getting the client is only half the battle
four must-do’s for client retention…
outlook & analysis
cpa interstate mobility becomes a reality in all but one of the united states
hawaii last holdout in battle dating to the last century.
by rick telberg / exclusive to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
it took 15 years, but cpas can now operate freely throughout the contiguous united states.
california gov. jerry brown has signed into law a bill allowing out-of-state-licensed cpas to work in the state without needing a california license. hawaii is now the last holdout. california’s law takes effect july 1, 2013. and the district of columbia’s law goes into effect today.
it is an historic milestone in a long political struggle fraught with frustrations and setbacks that began with fiery, divisive wars within the profession itself.
more for pro members only read more →
practice development: it’s not rocket science
but that doesn’t make you a rocket scientist…
are partner retreats really worth the cost?
how to do it right.
here at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间, ed mendlowitz answers some of the toughest questions practitioners can throw at him. he’s the right one to ask. after more than 40 years in the business – building his own practice, running the firm, and eventually selling it to a major regional firm, withumsmith+brown, where he remains a senior partner and consultant to professional services clients – he has the answers.
browse more from ed here: audit reports without doing the work? | should i really spend the time making checklists? | what’s a tax practice worth today? | preparing to sell your practice in a few years? 13 things you need to know today | 10 questions to ask yourself before you decide to add financial services to your practice | why selling your practice is not a retirement strategy | congratulations! you bought a tax practice. now what? | how accountants can keep the business when a client wants to sell theirs | 10 reasons clients don’t pay, and what to do about it | 13 reasons timesheets will never die
question: is there any value to a retreat? read more →
billing rates jump sharply at cpa firms
a sign of a full economic recovery for the profession?
by rick telberg
exclusive to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
cpa firms are shaking off the effects of years of a fee-cutting death-spiral that halted growth, pinched profits and forced painful staff reductions.
instead, firms are now pushing through some of the most aggressive price increases in years, led by audit services, followed by tax prep, bookkeeping and compilations. read more →
a&a update: au-c sections 330, 402 and 450
risks, service organizations and misstatements. [free podcast for pro members]
special to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
practical accounting and auditing guidance from the plain-english a&a update service by dr. thomas a. ratcliffe, phd, cpa 
au-c section 330: performing procedures in response to assessed risks and evaluating audit evidence obtained
in implementing the clarified auditing standards in calendar-year 2012 and subsequent period audit engagements, practitioners need to have a clear understanding of what is required when performing audit procedures in response to assessed risks and evaluating the audit evidence obtained.
au-c section 402: service organization audit considerations
with the clarified auditing standards, when reporting entities use service organizations to provide services relevant to the audit, practitioners need to have a clear understanding of what is required in considering work performed by service organizations.
au-c section 450: evaluation of misstatements identified
in the clarified auditing technical literature, practitioners have some clear responsibilities related to evaluating the effect of identified misstatements on the audit along with the effect of uncorrected misstatements, if any, on the financial statements.
[pro members: click read more to get the free 10-minute podcast.]
5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients
business development for sole practitioners and small firms.
by sandi smith, cpa / special to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
if you’re a sole practitioner or small-firm operator, you’re probably very good at what you do — or you wouldn’t be in business today. but when it comes to marketing and selling yourself, well, many of us didn’t voluntarily sign up for that part.
as a matter of fact, some of us are resisting — kicking and screaming — marketing ourselves. so no wonder, for some of us, business is slow or not growing at the rate we’d like.
more for soloists and small firms from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间: the top 12 business card blunders accountants make • seven tips to keep the clients you have • how to attract clients like a magnet • eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients • five things accountants take for granted that costs them revenue• what’s in your new client funnel? • what’s in your welcome kit for new prospects? • five fun and easy ways to wow your clients • six ways to give yourself a raise • strategies to stop losing business to competitors
we all hope we will have enough referrals so that we will never have to sell ourselves. but in the last few years, referrals, even for those with huge followings, have slowed down. it’s past time that we work on more fully developing the marketing and selling function of our businesses.
as you do, here are five mistakes to avoid: read more →
mcgladrey’s big bet on new thought-leadership strategy pays off
$427,000 in new business tied to web-driven content marketing campaign.
by rick telberg
exclusive to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
top 10 firm mcgladrey has taken the wraps off an under-the-radar marketing program that is producing dramatic results and serves as a case study for the rest of the profession.
at a conference in orlando last month, eric webb, senior director of communications & brand, presented a 65-slide case study that shows since this effort began in 2009:
- 100% increase in web visits per month
- 300% increase in content production (gross amount of content project)
- 200% increase in content productivity from writers (measuring the “busyness” of content producers)
- 60% increase in content promotion
- 4 new newsletters added to the content marketing mix
- 5% email clickthrough rate (ctr) and 19% social content ctr
mcgladrey attributes $427,000 worth of business to its content marketing process since july 2011.
“if the website is the center of the universe for all of marketing, the content — especially the original thought leadership type of content — is the cement of that foundation,” webb says in describing the importance of content marketing.
the effort demonstrates the importance of better communication throughout the entire content production process and clear expectations for each content creator.
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members: click read more to get the details and download the slide deck
the five essential building blocks for creating a strong accounting firm
the ideal management structure for a profitable cpa firm.
by marc rosenberg, cpa
author of what really makes cpa firms profitable
the vast majority of cpa firms are well under 100 people and therefore don’t need the kind of formalized structure that larger firms need. but virtually all firms, regardless of size, need some minimum form of structure.
more like this: the seven signs of great leadership in a cpa firm | the 10 biggest mistakes cpa firms make in reading map statistics | new rosenberg map survey says cpa firm revenue growth re-accelerating | five skills that separate winners from losers in the accounting business | don’t ask a cpa what profitability means | the essence of cpa firm profitability | compensation issues for the new managing partner | 20 decisions for your firm’s new partner compensation committee | three ways to break partner gridlock in an accounting firm | what partners are entitled to, and what they’re not entitled to | how to make partner? | why accounting firm partners are “popping prozac like m&m’s” | more…
there is a natural tendency for firms to minimize the role of management. there are several reasons for this: read more →
2013 trends in starting salaries in finance and accounting
business demand drives hiring, new competition for talent.
special to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
fueled by new demand from business clients, cpa firms of all sizes are looking to expand audit and tax practices and pursue new new market segments, according to a fresh report on the accountant jobs market. (pro members: get the full report, courtesy 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.)
big bang theory’s emmy show skit on the cpas who tabulate the ballots [video]
[click to play] [jwplayer mediaid=”23054″] we’re sure it wasn’t the funniest moment at the emmy’s, but it’s gone viral in the accountant social media community. take a look and you’ll see why.
second tier accounting firms wrestle with big four for market control in china
after years of favored treatment, tables are turned on big four.
by rick telberg
exclusive to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
on a 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research tour of hong kong and china earlier this year, it became clear that the big four was losing its grip on the china market after years of favored treatment. now we have further evidence.
more for pro members
nine bridges to cross in business development for accounting firms
eyes wide open, forging ahead.
by nick keseric
exclusive to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
on our summer family vacation last month, we traveled through the east coast and i can’t recall a time when we crossed over more bridges. some bridges were old, some were brand new, some low and some very high. and with each crossing, my wife would sink deeper into the passenger seat with eyes closed while our kids pointed out some of the sights only seen at higher elevations thanks to the bridge. too bad pam didn’t get a chance to see those sights.i’m not sure, but my wife might have gephyrophobia, the fear of crossing bridges.
more on business development from nick keseric: if business development is a circus at your firm… | my attitude??? what’s wrong with my @#$%! attitude? | curious minds want to know: are you helping or selling? | the six-step roadmap for cpa change agents | 20 biz dev ideas for your career and your firm |
in business development, if we have gephyrophobia, we shouldn’t be in business development. in business development we need to cross various bridges in the sales and marketing process each and every day.