outlook & analysis

where laptops rule at cpa firms today

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three top laptops in firms today, from left: for the bookkeeper, for the auditor, for the partner.
three of the leading laptops in accounting firms today, all business-class dell latitudes. from left, for bookkeepers, the e6430 14-inch; for auditors, e6540 15.6 inch; and for partners, e6330 13.3 inch.

also: save up to 26% on your hardware spending with four smart strategies.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

kepczyk
kepczyk

getting the right mix of mobility is critical for firms today. today’s rule of thumb is that everyone who works out of the office one day or more per week should have a laptop as their only machine.

laptops should be scheduled for replacement every three years, whereas desktops are often functional for a fourth year. in firms that utilize workstations only as “dumb terminals” via tools such as citrix, windows terminal server and workstation virtualization (vdi) in the future, the functioning life of a desktop computer can be five or more years. read more →

new times call for new cpa firm metrics

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how to fine-tune your management dashboard for effectiveness, innovation and growth.

dreamstime_xs_9983601.jpgby august aquila
creating the effective partnership

don’t kid yourself – it’s a new world out there. accounting firms need to become more transparent. partners and employees need to truly understand the firm’s vision and value proposition. they need to see how their daily actions move the firm toward its goals. mission and vision can no longer be vague, fluffy statements that mean nothing to your clients, employees and partners, and prospects.

this new environment requires firms to actually implement their goals by looking at specific objectives and measures. performance and execution are the key operatives. the old measures, by themselves, won’t do the job anymore. they are still valuable, but new measures are needed today. firms no longer compete with the firm down the street in terms of mere marketing. they now complete in how they manage the practice, treat their employees, win employees’ hearts and minds and provide a true learning environment.

what would it be worth to you if you had a system which could measure your business development and management efforts?  in short, measure how well you are implementing your firm’s strategy? read more →

complaining client? no wonder!

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and a

question: i have had a client for 12 years and until recently he has been a pleasure. for the last year he seems to be overly complaining about the fees and has fallen behind in payments. he is not hurting for cash so it is not a money issue. what can i do to get the relationship back on track?

response: i spoke at great length with the cpa and it seems that the client has been taken for granted and the accountant has dropped the ball. calls and emails were no longer returned quickly, an extension was filed this tax season for the first time in years, a long-term staff person left so was replaced, and since client started to complain the partner hasn’t been so anxious to interact with him. also the cpa told me that the work has settled into a routine and nothing much has changed in years “so why should the client be upset now?” read more →

the secret formula for getting new clients

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the 16-step plan to focus on landing one new client at a time. by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 here’s a little secret about accounting marketing: it always comes down to selling the individual clients – one by one. more … continued

what stage of business are you in?

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evolving from running a practice to leading a business.

by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

technology has allowed just about everyone to start their own businesses. we can do something part time, full time or in between. we can start and stop our businesses. we can be successful at lots of different business models. and we can go through stages of our business.

if you want to grow exponentially, or even linearly, you’ll need to progress. and before you can do that, it makes sense to figure out where you are now. here are five stages of business so you can see where you are now and where you want to go. read more →

talking merger? the basic 7-item agenda for the first meeting

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the ultimate success of a merger is directly proportional to the effort made by both firms.

according to marc rosenberg, of cpa firm mergers, each firm must ask lots of questions, agree on as many merger implementation issues as possible before the merger takes place and openly share as much of their “dirty laundry” as possible. “don’t assume anything,” rosenberg says.

in merger talks between well-matched firms of similar size, the best deals seem to start with the right agenda at the first meeting. it’s a seemingly simple seven-item agenda. but the discussions are rarely simple. nor should they be.

agenda for the first meeting: read more →

step 1 in building the paperless firm: scanners

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fujitsu fi-6110 desktop scanner
fujitsu fi-6110 desktop scanner (click for more)

survey: 78% of firms scan at the front end – and it’s not just an admin job.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless 

one of the keys to optimizing accounting firm production processes is capturing information at its “root” source – the moment data enters your firm, regardless of the format – mail, fax, email or on a flash drive.

ideally, documents would be delivered already in a digital format such as email attachments or preferably through a portal, but the reality today is that a significant portion of accounting firm source documents arrive from clients in a physical paper format. your firm will need to develop processes to efficiently scan, name and store these documents.

the best firms start with the right scanners. scanners come in three flavors, capturing data at three levels: production, workgroup and individual.

read more →

6 reasons why cpa firms fail in innovation

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the compensation trap that turns winners into losers.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

the focus on most cpa firms is on billable hours. while there is nothing inherently wrong with this focus, it has become the overriding focus of firms.

there is nothing wrong with making money today, but what about building for the future? with “today” being the dominant focus, what is the encouragement to cpas to innovate?  in most firms there is no alignment with innovation and compensation.

you will never have innovation unless you allocate some time and reward to making it happen. read more →

running an accounting business

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and aquestion: i am the managing partner of my accounting firm by default. no one else wanted to do it. i am trying to manage things but i have a full schedule, am shorthanded on staff and continue to do a reasonable amount of marketing. i am overwhelmed. how do others do it?

response: i purposely left off the size of the firm because my response applies to every size firm – those with two partners on up to large firms with upward of 50 partners. no matter the size of your practice, it is a business and needs someone dedicated to running it. smaller firms need less time, possibly less skills and perhaps one of the partners can fill in this role. larger firms need a person who spends substantially all of their time running the business, but not necessarily a partner. read more →

8 steps in cpa mentoring

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to develop and nurture talent: it’s more than just lunch.

molly sargent
sargent

unfortunately, even the best-intentioned mentoring initiatives can easily fizzle in the early stages, before delivering value to the participants and the organization at large, according to molly sargent of rowayton, conn.-based professional impressions consulting.

sargent has trained and coached thousands of financial professionals and client-facing executives in professional image, presentation skills, business etiquette and sales effectiveness. since 1985, she has helped major accounting firms and fortune 500 companies, including aetna, american express, at&t, citibank, goldman sachs, jpmorgan, key bank, mastercard, pricewaterhousecoopers and prudential achieve breakthrough results.

with so much to gain, how can your firm initiate mentoring in a way that is successful and sustainable? read more →