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client service opportunities

cpa firm benchmarks: marketing and business development

red_pencil_survey.jpg new data shows firms are seeking niche opportunities.

cpas have made great strides in the art and practice of sales and marketing. but, according to at least preliminary results, the profession still has a long way to go in adopting robust business development practices.

the good news is that most firms appear to be embracing some form of niche marketing. the bad news is that most accountants remain dissatisfied with their firm’s activities.

read more →

client service opportunities

turning recession into advantage

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a recession may be exactly the right opportunity for a firm to add new revenue and build market share.

what’s working for cpa firms today? join the survey; get the answers.

by rick telberg/at large

with the economy slowing, lending in crisis and the surge in sarbox work ebbing, many cpa firms across the country will be encountering one of the toughest business environments in years.

marketing budgets may be the first to get the axe. but if a firm has the resources, a recession may be exactly the right opportunity for a firm to add new revenue and build market share, according to jean marie caragher, president of chesapeake, virginia-based capstone marketing, which is now marking its 10th year of providing strategic planning, retreat facilitation, training and marketing director recruiting services to cpa firms.

“to ensure smart spending in a slow economy,” caragher says, “cpas should focus on current clients, develop niche specialties, work their networks and ask for referrals.”

read more →

staffing & recruiting

should you stay? or go?

wait! first ask: what you can do to improve your current situation.

people_management.jpg(click to enlarge table.)

carolyn cohen (who holds both a canadian ca certificate and an msw degree and runs a training and human resources consulting practice in toronto) writes in camagazine:

leaving your current position prematurely may be as bad as remaining in a job past its expiration date. for the impulsive people out there or those who think that what they don’t have is better than what they do have, take a few things into consideration before rushing into anything...

politics & government

crisis on the horizon

a call to arms for accountants.

piggy-bank.jpgjames reeves writes: “some politicians and economists, generally republicans and including mccain advisor jack kemp, will tell you we can grow our way out of the deficit problem. and i’ve personally felt pretty closely aligned with these so-called supply-siders over the years. but i’m aligned with cpas too. and when the comptroller general of the united states, with all he knows from 10 years on the job, tells us that growing our way out is impossible, and if we don’t act it could bankrupt america, i’m not going to doubt him.”

so what can we do?

busy season management

april 15, 2008: something to celebrate today

there’s more to appreciate in life than just the best tax season season ever.

debbie lessin, cpa (bio)
d. j. lessin & associates, inc.
chicago, il

i learned many years ago to manage my time and client load, stick to deadlines and know when to cut it off. i left the office at 5:00 pm last night with all the returns picked up and all extension checks in the office, including the one sent to the wrong suite in the building (i moved from there over 12 years ago), that i figured that we’d never see and i’d have to cover. all that’s left for this morning is to do the 4/15 extension ritual. i am writing from home when i am usually in the office already. i know i am done. read more →

staffing & recruiting

doon: cal cpas push for mobility

loretta-doon.jpgcpa agenda: critical issues and solutions for the profession.

loretta doon (pictured), chief executive of the california cpa society (the nation’s biggest state society, by the way), is pushing hard for interstate mobility. but first california cpas must bring their state regulations into line with the national 150-hour educational standard.

here’s our q&a with doon for the cpa agenda:

question: what’s the most important issue impacting your organization in particular, or your members in general?

doon: mobility. achieving national uniformity on mobility is critical. it is necessary for consumers, businesses and cpas in the united states to remain calcpa_mobility_logo.jpgcompetitive in the global marketplace. in today’s economy, it is imperative that consumers and businesses be able to adjust strategies quickly by relying on cpas to provide expert advice regarding tax laws and accounting issues around the world. read more →

busy season management

four new lessons from busy season 2008

04142008.jpgwhat did you learn this year?

join the discussion; see what cpas say.

by rick telberg/at large

congratulations! you survived another busy season.

it wasn’t always easy. there were last-minute changes to the amt and client pressure for those economic stimulus rebate checks; plus, there were the usual software glitches, staff shortages, sudden departures and naive or ill-prepared clients. and don’t forget the usual personal and emotional crises of the season-spouses and kids who go too long without quality time, frayed nerves with partners and staff and your own health and welfare.

but all in all, most accountants are reporting a comparably better season than last year. we’ll get to the details in a column coming up as soon as we can crunch some season-ending data. so don’t forget to add your input to our ongoing busy season benchmarking project, here. you’ll be joining thousands of accountants who have participated over the last four years. read more →

outlook & analysis

seven traits of the ethically challenged organization

are you approaching an ethical gray area? if you need to ask, it’s probably too late.

marianne jennings (pictured), a professor of legal and ethical studies in business at w. p. carey school of business, frets about the subprime mess.

back in the day, the author of “the seven signs of ethical collapse,” notes that scandals cropped up about once a decade. now, she says, “enron and the sarbanes-oxley act of 2002 — which tried to reform american business practices — were only five years ago, so we are seeing scandals more frequently and the same pattern over and over.” read more →

client service opportunities

don’t blame sox for restatements

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restatements began to accelerate in 2001 — before the accounting scandals that launched sox — particularly for companies trading off the major exchanges.

thomson tax & accounting reports a treasury department study that reviewed 10 years of data found that the dramatic increase in financial restatements began long before the passage of the sarbanes-oxley act of 2002.

“the uptick in the amount of restatements started before sarbanes-oxley in 2002, and yet a lot of people said [it] was the cause of the increases,” said david nason, the treasury department’s assistant secretary for financial institutions, in an april 9, 2008, briefing in washington, dc.

the key driver seems to be the economy. if history repeats, then we could be seeing another surge with this downturn. read more →