outlook & analysis

accounting and bookkeeping jobs hit new all-time high for month of august

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best august ever.

accounting and bookkeeping services, via www.g005e.com

by rick telberg

the u.s. accounting and bookkeeping sector of the economy added 3,500 new jobs in august bringing the full-time workforce in the industry to 955,000, a new all-time record high for the month, according to preliminary new data obtained by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

related
instant download – 2013 salary guide 
join the survey, get the results – the cpa careers and hiring outlook: job satisfaction and retention benchmarks
join the survey, get the results – top talent strategies:  how to identify and develop professionals for management and leadership responsibilities

in addition, the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis shows: read more →

herding cats: change management for cpa firms

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eight good tips for getting everyone on board when change is scary.

change is inevitable. but with a crashing a crashing economy, it is also treacherous, which makes these suggestion from august aquila all the more urgent.

1. know where you want to go. what are you trying to achieve as a firm and a partner group? while it’s always difficult to address the elephant in the room, now is the time to take advantage of the economic turmoil and bring all issues to the table.

2. get others involved. if you are the only one in the firm who is pushing for the change, you might as well forget about it. when others get involved they also get committed. they provide you with feedback so that you can develop the best steps in the change process. read more →

the ‘big three’ tax software packages lose market share as apps for smaller firms surge

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taxact, atx, drake, proseries and turbotax surge in popularity.

market share of leading tax prep products, 2012 (source: aicpa)

by rick telberg

the three leading tax software packages may be losing ground to applications designed for smaller, younger firms, according to new trend data. the reasons may be several and connected, driven by smaller firms looking to spend less, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis. read more →

don’t ask a cpa what profitability means

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you’d think they could agree on a common definition for their firms. they can’t.

by marc rosenberg, cpa
author of what really makes cpa firms profitable

if you asked the president of a fortune 500 company or the owner of a restaurant to define profitability, they would be able to give a quick, definitive answer. not so with cpas. surely, you’ve heard the story, perhaps apocryphal, of the company that was interviewing for a new cpa firm. only one question was asked of each candidate: “how much is two plus two?” the firm that won the bid gave the answer, “how much would you like it to be?”

related: 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…

the same can be true of cpa firm profitability. how do we measure it? you would think that the uncontested champions of measuring financial data, cpas, would have this down to a science. but such is not the case. read more →

preparing to sell your practice in a few years? 13 things you need to know today

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what to do before you put your practice on the market.

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. we’re happy to have him at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. send your questions for ed here, or chime in with comments below.

meanwhile, browse more from ed here:  what’s a tax practice worth today?  /  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 | 

— rick telberg
president / ceo

question: i am getting older and want to continue working at least five more years.  should i merge now to anticipate and facilitate a buyout?

read more →

‘there is no such thing as a time problem’

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it’s a management problem and here are three solutions.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

i know it’s a bold statement and a lot of you will disagree. but please have an open mind and hear me out.

time is the great equalizer. we all have the same number of hours in a day, yet some entrepreneurs, many of them self-made, become wildly successful, while others languish. only one in twenty business owners in the u.s. (2002 numbers) make it past $1 million in annual revenues. i believe the way they use their time is a big factor in their success or failure.

more from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:  • 15 off-the-hook ideas for accountants to dream big  • 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  • five tips to manage your ‘overwhelm’ level  • easy ideas for a quick business boost  • four new mega-trend marketing strategies  • how to stop leaving money on the table

here are three better explanations of your time problem:

read more →

the essence of cpa firm profitability

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what mickey mouse can teach accountants about accounting.

by marc rosenberg, cpa
author of the rosenberg map survey

it has been said that organizations should never have profitability as a goal. why? because profitability should be the result of an organization’s efforts, not its goal. profitability is a measure of success in accomplishing core business goals. the disney corporation probably says it best in their mission statement, which is short and sweet, but very powerful: “our mission is to make millions happy.”

related: 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…

disney super-pleases parents by creating hundreds of quality movies and lovable characters children grow up with and adore, and by creating theme parks that tap into our fantasies and imagination.

read more →

15 off-the-hook ideas for accountants to dream big

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start your business ‘bucket list’ today.

by sandi smith, cpa
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 / accountant’s accelerator

do you have a business bucket list?

did you see the movie “the bucket list?” morgan freeman and jack nicholson played men who didn’t have too long to live. they each wrote up a bucket list, a list of things they wanted to do or accomplish before they kicked the bucket (as we say in the south).

why not apply the concept to your business? you can do this whether you have your own business or a job, although you have a bit more control when you’re the boss. what do you want to do before you retire or sell your business?

sandi smith

more from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:  3 money leaks that may need plugging in your business  •  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  • five tips to manage your ‘overwhelm’ level  • easy ideas for a quick business boost  • four new mega-trend marketing strategies  • how to stop leaving money on the table

here are some ideas: read more →