avoiding projects hung up in process

businessman with fingers crossed behind backhow to climb out of “done but” hell.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

a project hung up in process is one when there is a disagreement as to the status between people involved in a project. for example, a client thinks he has answered your tax return questions, while you believe he has not. another example is when a tax return preparer believes a return is ready for review while the reviewer does not believe it’s ready.

more: when clients create errors | how to reduce tax return errors | why your firm needs to attract more millenials | the fool in the room | the 3 biggest tech failures of accounting firms | wip-ing clients into shape | maximize your role as visionary
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the result of a hung-up project is a dead project – one that’s not moving to completion. if a tax return gets hung up, eventually your client calls you, and you get to waste time determining why the project stopped moving. by now, you know this increases wip and thus decreases turnaround time.
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are you running your practice by default?

sad businessman sitting at desk outdoors and looking straight aheadhere’s how to start turning it around.

by matt solomon

if you’re like most accountants i’ve worked with, it’s probably not in your nature to rock the boat. you much prefer the tortoise’s “slow and steady” motto to the energetic but erratic pace of the hare. you’re methodical and thorough, and those qualities make you an excellent accountant.

more: invest in the right guidance | tap into your gold mine | shift your practice: stop depending on compliance work
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but any strength can become a weakness – and for accountants, those same qualities that help them execute compliance work can also be dangerous. i’ve seen too many accountants whose firm is far from what they envisioned when they first set out to create their own company and the main culprit is simple, you’re running a business with a “worker bee” mentality.
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the 4 buckets of firm knowledge

four empty metal bucketspower bi is gaining on excel for dashboards.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless: technology guide & checklist

firm knowledge and information is usually stored in one of four “buckets.” the most obvious is within the accounting applications themselves where tax, audit and accounting programs store client files in a format that can only be accessed with that program. files are usually indexed and accessed in designated directories so there is not much the firm can do about moving these files.

more: why digital communications matter | the case for wireless broadband access | maximize your office 365 roi | how the cloud impacts server replacement | capturing documents at the source
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the second bucket for more advanced firms is a document management application where final documents can be archived in alignment with a comprehensive document retention plan and easily searched. the 2019 cpafma survey pointed to 30 percent of firms utilizing their document management application for intranet purposes.
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the family office model

family of three using smartphones on couchalso: three drivers of exceptionalism.

by anthony glomski and russ alan prince
your $5-million high-net-worth practice

when it comes to their financial and personal lives, the wealthy are increasingly attracted to the family office model. at the very high end, there is a strong preference to create a single-family office. for the wealthy for whom the costs of a single-family office are unreasonable or do not want the management or oversight responsibilities, there are multi-family offices and virtual family offices.

more: guiding clients through covid | help your referral sources become thought leaders | what the wealthy want | the essential process for building a high-net-worth practice | 4 components of a high-net-worth practice
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

with the family office model, you are providing a broad array of expertise holistically. consequently, you can deliver substantial value to the wealthy. many accounting firms provide family office services. while family office is in the name of these practices, a large percentage of them are offering a limited menu of single-family office capabilities. the services tend to comprise business management expertise and other accounting and tax-related capabilities.
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covid brings more and better client communication

ppp and cares: big opportunities to be trusted advisors.

by carrie steffen

the year 2019 seems like a lifetime ago and yet, as i reflect on the year it was, it strikes me that some of the trends we saw clients embrace positioned some firms to pivot more quickly in 2020 than others.

i saw an increased investment in people development – particularly the soft skills that become differentiators. areas like relationship development, communication, curiosity, and generosity took their rightful place among the areas in which firms invested in developing their people.
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