special

lack of relevance drives audit commoditization

by

premium service providers collect premium fees.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

we are all willing to pay more for something that has been custom-created just for us or when we see that the service provider has gone above and beyond to deliver additional value for us. but without relevance, there is little chance that your clients will see any additional value in the audit. for the client, the only reason to get an audit is to meet a regulatory or banking requirement.

more: five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | traditional audits don’t deserve premium billing | put the ethics code to work for your clients and your firm | turning audit & accounting into assurance & advisory | is audit in crisis because of definitions? | stop sending the wrong message to audit teams | closing the audit expectations gap
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as a profession, our actions have contributed to commoditization, but every cpa firm i talk to complains about how audit is becoming commoditized. when someone complains to me about commoditization, the first thing i ask is, what do you do when you’re under a little fee pressure from your client? oh, lower my fee. so, why are you lowering your fee? because quite often, whether you’re thinking about it or not, you probably haven’t delivered anything more than 24 pages with an audit report on it.

read more →

why exceptional service matters

by

server holding carafe of water points at menu item; two women seated at restaurant table

and why it has to come from everyone.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

this time, i have a question for you. but i’ll start with a story.

last sunday evening my wife and i went into a reasonably upscale restaurant and we had terrible service from everyone we interacted with.

more: courting a client? don’t give too much away for free | how to start providing family office services | every accounting firm needs quality control | no one listens to you? change how you talk | 47 types of business valuation to provide | thirteen things to consider before you sell your practice | uncooperative partner might not be the problem
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when we were seated, the table wobbled and we asked if they could do something or move us to another table. ten minutes later someone showed up with a wad of napkins that made it worse. five minutes later they asked if we were okay, and put us at another table. ten minutes after that they took our order, but we asked for some drinks right away, which we only got after we complained to the manager.
read more →

tax practitioners say happy days are here … again

by

bar chart
seventy percent report as good or better year than last year.

 

for most, anyway.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the first results of the 2024 busy season barometer: emerging issues, opportunities, and trends are in, and so far, halfway into the tax season, accountants and tax practitioners are reporting another pretty good year.

that’s two in a row!

more: the irs is coming! get your clients into compliance | end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep | eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | the nightmare of non-credentialed tax preparers | tax pros are expanding and earning more
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

last year, 58 percent of survey respondents said their year was much better or somewhat better than 2022, which, as you may recall, had been a rather rotten year.

so when only 32 percent of this year’s contributors say this season is better than 2023, it doesn’t mean fewer are having a good year. it means almost a third are reporting a year better than a good year.
read more →

got fomo when it comes to ai and chatgpt? you should: here’s what you’re missing

by

… not to mention $856 per week per employee in savings.

by sandi leyva

in the 10 months that i have been teaching chatgpt, i’ve noticed about a third of my webinar participants have set up a free account with openai’s chatgpt, where they have access to chatgpt version 3.5. another third have invested a whopping $20 per month for the paid version, and the remaining third don’t have an account at all. a tiny number of participants are lucky enough to have companies that have invested in the enterprise version of the software.

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and these are accounting and tax professionals who are eager to learn chatgpt. if you haven’t embraced the paid version of chatgpt (individual, teams or enterprise), it’s time to learn what you’re missing.

 

 

check out our courses on chatgpt,
offered as a deep discount bundle or separately.
webinar schedule:
more chaptgpt here

while the free version of chatgpt can generate answers to thousands of questions, it can’t:

read more →

ten questions to refine your successful marketing plan

by

stack of cards labeled with question marks

is the right message reaching the right audience?

by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services

the main reason most marketing programs don’t work is that not enough time is spent up front in the planning stage. marketing, like anything else, takes careful planning as well as execution. i’m going to propose 10 key questions that you need to answer before embarking on your next marketing program.

more: ‘sales’ is not a four-letter word | three pillars support a successful accounting firm | clients have six reasons for needing you | six ways to market your technology consulting practice | sixteen marketing activities to try | the four steps of your personal marketing process | how does your firm measure up? | six questions before asking for all the referrals you deserve | five rules for a marketing orientation | ten keys to marketing success
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

  1. what one purpose do you want to accomplish? too often, accountants begin a marketing program without really knowing what they want to accomplish. sometimes there are so many things they want to do that it becomes unrealistic to achieve all of them. the result is confusion and dissatisfaction.

read more →

why accountants should be nice to journalists

by

woman interviewing man in front of full-wall city window

or else you’ll turn into a pumpkin – or something.

by bruce marcus
professional services marketing 3.0

editor’s note: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 was privileged to have a long relationship with bruce w. marcus, who was ahead of his time in his thinking and practice in marketing for accounting. we are publishing some of the late expert’s evergreen work, which retains wisdom for the present.

your mother raised you to be nice to everyone, and you’ve always been taught to be nice to journalists. answer their questions. tell them everything. stop what you’re doing and cooperate. be polite.

that’s the conventional wisdom. you’ve even read that in the marcus letter. but are there ever times to tell the press to bug off, and leave you alone? maybe.

more: when there’s a leak in your firm | creating the perfect ad | how hard do you work to keep your clients? | when clients think they know marketing | how to put target marketing into context | everyone in your firm is marketing | accountants vs. lawyers: who wins the marketing battle? | professional services marketing requires flexibility | how to set marketing objectives | how marketing in accounting has evolved | accountants don’t sell soap.
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

on the face of it, the media seems to have all the power. they speak to a lot more people than you do, and they do it with what the general public accepts, usually unquestioningly and with little reason, as objectivity.
read more →

accounting disruptors are heading your way … with deep pockets

by

if you’re not ready to make your move, you’d better hope your competition isn’t.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

change isn’t just knocking at your door; it’s kicking it down. we’re in the middle of a major transformation because of new players, cutting-edge technologies and a financial surge. the rules are being rewritten before our very eyes.

more: the convergence of trends makes pricing changes imperative | stop looking for talent that does not exist | advisory work must be priced by value, not hours
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if you consider accounting a giant chessboard, many players are making strategic moves. you have the old-school firms on one side who are navigating a rapidly changing landscape. on the other side, you have the new-school disruptors. these innovative entities are reshaping the industry with cutting-edge technologies and fresh approaches.

read more →

are accountants charging too little?

by

pensive woman staring while surrounded by various denominations of floating currency

size matters in partner income. (aicpa map)

hourly billing on the decline but still holding on.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

by all indications,  cpa firms are outperforming the general economy by a very satisfying margin.

but are they charging enough?

more: chatgpt for the reluctant cpa | cpas needed to help small biz adopt ai | revenue growth is top priority for small firms | survey shows challenges, priorities shifting | survey shows that tech remains the great divide | is the cpa business model the clog in the pipeline? | can big data spot financial fraud? | will unclogging the accounting pro pipeline kill mobility? | accountants cozy up to clients with cas | accountants torn over 2024 economy, offer advice | accountants bullish on income
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

all categories of median net fees show substantial increases from 2021 to 2023 in the latest aicpa national management of an accounting practice survey:

  • net client fees leaped up 24 percent.
  • net client fees earned since prior year: up 15 percent.

read more →

tax & accounting profession keeps growing

by

line chart
overall profession employment

 

more workers, with some making quite a bit more money.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

winter doldrums didn’t seem to affect the tax and accounting profession, which saw several sectors hit new hiring highs in february.

elsewhere in the nation, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 275,000 in february, nudging the unemployment rate up to 3.9 percent. professional and business services saw little change for the month.

more: accounting hiring hits another high | staff wages hit record high | despite staffing crunch, firms freeze pay raises | tax & accounting firms grow for 9th straight month | tax & accounting profession grows, but wages don’t | tax and accounting pay advancing at 5.9% pace | accounting jobs up 4% for year
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

overall accounting profession employment at a record 1,163,600 was up 1,000 or 0.1 percent for the month and 29,600 or 2.6 percent for the year. employees averaged 35.9 hours per week, down 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the month but up 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the year. their earnings hit a new high of $41.41, up 21 cents or 0.5 percent for the month and 34 cents or 0.8 percent for the year.
read more →

five questions for grading prospects

by

pipeline in shape of a dollar sign

remember, a list is not a pipeline.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

so you’ve done all the work to get yourself composed and prepared to go out and generate new opportunities, find new business and new clients. now what? how will you know who to contact for the first step?

answer: your pipeline.

more: be clear about your roi proposition | keep business development going during busy season | walk the commitment walk | two steps toward mastering selling | thirteen ways to show commitment | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential | five ways to rally your firm to its culture | when would-be partners aren’t candidates | make your expertise a new-client magnet | don’t think of it as selling
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

many partners think they have a pipeline, but they don’t. what they actually have is just a list of prospects they’ve

  • met with,
  • would like to meet with or
  • have worked with in the past.

read more →

eight steps to putting back office support into place

by

three young people talking in an office

includes details for the client operations manual.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

moving from compliance to reliance services is not an easy task. if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point, that’s okay. however, the joy of offering back office support (bos) services and working closely with clients to help them meet their goals is well worth the effort. having a strong team, clear procedures and technology that works for you are the building blocks that allow you to succeed in this endeavor.

more: after you check your cybersecurity, help others | cover these five areas of information security | three examples: pricing your bos value add | use timesheets for productivity, not billing | revisit your back office support procedures | federated search: what it is, why it matters | accounting tech tools to minimize your pain | do your apps play well with others? | it’s ok to have favorite clients | ten questions for teamwork | yes, you can be an outsourcer
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the next layer is the clients – meeting with them, working with them and setting up the procedures to ensure that you are truly their advisor. when you carefully select your clients, take the time to understand their needs and goals, and hold them to a paperless work environment, both your team and clients will reap the rewards.
read more →

five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership

by

as cpas, we exercise due professional care in all we do. when we perform audits, the bar is higher.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

in my work with auditors around the country, and as i’ve thought about where audit is headed, i’ve developed a framework of five key attributes of successful leadership for audit. if we focus on these five attributes, i truly believe we can transform audit from the checklist exercise that it’s becoming into a service that genuinely adds value to our clients.

more: traditional audits don’t deserve premium billing | four basic understandings every auditor must master | put the ethics code to work for your clients and your firm | turning audit & accounting into assurance & advisory | wanted: great audit mentors | is audit in crisis because of definitions? | stop sending the wrong message to audit teams | closing the audit expectations gap
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

let’s look at each of these five crucial attributes of successful audit leadership:

read more →