why mission statements matter and how firms fail.
by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals: practical guidance for today’s accounting firms
do you think your staff knows what your firm’s mission statement is?
more: does your firm’s board know its role? | trust is a key organizational ingredient | real influence vs. immediate gratification | 4 ways to boost job satisfaction | retention starts with the hiring interview | the new way to handle exit interviews | who’ll quit next? | smart trust in the workplace
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wait. let me back up. does your staff even know that such a mission statement exists?
my guess is no and no.
free video learning: get ready today for the rebound to come with these top ten practice management video courses.
in partnership with 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间, the succession institute is offering free access to their top ten video training programs to help firms prepare for the new normal. offer expires june 30. use the password “free”for each video and get all the details here.
august aquila sees two major changes on the horizon.
mission, vision, strategies, action plans … they all need to be aligned.
by steven e. sacks
the supposed purpose behind a cpa firm creating a board is not to micromanage, design a company logo or address human resource issues. neither is its role to sit around and smoke cohiba esplendido cigars and sip louis xiii de remy martin grande cognac. this glad-handing, back-slapping culture led to the financial breakdowns in the early 2000s and is possibly still happening today.
more: how to select your firm’s board | confronting leadership: not such a bad thing | new opportunities for a ‘new normal’ | is trust elusive? | working remotely shouldn’t mean feeling isolated | how engaged are your employees? | managing difficult personalities in the workplace | set your staff on the right course
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
why would a firm create a board? in theory, it is designed to build and preserve a firm’s prosperity and longevity, in the same vein as a company board. each board member should have a thorough handle on the profession and the industries that the firm serves. the board members should understand trends, the competitive challenges, and the effectiveness or lack thereof regarding the firm’s structure and operations.
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how to stay on track toward your goals amid chaos and confusion.
by bill reeb
without clear direction, every alternative seems like an opportunity.
but with direction comes a course of action, whether that is to preserve what you have or achieve something different.
more: covid crisis requires new mindsets | do you have a goal or just a speed? | what are you giving priority? | 3 early warning signals for overachievers | learn more by letting go | don’t let others block your path | how overachievers can get ‘unstuck’
knowing what direction you want to head will drive the creation of a plan. and the greatest benefit of planning is that it provides you with a sanity check to know when you are drifting off course.
regardless of whether we are talking about your personal life, career, or business, i believe it is nearly impossible to get to your desired destination or to accomplish your goals in a straight line.
we end up straying from our original course because of the mistakes we make along the way. opportunities become detours. and chaos ensues
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the six personalities that define you, your business, and your future.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
is your practice satisfying?
more: covid tests accountants’ entrepreneurial talents | have you gotten where you wanted yet? | ask this before clients do | more services for your tax clients | can your reviewers answer these 10 questions?
do you like it the way it is, or do you want it to develop and grow? some people like the way things are and don’t care about change.
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checklist: 36 do’s and don’t’s for conducting business on a video call, some learned the hard way.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
decide what you need, then look for the right people.
by steven e. sacks
in discussing how to select your firm’s board, the issue was that you want to have the proper board composition with the people, right values, philosophies and a shared commitment to the success of the firm.
more: how to select your firm’s board | confronting leadership: not such a bad thing | new opportunities for a ‘new normal’ | is trust elusive? | working remotely shouldn’t mean feeling isolated | how engaged are your employees? | managing difficult personalities in the workplace
as a firm leader, a matter you think needs immediate attention could simply be a symptom of a larger problem. it’s common sense that you would not visit your doctor to treat your broken leg with a band-aid, so why look for a fast, ineffective and incorrect solution as a way to fix an operational or cultural problem? this is why those who are on the board are selected for their acumen and belief in the why the firm or company exists and how it can be improved.
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5 questions that go beyond the eeny meeny miny moe.
by steven e. sacks
the old saying that a camel was a horse created by committee has an element of truth to it. if you think that everyone on a board or executive committee shares the same opinions, philosophies and vision, then think again.
more: confronting leadership: not such a bad thing | new opportunities for a ‘new normal’ | working remotely shouldn’t mean feeling isolated | 4 ways to boost job satisfaction
the eeny meeny miny moe may be a little tongue-in-cheek, but the question is how deliberate a cpa firm should be in choosing its board or executive committee members.
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because covid-19 punishes the complacent.
by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library
there are some products that are so iconic and popular that it doesn’t seem possible that their success could ever be in jeopardy. oreos. the new england patriots. microsoft office. it must be wonderful to own and manage businesses like these that seem to run themselves.
more: how covid impacts partner retirements | three tough questions in partner buyouts | reward partners for performing like partners | 7 points of a well-crafted partner buyout agreement
cpa firms enjoy no such advantaged status. but with the covid-19 crisis, firms need to short-circuit the natural processes of maturity and stagnation and think about how to get re-set right now.
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five tough questions to ask about your firm’s leadership in these tough times.
by bill penczak
in times like these, firms should be challenging themselves with the tough question, “what do we want to be, today and into the future?”
more: re-thinking today’s firm with five global leaders | 5 things your firm should do differently this summer | do you have the guts to beat the covid crisis? | how to inoculate your firm against covid competition | ‘found money’ delights clients | the three r’s for beating the corona crisis
if maintaining the status quo and “serving clients,” whatever that really means, are the only responses your partner and leadership teams can muster, then perhaps it’s time to evolve from being a lifestyle firm to being one with a vision and the guts to achieve it.
^click to play: aquila addresses covid crisis response strategies.
eight new trends you can’t ignore in the new normal.
by august aquila
every day we get a clearer picture of what the future holds for the accounting profession, business in general and the overall population. while the future may look daunting, we will do our best to make the most of it and come out stronger. it’s what we have always done.
more: 6 action steps for a smooth retirement transition | 7 succession planning best practices | grissom and aquila on partner performance evaluations | gross profit in a professional services firm: opening a dialogue | checklist: 18 essential steps to effective billing | how to get partners to accept a new pricing philosophy
nevertheless, don’t plan on the old ways coming back. i just read that more than 60,000 accountants have already lost their jobs. perhaps, the war for talent will be over. there will be further reductions in the professional service workforce and firms will be able to pick and choose from the talent pool.
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join jean caragher of capstone marketing on tuesday, may 12, at 2 pm et.