eight reasons why accounting firms need to work on internal communications first. by bruce w. marcus a terrific definition of chaos is when a client asks two different people in your firm the same question – and gets two different and … continued
question: i am sure you heard this before, but i just can’t seem to get on top of my work – i am always behind and in addition, my income has been dropping.
i am a sole practitioner with no staff and don’t want any. i like what i do, but lately it seems i have been chasing my tail and losing some ground. my practice is 40% 1040s which are mainly done from mid-january to april 15. i do not file many extensions. another 40% are small businesses that i work on monthly. about half i go to and the other half send in their information or quickbooks files. 10% is payroll preparation for clients.
how to fine-tune your management dashboard for effectiveness, innovation and growth.
by august aquila
creating the effective partnership
don’t kid yourself – it’s a new world out there. accounting firms need to become more transparent. partners and employees need to truly understand the firm’s vision and value proposition. they need to see how their daily actions move the firm toward its goals. mission and vision can no longer be vague, fluffy statements that mean nothing to your clients, employees and partners, and prospects.
this new environment requires firms to actually implement their goals by looking at specific objectives and measures. performance and execution are the key operatives. the old measures, by themselves, won’t do the job anymore. they are still valuable, but new measures are needed today. firms no longer compete with the firm down the street in terms of mere marketing. they now complete in how they manage the practice, treat their employees, win employees’ hearts and minds and provide a true learning environment.
what would it be worth to you if you had a system which could measure your business development and management efforts? in short, measure how well you are implementing your firm’s strategy? read more →
evolving from running a practice to leading a business.
by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator
technology has allowed just about everyone to start their own businesses. we can do something part time, full time or in between. we can start and stop our businesses. we can be successful at lots of different business models. and we can go through stages of our business.
if you want to grow exponentially, or even linearly, you’ll need to progress. and before you can do that, it makes sense to figure out where you are now. here are five stages of business so you can see where you are now and where you want to go. read more →
question: i am the managing partner of my accounting firm by default. no one else wanted to do it. i am trying to manage things but i have a full schedule, am shorthanded on staff and continue to do a reasonable amount of marketing. i am overwhelmed. how do others do it?
response: i purposely left off the size of the firm because my response applies to every size firm – those with two partners on up to large firms with upward of 50 partners. no matter the size of your practice, it is a business and needs someone dedicated to running it. smaller firms need less time, possibly less skills and perhaps one of the partners can fill in this role. larger firms need a person who spends substantially all of their time running the business, but not necessarily a partner. read more →