Intuit: 5 Different Insiders Have Sold Shares During The Last 30 Days

I just watched the film, "The Counselor" which had a great line, "That this is some sort of coincidence. Because they don't really believe in coincidences. They've heard of them. They've just never seen one."   No, we also don't believe in conspiracies....however it's kind of fun to read what some are thinking, no?  Who knows, maybe this fellow is onto something....exactly what we're not quite sure.....and on that note enjoy the writings of Markus Aarnio who for SeekingAlpha writes:

Summary

• 5 insiders sold Intuit stock within one month.
• The stock was not purchased by any insiders in the month of intensive selling.
• 4 of these 5 insiders decreased their holdings by more than 10%.

Intuit (INTU) provides business and financial management solutions for small businesses, consumers, and accounting professionals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Singapore.
(click to enlarge)

Insider selling during the last 30 days

Here is a table of Intuit's insider activity during the last 30 days.

Name	Title	Trade Date	Shares Sold	Option Exercise & Sale	Rule 10b5-1	Current Ownership	Decrease In Ownership
Mark Flournoy	CAO	June 5	1,921	Yes	No	0 shares + 3,744 options	33.9%
Dan Maurer	SVP	June 3	75,000	Yes	No	17,265 shares + 112,812 options	36.6%
Sasan Goodarzi	SVP	May 22	2,111	No	No	3,179 shares	39.9%
Brad Smith	CEO	May 22	6,000	No	Yes	303,937 shares + 600,966 options	0.7%
Daniel Wernikoff	SVP	May 23	18,000	Yes	No	216 shares	98.8%

There have been 103,032 shares sold by insiders during the last 30 days. Brad Smith sold his shares pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan. More details about the Rule 10b5-1 trading plan can be found from this link.

Insider selling by calendar month

Here is a table of Intuit's insider activity by calendar month.

Month	Insider selling / shares	Insider buying / shares
June 2014	76,921	0
May 2014	26,111	0
April 2014	0	0
March 2014	10,000	0
February 2014	100,000	0
January 2014	0	0
December 2013	8,226	0
November 2013	49,000	0
October 2013	0	0
September 2013	195,632	0
August 2013	213,999	0
July 2013	0	0
June 2013	0	0
May 2013	0	0
April 2013	0	0
March 2013	22,782	0
February 2013	154,000	0
January 2013	0	0

There have been 856,671 shares sold and there have been zero shares purchased by insiders since January 2013.

Financials

Intuit reported the fiscal 2014 third-quarter, which ended April 30, financial results on May 20 with the following highlights:

Revenue	$2.4 billion
Net income	$984 million
Cash	$2.6 billion
Debt	$499 million

The five insiders sold their shares after this report.

Outlook

Intuit's guidance is as follows:

	Q4/2014	FY2014
Revenue	$683-$713 million	$4.475-$4.505 billion
GAAP EPS	-$0.10 to -$0.12	$3.08-$3.12

Competition

Intuit's competitors include Automatic Data Processing (ADP), and H&R Block (HRB). Here is a table comparing these companies.

Company	INTU	ADP	HRB
Market Cap:	22.72B	38.38B	8.31B
Employees:	8,000	60,000	2,200
Qtrly Rev Growth (yoy):	0.14	0.07	-0.58
Revenue:	4.43B	11.96B	2.66B
Gross Margin:	0.87	0.49	0.61
EBITDA:	1.50B	2.49B	591.79M
Operating Margin:	0.30	0.18	0.18
Net Income:	844.00M	1.44B	259.30M
EPS:	3.13	3.00	0.83
P/E:	25.54	26.55	36.56
PEG (5 yr expected):	1.71	2.44	1.65
P/S:	5.09	3.17	3.07

Intuit has the highest P/S ratio among these three companies.
Here is a table of these competitors' insider activities this year.

Company	Insider buying / shares	Insider selling / shares
ADP	0	324,383
HRB	0	0

Automatic Data Processing has also seen intensive insider selling during the last 30 days.

Conclusion

There have been five different insiders selling Intuit, and there have not been any insiders buying Intuit during the last 30 days. Four of these five insiders decreased their holdings by more than 10%. Intuit has an insider ownership of 4.68%.

Before going short Intuit, I would like to get a bearish confirmation from the Point & Figure chart. The two main reasons for the proposed short entry are a relatively high P/S ratio, and the intensive insider-selling activity.

How successful businesses utilise their Accounting and Tax departments.

William P.W.Omony MBA Fin. Services  (U.K.) writes:   All businesses aspire to perform at their peak in delivering their client value proposition though not all achieve this objective.

Having worked globally with both SMEs & Big businesses, there seem to be a pattern of how successful businesses do utilise even the simplest of units in the Accounting and Tax services department.

How well a business utilises these departments have significant effect not just on the growth of the business but can also be used to influence the strategic direction of the business.

At a time when public finances are tight and almost every business is being monitored and reviewed as to how much Tax they are paying or how the entity is structured, a well-functioning Accounting and Tax department may be what the entity needs for performance improvement.

We explored how peak performing businesses utilise their Accounting and Tax departments. Here is a brief snap shot,

1. It’s not just about the numbers - In an age of big data, almost all businesses are striving to generate as much information as possible so as to make better decision. Financial data generated by professional Bookkeeping can be a great start to inform decision making within entities. Most businesses use Bookkeeping only as a recording tool for year end reporting and are less concerned about utilising it to inform the entity of what would happen if certain variables like product sales price, sales mix, purchase trends, client buying patterns, customer payment discounts and other variables could have on the way the entity delivers its value proposition. A rethink to incorporate the mind set makes the business better at appreciating the issues behind the numbers rather than the numbers in themselves.
2. Turn compliance into value creation – It’s a global requirement for businesses to file returns and reports which are a reflection of their activities over a period of time. Some of these reports are required by statutory authorities like HM Revenue & Customs & Companies’ House in the UK and IRS in the US. Most such reports are annual and no one bothers to question anything about them until when the 'filing deadline' is approaching. The motivation for most of the questions is to avoid being penalised by the authorities as a result of non-compliance. While some entities prepare quarterly reports to inform the markets of their performance, a little less prepare these reports so as to enhance their performance in delivering better services to their clients. The culture is much worse when working with SMEs who in most cases ask the difficult questions about their financial statements when they are looking for financing. Issues like, how can we strengthen the asset base? What questions might lenders ask of our financial position & operations should we require extra financing? How does short term high/Low debt affect our business performance in both the short and long term? Yet very few try answering these questions so as to improve performance. It’s a well-known that business environments are much more fluid today and becoming even much more with advancement in Technology though its only peak performers that turn the compliance issues in to performance improvement tools.
3. Accounting and Tax driven Organisational strategy – Strategy has for long been a 'thing' for the elite and the ‘chosen ones’ aiming at the C-Suite positions in an organisation. Strategy is making decisions, and on a day to day basis there are many decisions being made within organisations. Accounting and Tax are among the few departments that have to build some relative knowledge of the whole organisation so as to be effective in delivering peak performance. The inter dynamics of the various requirements including risks that have to be monitored, places these departments at the centre of supporting peak decision making. Whether in the process of developing or reviewing organisational strategy, Accounting and Tax departments have not just the knowledge but also the capacity to reliably drive & shape organisational strategy.
4. Planning and forecasting – While many SMEs have been accused of not having a business plan and as such curtailed their likelihood to perform at their best, It’s not known how many of such businesses do plan and forecast their activities then structure them to enhance their performance through variance analysis. At the SME level variance analysis provides the best way to adjust to the business environment so as to improve performance, a much difficult undertaking for big businesses given their size and complexity. The use of management and other performance reports including business plans has been a key part of peak performing businesses development strategy.
5. Adjusting to harness globalisation – Globalisation has changed the way businesses operate. Even SMEs have to position themselves to meet global market needs or at least envision the potential of serving clients across borders. This focusses not only on generating more revenue but also on improving service or product delivery and the tax and other regulatory requirements that have to cater for stakeholders beyond the businesses geographical or political borders. With a fully functioning accounting and tax unit, issues like international market development, succession planning, international embargo, money laundering and many others will help entities structure themselves to perform better.

While accounting and tax departments are ‘backward’ looking in preparing performance reports, it’s their ability to look forward and to reliably answer pertinent questions affecting entities that define peak performing organisations. How is your business tapping into the strength of its Accounting and Tax department?

William PW Omony is the Manager/ Tax Consultant at Proactive Consult and CEO of PWO Prop Ltd, A property Investing and Sourcing Company. Proactive Consult is a Business and Tax consultancy firm in the City of London. We work with Individuals, SMEs & Multinational Companies in supporting their Tax advisory, compliance and reporting requirements.

Intuit Injects Note of Caution on Cloud

Richard Koreto for AccountingWeb writes: AccountingWEB recently conducted an email interview with Intuit's David Bergstein, CPA, CITP, CGMA, Regional Strategic Account Manager in the Accountant & Advisor Group. What does one of the most important players in the accounting technology space think about the cloud and other technology issues?

Who should be moving to the cloud: Big firms? Small firms? Everyone?

Who should move to the cloud depends less on firm size and more on the possible benefits firms can receive from the transition. The general goals of large and small firms will be the same, but large firms may just take those goals one step further.

Despite size, every firm should think about the answers to these questions when considering a transition to the cloud:

• Will it provide a more efficient workflow and automation of tasks?
• Does it save more time?
• If it exceeds present costs, what is the return on investment?

Based on the answers to the above, a firm can decide whether a move to the cloud is the right decision. Weigh the costs and benefits of the cloud, and the answer should be clear. 

What are the key things—possible pitfalls—you should know about moving to the cloud?

When considering a move to the cloud, a firm should view the transition as a change in "operating systems" and plan accordingly. Firms should develop a plan that transitions everything in a systematic way, ensuring all applications and solutions function together. Similar to the way a firm would approach any major business change, when transitioning to the cloud, firms should create a document with the designated goals and outcomes for the change, including what needs to be adjusted to meet those goals. They should also develop a way to track how the solutions being implemented are solving for desired outcomes.

There will of course be challenges when migrating to the cloud, and these challenges are the same for any size firm, though in a large firm the magnitude of the data conversion, and administrative need to monitor permissions and users, are both greater. To avoid pitfalls, as mentioned, firms should be ready with a checklist of what they need to do throughout the process, from start to finish. Things to consider:

• Is the firm moving one or all applications to the cloud?
• If a firm is using a desktop application for bookkeeping and payroll, is it moving both?
• What steps should be taken to ensure all data is transitioned to avoid re-entering data?

[snip].   The article continues at AccountingWeb, click here to continue reading at AccountingWeb.

TALLIE AND THE FUTURE OF ACCOUNTING

Bill Sheridan for MACPA writes: As we gear up for the MACPA’s annualInnovation Summit on June 16, we thought this would be a perfect time to have a conversation about the future with some of the Summit’s most forward-thinking sponsorship partners.

We asked each of them to give us their thoughts on the trends that are impacting the profession, the changing role of CPAs, and how their relationships with CPAs might be changing as a result. We'll be featuring their answers here over the next few days.

Continuing the conversation are the folks from Tallie. Here's what they had to say.

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We all know the trends that are impacting the profession today – social, mobile, the cloud. What are the next big trends that CPAs need to pay attention to?
Tallie: From technology trends to company culture, exciting changes are on the horizon for all areas of the accounting industry. The most notable industry shift exists in technology offerings, particularly the evolution from SaaS (software as a service) to SWAS (software with a service). This means accounting software must be simple, easy to understand and operate, accessible across technology platforms, and delivered by experts.

In a recent study by The Sleeter Group, only 13.5 percent of small to mid-size businesses considered their accountant "ahead of the curve” in terms of technology usage inside their firm. Furthermore, 17.1 percent answered that their accountant is considered “behind,” and 59.6 percent said their accountant is “current” (What SMBs Want from Their Accountant, 2014). The time to get ahead is now!

More people are choosing a mobile platform to complete business matters. For Tallie, it was essential that we paid attention to this shift in order to remain relevant. We now know that our expense management software must be easily available, and effectively usable, on-the-go.

Additionally, new entrants are challenging established players in the CPA world. The CPA role is evolving from old-fashioned beancounter to a strategic advisor with a new, improve skill set. Newbie CPAs are fast, flexible, and strategic, bringing efficiency and innovation to traditional methods and processes. In a budding age of automation, these people represent the future of accounting for CPAs. We can see that agility is beginning to trump ability. As young people continue to leave the industry, the battle for talent will intensify. If CPA firms wish to remain relevant and competitive, they must acknowledge this reality and embrace the future of our industry. Doing so will breed tremendous success for small to midsize businesses and accounting firms alike.

Key takeaway: Progress begins with truth. You only begin to offer value by addressing the elephants in the room. Lean into technology trends that are revolutionizing the accounting industry.

How will the role that CPAs play change as time moves forward?
As time hurries on, the role of CPAs is undoubtedly changing. We’re seeing a shift in the CPA value proposition from tax and audit to client services, and it’s critical that current CPAs prepare accordingly for this change. Why? Because this means the CPA is becoming a more prominent player in day-to-day business decisions, and thus can be leveraged across a far more expansive audience beyond the accounting world.

To further explain the shift from tax and audit to client services, we can compare the differences of each role. Clients ask their technical advisor to answer technical “point” questions. Comparatively, clients ask their business advisor to help them run a better business. Additionally, the desired CPA skill set is evolving from GIT (generalist, individual contractor, tactical) to SLS (specialized, leadership-driven, strategic). Good leadership holds a clear vision and the proven ability to unify teams.

Key takeaway: CPAs need to identify whether they fulfill the traditional tax-and-audit value proposition or the forward-thinking client services role, and fully embrace their choice to remain leaders in their field.

Is your relationship to the profession changing as a result?
In many ways, Tallie is pioneering a corner of this industry-wide shift. Our expense report software strives to set an example for providing a seamless, end-to-end workflow solution for both small to medium-size businesses and the accounting BPO field alike. The Tallie engineering team worked closely to build the first real-time bi-directional QuickBooks Online integration that presents the opportunity to reinvent the client service value proposition.

We believe in saying final goodbyes to manual syncing of a widening array of third-party applications. We believe in users having real-time access to data across systems, including source documents. We believe in a complete cloud-based accounting workflow solution that’s best-of-breed and simple to implement. As a result, we created one that truly delivers on the BPO promise of lowered costs, higher efficiency, financial visibility and control.

Key takeaway: We believe Tallie serves as a catalyst to the shifting landscape for CPAs, by heightening their flexibility and deepening their value proposition in the evolving relationship between accounting and technology.

What’s the most important thing Innovation Summit attendees need to know about your business?
Top firms are acknowledging that company culture and good technology are more important than ever for recruitment and retention. So naturally, the primary blocker in behavior adoption is change management.

Tallie is expense software built for use. From data synchronization to approval control, Tallie is designed to create less work and generate immediate ROI. How? Tallie recaptures time value, creates transactional visibility, facilitates policy enforcement and fraud prevention, and so much more.

Key takeaway: The Tallie + QBO integration is the only complete solution for cloud-based expense management. We’ve created a helpful booklet detailing the integration that is available for electronic download. We invite all attendees of the MACPA Innovation Summit to explore the Tallie + QBO workflow solution to further establish themselves as leaders in the shift of technology for the accounting industry.