1

Joseph John Theodore Kreta

10/5/2016
Bus 477N-111
Individual Strategic Analysis Part 1

Executive Summary:
This is an analysis on Intuit, starting with a brief history and current state of the firm.
Then, with respect to the payroll and bookkeeping services industry, the relevant trends in the
general environment, industry environment, economic structure, Porters five forces, Strategic
grouping, key success factors in the industry, and a brief competitor analysis. The results of
this analysis show that the main external environment trends are an increase in older
population, an increase in income disparity, slower economic growth than predicted, and
stable inflation rates. Additionally, increased regulation related to wages, employee
classification, and cyber security represent threats to many industries, and opportunities for
others. Other key trends are a disruption of typical family structure, increased consumer
expectation for daily deals, increased connectivity, the increasing ability to process Big Data,
global warming, and the high concentration of citizens in small urban areas. As for trends in
the industry, there is a movement toward cloud-based services and increasing competition.
There are many small players in the industry, but assimilation and acquisitions have
begun to become more and more prevalent. This is a high competition industry, where the
suppliers have little power, the buyers have some power, the threat of new entrants is
significant, and the threat of substitute products is low. Because of the trends in the industry,
and Intuits pre-existing focus on servicing small companies, it is recommended that Intuit
increase its effort to acquire smaller firms and their customers.

Table of contents:
Executive Summary

Executive Summary..1

Introduction
Introduction....3
Firm Founding and Historical Milestones.3
Current State of the Firm.3
Scope of Analysis..4
Purpose of Analysis.4
Strategy Recommendation.4

External assessment
General Environment.5
Demographic5
Economic.5
Political/Legal.5
Sociocultural...6
Technological...6
Global7
Industry Trends.7
Economic Structure/Life Cycle Stage...8
Porters Five Forces.9
Threat of New Entrants.9
Threat of Substitutes...9
Bargaining Power of Buyers..9
Bargaining Power of Suppliers.9
Industry Rivalry...10
Strategic Group Analysis...10
Key Success Factors..10
Competitor Analysis.12
Appendix.13
Endnotes.....19
Works Cited...20

Introduction
Introduction:
The goal of this strategic analysis is to discuss the company Intuit and evaluate its
current strategic direction with regards to the trends present in the general environment,
trends in the industry and economic structure of the industry. In addition, Porters five
forces, the key success factors of the industry, and major competitors will be analyzed. A
strategic recommendation for Intuit will be given taking all of this information into account.
It is important to note that this is in no way a comprehensive analysis, but rather a quick
summary and brief analysis.

Firm Founding and Historical Milestones:

The company Intuit was founded in the year 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx. Originally,
they had a single product; Quicken, a personal finance management software application. Through a
successful advertising campaign focused on end-benefits to the users rather than product features,
the company, the company began to see a significant increase in sales. The company had $55 million
is sales in 1991, the same year year they released their second product, a payroll software
application designed to integrate with their existing application. In 1995, Microsoft attempted a
buyout of Intuit that was deemed anti-competitive and blocked by the U.S. Justice Department
despite Microsofts offer to sell their existed competing product, Microsoft Money. During and after
this time, Intuit acquired many smaller companies, and revamped their informational, operational,
and financial systems. As the popularity of the internet grew, Intuit worked to increase its online
presence through a deal with AOL making them the exclusive provider of several services (including
tax preparation) of AOL customers. William Harris became CEO in 1998, only to step down in 1999,
and after a year with an interim CEO, Stephen Bennett took over in 2000. Finally, Brad Smith became
CEO in 2008 until the present. Brad Smith began an international expansion of the company which
had previously done over 95% of its sales in the United States. i

Current State of the Firm:

Inuit (NASDAQ: INTU) experienced a net revenue of 4,192,000,000 in 2015 and has
around 7.700 employees. While primarily a software publishing company, Intuit plays in
many industries including computer systems designs services and office administrative
services.ii While currently a small player in the Payroll and Bookkeeping services industry,
they are expected to grow significantly in this segment as they acquire smaller companies
and customers/subscriptions.iii They are currently expanding their international offerings as
stated above. They have a 17% net income margin % average over the last 3 years, and
17.2% in 2015. iv All in all, the firm has been performing quite well, experiencing increasing
revenues consistently over the last 5 years.v Their greatest strengths are their wide customer
base, and focus on product development. Currently, the company is focusing on innovation
and strategic acquisitions. Some of the concerns that the company is facing are the need to
switch to more cloud-based services, and competition from cloud first upstarts. vi

4
Intuit markets itself with a focus on innovation, collaboration, and creating the best end
user experience possible. As stated on their website their goals are First, to deliver
awesome product experiences that have been designed for a mobile-first, mobile-only world,
and deliver an amazing first-time user experience. Second, to enable the contributions of
others by creating network effects platforms, enlisting end users and third-party developers
to participate in localizing, configuring and adding value to our products. And third, to use
customer data to create delight, making our products easier to use while delivering
breakthrough benefits for our customers.vii
Primarily, Intuit provides products and services for the US and Canada, but also
provides services for Australia, Singapore, and India. These products are focused on small
businesses, one of their goals is to be the operating system behind small business successviii

Scope of Analysis:
Intuit has a wide offering of different products and services (including their infamous
TurboTax personal tax software) so for the scope of this analysis the segment that will be
focused on is payroll and bookkeeping services. Although Intuit has been increasing their
international offerings, this analysis will be primarily based around the U.S. competition
and industry. Finally, the time-frame for this analysis will focus on 2008 to the present year,
2016. 2008 is the year that the current CEO was instated and strategy during this time is
more likely to have relatively high congruence with the modern industry landscape.

Purpose of Analysis:
By identifying the core competencies of Intuit in this segment of the industry, this
analysis seeks to identify a powerful strategy recommendation for Intuit with reference to
their payroll and bookkeeping offerings.

Strategy Recommendation:
Intuits current strategy is to provide products and services that are available how,
where and when customers want them.ix They are innovating mobile-first product
experiences, enabling 3rd parties to integrate with their applications to create added value
for consumers, focus on ease of use and customer feedback, and some strategic acquisitions.
Additionally, they focus their marketing and products on small business and individuals.
The strategic recommendation of this analyst for Intuit in this industry is to put a
greater focus on increasing their market share. There is a shift in economic structure
happening, and the bigger players are beginning to push the smaller ones out. By acquiring
smaller firms, Inuit will also acquire their customers. The reasons this strategy is
recommended goes beyond just the shifting economic structure of the industry. Because
Intuits products, servicing, and marketing are aimed at small businesses, this strategy is
more suited to them than other competing industries such as Paychex Inc. Small players in

5
the industry provide service for small companies, and by acquiring those players, Intuit will
build a bigger customer base of its target audience.

External Assessment
General Environment:
Demographic:
The ratio of older to younger people in increasing over time. By 2050, it is expected that
there will be twice as many older citizens as there are children. x This represents an
opportunity to sell an increased quantity of products or services aimed at the older
generation. In general, the population continues to grow, but the rate of growth appears to
be decreasing.xi (figure 1) This is most likely a potential threat. Industries that rely on
steadily increasing population may in the future begin to see a more serious decline in the
rate of population growth in developed countries.
As for income distribution, there has been a huge increase in income disparity between
the rich and the poor. As of 2014, the income disparity was at the highest it had been in 30
years.xii This is certainly a threat to overall economic growth as income inequality has a
statistically significant and negative impact on growth.xiii As stated, this is a threat to general
economic growth as a whole, but also a threat to business that relies on an influx of skilled
workers. This is because evidence suggests that a drastically unequal income distribution
suppresses skills development in those with poorer parental education background. xiv
Economic:
Overall, the global growth of GDP has been much slower than expected.xv (figure 2) This
represents a threat to business overall because it indicates that future growth of firms may
be reduced compared to expectations, however it is important to note that the economy IS
growing. If the actual growth increases in subsequent years, there may be opportunities for
new and existing firms to increase their output.
Inflation rates appear to be a bit unstable, but have overall gone down since 2012.
(figure3)xvi However, the US inflation rate is still higher than countries such as Japan or
France.xvii A favorable exchange rate means that US companies will be able to import goods
cheaper. Lower inflation rates helps keep the cost of goods low and may help promote more
consumerism. As a result, the favorable trend in US inflation rates in the last few years can
likely be considered an opportunity for increased business.
Political/Legal:
While this may be considered technological, there is likely to be enforced increases in
cyber security, especially in regards to financial institutions. xviii These increases in enforced
cyber security can be considered either a threat or an opportunity depending on ones

6
vantage point. If a firm needs to increase security, then related expense will increase.
However, this is also an opportunity for providers of cyber security and related firms as the
demand for more specialized cyber security solutions will increase.
With minimum wage increases, and added overtime regulations, firms will have to pay
their employees more overall. In addition, changes to the definition of independent
contractor will also increase the likelihood that firms will have to spend more on wages and
benefits.xix Once again, this can be either a threat or an opportunity. Industries related to
automation of production and supporting tasks have a tremendous opportunity to develop
new ways to replace human labor as the cost of such labor will be increased. Obviously the
threat present to other firms is that an increase in wages payable may result in a smaller
bottom line.
Finally, the advent of chips in credit cards have increased security overall, but can be
seen as a threat to firms who rely on rapidly moving through customers. This new card
technology takes a fair bit of time longer to process than the old swipe method. For those
in industries such as fast-food, every second matters. Additionally, merchants may find
themselves liable in the event of credit card fraud (rather than the banks or card issuers) if
they have not installed the proper hardware (chip reader) and an incident were to occur.
Sociocultural:
One fascinating cultural trend is increasing consumer expectation of flash sales (very
temporary chances to save money on various products). This trend can be seen most clearly
in digital goods such as computer games, but is also observable in other areas. For example,
Black Friday has led to Cyber Monday, and even to individual firms offering discounts for
the entire week. Sales aggregate websites such as slickdeals aim to help consumers find
what is on sale on any given day. As a result, consumers are more and more reluctant to pay
full price.xx It is much more common to hear someone say Ill wait for this to go on sale then
ever before. This presents an opportunity for firms to use big data to analyze customer
behavior, and offer sales that generate maximum value for specific consumers as well as
increase a firms overall profit.
Another trend is that family structure for citizens is becoming increasingly varied. With
the increase in LBGT partnerships, higher student debt (resulting in a hesitation to start a
life), and the increase of stay-at-home dads, the average family is much less prevalent.
Additionally, 40% of children are born to single mothers (as of 2011). xxi This presents an
opportunity to market to varies family structures that previously barely existed. What
appeals to a single mother, a debt-ridden single young adult, and a family of 4 with two
fathers all vary drastically from what appeals to a family of 5 with a working father and a
stay at home mother.
Technological:
One of the most significant trends in technological, as well as as cultural aspects of life
is the dramatic increase in connectivity. This is only forecasted to continue increasing: by
2020, there will be over 5 billion internet users, with over half of them accessing the internet
over handheld tablet devices and 80 billion connected devices worldwide. xxii This presents a

7
tremendous opportunity for firms to offer services and products aimed at increasing
unification of a consumers media, work, and essentially all of their needs.
In addition, the increasing ability for firms to analyze Big Data also represents a very
exciting opportunity. Firms can tailor deals, product offerings, and more to the individual
consumer. Additionally, it can become very apparent which customers are doing the most to
increase profits and allow firms to tailor their marketing to help individual consumers
perceive value in their products.
This is only a small subset of the technological trends that are happening throughout
the world. The ability for any individual to live stream, increasing medical technological
advancements, virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, ever-increasing robotic
sophistication, genetically modified plants, and self-piloting rocket ships are things that exist
and are trending in the current technological landscape. However, the scope of this analysis
is too small to discuss all of them, but entire industries are being created and destroyed as a
result of technological advancement.
Global:
One significant global trend is global warming. This affects all countries and nearly all
industries in various ways such as rising water levels, changes in marine behavior,
unpredictable weather patterns, and increased regulation. This is certainly a threat to many
different forms of business. In a worst-case scenario, shipping routes might be disrupted,
population levels may fall, infrastructure destroyed, and population distribution altered
dramatically.
While on the topic of population distribution, another significant trend in the increase
in mega-cities. Over 50% of the worlds population lives in urban areas. xxiii This
concentration of citizens is likely to become a focus for investment. However, with the
simultaneous increase of worldwide connectivity discussed before, it is also increasing less
important to live in an urban area in order to communicate, purchase goods, and interact
that ever before. As a result, it is difficult to predict exactly how population density will
evolve over the coming years.

Industry Trends:
Perhaps the biggest trend in the industry is the shift to cloud-based payroll and
bookkeeping services. As a result of technological advancement, increased connectivity
means that consumers want to be able to access their information from anywhere they
might need to. A firm in this industry needs to adapt to the mobile demand and provide
services that suit the modern consumers needs. Speaking of technology, currently 50% of
revenue is spent on labor costs in the industry. xxiv This means that there is currently an
attempt to shift a portion of this labor into self-service systems allowing consumers to do
things such as request service without needed to hire staff to facilitate those requests. Firms
with integrated services are positioned well to succeed as this allows them to provide
additional benefit to their consumers without requiring additional personnel.

8
Competition is expected to ramp up as the larger players begin to acquire smaller firms
and edge out the other smaller players from the market. Additionally, smaller firms lack the
resources to compete with those that have a suite of integrated service solutions. This
consolidation and assimilation of firms in the industry is only just starting and likely to begin
to really start taking shape in the future.
Some of the key drivers in this industry are the national unemployment rate, the
number of businesses in the country, and overall corporate profit. If the national
unemployment rate is low, this indicates that there are more people in the workforce. For a
firm that provides payroll services and bookkeeping, this is a very good thing. Small firms
may take on more employees, and find themselves needing to hire a third-party payroll and
bookkeeping service. Additionally, most firms in the industry provide services on a peremployee basis. If there are more employees overall, the number of employees that need to
be processed is higher and demand is increased.xxv Similarly, the number of businesses
represents the number of potential clients for a firm that provides payroll and bookkeeping
service. If the number of businesses increases, then the number of businesses looking for
payroll services will also increase.
Finally, overall corporate profit refers to the amount of profit earned by all companies.
Companies with low profit or profit margins may be hesitant to hire a 3rd party bookkeeping
service due to their need to cut costs to remain profitable. If more companies are making
more profit, then more companies can afford a 3rd party service.
When these drivers are looked at relative to the current trends in the economy, the
lower-than-expected growth does put a damper on the prospects of the growth of the
payroll and bookkeeping services industry. However, although recovery is going slower than
anticipated, economic recovery IS happening and as a result the payroll/bookkeeping
industry is likely to grow with it.

Economic Structure/Life Cycle Stage:

The economic structure of the industry is fragmented. There are a large number of
small players in the industry, and even the top 4 players only make up 15% of the market
share. The industry is in the shakeout stage. (figure 4) Major players such as ADP have
begun to buyout smaller firms, and exerting pressure on others. However, the market is
highly dependent on the economic state of the country, and as the economy improves, the
overall market for payroll and bookkepping services is likely to increase as well. xxvi As a
result, the industry has elements of both the growth stage (increasing providers and
increasing investment in capacity) and the Shakeout stage (firms with inferior products,
poor distribution & increased cost or inappropriate segment come under pressure). The
shakeout stage is chosen by this analyst because of the importance of economies of scale for
the industry, the increasing ability for the top players in the market to leverage that benefit,
and the high competition between smaller firms.

Porters Five Forces:

Threat of New Entrants:
The threat of new entrants into this industry is moderate/high. There are very few
barriers to entry in this industry. The most significant barrier to entry in this industry is
regulation requiring strong knowledge of tax and employment laws. While the ease with
which a firm can create payroll/bookkeeping software and begin marketing to small firms
would suggest that the threat of new entrants is high, there are a number of other factors
that reduce this threat. Smaller firms may not have the resources to service larger
customers, and the significant benefits that can be reaped by economies of scale work to
push smaller players out of the industry. Additionally, one of the most important resources
for the industry is access to quality personnel. xxvii Established firms have a much easier time
attracting these employees.
Threat of Substitutes:
The threat of substitute services is low. Industries such as the office services industry
are offering increasing similar services. However, the payroll/bookkeeping service is a
hugely standardized service. Because the product is so standardized, the factor likely to
influence a firm to purchase a substitute service is cost. Substitutes for a payroll/bookeeping
service include a firm handling its own payroll/bookeeping, however due to the large
benefits of economies of scale, the firms are unlikely to do so. Additionally, the cost of
switching payroll services can be higher than expected as it may increase the workload of
payroll staff, and have legal implications if a mistake is made. xxviii Essentially, while a buyer
may switch providers, there are few cost-effective alternatives to the service provided unless
the buyer is large enough to offer in-house payroll services.
Bargaining Power of Buyers:
The bargaining power of buyers is moderate/high. This is largely due to the large
number of small providers in the industry. If a service does not suit a buyers needs, they can
fairly easily choose a different provider. The costs of switching may be higher than is
convenient, but when initially choosing a provider this is a non-factor. Additionally, one of
the primary determinants of buyers is cost.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers:
The bargaining power of suppliers is low. The resources required by a firm in the
payroll/bookeeping servicing industry are low. The primary suppliers are office supply
stores, computer stores, telecommunication carriers, and commercial leasing. xxix Office
supply stores and computer store needs are primarily commodities. Commodities are
characterized by having little or no differentiation between products, and therefore the
power held by those suppliers is low. Telecommunication carriers and commercial leasing

10
providers has slightly more power, but compared to supplier power in other industries,
overall the power of suppliers in this industry is low.
Industry Rivalry:
Industry rivalry is high. The concentration in the industry is low, with the biggest 4
players combined making up only 15% of the market share. ADP alone makes up 10%. xxx
This low concentration means that there are many small players all competing which each
other. The service is standardized, meaning that in order to develop any kind of competitive
advantage, a firm must compete in cost or marketing, as well up maintain up-to-date
technology and security.

Strategic Group Analysis:

(figure 5)
The variables chosen were ability to quickly adopt new technology, and the
accessibility of the product and interface for consumers. These are two extremely relevant
variables for firms attempting to compete in this industry. Having accessible services and
interfaces is crucial to acquiring new customers. The easier it is for a firm to use your service
without screwing up the less money they have to spend on training their employee, and the
fewer potential mistakes can be made. Being able to adopt new technology quickly is
important for maintaining market position and current consumer base. Additionally,
adopting new technology and good interfaces and structures are two of the main ways firms
can differentiate their products in this market due to their standardized nature. ADP is very
high up on ability to adopt to new tech because of the size and resources of the company.
Intuit makes accessibility one of its main goals, and as primarily a software producer that
are well situated to adopt to new technologies. Paychex Inc. is competitive, but not quite as
well situated as the other two. Finally, Ceridian Inc. has proven to struggle somewhat
adopting new technology as they experienced difficulties implemented one of their
platforms, InView.xxxi

Key Success Factors:

(figure 6)

Access to quality personnel management:

Personnel are one of the unique resources that a firm can have to give itself an edge and is a
critical factor in the success of a firm in this industry.
Paychex is the clear leader in this category. With a strong focus in training, and being in
Fortune magazines top 100 companies to work for twice, their ability to manage personnel
and attract better personnel is top-notch in the industry. xxxii

11
Ability to quickly adopt new technology:
As stated previously, this is critical to remain technologically relevant in an evolving world.
Additionally, it is vital for maintaining market position.
While there is no clear winner in this category, the larger size of ADP enables it to have
the resources needed to adopt new technology whenever needed. Intuit ranks so high
because of its position as an innovator and software producer. They can adopt new
technology quickly, and have a good chance of being a company to introduce innovative uses
of technology.
Accessibility to consumers/users:
This is important for attracting new customers, and creating value for consumers. Ease of
access saves the end consumer time, and therefore money.
Intuit focuses on user feedback as a way to improve their products. Through this focus
on customer feedback, they have been able to become an industry leader in creating
accessible products and interfaces.
Economies of scale:
As a result of nature of this service, it is easy to consolidate and create value from abusing
economies of scale. This can be used to improve earnings, or to drive prices down when
forcing out competitors.
ADP has over three times the market share in the payroll and bookkeeping industry
compared to either Intuit or Paychex Inc. As a result, they are best situated to make use of
economies of scale to reduce costs or increase earnings. Intuit and Paychex Inc. are both
large players in the industry compared to many of the other smaller competitors, but not
near to the level of ADP.
Ability to manage external (outsourcing) contracts:
This is a key factor in being able to secure relationships with clients, and maintain a
professional image.
Paychex Inc. serves nearly as many customer with its payroll and bookkeeping services
as ADP. The reason Paychex Inc. receives a 5 in this category is because they have a high
retention rate for their customers.xxxiii This indicates a strong ability to secure lasting
relationships with customers.

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Competitor Analysis:
(figure 7)

As shown in the cluster analysis, the two biggest competitors that Intuit has in this
industry are ADP and Paychex Inc. As you can see from the table, all three firms see the
strategic value of acquisitions in the current state of the industry. Intuit focuses on creating
products that are easy to use and integrate for the end user, and focuses on consumer
feedback. In addition, they have the biggest focus on small business of the three. ADP is
focusing on creating a platform, they aim to be the superstore of administrative services
for business. No matter what a company needs, they either provide it or present it in their
marketplace. Paychex Inc. focuses on safe, reliable methods of business, having the best
trained and happiest employees, and great customer retention rates.

13

Appendix
Figure 1:

Population Growth Rate Over Time:

14
Figure 2:

Figure 3:

15

Figure 4:

16
Figure 5:

17

Figure 6:
-Average
score

Access to
quality
personnel
management

Ability to
quickly adopt
new
technology

Accessibility Economies of
to
scale
consumers/us
ers

Ability to
manage
external
(outsourcing)
contracts

Intuit-4.2

ADP-4.4

Paychex Inc.4.4

18
Figure 7:
Future Objectives Current Strategy Assumptions
Intuit

Maintain/capture Innovation of
market of tax
mobile services
services in
US/Canada
Strong focus on
customer
Support success feedback
of small
businesses
Enable
through their
contributions of
services
3rd parties
Increased
international
offerings

ADP

Create a platform
for selling related
products and
services (with a
cut)
Become THE
source for
administrative
services

Paychex Inc.

Capabilities

Growing client
base through
sales force
Expansion as
opportunities
arise

Industry is
Wide customer
moving to mobile base
payroll services
Strong product
Industry will
development
change
abilities
significantly with
technology
Build ease-of-use
and high
integration into
services and
Most comfortable
products
with risk
Acquisitions
Ally with other
software
companies
Investment in
analytic
technologies
Acquire smaller
firms
Customer
retention

Industry is
evolving beyond
simple service
providers and
toward
interconnected
and integrated
systems of
solutions

Large and
comprehensive
offings
Financial
resources
Strong product
development
abilities

Industry is stable Excellent

customer
Highly-trained
relations
Strategic
employees will
acquisition
remain a
Strong ability to
significant asset retain customers
Cautious, low risk (rather than
move to
Have the bestautomated
trained, happiest services)
employees in
order to increase
productivity and
the bottom line

19
i Jay P. Pederson, ed., "Intuit Inc," International Directory of Company Histories 155 (2014): , accessed October 3, 2016,
Accessed through Business Insights: Essentials
ii Ibid.
iii Blau, Gavan. "IBISWorld Industry Report 54121b Payroll & Bookkeeping Services in the US." IBISWorld Database.
March 2016. Accessed October 3, 2016.
iv Intuit Inc. (NasdaqGS:INTU) Quick Comparable Analysis , Capital IQ, Inc., a division of Standard & Poors.
v Gale Group. (Dec. 2015). Intuit Inc. Financial and Strategic Analysis Review. Retrieved October 4, 2016, from Business
Insights: Essentials database.
vi Clancy, Heather. "Intuits Three-year Plan for Cloud Success ." Fortune. 2014. Accessed October 05, 2016.
http://fortune.com/2014/10/07/intuit-plan-cloud/.
vii "Corporate Profile." Intuit.com. Accessed October 05, 2016. http://www.intuit.com/company/profile/.
viii Ibid.
ix Ibid.
x Badkar, Mamta. "GEORGE MAGNUS: These 5 Big Demographic Trends Are Shaping The World Right Now." Business
Insider. April 28, 2014. Accessed October 04, 2016. http://www.businessinsider.com/5-demographic-trends-shaping-theworld-2014-4.
xi "Google Public Data Explorer." Accessed October 04, 2016. http://www.google.com/publicdata/.
xii Cingano, F. (2014), Trends in Income Inequality and its Impact on Economic Growth, OECD Social, Employment
and Migration Working Papers, No. 163, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jxrjncwxv6j-en
xiii Ibid.
xiv Ibid.
xv Timiraos, Nick. "Five Trends That Will Shape the Future of the U.S. Economy." WSJ. February 22, 2016. Accessed
October 04, 2016. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/02/22/five-trends-that-will-shape-the-future-of-the-u-s-economy/.
xvi "Current US Inflation Rates: 2006-2016." US Inflation Calculator. 2016. Accessed October 05, 2016.
xvii "Inflation Rate." Trading Economics. Accessed October 05, 2016. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/countrylist/inflation-rate.
xviii "Looking Ahead to 2016 Compliance Trends and Issues." Financial Tracking Technologies LLC. December 29, 2015.
Accessed October 04, 2016. http://www.financial-tracking.com/looking-ahead-to-2016-regulatory-compliance-trends-andissues/.
xix Brooks, Chad. "10 Regulatory Changes That Could Affect Your Business This Year." Business News Daily. January 20,
2016. Accessed October 05, 2016. http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7671-regulatory-issues-changes.html.
xx Lesonsky, Rieva. "6 Cultural Trends Every Business Must Embrace to Avoid Failure in 2012." OPEN Forum. January
03, 2012. Accessed October 05, 2016. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/6-culturaltrends-every-business-must-embrace-to-avoid-failure-in-2012/.
xxi Ibid.
xxii Singh, Sarwant. Forbes. May 12, 2014. Accessed October 04, 2016.
xxiii Poushter, Jacob. "Experts Rank the Top 10 Global Trends." Pew Research Center. November 20, 2013. Accessed
October 04, 2016.
xxiv Blau, Gavan. "IBISWorld Industry Report 54121b Payroll & Bookkeeping Services in the US." IBISWorld Database.
March 2016. Accessed October 3, 2016.
xxv Ibid.
xxvi Ibid.
xxvii Ibid.
xxviii "Time to Purchase a New Payroll System Or Replace Your Payroll Vendor? are You Absolutely Sure ... ?" Payroll
Practitioner's Monthly 05, no. 03 (03, 2005): 1-8.
xxix Blau, Gavan. "IBISWorld Industry Report 54121b Payroll & Bookkeeping Services in the US." IBISWorld Database.
March 2016. Accessed October 3, 2016.
xxx Ibid.
xxxi Ibid.

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xxxii Grant, Tina, ed. "Paychex Inc."International Directory of Company Histories 120 (2011). Accessed October 4, 2016.
Accessed through Business Insights: Essentials
xxxiii Ibid.

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