management

tax season productivity hacks

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five good habits for getting things done.

the best time management tips:
join the survey, get the answers

by salim omar

tax time is widely considered the “busy season” for practitioners, but it doesn’t have to mean chaos and misery. a well-managed firm allows its owner to conduct business and live life at a reasonable pace no matter what the season.

more on productivity: does busyness really mean productivity?  | how many hours should accounting staff work?  |  when everything takes too long  | new lessons in time management
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

by employing a few clever and surprisingly simple productivity hacks, you, too, can have a better tax time experience beginning this very season. put these new habits to work for you now: read more →

does busyness really mean productivity?

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harried business teamhow to change your firm’s culture.

by steven e. sacks

did you ever notice when you call an associate or a friend or a business of any type, more often than not he or she will always respond with “i’m really busy” or “i’ve been jammed up”? it does not matter the time of the year, much less the time of week or day.

more: five powerpoint rules to live by | your firm’s biggest assets walk out the door every day | so much to do and so little time: achieving success in the c-suite | can we please refer to accounting as a profession?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

has busy become too colloquial or just a throwaway line? what is actually meant by “busy”? or, more specifically, what is the condition of “busyness”?
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when the inmates are running the asylum

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crazy doesn’t get better by adding more crazy.

by dom cingoranelli

“we can’t really enforce this because we don’t want to risk having him (or her) quit.”

i can’t tell you how many times we hear something to this effect when we talk with cpas. we hear this at small firms and we hear it at large firms. we hear it from partners, from directors, and from managers. it doesn’t matter what size firm they’re in, nor does it matter what level or position they hold.

it’s always the same line. it reminds me of the old adage, “the inmates are running the asylum.” and, it raises the question of who actually is running the firm. who’s in charge?

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ge outsources tax department to pwc

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big four firm finds new growth in acquiring clients’ tax and accounting departments.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

ge is hiving off its tax group to pwc to become pwc’s new global enterprise tax solutions team. their first client: ge.

pwc calls the move “an innovative agreement with ge to provide integrated, enterprise managed tax services to ge on a global basis.” as part of the deal, pwc is hiring more than 600 of ge’s tax team members from around the world and acquiring ge’s tax technologies to bolster both pwc’s focus on the “tax function of the future” and to provide global enterprise tax solutions to clients. it may be a sign of things to come. read more →

how many hours should accounting staff work?

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it depends. but you knew that.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: how many hours a year do you recommend staff working?

more practice doctor q&a: get staff to take ownership of work | the 44-point staff performance evaluation checklist | how to choose the right cpe | checklist for running a practice | why more firms are trashing timesheets | how much overhead is too much? | there’s more to growth than marketing | how to make staff a team again
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

answer: it depends…
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the two most common management styles

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senior businessman with his team at officedo cpa firms need management or leadership?

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli

let’s start out with a straightforward question. what is the difference between management and leadership?

more on performance management: 8 ways to manage clients | the limitations of rainmakers | firms only grow when partners play their roles | the four basic parts of cpa firm partner agreements | younger partners see succession differently | how to compensate your managing partner | the job of managing partner: empowered or emasculated? | how the best managing partners turn ideas into reality
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

from one point of view, leadership is far different than management.
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8 ways to manage clients

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two men shaking hands across a tablethis is job 1 for the practice owner.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli

whether you simply desire to improve your firm’s operations or identify and implement a new long-term strategy, you need to be clear about the role that the owners, partners or shareholders should be playing in your firm.

more on performance management: the limitations of rainmakers | different roles for different partners | how big ‘books’ hurt firms | developing a three-year vision [video] | more merger questions than you imagined | mps: how to elect them … and fire them | partners as role models: the good, bad & ugly | managing the managing partner
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

to be sure, the roles and responsibilities of a cpa firm owner or owners will vary from firm to firm, based on that firm’s needs and circumstances, and you need to adapt any recommendations to fit your firm’s situation.
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when everything takes too long

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and aholdups can appear at any step in the process.

question: everything in my office seems to take too long, and i can’t put my finger on why.  can you provide any guidance?

more practice doctor q&a: taking over poorly done work | rule #1 for how to get everything done | checklist for running a practice | 14 ways to use timesheet data | when partners stop growing | clear billing procedures make collecting easier | there’s more to growth than marketing | how to make staff a team again
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

answer: common problem.
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the limitations of rainmakers

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young man under rain-covered umbrellawhy marketing has to permeate the firm and the process.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli

for most firms, new business comes in through referral. therefore, the bigger a partner’s client base, the more likely that partner will bring in new business – which simply means that the more clients a partner knows, the more referrals that partner is likely to receive (not in percentage, but in raw numbers).

more on performance management: different roles for different partners | dealing with a-d clients (you know who we mean) | how small ‘books’ hurt firms | why the partner agreement matters | merging for the wrong reasons | how to implement strategy, step by step | accountability requires clear expectations | how retirement issues affect succession planning | how partner ratings factor into equity
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

other drivers of referral success are long-standing service (seniority) and position in the firm (such being one of the named or senior partners). in these cases, there is an extended opportunity for referral simply because:
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firms only grow when partners play their roles

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money tree growing in the middle of green meadowhow often are you seeing your clients?

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli

whether you simply desire to improve your firm’s operations, or identify and implement a new long-term strategy, you need to be clear about the role that the owner(s), partners or shareholders should be playing in your firm.

more on performance management: how big ‘books’ hurt firms | how small ‘books’ hurt firms | why the partner agreement matters | merging for the wrong reasons | accountability includes partners | 7 succession questions to ignore for now | develop your employees or suffer the consequences
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the roles and responsibilities we’ve suggested are based on the best practices we’ve had the opportunity to observe and be involved with in our work with cpa firms throughout north america.
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when staff won’t use checklists

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and why they’re so vital.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: one of my managers does not use the checklists and i need to go over all his work and sometimes go to the client to make sure they are done right.

more practice doctor q&a: get staff to take ownership of work | when to offer profit sharing | what’s in a title? | managing partners should drop their book of business | what’s lousy, the client or your approach? | not the mp, still a ‘managing’ partner | checklist for running a practice | when a client balks at necessary work
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

what can i do to get him to fill out the checklists?
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how big ‘books’ hurt firms

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young businessman with forehead resting on handsthe invisible hazards of book of business.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli

as we stated in our last column, balancing “book of business” is one of the largest stumbling blocks for cpa firms.

more on performance management: how small ‘books’ hurt firms | the four basic parts of cpa firm partner agreements | younger partners see succession differently | how to compensate your managing partner | the job of managing partner: empowered or emasculated? | how the best managing partners turn ideas into reality | make accountability a process | accountability requires clear expectations | base retirement on today’s operations | how involved should retired owners be? | how to find a partner’s replacement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

it is difficult to resolve because it is symptomatic, for most firms, of some real trouble brewing.
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