outlook & analysis

the 3 reasons firms are migrating to digital timesheets

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stopwatch on budget numbers in blue toningbut staffers need convincing and partners are still the biggest slackers.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

studies done over the past two decades have clearly shown that there is a significant improvement in realization for firms that enter, release and post time and expenses on a daily basis. this process allows for daily or “hotel” type billing, which is sent out with the completion of each billable project.

as many as 32 percent of firms today are still using manual billing sheets, while the rest of the industry is preparing the majority of invoices on screen, according to a survey of 300 multi-owner firms.

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why accountants could be the happiest people on earth

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now or later keys shows delay deadlines and urgencynew research shows “givers” outpace others in life and in business. are you a “giver” or a “taker”? take the 10-minute test.

by hitendra patil
pransform

imagine that one of your clients calls you up and expresses his gratitude for the help you gave him.

you wonder: “i just gave him the balance sheet and told him that his business model needs some adjustments. i did what i have always done, so why is he thanking me so big? but, yeah, i do feel happy my client thanked me.”

more on entrepreneurial strategy: what if accounting firms were ‘apps?’ | top 10 entrepreneurial traits of successful accountants | four leadership strengths that define accountants | as block and liberty add accounting services, independents face 3 options | readers sound off on liberty, h& r block plans to launch bookkeeping services | threat or opportunity as h& r block, liberty jump into bookkeeping services? | six secret keys to the mind of the entrepreneur | 8 seconds into the future: meet generation z | 5 reasons gen y will make or break your firm

there is a huge new opportunity for accountants to reconnect with the real purpose of the profession, i.e.: becoming not just a trusted advisor for businesses and people but literally the “business strategist” for their clients. who else understands the “language of business” as well as accountants? read more →

digital tools streamline audit production

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businessman is examining document and woman is working on laptop computer in backgroundsay good-bye to your old friend “saly”

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

traditional audit practices use the previous year’s audit programs and processes updated for the current year as their standard operating plan.

more on tech spending: tech tools for today’s properly equipped field audit teams | accounting firms run on more than checklists alone | going paperless means convincing clients first | how to cut tax prep costs with scanners | making digital tax process easier is all about the workflow | why firms need document retention standards | is your network drive a disaster waiting to happen? | intranet is the best place for firm knowledge | digital fax has benefits you may be ignoring

eventually this can lead to a significant amount of “overauditing.” breaking this habit is difficult as every level of staff has been trained in the manual processes and falls back on them when deadlines approach. read more →

accountants start 2015 on strong hiring trend

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the best december in the last decade.

tax, accounting and bookkeeping employment, through december 2014
tax, accounting and bookkeeping employment, through december 2014

the u.s. tax, accounting and bookkeeping industries closed 2014 with the strongest employment trends in a decade, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 sources.

here 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 reports on:

  • current hiring trends in each of the bookkeeping, tax, payroll and cpa segments of the industry.
  • average hourly wages for key segments.
  • typical hours worked per week.
  • and trends concerning women in the accounting workforce.

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the multiple of compensation method, fully explained

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those who aren’t rainmakers still need to have their contributions recognized.

by marc rosenbergextreme close up of female hand with pen pointing on cash flow document.
retirements & buyouts

there are numerous methods used to calculate the goodwill payable to a retiring partner.

multiple of compensation is the most common method, especially among firms with five or more partners. each partner’s retirement benefits are equal to their compensation immediately prior to retirement times a predetermined and approved multiple.

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tech tools for today’s properly equipped field audit teams

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accountant searching for lawsthe right monitors, scanners and web tools.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

the advent of today’s audit “document container” applications has transitioned every aspect of audit production into a digital format.

more on tech spending: accounting firms run on more than checklists alone | going paperless means convincing clients first | how to cut tax prep costs with scanners | making digital tax process easier is all about the workflow | why firms need document retention standards | is your network drive a disaster waiting to happen? | intranet is the best place for firm knowledge | digital fax has benefits you may be ignoring | wireless is hot, and here’s how to handle it | how safe is your internet lifeline? | new tech tools for the 24/7 accounting firm

the key to successfully using these engagement applications is to make sure your personnel have the optimal equipment with them to work digitally. this includes:

  • monitors,
  • scanners and
  • internet connections.

read more →

why the average fee doesn’t matter

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and anot all data is relevant.

by ed mendlowitz
the practice doctor

question: what is the average fee that your firm charges for a review? assume the company is approximately $10 million in sales and $3 million in assets.

answer: what is the average size suit men wear? this might be nice to know but it is not relevant to any specific situation. read more →

40 ways to make your cpa firm profitable

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money tree growing in the middle of green meadowby marc rosenberg
retirements & buyouts

it has been said that organizations should never make profitability their goal. why? because profitability should be the result of an organization’s efforts, not its goal. create and maintain a world-class organization that satisfies the clients’ needs – and profits will result.

that’s just, may i say, poppycock.

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research, but also be ready to act

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businessman hand press play button sign to start or initiate projects as conceptone key: accept that there are many different ways of achieving the same objective.

by robert j. lees, august j. aquila and derek klyhn

not every firm can be the market leader.

more on leadership: leader training is time well spent | managing partners must remember partners’ needs | 5 questions about your firm’s direction | like herding cats: partners must ‘walk together’

but every firm can have a culture of excellence, of striving to be the best at everything they do and of reinventing themselves as the markets for both clients and people change.

read more →

great tax prep reviewers aren’t just born

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htrtr cvr clipfive traits of the best tax season managers.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns

reviewing tax returns is a key part of tax preparation. it also is an area vulnerable to major bottlenecks and backlogs. inevitably, firms have more preparers than reviewers. the latter are highly skilled professionals who are more difficult to train or find. therefore, you must consider ways to reduce review time, even at the expense of adding preparer time.

the best tax season managers know how to: read more →

non-equity partners have important role to play

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businesspeople having a meeting over coffee sitting together at a table discussing a document, young man and two middle-aged women presentpercentage of women in partner roles is on the rise, but they’re still underutilized.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 exclusive

partner positions in cpa firms are ever so slightly going increasingly to women and non-equity partners, who have some of the same authority and prestige as full partners, but don’t hold equity stakes in their firms.

more from the map survey: geography plays part in firm success | financial services up at largest firms, down at smaller ones | big firms keep getting bigger

non-equity partners are in place at 49 percent of all cpa firms with multiple partners, up from 46 percent the year before, while women hold partnership positions at 16.4 percent of firms in 2013, up from 15.6 percent, according to the current “rosenberg survey: the national map survey of cpa firm statistics.” read more →

why i became a consultant

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by ed mendlowitz the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor while i was working full-time early in my accounting career, i was also picking up clients that i did on the side, also known as moonlighting. one of the clients was a … continued