john higgins: why office 365?
because firms need to get their money’s worth out of the ubiquitous software app.
management
tough lessons from tax season
how to conduct an after-action review for a better season next year: 8 essential questions, 11 new opportunities.
by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms
now that the initial tax deadline is past us, it’s a good time to take a look back to see how things went and how they can be done better. this is called an after-action review, and it’s not the same as a de-brief or a post-mortem. it’s a great tool for large companies, and small businesses can benefit too.
more from sandi leyva: change overload: 5 simple coping strategies | 39 advisory services for accountants | mix and match marketing channels | marketing materials 201: some advanced tips | testimonials: why and how | 10 marketing materials you need | make direct mail work for you | how to use ‘warmed-up’ telemarketing | content marketing types and tips | write your way to expert status | 71 places to find new clients | awards can boost your reputation | are you newsworthy? | step-by-step: how to make newsletters work for you |
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
an after-action review is a fantastic process to help you look back at a project or period of your business to see what, why, and how things occurred and how they can be improved for the future. taking a profit-focused view will help you get the most out of the idea.
the five rules of smart tech
how the best managing partners stay on top of technology.
by marc rosenberg
quantum of paperless: the partner’s guide to accounting firm optimization
the duties of managing partners encompass a long list of critically important management functions. certainly, one of these is to ensure that technology has an optimal impact on the firm’s success, profitability, and efficiency.
more quantum of paperless: firms need ‘best practices’ manuals | optimize scanning procedures | why a digital tax workflow system is vital | how long do you need that file? | don’t underestimate document management | digital communications unify messaging | hotspots the answer for field access | check your bandwidth | remote access requires planning | proactively manage application updates |
this can be quite challenging because, unlike most managing partner duties, managing the technology function is a highly technical skill that most managing partners don’t have. so, they need to be smart. they need to know what they don’t know and rely on experts, both inside and outside of the firm, to guide them.
what goes into a client project?
20 project types. 6 components for each. let’s make this simple.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
we have resolved to manage our projects effectively. just what are we managing? what is a project?
more: tammy’s tale of tax season tardiness | how effective project management makes your life easier | 2 lessons clients taught me | no consultant can solve your biggest problem | the great marketing hoax | what the value-pricers get wrong | 3 rules for asking great tax-return questions
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
we could define a project in the manner supreme justice potter stewart defined pornography. “i know it when i see it.” but that will work as poorly for us as it worked for justice potter.
read more →
cpa firms can benefit from a strong internal communication culture
3 critical components.
by steven e. sacks
a local reporter or a potential client contacts your firm after visiting its website. the website may have provided insufficient information, raised questions or caused confusion.
more: is your firm’s culture a magnet? | improve job satisfaction or it’ll cost your firm | we hear but do we really listen? | performing like crap can be a badge of honor | 7 steps to take as your firm grows | how enthusiastic is your staff? | can you recite your mission statement? | your firm’s biggest assets walk out the door every day
now he or she calls the firm’s office at the number listed on the website. who will answer the phone? most likely the receptionist.
read more →
tammy’s tale of tax season tardiness
or, why you need project management.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
how effective project management makes your life easier
happier clients and happier staff are just the start.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
i have some excellent news. effective project management can make owning a firm fun and profitable again. if not fun, it will be at least more tolerable than a lifetime of root canals.
more: value pricers ignore half the pricing puzzle | beware the leeches and consultants | the value-pricing con job | the 21st-century cpa firm | ruthlessly efficient workflow management
i have worked two aprils from the ncaa final four basketball tournament. this past september 15th, i worked from the beach. no one at the office seemed to miss me.
read more →
is your firm’s culture a magnet?
don’t know? ask, and consider ways to change.
by steven e. sacks
in the famous words of management guru, peter drucker, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
more: improve job satisfaction or it’ll cost your firm | the holy grail: finding the right talent | today’s workplace challenge: communicating across generations, cultures, and diversity | how enthusiastic is your staff?
accounting firms are starting to get this message because now they are instituting initiatives that would have been laughed at years ago: a) every day is jeans day; b) shorts when there is no client meeting; c) work from home; d) bring your own device to work; and e) reduced saturday hours during busy season. and on it goes …
read more →
beware the leeches and consultants
kool-aid for tax and accounting firms.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
a group has been abusing my facebook timeline with ads touting a system promising to transform our clients into $10,000 annual billing clients.
more stitely: 2 lessons clients taught me | cpas can’t help you | the cure for commoditization | four amusing millennial myths
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
i did a little sleuthing – for free of course. if i were billing someone for this, i would call it forensics.
working for a jerk
what is more important to you, how you look or how good the work is?
by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting
early on in my career, i was assigned to work with a manager on a half-dozen monthly clients.
more: staffers need to speak up with clients | when writeups went extinct | kennedy’s acceptance speech
he went with me and worked on the main company while i worked alongside him on the baby company. the baby company was much smaller and usually was for a second line the client had. i did the writeup and prepared the financial and other statements for the current month and year to date.
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we hear but do we really listen?
6 people not to be.
by steven e. sacks
do you ever find yourself speaking to someone and notice that they are battling you and their iphone? a quick glance here, a one- or two-word text response there.
more: the holy grail: finding the right talent | battling staff turnover | confronting leadership: not such a bad thing | the damocles sword of staff retention | does your board know its role? | can we please refer to accounting as a profession?
unfortunately, it is the new normal – whether in business or in our personal lives. those of us who encountered different forms of technology tools and platforms during the second half of our careers still believe that effective interpersonal communication still counts for something. of course, in this era of uncivil discourse, speaking over one another has, too, become the new normal.
read more →
2 lessons clients taught me
what our clients can teach us.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
let’s discuss lean six sigma as it applies to cpa firms. let’s discuss lean processes and error tracking.
more: cpas can’t help you | the value-pricing con job | no consultant can solve your biggest problem | the agile accountant | the 21st-century cpa firm | the great marketing hoax | the cure for commoditization | ruthlessly efficient workflow management | what the value-pricers get wrong | four amusing millennial myths | the annual tax meeting is dead. clients killed it. | 3 rules for asking great tax-return questions
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
you’ve probably heard of lean six sigma. our manufacturing clients implemented it back in the 1990s.
i’m betting this is the first time you’ve heard of its application to the cpa world.
cpas can’t help you
look outside the cpa world for practice management answers.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
there are no easy answers. the people who are selling “firm of the future” once sold “elder care” as the future. did you make a killing off elder care? that was one rotting corpse of an idea.
more: the value-pricing con job | no consultant can solve your biggest problem | the great marketing hoax | what the value-pricers get wrong | 3 rules for asking great tax-return questions
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
do you want advice from someone who found consulting to cpas more profitable than being a cpa?