four basic understandings every auditor must master

make your audits more relevant and provide value-added insights and services to your clients.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

the question professionals should always ask is, “are we leaving the profession better than we found it?” so, let’s ask: are we leaving the audit profession in better shape than it was when we inherited it?

more: 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
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right now, we’re not providing value, but i honestly believe it’s not too late. the future of audit is ours to create or a future that will happen to us, and not necessarily a future we would prefer.

it will take leadership to change the future of audits. we have to take ownership of the process.

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refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings

* total refunds issued represent returns received and processed in 2024 – the current year only. the number of direct deposit refunds represents returns received in the current and prior year but processed in 2024.

also: the irs realizes a footnote is in order and we are shocked.

by beth bellor

average tax refunds are on the rise, so the weekly filing data has one uptick besides the amount of traffic to the irs website – an increase that perhaps isn’t a positive.

more: tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
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the internal revenue service had received 34.7 million returns, down 5.7 percent from the same period one year ago, as of the week ending feb. 16, the latest data available. lower numbers are no surprise, of course, because there had been only 19 days in the 2024 filing season, which opened jan. 29, compared to the 26 days there had been in the 2023 season, which opened jan. 23.
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how to start providing family office services

couple meeting with investment advisor.

including a sample engagement letter.

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

question: some of my clients are getting older and are becoming unable to handle their own financial affairs and i have been asked if i could assist them. what is involved and how do i charge for it?

more: higher fees to start: ten ways to make your tax season better | nine tips for a healthier tax season | fifteen strategies for first-time supervisors | measure knowledge gaps (then close them) | should you offer financial services? | ready to retire? selling your practice is no strategy | 20 things you need for a business valuation
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response: many large firms provide “family office” services. this is a complete one-stop financial service that helps clients manage their money, pay their bills, collect their dividends and interest, and make sure insurance isn’t cancelled, mortgage, car lease or condo fee payments aren’t skipped, and tax payments paid on time.

following is a sample engagement letter that i use with clients needing such services. also, this letter provides a detailed description of what the service involves.
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why would anyone become a cpa?

the competition between cpas and non-cpas is about to get more aggressive.

with steven sacks
the new fundamentals: thriving in disruption

the cpa profession, or just plain old accounting profession, is currently facing challenges of getting more people to become cpas or even having young people think about accounting as a career.

more steve sacks: 150 hours revisted: the profession needs a makeover | how do you value your most important asset? | which is better: a year of education or a year of experience? | sell service, not hours | private equity vs. the cpa firm partnership | cas or caas? getting clarity | fine-tuning the subscription fee modelwhen cyber-crime hits close to home | how to build a winning proposal | six ways to fix your firm agreement | the great resignation or a reshuffling? | listen to learn | build the framework to a solution with five answers | try for success, not a win
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we hear about the slow drip of the professional pipeline; all sorts of remedies or suggestions have been offered. is it because the profession still suffers an identity crisis exacerbated by an additional (if questionable) fifth year?  there are those already in the profession who are bemoaning low pay, long hours, and doubts about whether gaining a partnership is achievable (or worth it).

oh, yes, there is the extra tuition load that must be taken on. so, higher debt, stagnant pay, long hours, and increased competition (think mbas, cfas) is a perfect storm.

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survey shows that tech remains the great divide

casually dressed man working at laptop, money stacks covering surrounding desk space

why are the non-adopters not adopting?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

wolters kluwer tax and accounting has issued its annual tax and accounting survey. the results show an industry re-evaluating its criteria for success as firmwide changes occur.

technology is the driver of those changes, and its rapid evolution is enabling, and even necessitating, innovation.

more: is the cpa business model the clog in the pipeline? | can big data spot financial fraud? | accountants torn over 2024 economy, offer advice | survey: are you offering the right services? | 42% of accountants turn away work over staff shortages | talent gap widening: be very scared | cpa biz is booming, but for how long? | survey: accountants economic outlook brightens
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in her introductory letter, cathy rowe, wolters kluwer senior vice president, professional market, says, “those who embrace innovation will be able to redefine their firms, leave no spreadsheet untouched by the winds of change, and truly be future-ready accountants.”

the numbers back up the increasing use of and dependence on technology, but they also reveal a significant part of the industry declining to board the tech train.
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four questions for choosing your marketing audit strategies

smiling woman with head surrounded by question marks, exclamation points and yellow light bulb

what segments and services offer you the most potential?

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

let’s continue with our marketing audit discussion. now that we have some firmwide objectives, we need to select strategies. there are many ways to accomplish something, and it is necessary to select how you are going to go about doing it.

more: maybe what you need is a marketing audit | 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
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selecting your strategies

let’s look at four different strategies.

  1. cost reduction. as new forms of technology and artificial intelligence enter the workplace, it is increasingly possible to achieve a competitive advantage by using them to reduce the cost of service delivery. tax processing software is a common example that firms have used over the last 20 years. ai could help firms reduce costs in multiple areas of the firm, from tax research to improving processes.

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creating the perfect ad

man designing ads

here’s how to get it right.

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.

at last, the perfect law firm ad campaign. well, pretty much perfect. the 39-office, atlanta-based law firm has been running an ad campaign that embodies every principle of good advertising.

more: ten keys to crafting ads | eighteen things advertising can do for your firm | how and why client service teams work | manage knowledge as a marketing tool | secret marketing formula: get one client at a time | marketing a fixed position in a moving world | how to build a marketing culture | have you planned how to service your new revenue? | why is change so hard for firms? | why value pricing works | why competition matters most
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its ad in the wall street journal has a picture of a man in front of a crossroad sign as if he were choosing which fork to take. the headline, which is really a callout in the middle of the copy, is in larger type than the rest of the text, which says “where you go now” (lower case as is).
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six rules for keeping partners happy and productive

group of four business people talking to each other during a business meeting, with one man holding an electronic tablet in his hands with graphs and charts on the display

plus the first nine questions they must embrace for optimal profitability.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

“when a corporation says move left, everybody takes a step left. in a partnership, when you say move left, three people go to the bathroom, four people move right and five people leave the firm.”richard ungaretti, ungaretti & harris

more: why strategic thinking impacts your firm’s future | seven things good firms must do | don’t make firm profitability a goal | top 20 tough choices for the partner comp committee | tell potentials what partnership takes | disturb the present to improve the future
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in cpa firms, as the partners go, so goes the firm. the partners

  • bring in most of the business,
  • manage most of the client relationships and engagements,
  • develop and mentor the staff and
  • manage the firm.

if the partners don’t perform these functions effectively, it is virtually impossible to be profitable and successful.
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how to weather any economic storm

woman pulls pack storm page and reveals sunset.

four strategies to use … and six to avoid.

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms

according to an article published in harvard business review, three scientists, ranjay gulati, nitin nohria, and franz wohlgezogen, conducted a study to discover the strategies that generated the most – and the least – profits in lean times.

more: leverage your strengths to beat stress | you don’t have a time problem | three money leaks and how to plug them | eleven ways to serve clients even better | eight ways to build busy-season staminamake your prospect kit stand out | six ways to beat the competition | grow your revenue with three marketing strategies | what can chatgpt do for accounting professionals?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

first, here’s a list of surefire ways to kill your business:

  • slash headcount with huge layoffs.
  • have solely a short-term focus.
  • employ executives who take a loss-minimizing approach.

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ftc nails turbotax for ‘free filing’ scam

shocked couple looking at laptop while sitting on couch

what does ‘free’ mean? it shouldn’t be up for debate.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

american taxpayers are all victims of a tax scam.

yes, all of them.

more: if only the irs’s tax pro were useful | tax pros file 33% of early returns | the nightmare of non-credentialed tax preparers | must the irs be a dark hole? | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep
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and the new york times points an accusatory finger straight at turbotax.

a tax season villain

in a 15-minute video article by john harris and binyamin appelbaum, the times says there’s a tax villain, and it’s neither the tax rate nor the internal revenue service.
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make audits matter: live cpe with alan anderson

hot topic: blake oliver discusses “transforming audit for the future” with author alan anderson.

anderson joins host blake oliver at earmark webinars+.

making audit matter again: the future of assurance
feb. 28, 12 pm et, 9 am pt
learn moreregister

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the audit is at a crossroads. commoditization and compliance mentalities have diminished its value. now, auditors face an existential crisis.

how can assurance stay relevant?

join alan anderson, author of the newly published “transforming audit for the future,” and blake oliver as they tackle pressing questions on audit’s failure to innovate and chart a new direction focused on value-added assurance.

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advisory work must be priced by value, not hours

technology pushes us to handle more advisory work, which allows more value pricing. 

by jody padar
the radical cpa

as a professional in the industry, you may find some of what you do easy. just because you find it easy doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable and worth more than the time you put into it. if it were truly easy, your clients would be doing it themselves rather than paying you.

more: how hard do you work to keep your clients? | four things to know about social media | internal communications are underrated | four things better than a company song | let’s lose the word ‘image’ | the risk in not understanding risk | what your marketing program can and can’t do | nine reasons that prospects say yes | how marketing evolved to 3.0
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undervaluing ourselves and what we bring to the table is a chronic problem plaguing accountants and cpas. why do i say this? because people pay more for the luxuries they value. let’s look at a comparison:

today, the msrp of a cadillac escalade is over $81,000 while the msrp of a chevy suburban is slightly under $60,000. if these automobiles were priced according to the time it takes to make them, plus the cost of their parts, the difference between their retail prices would probably be far less. to maximize profits, gm spends a lot of time and money researching how much their customers value their different products. certainly, the brand makes a difference, but the cadillac also offers a more luxurious package. it doesn’t cost gm a lot more money to offer these luxuries, but their customers place a much higher value on them, and gm understands that value.

pricing according to value really isn’t a radical concept!

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offer your tax clients other services

woman and man shaking hands across a desk

here are 40 they should know about, plus a checklist for considering additional client services.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

the following listing can give you ideas of additional services clients might need.

more on tax season: can your tax reviewers answer these 10 questions? | the top 12 mistakes in tax return preparation | six types of person: which are you? | answer these two questions first | help your tax clients, help yourself | what’s your value to your tax clients? | are you excited about tax season?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this list is not complete, but it is a good start for you to start thinking about what types of additional services you can offer to your clients!

  1. estate planning
  2. inheritance advice and guidance
  3. succession planning
  4. personal financial planning

read more →