outlook & analysis

6 simple steps to impress a prospect

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and ahow to walk in with head start.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: how do you make a presentation to get a new client when you do not know everything you should about the client’s business?

response: no one can know everything about everything. smaller firms have a harder time but they can reach out to others in their firm, or even partners in similar firms who have the knowledge to assist in the proposal, or friends in larger firms.

here are six simple steps to learn as much as you can about a prospect and their industry.  read more →

three tips for creating training metrics

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plus: effective budgeting and management.

by michael ramos
michael ramos and associates

cpa firms want to establish metrics for their learning function as a way to monitor and manage their learning activities. ideally, firms would do their learning strategies and goals first and then use these strategies to drive the related metrics.

but we do not live in an ideal world, and some firms choose to establish metrics while simultaneously working on firmwide learning structures and goals.

more: high-impact learning: 4 ways to maximize cpe roi

recognizing the risks inherent in prematurely defining metrics, here are three tips for creating meaningful learning metrics at your firm that will help manage the learning function and drive performance. read more →

new survey results: accountants face stiff client resistance to cloud accounting apps

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cloud adoption likelihood
likelihood of adopting cloud accounting

smbs say cloud accounting is the last thing they want.

accountants are encountering extraordinary difficulties in getting their small- and mid-size business clients to adopt cloud computing, according to new research findings made available first to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

accounting is the last operation small business wants to update. everything else comes first, according to software advice, austin, texas-based accounting technology reviews company.

key findings:

  1. over half of respondents express moderate to high levels of confidence in cloud-based accounting solutions, with 32 percent indicating “moderate” confidence.
  2. with 5 percent already using cloud accounting, only 16 percent more are likely to move ahead anytime soon.
  3. the top concern with cloud-based accounting, cited by 46 percent of small business owners, is security. cost and training were other key concerns. read more →

men, women: a tale of two brains for business

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man woman brainwhat brain science tells us about how to work better together.

by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

we need to acknowledge that in the tax and accounting workplace, women do not understand men, and men do not understand women. it happens in dating, so it should not be a surprise when it happens at work.

this isn’t a new topic. but what we’re doing now is not working, or it’s working at a glacial pace. we actually lost ground during the recession years and are now going backwards. the statistics are even worse in small firms, where 80 percent of the talent pool are women but only 12 percent are partners.

luckily, we now know dozens of reasons why and have hundreds of tools and skill builders to help.

here are just a few revelations from emerging brain science: read more →

beyond mentoring: why sponsoring women for leadership matters

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man woman handshake shake hands istock_000010387373smallit’s time for the men running cpa firms to “man up” and get serious about promoting women into leadership roles.

by ida o. abbott
sponsoring women: what men need to know

smart accounting firm leaders want to be in the forefront of efforts to advance women. as the global economy continues to become more competitive, firms need to use all the talent they can muster — and more and more of that talent will be women.

ida o. abbott, sponsoring women
abbott

today cpatrendlines launches the exclusive new series, “sponsoring women: what men need to know.” author ida o. abbott delivers the tools cpa firms need to develop a new generation of women in leadership. training, encouragement, and even mentoring are all helpful. but abbott argues it takes person-to-person sponsorship to finally break through. particularly, she says, it takes a man. the role of women in the cpa profession is a critical issue. abbott’s is an eminently practical strategy. and it’s about time that men “manned up” about promoting women cpas. – the editors

companies that successfully tap into the full potential of women will be far ahead of their competitors. the key to doing it is to identify women who are likely to succeed and sponsor them so they reach the top levels of leadership. this requires direct per­sonal involvement by leaders, particularly leaders who are men.

read more →

10 (nearly) painless ways to keep up to date with technology

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and a
click here to send ed your questions

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: i have a small firm and i’m overwhelmed with all the new technology things i’m hearing about. how can i keep up to date?

response: i personally am astounded at what is out there. it is way beyond me.

related survey results: how accountants keep up with tech trends

here are 10 ways you can stay ahead of the curve: read more →

‘show me the money!’ partners balk at retirement planning

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targeted retirement age as cpa ages
targeted retirement age as cpa ages

developing successful strategies for changing expectations.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm retirements & buyouts

the concept of retirement for cpas is rather amusing.

younger partners (say, under 40) insist with unshakable confidence that the oldest they will ever work is 50 or 55. they have other things to do with their lives (own another business, do charity work, pursue hobbies, etc.) besides working at a cpa firm and they want to pursue these interests while still young.

older partners (say, over 55) see themselves working indefinitely, with 65 being the earliest age that they will even consider retiring. read more →

40 chances, 40 tax seasons

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2015 is another opportunity to fine-tune your business.
what are you planning? join the survey; see what accountants are saying.

by sandi smith leyva

the accountant’s accelerator

40chancesbookcover
learn more

i was drawn to reading howard buffett’s new book because i am completely intrigued by huge social problems and figuring out ways to solve them. for buffett, who is a farmer at heart, the challenge is how to tackle world hunger.

one of the stories in the book (which is 40 chances: finding hope in a hungry world) has buffett listening to a lecture for farmers on how to improve their yield year after year. buffett recalls the speaker saying that one farmer, on average, will have a 40-year career from the time he or she starts working the land to the time to retire. on average it will be 40 harvests and 40 plantings. read more →

how to use snail mail to find sellers for mergers

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with four steps and a sample letter.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm mergers

in all areas of mergers and acquisitions, it’s always much more difficult to find sellers than buyers. this is certainly true in the case of cpa firms. cpa firm merger consultants and brokers can do a great job finding buyers, but they are limited in their ability to dig up sellers. this is because the vast majority of all mergers and sales take place when buyers or sellers who “know each other” get together on their own without the help of a consultant.

one way to identify sellers is to conduct a snail mail solicitation. the steps in the process are: read more →

six steps for a better tax season

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how some smart firms spent their summer vacations…

by hitendra patil
pransform inc. 

a new busy season is fast approaching and vacation season is coming to an end. but some firms haven’t been taking time off. they’ve been assessing the lessons from the 2014 busy season to apply to 2015.

more on the entrepreneurial accountant: 8 seconds into the future: meet generation z   •   5 reasons gen y will make or break your firm   •   3 ways amazon’s new fire phone hints at the future of accounting   •   the 8 traits creating the firm of the future today   •   get more done, make more money: stop doing these 17 things   •   what shopping habits reveal about accounting clients   •   create your “not-to-do’s” list   •   irs bitcoin rule: 5 things accountants need to know   •   tax season tips: train your brain to focus   •   what the bitcoin phenomenon means for accountants   •   overcoming your clients’ worst fears   •   5 tech tips for reigniting growth   •   a case study in using linkedin   •   accountants and six fundamental human needs   •   client satisfaction starts with ‘likeability’   •   why accounting? your clients want to know   •   what’s next: predictive accounting

here are six of the things that the most innovative firms have been doing. and no, they aren’t what you might necessarily expect. read more →

the pros and cons of hiring entry-level staff

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ed mendlowitz
ed mendlowitz

in “why i don’t hire on experience,” ed mendlowitz explained why he advocates for hiring entry-level staff – and the rare exceptions when he believes hiring experienced staff makes sense.

some readers agreed. some didn’t.

frank stitely said the total cost of employment must be considered. “a lot of ‘experienced’ people need to be retrained almost from scratch. you are paying for experience that may not be valuable,” he said. read more →