leadership

put a little zip in your zoom

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come on. sit at the cool kids’ table.

group corporate video conference computer monitor screen

by beth ziesenis
app of the week

i don’t think the founders of telecommuter appreciation week could have anticipated worldwide adoption.

more apps of the week:  make your computer a clean slate | recycle and repurpose old devices | enlist ai for more productive meetings | keep teams on task with project management apps | apps to put your affairs in order | app of the week: celebrate black business month | app of the week: cheap flights | help your clients save money | time to upgrade your spreadsheets | app of the week: secretly stash cash | easy apps for increasing client engagement with video | app of the week: grow your business knowledge and career skill sets | app of the week: upgrade your resume | app of the week: end procrastination | 
see all: apps of the week here |
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the date is a tribute to telephone pioneer alexander graham bell because it’s the week of his birthday (march 3).

so much of the working world experienced telecommuting in 2020, many millions of people learned to say, “you’re on mute” on cue. read more →

what makes an excellent tax return reviewer

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bonuses: a 10-question test (and answer key), plus 18 other issues you might want to test.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

firms have to decide who will do the tax return review, and how qualifed they are for this. ideally, trained tax department personnel are the primary reviewers. however, the bunching and compression of work often shifts some of the review to higher level, non-tax personnel such as audit managers and partners who might not have the comprehensive training, background, knowledge and experience to handle everything that comes up during the tax preparation process.

more: ‘quick and dirty’ tax review | when returns should be submitted for review | tax follow-up worksheets can mean more revenue | stop tax return review shortcuts | routine is key to reviewing tax returns | seven types of tax return reviews
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

additionally, in many firms, almost everyone on the staff will prepare some returns to ease the almost insurmountable burden on the tax department. that lack of trained preparers, though, places an added burden on the reviewers, making it important for them to be more aware and alert when they perform the review.
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why you need standard naming conventions

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man's hands typing on computer keyboardsixteen suggested guidelines to use … and document.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

one of the most time-consuming parts of reconciliation is attempting to discover why or where to allocate expenses. you want to find and pay the correct vendor. you also want to be sure that you have the vendor’s correct name and tax id number when 1099 reporting time rolls around, yet it won’t be easy to do so if you do not have a consistent vendor naming convention.

more: procedures require regular revisiting | how to use onenote to create a firm playbook | how to develop procedures for bos | choose your little black dress of technology | keep the accountants focused on accounting | what do you want advisory services to be?
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consistent naming conventions are a critical component of good file management. the same is true if customer names are in the accounting program. any list really needs to have consistency of entry. duplicates and linking to the wrong record are common mistakes that take time to find and fix.
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nine ways to measure staff performance on the path to partner

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they may have skills, but are they the right ones?

by marc rosenberg
how to bring in new partners

there are many ways to measure the performance of staff on the path to making partner.

more: three types of skills you need to become a partner | six ways new partners differ from managers | sixteen duties of a partner | seventeen basic expectations of partners | the four essentials for every new partner | five people to keep out of partnership | nine ways to woo a prospective partner | tell potential partners what it takes
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as is my style, i will present far more measures than most firms actually use. but i doubt you’ll perceive any of the methods here as unimportant.

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why time tracking still matters

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if your team dismisses timesheets as old school, you may want to rethink that strategy.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

pen ready to fill in blank timesheet

because capacity is the denominator in the lean six sigma equation, and employee productivity is a big factor in capacity, employee productivity becomes a big factor in determining turnaround time.

more: business owners face one of three exits | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | how small firms can win the talent wars | easy ways to avoid ‘done but’ tax returns | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm | do you know your turnaround time?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

first, let’s dismiss all the consultants who tell us time tracking and productivity metrics don’t matter. for the most part, these consultants have never managed or owned cpa firms. rarely have they worked in firms for any length of time. they have never known the struggles of meeting payroll the first pay period in february, when employee hours are up but the tax season money is not rolling in yet.

here’s an example that shows why time tracking and productivity metrics matter:
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