the cost of staff turnover: $32,500
lose people, lose money
how much?
the aicpa’s mark koziel and heidi brundage figure it this way:
read more →
here’s what you’re looking for: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
social media: ask the right question
if you ignore it, will it go away?
the answer, of course, is an emphatic “no!” but that’s the wrong question.
“the right question is, how can we harness the power of these new, mostly free tools to help us as cpa professionals?” according to tom hood at the maryland cpa association. that’s why the macpa had a special four-hour session on the topic for members.
here is a copy of tom’s presentation:
read more →
u.s., mexico accountants build model alliances
cross-border commerce flourishes between professionals.
by bill teague
with international initiatives emerging as one of the aicpa’s key strategies, the u.s.-mexico relationship may serve as a model of friendship.
international cooperation was apparent up close and in action at the u.s.-mexico conference in may, co-presented by the san diego chapter of the california society of cpas (calcpa) and their counterparts, the colegio de contadores publicos de baja california.
at the conference, aicpa president melancon, appearing for the first time since the conference’s inception over 15 years ago, praised the work between the two societies.
“it’s a tribute to what’s going on from a commerce perspective,” he said. “we appreciate the leadership of the calcpa in these cross-border relationships.” melancon noted the annual conference has been in existence since 1995.
joint summit
melancon reported on the joint summit that had taken place may 20, with the instituto de mexico contadores publicos’s president, luis michel dominguez.
“we had a great summit with imcp president luis michel,” melancon said, praising him and other “true leaders on the international stage” representing mexico. “we have forged a very nice relationship, meeting each year for several years,” he said.
the conference was marked by this kind of balance. presentations were in either spanish or english, with simultaneous translation available by headset.
social media spending surges at consulting firms
thought leadership marketing moves to social vehicles.
consulting firms are ramping up spending on social media to drive thought-leadership marketing strategies, according to a research report by the bloom group, blisspr and the association of management consulting firms, which carries implications for accounting firms.
noting that firms’ “interest in social media appears to be matched only by their fears,” the authors offer six key findings:
1. firms are quickly expanding their budgets for social media. while social media represented only an estimated 5% of the thought leadership marketing budget five years ago, spending has climbed rapidly in the last five years to an estimated 18% today. five years from now, social media is projected to be about a third of that budget – about the same amount as consultancies will spend on offline and “traditional” online thought leadership marketing programs.
2. social media will increasingly complement traditional thought leadership marketing channels. the two most effective thought leadership marketing activities are still “offline”: seminars run by consultancies and speeches they give at conferences organized by other parties. but company micro-sites or online communities, a relatively new social media channel, are close behind, ranked third in effectiveness (tied with search engine optimization.)
3. other social media tools are gaining on traditional techniques. for instance, company pages on social networking sites and participation in third-party social networks both already surpass white paper syndication sites – an old staple of content marketing – in effectiveness.
4. running out of content and determining how to use it as a marketing tool are the two biggest concerns about social media. the two biggest barriers to using social media in thought leadership campaigns are worries about regularly refreshing online content and determining how to best market it.
5. the firms with the most effective thought leadership marketing programs are much more likely to use research-based content, and they invest much more in social media than consulting firms with the least effective programs. the “leaders” of thought leadership marketing (firms generating more than 30 leads per month) are more than twice as likely as the “laggards” (firms generating 10 or less leads per month) to develop research-based content. in addition, the leaders dedicate three times the proportion of their budgets to social media than do the laggards. however, the leaders still apportion more than three-quarters (77%) of their budgets to offline and traditional online marketing.
via the bloom group
is social media a fad? [video]
you decide:
[youtube]wkq9hvy4nms[/youtube]
- with half the world’s population under 30 years old, 96% have joined a social network
- with 200 million new users a year, facebook would be the world’s third largest nation, after china and india. and bigger than 4th-place u.s.
- 80% of companies already use social media for recruitment
- 78% of consumers trust peers for spending recommendations. 14% trust ads.
- successful companies know how to listen first, sell second.
connect:
schneider downs launches new print ads
who knew the firm provided those services, too?
pittsburgh-based schneider downs is running a new print ad campaign, created, according to marketing director sean p. smith, “to provide a solutions-oriented focus on our five primary practice areas.”
he explains:
our insight for this campaign was that we wanted to approach our communications from the mindset of our clients, rather than from our own point of view. thus, we wanted to created a series focused on issues that may be keeping our clients up at night. read more →
the case for cost seg: tax breaks for commercial buildings
too good to be true?
by dennis duffy and craig miller
duffy + duffy cost segregation services
it’s not very often that a tax opportunity comes along that puts money in your client’s pocket instead of the other way around. however such an opportunity exists for clients with commercial property. if your client owns an office, factory, retail center, apartment or other commercial property, a tax technique called cost segregation allows the cpa to increase the client’s depreciation deductions in the early years of building ownership, providing extra tax deductions in the first 5 to 15 years and the owner(s) pay less income taxes. this also includes leasehold improvements. unless you are familiar with cost segregation already, these may be additional tax deductions that you and your client did not know were available.
sound too good to be true? there is a catch, actually two. this is not a tax credit or deduction, it is a tax deferral. additional depreciation deductions used now will not be available later, meaning that taxes saved now will be repaid in later years. that’s bad news. the good news is that those taxes paid later will be in tomorrow’s less valuable dollars. who would not want to get a dollar now and repay it in 20, 30, 40 years? your clients get to keep the tax savings and use it in their business or to expand their holdings, or however you advise. think of it as an interest-free loan from uncle sam.
live survey results: accounting firms battle for clients
staff recruiting trails far behind in marketing objectives.
with the shift in the business and economic landscape over the last three years, it’s no wonder that accounting firms are fighting hard to find and keep clients.
“adding new clients” and “client retention” are at the top of the list of strategic marketing objectives for many firms responding to our new survey.
what are your growth goals?
find out what your peers and colleagues are saying.
join the survey, get the results.
at the same time, the staffing shortage seems to have evaporated since big accounting firm layoffs last year and continuing gains in productivity.
live results
(check back often as responses flow in.)
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cpa tech spending set to surge
cfo.com quotes bay street group research.
“most cpa firms, 69%,” cfo.com reports, “are planning to spend more on technology in the next 6 to 18 months.”
the use of cloud technologies is expected to leap. in a similar survey a year ago, only 11% of respondents anticipated spending on cloud services in the short term, this year 28% said so.
more at cfo.com
eight ways the smallest accounting firms compete and win
what big firms can learn from sole practitioners and small firms.
“the best independent practitioners have a singular focus on helping their clients achieve their goals,” according to andrew sobel, author of the exemplary “all for one: ten strategies for building trusted client relationships.” “they deliver value at every stage of their work, and they do so as quickly as possible and with ruthless efficiency,” he says.
the most successful independent professionals:
- create personal brands by building individual market renown. they create notoriety for themselves through publishing, speaking, and networking, and by focusing on a core specialty for which they become well known. all too often, professionals in large firms spend years sheltered under their firm’s brand.
- regularly develop and disseminate intellectual capital. often, there are just a handful of partners in large professional firms who create all of the intellectual capital, and everyone else feeds off of it. read more →
who ever thought the paperless office could be this much fun? [video]
fujitsu takes the scansnap viral.
fujitsu, already a leading brand among accounting firms with its scansnap scanners, appears to be rapidly shifting its advertising budget into alliances and social media. with alliances, it’s partnering with tax and accounting software publishers in cross-promotional efforts.
in social media, fujitsu calls its latest youtube video “the paper party.” and provides this intro: “have you ever wondered what would happen to an office if it went paperless? check out the video below to watch the hilarious antics of one office after it went paperless. stay tuned after the video to learn how you can “tell us how you’ll scansnap” and win a $100 gift card.”
[youtube]2yvpxjpizyq[/youtube]
even if you’re not a fujitsu fan you’ll probably enjoy the video… and get a glimpse of the trends that are reshaping tax and accounting advertising.
h/t scott cytron
sales tip: questioning and listening are two sides of the same coin
six hints for asking effective questions.
the franklin covey coaching group, renowned for “seek first to understand, then to be understood” advice, says effective questioning is an essential skill in business development.
“your goal is maximum, mutual understanding,” the company says, and adds these six tips: read more →
five client retention tactics you can’t afford to ignore
believe it or not, as “basic” as some client service procedures are to some, they are very unique to others.
that’s especially true with accountants who have been content for far too long to do business on the golf course or wait for the phone to ring with repeat or new business, according to scott cytron, who runs a marketing agency for accounting vendors.
let’s face facts, he says: in today’s business environment, those who wait for the phone to ring aren’t going to survive for the long haul.
according to scott, here are a few client retention strategies that should not be overlooked: read more →