feared that the deal will collapse well before the March 2018 end date.

Up until 2000, Australia was heading in the right direction towards full oil self-sufficiency, however, due to a change in trend the country started to rely more on imported oil. This has seen a decline in production and leaves Australia incredibly vulnerable due to the instability in the oil industry.

To protect ourselves from the fallout of a potential collapse in the oil industry and reach 100{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} oil self-sufficiency, Australia should focus its efforts on increasing oil production.

Primary Keyword: oil crisis

LSI Keyword – Variants: oil prices, current crisis, US shale oil, oil companies, oil sales, oil industry, oil self-sufficiency, oil self-sufficient, imports of oil, crude oil

What The Oil Crisis Means For Australia (Content Princess – SEO)

What The Oil Crisis Means For Australia (Content Princess – SEO)

Brent crude oil tumbled from $37.28 down to $30.86 per barrel in the past year or so. How is that severe? Well, in the fourth quarter of 2014, Brent was selling at $100 per barrel, meaning its prices have plummeted, and drastically too.

With oil prices currently in freefall (as seen in the above example), sending shivers down the spines of major economies, prevailing countries take wins, and those less fortunate take losses. But what does this mean for our beautiful country? What does this mean for Australia?

The Crisis Itself

Our world has more liquid petroleum than it ever had before, also meaning it has more than it will ever actually need too, and in this fuel-guzzling, energy-driven society, that comes with catastrophic circumstances.

Drastic changes in the supply and demand of oil and other fuels can result in the tearing down of share markets, the shutdown of multi-billion dollar hedge funds and not to mention slashing government budgets, ultimately ending up in spiralling numerous countries into a recession that never needed to happen. A recession that could have been easily regulated and avoidable.

But with greed comes unforeseen, often terrible circumstances. And greed, sadly, in this day and age, is much too common and way too blind. The people are getting greedy to fail to see the aftereffects of their greed because they cannot see past the enormous stacks of money on their desks. And doesn’t that tell us a lot about the world?

What Does This Mean For Australia?

A whole lot of bad

It may seem good at first because lower oil prices mean cheaper petrol right? Wrong. While the prices overall are lower, with Australia being a net oil importer, they have lost a lot of income through oil trading, meaning the Australian dollar has also plummeted. So while the low oil prices have caused the prices of petrol to come down drastically, with the Australian dollar dropping too, it has resulted in what appeared to be a $1.45 decrease per barrel, actually turned out to be a 53 cent increase.

The entire thing paints a very complicated-looking picture for Australia because although we’re importing oil at much lower prices, being a net oil importer and all, that very much looks like a good thing. But the bad side of it is, the nation is a net energy exporter and lots of energy-related products, meaning as well as buying oil on the cheap side. We’re also trading our exports at much lower prices too, because a lot of energy products, such as gas, follow similar price patterns to oil.

Summarising The Crisis

So yes, we may be importing stuff for much lower prices, but in turn, our main export outlets are taking major hits too, so it’s not as though the Australian economy is being boosted due to the cheap imports. Because in actuality, the economy is on the decline because of our main exports taking a hit in all this too. Add the drop of the Australian dollar into the equation, and the nation could be facing one of the most severe declines in its economy it has seen in many years.

LSI Keywords:

Economy
Oil
Gas
Import
Export
Finance
Recession
Australia
Australian Dollar
Nation
Price
Decline

Will Corporate Accelerators Work For Your Business? (Content Princess – SEO)

Will Corporate Accelerators Work For Your Business? (Content Princess – SEO)

Seed accelerators or start – up accelerators are programs that feature mentorship, education modules and finish with a demonstration day or a public pitch event. Established corporations can also benefit from connecting with professional accelerators which are run by experienced entrepreneurs. Accelerators centre on a broad range of industries and are particularly important in industries like food, telecommunications, and agriculture that tend to be impervious to change.

Advantages of Corporate Accelerators.

A New Work Culture – Executives and employees learn about new methodologies such as designing a viable product, project management and customer development. As a result, they will begin using them in their work environment.

Case Study – When Windows 10 was introduced it went through numerous repetitions with customers providing opinions through Windows Insider. The product was released before it was completed and it was attuned based on customer responses. The result has been an exceptional success, and Windows 10 has grown faster than any other Windows version.

Ability to Attract More Partnerships and Collaborations – Many companies have concluded that they need to join start-ups to subject them to new technologies and methodologies. This will procure their future in the market. Big corporations can observe start-ups in the initial stages and gain knowledge of the industry and new trends.

Growth of Accelerator Programs.

During the past decade, the growth of accelerator programs has fast-tracked.

At the start of 2016, there were 170 accelerator programs in the US.
Each year from 2008 to 2014 the number increased by an average of 50{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} (Ian Hathaway, a senior fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute).
The average evaluation of a company supported by an accelerator is $7.1 million. While this includes hits and flops the result is still good.

Springboard is an accelerator program whose companies have procured $6.5 billion through their lifetime and have an 83{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} fundraising success rate.

As the chart demonstrates accelerator programs like Springboard work.

Problems Which Can Arise.

Corporations in accelerator programs devise a business plan. This document portrays:

Product and Services
Market opportunity.
A five-year prediction for profit, cash flow and income.

During the implementation stage, the business plan usually doesn’t hold true.

Failure of Mentorship – While good mentorship can be a real bonus the opposite can be detrimental. When there is a wide gap between what the mentor can contribute and the expectations of the start – up, there will be a momentum stall.

Many programs don’t have the recognition to appeal to quality start-ups. There are a lot not delivering but still operating because of high demand. While gaining themselves, they are leaving behind a trail of failed start – ups.

There is obviously a high demand for accelerator programs, and many do succeed. Internal accelerators are difficult to manage. They need heavy Research & Development, a lot of preparation and an effective approach to administration. Companies that are established will see the benefits of working with professional accelerator entrepreneurs. For start-ups, this is the only alternative. In the immediate future, more efficient accelerator archetypes will be required to eliminate existing pitfalls.

Primary Keyword – accelerator

Secondary Keywords – accelerators, accelerator programs, accelerator entrepreneurs, start-ups.

References

www.slideshare.net/FalguniDesai&/future-asia-ventures-corporate-accelerators-a-growing-force

www.forbes.com/sites/geristengel/2014/08/20/funding-women-entrepreneurs-if-not-now-when/#68fcae393fa8-

The Best of Jaipur Nightlife (Content Princess – SEO)

Jaipur is a small town tucked away in Rajasthan, the largest state of India, about 268 km south-west of New Delhi. It is known as the “Pink City” because of the prominent bright pink stucco architecture found throughout the town.

Let’s cover some amazing things that make the Jaipur Nightlife scene the best in India.

Chokhi Dhani – Get a Taste of the Village Life

Chokhi Dhani is a small village near the south-eastern border of Jaipur, founded by Maharaja Jai Singh II in 1722 and awarded India’s Most Innovative Tourism Project by the Ministry of Tourism.

This Chokhi Dhani Ethnic Resort, named after the village, has an on-site restaurant serving a traditional royal Indian cuisine in leaves and earthenware. They have a vegetarian friendly dinner menu and an all-you-can-eat buffet option. The dining area is open from 5pm to 11pm, costing ₹600 to ₹900 for adults and ₹350 to ₹650 for children.

Not just that, you also get to experience village life through participating in pottery making, meeting astrologers and enjoying bullock-cart rides and boat rides.

Puppet Shows Make the Jaipur Nightlife a Little More Fun!

The puppet performances are presented by the well-known “kathputli walas”, featuring ancient customary dances with small and large wooden dolls dressed in bright cultural clothing. Narrations are spoken by the female handler who performs theatrical Indian folk dance moves with the puppets as a drummer beats a dholak (loud drum) in the background. The folk epic, “Amar Singh Rathore of Nagaur”, is the most popular theme that people throng to see.

Many of the puppet shows are arranged at different stalls and stands in the Chokhi Dhani village and around Jaipur, but they usually happen spontaneously with no set date or time. Chokhi Dhani Indore Resort, Amber Palace, Jaigarh Fort, and any one of the 45 Heritage Hotels in Jaipur also organise them frequently.

Take the Fun Elephant Rides and Tour the City

Elephant rides are popular among tourists and cost only Rs.30 for about 30 minutes. You may opt for a tour at the Amber Palace, Elephant Joy or Dera Amer Elephant Safari. The ride at Amber Fort starts from the car park into the courtyard, and the Elephant Joy and Amer Elephant Safari take their rides into the foothills of the Aravali Range wilderness.

The Culture Shows Will Leave You Spell-Bound

Jaipur comes alive at night with the Alankar Musical Group hosting many interesting cultural events of customary folk dances such as Ghoomar and Kalbeliya, which consist of rapid body movements to the fast-rhythmic sounds of a beating drum. Visitors can enjoy fire-eating shows, puppet shows, magic shows, and live band performances. Take a look at this YouTube channel to know more.

Another important part of the Rajasthani culture is a Royal Rajasthani Dinner Thali. Several small bowls full of different types of food, including starters, curries, and rice are served in a large “thali” that you can enjoy at the 1135 AD Restaurant at the Amber Fort and the Virasat Restaurant near 22 Godam Circle.

In the past, this type of dinner was prepared exclusively for those with a royal bloodline.

There’s More for the Disco Enthusiasts

Jaipur is a major party city with many popular discos where people love to get

their groove on. If you want your party fix in Jaipur, below are the premier places to visit.

Duplay – This nightclub has a blue neon-lit interior inside the County Inn & Suites, with comfortable seating and a fully stocked bar, where many Bollywood stars make frequent appearances.

100{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} Rock C Scheme – This fantastic lounge/disco serves wine cocktails mixed by the award-winning bartender for your enjoyment and a talented chef cooking up rice, lamb, and curries to perfection.

Blackout – This rooftop disco-restaurant serves cocktails in a dimly lit and cosy al fresco environment, while also having sports screenings. Bollywood stars make frequent appearances here and dance to the high-energy techno music.

A Jewelled Jaipur Nightlife with Sound and Lights at Amber Fort

The Sound & Light Show at Amber Fort costs only Rs.100 at 8:30 pm for locals and Rs.200 at 7:30 pm for foreigners.

The Light and Water Fountain show at the Jawahar Circle is a gem that has fountains dancing to folk music under multi-coloured lights, delivering an energetic element to the nightlife in Jaipur.

The Night Markets of Jaipur

If you want to feel the hustle-bustle of Jaipur, then visit some night markets, also known as “bazaars”. The lively energy will draw you in, as tuk-tuks carefully drive by and shopkeepers sell all types of things including clothing, food, cultural things, antiques, arts, crafts, jewellery, and carpets at midnight hours. Some of the best markets in Jaipur at night are Johari Bazaar and Nehru Bazaar.

A visit to this colourful cultural city and the experience of the nightlife in Jaipur Is worth every penny.

LSI Keywords: places to visit in Jaipur at night, Things to do in Jaipur At Night, Night life in Jaipur, Jaipur Night Life, Jaipur Night tour, What to do in Jaipur at night.

Sources:

http://www.jaipur-travel-guide.com/Jaipur-guide/jaipur-pink-city-reason-why.html

http://www.jaipur.org.uk/nightlife-jaipur.html

https://www.ixigo.com/chokhi-dhani-village-jaipur-india-opening-visiting-timing-hours-closed-days-ne-1300611

https://www.zomato.com/jaipur/chokhi-dhani-tonk-road

http://www.chokhidhani.com

http://www.chokhidhani.com/jaipur/village/entertainment.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g304555-d308546-Reviews-Chokhi_Dhani_Resort-Jaipur_Jaipur_District_Rajasthan.html

http://www.travelnonu.com/royal-nightlife-of-jaipur.html/

http://www.deramandawa.com/accommodation.php

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g304555-d3844824-r433859727-Janu_Private_Tours-Jaipur_Jaipur_District_Rajasthan.html

https://youtube.com/watch?v=7GYS8O0ygW4

http://alankarmusicalgroup.com/

https://youtube.com/user/alankarmusicalgroup?feature=mhee

https://www.makemytrip.com/travel-guide/jaipur/sound-and-light-show-theatre.html

https://youtube.com/watch?v=XUX81MC8XJo

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2Hsn30hmKeo

https://www.zomato.com/jaipur/100-rock-c-scheme

https://www.zomato.com/jaipur/blackout-c-scheme

http://traveltriangle.com/blog/shopping-places-in-jaipur/

Simple but Effective: Five Quick Tips you’re missing from your Ideal Product Management Portfolio (Content Princess – SEO)

If you think that portfolios are just for graphic designers and photographers, you’ve got it all wrong. Your product management portfolio is a vital tool in obtaining that perfect role for what you’ve been searching. No need to panic! Improve your chances of an interview with these five core tips:

Love your data

Love your data, and your interviewer will love you. It’s a very simple formula, but it works. Anything you describe in your portfolio will be vastly strengthened by the data you collect. For example, if you took a product right from concept to launch and it made it to a million downloads your interviewer wants to know.

Even if the product you lead failed, is there data that you can pull concerning why it failed? The hard data in your portfolio should be blindingly obvious; from there, you can spin it however you like. It is that simple to make yourself sound impressive…

Hearing the customer’s voice

How are your ears? Can you hear that consumer crying out for your product? Did you do your consumer research and fill that gap in the market? Let’s hope so. If you can’t display that you’re completely in tune with your customer or user group’s needs, you can’t claim to have a complete portfolio.

Don’t worry if your user research examples seem terribly humble to you. To your interviewer, they may well show the much initiative they’ve been looking for. So gather all the examples you have of listening to and acting on the voice of your consumer, and you’ll whip that portfolio into shape in no time!

Get ‘touchy feely’

Don’t worry – we’re not suggesting anything inappropriate here. But engaging the interviewer with something tangible from design processes you have worked on can take your portfolio to a whole new level. For example, you could try bringing in some product prototypes or even wireframes.

Sometimes it is as simple as engaging your interviewer on a human level. We all remember the ‘show and tell’ tasks at school, and this strategy works on the same theory. You interact with what you touch on so many more levels than speech alone. The result will be an engagement with your interviewer which will leave him or her with a lasting impression of you.

Always remember the team

Whether you’re currently part of a team or can reference teams you’ve worked in in the past, your team engagement is a hugely important part of a product management portfolio.

As a product manager, you are aiming to be at the centre of a complex network of everyone from designers and researchers to sales teams and senior management. You are the mediator between this highly mobilised team and the customer. Make sure your interviewing panel knows you’re up to scratch.

Build a website

And finally, it may seem obvious, but there could not be a better way of collating and displaying your portfolio work than by building your site. Even the very process of this will demonstrate your proficiency with HTML and basic coding.

And if that seems beyond your capabilities at the moment, just use one of the great services out there like ‘About.me’ or ‘LinkedIn’ and you will still be able to build your project work up into an impressive portfolio very successfully. Just remember to incorporate all the tips included above when it comes to the structure.

So you’ve read this far, which must mean you’re really serious about getting that product management portfolio. All that’s left is to follow all the tips above and work them into your top-performing portfolio.

Remember to keep on following our blogs and apply for a place on our certification programme for expert training in all the fundamentals of product management.

KEYWORDS:

Product Management, product, consumer, user, portfolio, team, service, services, customer

SOURCES:

https://www.producttalk.org/2012/06/4-questions-i-always-ask-when-interviewing-product-managers/

https://www.producttalk.org/2012/08/to-portfolio-or-not-to-portfolio/

https://www.quora.com/Do-product-managers-have-portfolios-and-if-so-what-are-good-examples#

https://www.producttalk.org/2012/09/so-you-want-to-be-a-product-manager/

Grab Your Umbrella: Monsoons rain down problems on Bangalore Start-ups (Content Princess – SEO)

As those living in tropical climates already know, monsoon patterns can impact almost every aspect of life. Particularly in the Indian Ocean, these seasonal variations in rainfall and wind patterns can have a drastic impact on things as far reaching as food prices, travel plans, insurance rates, and poverty rates.

Why do monsoons matter?

Shifts in monsoon patterns are caused by the El Niño Southern Oscillation, a semi-yearly change in ocean temperatures which causes a ripple effect through atmospheric patterns. Research has shown that global warming is exacerbating the effects of ENSO, causing more extreme monsoons and more extreme dry seasons.

Yearly changes in ENSO patterns (image: appinsys.com)

How do monsoons impact India in particular?

The monsoon season is particularly important in India. It has one of the most extreme fluctuations in the wet and dry season caused by monsoons. It also hosts one of the strongest tech industries in the world; Bangalore has long been called the “new silicon valley,” as it is home to over 30{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of start-ups in the country.

India has experienced serious consequences from global warming: the country is experiencing record temperatures year after year, and the annual monsoon has been delayed three years in a row, causing serious fluctuation in crop and energy prices.

Bangalore startups are particularly impacted by monsoon season because without the extensive infrastructure of an established company, it can be harder to bounce back from environmental changes such as monsoons.

image: newindiaexpress.com

Entrepreneurs can be the most prepared, well-planned, organised managers of their start-ups, and still, they cannot quite buffer themselves from the effects of monsoons.

Business and tech are expanding extremely rapidly in India, but much of the infrastructure has been rapidly constructed as well, sometimes leading to insufficient systems to handle the needs of a huge population

Startups and Internet in Monsoon Season

Internet connectivity, in particular, is an extremely big problem for start-ups during monsoons. Start-ups often depend on overhead lines or underground fibre cables for their connections.

Larger companies who can afford dedicated leased lines do not suffer from as many connectivity problems. Start-ups using less expensive internet options often experience loss of connection in conditions as tame as gentle rain.

Worse, it is difficult to tell whether, in any given meteorological event, the internet will stay connected or not. Therefore, it is hard to plan the week and set strict deadlines for projects, since it could be impossible, logistically, to keep them. Planning a big event or conference could go completely haywire if the internet in the neighbourhood goes down due to a fallen tree. We depend on the net for almost everything, and a start-up could suffer even more if the loss of connection happens to occur on the due date for a big bill or contract processing.

Looking to the future: rural vs. urban impacts

However, in other respects, many businesspeople believe the importance of the monsoon for the investment market overall is in decline. Even though the monsoon may be becoming less predictable, its largest impacts are on rural populations. As time goes on, the stock market is being dominated not by energy or agricultural staples but by urban consumers and businesses.

Further reading:

http://scroll.in/article/733519/startups-in-bengaluru-have-another-nightmare-monsoon-rains

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB105543491840850900
http://monsoon.yale.edu/monsoon-affects-economy-health-in-india/

Keywords: startups, Bangalore startups, India, monsoon, El Niño Southern Oscillation,

Not filed your tax return yet? 5 reasons you may be in luck! (Content Princess – SEO)

Tax returns may frighten even the best of us when the deadline is near. But this year is the season to relax, keeping your worries at bay. There are reasons for submitting the returns late and still keeping the penalties away!

With the deadline for submitting IRS tax returns extended to April 18th, 2017 this year, you are in luck! It’s still not late to file your returns.

Do You Need To File Your Tax Return?

Before you panic over your taxes, be sure you need to submit the tax return. Under certain conditions, filing taxes is not necessary.

Consider your age as well, since being over or under 65 impacts your requirement to file.

Don’t file if you have no income. You also don’t need to file if your income falls below minimum brackets. If you’re single and under 65, you file if you earn over $10,350. If you file jointly, you file if you earn over $20,700.

Dependents also can’t claim their exemptions regardless of age. When their earned income is more than the standard deduction for a single taxpayer ($6,300), they will still receive a return.

No Penalties

Not sending in your tax returns translates to penalties. You’ll be charged 5{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of what you owe when you don’t submit by the due date of filing of the tax return. Being 60 days late will get you at least a $135 late filing fee.

If you don’t owe anything though, there aren’t any penalties for not filing. Being owed a refund also means that you won’t be charged a late filing fee.

Please Give An Extension!

Talk to the IRS right away if you haven’t filed but still need to. The time you have left might not be enough time, so ask for an extension.

An automatic six-month extension is given to anyone who asks when filing a federal tax return. This pushes the due date until October 16th. This way you can avoid penalties.

I Still Want My Refund!

Even if you haven’t needed to file taxes for the past three years, you can still get a refund. You can get the money you pay as a federal tax back.

For up to three years since your original due date, you can still get your refund. This means that if you haven’t filed yet, try next year or ask for your extension.

Late Refunds

Not filing yet, won’t make a huge impact as you might think. You may even have a friend who submitted in January and is still waiting to get his refund.

The IRS can’t always give out refunds fast. Part of this has to do with form issues, like errors, incomplete forms, or further review.

Claims filed before February 15th for an Earned Income Tax Credit, or an Additional Child Tax Credit will also take longer. Form 8379 for Injured Spouse Allocation can take up to 14 weeks to process.

On average, however, 21 days is usually how long you’ll have to wait regardless of when you file your tax return.

Filing tax returns need not always be stressful, you might even get lucky sometimes!

Primary Keyword: Tax returns

LSI Keywords:

Variants: IRS tax returns, federal tax return, submit the tax return, file your tax return, sending in your tax returns, filing of the tax return

Antonyms and Synonyms: refunds, extension, penalties, taxes, file your taxes, returns, submit taxes, filing

Links:

https://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season-refund-frequently-asked-questions

https://www.efile.com/tax-day-deadlines/

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/IRS-Tax-Return/Does-Everyone-Need-to-File-an-Income-Tax-Return-/INF14399.html

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch01.html

http://budgeting.thenest.com/need-file-tax-extension-dont-owe-26243.html

FINANCE TECHNOLOGY INFLUENCING TODAY’S CFO (Content Princess – SEO)

Today every CFO has a speciﬁc skill set which is complimented by the rise in ﬁnance technologies. The latest technology developments and ﬁnance systems cut through the complexity inherent in basic duties. This, in turn, makes it simpler for the CFO and CEO levels to integrate with a better understanding.

According to an article published last year in The Wall Street Journal written in conjunction with Deloitte, the CFO insight and analysis professional service, tech innovations such as large data platforms, mobile and social media tools and business analytics are continuously transforming ﬁnance technology.

These new ﬁnancial toolkit capabilities assist in such ways towards support and collaboration between the CEO and CFO. The modern CFO skills will encompass tech trends that fall into two categories.

Firstly, there are the disruptive innovation technologies. These are developments that will have fundamentally changed modern business in a few years and deﬁnitely impact how it is implemented today. This includes in its list ﬁnance technology big data, crowdsourcing, cognitive and predictive analytics and social media.

The modern CFO who integrates these big emerging technologies and derives ﬁnancial impetus from them will be positioned to take their company well into the century. By using these innovations to further the company ﬁnance function, this will drive performance across the board.

The second CFO technology trend is all the enabling tech innovations currently in use. These have already altered the course and enhanced the daily ﬁnancial operations in companies today. Included in this list are such ﬁnancial tech innovations such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Mobility, in-memory and visualisation computing.

These Finance Technology innovations have been highly beneﬁcial upon implementation. The modern CFO uses them to achieve such things as to gain better performance from the company’s systems and lowering cost of ownership. These ﬁnancial technologies hand a very effective toolkit to the CFO. It is now possible to exponentially advance and enhance ﬁnancial agenda.

Efﬁciency and cost reductions can be monitored by keeping the SaaS model constantly in sight. IT ﬁnances can be moved from capital expenditure costs to the operational budget. This is possible as in place of owning an asset, IT would be consuming a service on a when needed basis.

By employing the SaaS model and technology to gather traditional performance analytics and management, this will save having to invest in hitherto unavoidable integration. For example, subsuming new organisations into the main enterprise program would no longer be necessary as they would have the ability to operate their analytics.

This kind of mobility can extend and integrate the CFO’s capabilities more seamlessly into the organisation. The new ﬁnance technology trends give mobility to support the business’s need for personal servicing and remote enabling of business processes, reporting and analytics at the point.

This enhances all company decision support. CFO’s ability to communicate and partner alongside business by rendering ﬁnancial data into easily consumable and familiar language to business is a powerful tool. Perhaps the most welcome Finance Technology innovation available to the modern CFO today.

KEYWORDS: Technology CFO; Finance Technology; Modern CFO skills and competencies.

References: www.timoelliot.com www.deloitte.com/ www.deloitte.wsj.com

Technology Trends Impacting Today’s CFO(Content Princess – SEO)

Being a chief financial officer in today’s world of technology is already a role which is proven to be an ever-increasing challenge. Faced with the stresses of managing finances and making crucial financial decisions, CFOs are often confronted with an abundance of stress throughout their day-to-day life.

Though with this new age of technology thoroughly upon us, the CFO’s role is only becoming more and more stressful and they have to adapt and grow every day to stay on the top of their game.

As well as a lot of trends giving CFOs increased stress, some of them are also granting them further abilities and distances, allowing them to reach out across the financial world and explore in greater depth.

Added stress does come with technology changes and advancements, though not all are necessarily bad for the CFO. It can be good, in forcing the current CFO to develop a wider range of skills and competencies.

Some Things That Are Having An Impact

One of the most notable things that are impacting today’s CFOs are platforms which offer regular updates as often as twice or thrice yearly. Platforms which fall under the category of Cloud provide regular updates as mentioned previously, with leading technologies under the Cloud bracket offering as many as four updates a year.

This has an effect on CFOs because instead of having to freshen up their knowledge and become familiar with updates every four or five years as with previous technological platforms, they are now required to get familiar with updated versions far more regularly, resulting in more work and more stress with constant learning curves.

One thing in today’s technological world that can aid a CFO is the broadness of the mobility that they have at their fingertips. It’s this ability to have access to their data or near enough any other data whenever they wish to view it and analyse it.

It grants CFOs with a greater and more in-depth look at their respective market or niche, allowing them to make more accurate financial decisions for their business’s growth. It would aid with investment priorities as they would be provided with a broader range of typically more accurate data on which to base their decisions.

Another positive aspect of having access to mounds and mounds of data would be that CFOs would be able to pay close attention to external information. External Information like trends and tactics in other countries and other businesses – and attempt to apply those strategies to their organisation, coupling it with the internal information that they have already sourced and looked into meticulously.

That does, however, come with a downside to it, as CFOs could become overwhelmed with information if they try to look into too much all at once. This could result in confusion and the over-complication of otherwise simple decisions. Though information is the most valuable asset available to CFOs, it can also pose as just as much a pitfall.

An Important Role

In summary, being a CFO comes with many challenges and downsides, just as any role in technology does. It is a stressful position, to begin with, though in this world of ever-evolving technology and growing trends, they are forced to stay on top of their game.

Although this can cause much stress and can give them a much harder time, it can also be of a great benefit as they have access to so much more than anyone who has worked in that role previously.

As in every walk of life: it is all about adapting, learning and evolving to become more efficient and prolific in your respective position. And trends in today’s technological world are most definitely forcing that upon the CFOs of this generation.