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how to craft a service level agreement

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man and woman at table in client meeting

bonus: a sample checklist.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

anytime there is a business relationship between entities, expect to see a contract or some form of written agreement. in outsourcing, as in many other relationships, this is called a service level agreement (sla). this agreement is used to establish the scope of the engagement. it clearly states who is responsible for what, when, where and how. it provides a quid pro quo that you can verify with the business owner(s), so that both parties are fully aware of their obligations.

more: three examples: pricing your bos value add | how to assess needs for a client proposal | best practices for source doc permissions and handling | every back office support client needs a playbook | strengthen client ties with workflow tools | understand your online marketing options | narrow your prospects by choosing a vertical | build your team, then choose your clients | how back office support adds value
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the important thing is to go through each function and each area with the business owners(s), have them read it with you together and check off each item so that they are clear on what you expect from them, and so you are clear on what deliverables you are promising.
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taxpayer assistance centers: a good idea that should be better

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woman addressing couple sitting at table with her

a modest proposal.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

taxpayer assistance centers are a great service for the tens of millions of taxpayers who can’t afford the professional help of a tax preparer. they offer a chance for a taxpayer to sit down with an actual human being who is prepared to help.

more: irs still falling short on service | 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 | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks
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among the services tac staff can help with are:

  • account inquiries (help with letters, notices, levies on wages, etc.)
  • adjustments and changes to tax account information
  • basic tax law assistance
  • acceptance of cash payments

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it’s time to prepare the next generation

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group of four young professionals

they’ll learn from someone. shouldn’t it be you?

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

if you are a partner in your firm, you may already have asked yourself the all-important question: how can i successfully retire and have someone else take over the firm?

more: walk the commitment walk | don’t let recurring fees kill your practice | rate your personal purpose | six keys to getting a proposal accepted | tell the world your worth | four surprising keys to communication | 10 can’t-skip steps for business development | attract clients, don’t chase them | success in business comes second | business won’t come to you | forged in fire: the pains of leadership | 10 questions for reconsidering your prices
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the partner who has a satisfactory answer to that question is the one who is committed not only to developing business and building the firm on a regular basis, but also to developing and preparing the next generation of professionals in the firm.
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did ancient romans find a solution for climate change?

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a cement alternative has the potential to reduce emissions by roughly 40 percent.

by rick richardson
technology this week

all roads lead to rome, as they say. as the building sector struggles with climate issues posed by concrete, some engineers believe a roman-era invention may provide the solution.

more: tack one launches new location tracker for children and seniors | mit tests new ingestible vital signs sensor | study: solar will lead global energy by 2050 | new tech could let evs go 3,000 miles on a single charge | ai + mri = diseases that doctors might miss | your boarding pass could onboard hackers | the first police officer on the scene might be a drone | research: accounting pros cautiously optimistic about generative ai
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

speaking at the climate smart engineering conference in melbourne, durability engineer miles dacre of the consulting firm aecom notes that concrete emissions are under more and more scrutiny.

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every accounting firm needs quality control

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man using laptop, pen marking imaginary checkboxes in air

the lowest cost always comes when the person first performing the service does it correctly.

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

question: i want to improve my firm’s review and quality control. do you have any suggestions?

response: this is a recurring issue for most firms. every cpa practice needs quality control. the issue is whether a dedicated quality control (“qc”) person is needed and, if not, how the qc can be done without one.

more: three ways to start an accounting practice | fifteen strategies for first-time supervisors | no one listens to you? change how you talk | free consultation? not always | measure knowledge gaps (then close them) | 47 types of business valuation to provide | referral fee? forget it | should you offer financial services? | thirteen things to consider before you sell your practice | how much is your tax practice worth? | ready to retire? selling your practice is no strategy | uncooperative partner might not be the problem | merge in lower-priced work without losing out | 20 things you need for a business valuation
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

a practice is a business and every business must be run efficiently and profitably. qc is an area that i have found many firms getting tied up in and either spending nothing or much more than they should.
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four attributes your experts need

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flow chart

 

plus more tips on building your team.

by anthony glomski
your $5 million high-net-worth practice

take a look at the chart above showing an example of the type of professional network to use in your client’s financial life. you can see that the personal cfo is at the center, acting as the coordinator of the team and the single point of contact. his or her primary relationships are with the four other core experts: private client lawyer, accountant, life insurance specialist and the property and casualty agent. these team members then have relationships with the other types of specialists you may need from time to time.

more: your wealth management team needs these five people | wealth management calls for a team of experts | see your client to a graceful exit | check tax effects before liquifying | why you should function as a fiduciary | your entrepreneurs need advice, but which kind?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

finding the right people to help

if you are building your own expert team from scratch, you will need to do your homework and identify good candidates in the key areas in which you need help.
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clients have six reasons for needing you

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woman handing document across desk to client

understanding this is part of mastering the art of sales.

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

no matter how good your marketing tools are, there is one tool that needs to be especially sharp, and that is your salesmanship. all the marketing tools we mentioned previously will be of little value if you don’t know how to “ask for the business.”

more: four steps to a successful email marketing campaign | three types of marketing message, and which is best | why you need progress billing | five tips for cross-selling and upselling | five keys to successful marketing | twelve fundamentals of planning | one question to guide your growth plans
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

you need to understand the selling and buying cycles. they are critical for your success.

while there are many ways to make a sale, i prefer the consultative partnership approach (cpa) to selling accounting and consulting services. this approach is based on three key principles:
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ten keys to crafting ads

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and why some ads don’t work.

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.

certainly, the current crop of ads tends to be better than the earlier ones, although we had such weirdies as “accounting is our passion.” (“passion” is the current fad word). i thought passion to serve clients is more to be desired. how many words will be wasted to explain the link between their passion and their ability to meet your need?

more: eighteen things advertising can do for your firm | 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
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

then there was “financial restructuring without the bitter aftertaste,” for a law firm. the copy’s ok, but the illustration of three executive with faces screwed up (presumably from the bitter aftertaste) looks as if they’ve been drinking doctored kool-aid. pretty inviting, isn’t it? a good rule is don’t try to be funny in public until at least six strangers, none of whom is related to you, laugh at what you’ve written. nothing sours an ad more than unfunny attempts at humor.
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irs still falling short on service

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letter blocks with middle section rotating to change word from "quantity" to "quality"

it doesn’t seem to know which problems most need solving.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service wants to do a better job. it really does. it got an infusion of funds (though it seems some might get taken back), and it’s got a strategic operating plan with objectives for improving the taxpayer experience and modernizing operations.

more: must the irs be a dark hole? | 10 tips to the irs for beefing up staff | eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and it’s made a lot of progress. but it’s still got wide open spaces to accommodate improvement.
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how to use the three types of artificial intelligence

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your firm will need to redefine its processes.

by hitendra patil
rise of the aiccountants

artificial intelligence (ai) is a rage worldwide now, and accountants are racing ahead to test/try out publicly available ai tools. ai-powered tools can potentially automate tasks outside the purview of the software solutions created by programmers. ai also has the potential to help accountants to better understand and analyze data, which is essential for helping their clients, and accountants themselves make better informed business decisions.

more: ai means clients need you more than ever | seven changes ai brings to accounting | humans beat ai in some aspects | why accountants should embrace artificial intelligence | ai brings opportunities for accountants | seven things you must know about ai
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

all of you (almost) have already tried chatgpt. but it is just one type of ai – a generative, large language model (llm). as it is “language”-based, it can, right now, quickly help accountants enhance marketing and client communications.
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must the irs be a dark hole?

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documents disappearing into dark hole

taxpayer advocate calls for more transparency.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service is the one federal agency that touches nearly every american. yet too often taxpayers and tax preparers find it all but impossible to see what they need to see in that dark and distant entity.

  • many struggle to access information from the irs.
  • many have difficulty finding clear, timely, dependable guidance.
  • many can’t determine the status of pending issues.

more: 10 tips to the irs for beefing up staff | eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks | top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

  • many can’t understand irs correspondence or how to respond to it.
  • many never find an irs agent who can answer a question authoritatively.
  • many find it impossible to resolve an issue.
  • many, after experiencing any of the above, suffer the stress of confusion and frustration.
  • many end up distrusting the tax system.

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seven things good firms must do

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six people meeting around office conference table

good management gets them there.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

if partners of firms across the country were asked what the key was to the success of legendary fortune 500 companies such as general electric, coca-cola, ibm and countless others, i’m sure that the words “strong management” and “strong leadership” would dominate their responses. yet, ask those same partners to evaluate their own firms’ management, and if they are honest, their responses would not be very flattering.

more: five ways to separate accounting winners from losers | two factors determine firm profitability | five keys in compensating new managing partners | what partners do and don’t deserve | five steps to transition to partnership
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

of all of the techniques for improving cpa firm profitability, none is more effective than strong management and leadership. yet, nothing is more elusive. why is this?
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