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internal communications are underrated

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ten categories of information your firm needs to manage … and how to make it happen.

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.

a terrific definition of chaos is when a client asks two different people in your firm the same question – and gets two different and conflicting answers.

more: manage knowledge as a marketing tool | how to put target marketing into context | everyone in your firm is marketing | professional services marketing requires flexibility | how to set marketing objectives | nine fundamentals for a healthy marketing culture in an accounting firm
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another form of it is when there’s a crisis, and the media calls and gets somebody on the phone who hasn’t been briefed – but who answers the questions anyway. there’s real horror for you.

a managing partner bemoans the fact that his or her clear and well-defined vision of the firm has become so diluted by the time it gets transmitted down the line that there’s cause to wonder if everybody is working for the same firm.
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how much a data breach will cost you – directly and indirectly

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for many, it could cost an entire business.

by donny shimamoto
cybersecurity for accountants

as quickly as the irs detects cyber schemes, fraudsters come up with other attack vectors. many are funded by rogue nation-states, so they have more resources available to them than we do.

more: future firm growth requires a mindshift | ai, ocr, nlp & cpas: oh my! | accounting nerds, unlock your super powers | early adopters gain an edge in audit | dustin wheeler: for serious cas success, hire tech teams | csr for cpas: the missing ingredient | donny shimamoto explains how ‘agile’ applies to cpa firms | staff retention for remote workers | why the future is in risk advisory | ready for non-cpa ‘cpa’ firms?
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however, this doesn’t mean that you can give up and let them run rampant. doing so leaves you vulnerable to litigation in the event of a data breach, and possible business disruption from ransomware.

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six ways to beat the competition

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big businessman crushing a small one in his fingers

stop losing business to others.

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

it’s rare that i lose business to competitors, and it’s also not an accident.

more: how to fight feeling overwhelmed | the art of prompt engineering for accountants | calculate your business relationship ratios | set bold new goals for the rest of the year | five ways to acquire more clients | five stages of any business | leverage your client list today | need leads? try a quiz | now’s the time to clean up your email list | don’t let prospects fall through the cracks | five lessons my clients taught me
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if you are losing business to your competitors, here are some strategies you can use to “become a category of one,” as they say in marketing.

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rosenberg map: partner incomes surge 11.4%

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on revenue gains of 11.8%

by charles hylan
rosenberg map survey 

it’s been another amazing year for the accounting profession! but – it comes at a price. as we look at the firms in our survey with revenue greater than $2 million, income per partner was up 11.8%, and revenue was up 11.4%.

more in surveys & research: firms rev up expansion plans | overcoming the five hurdles to advisory services | research: accounting pros cautiously optimistic about generative ai | why compliance still matters. but it’s not enough. |  new businesses mean new business | how to transform your team into trusted advisors

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this is the second year in which profits grew faster than revenue.

this new revenue and additional profits are occurring amidst a severe staffing shortage, resulting in people being stretched to their limits.

so, how do we keep this going at less of a “price tag?”

doing nothing is not an option, and hope is not a strategy.

our profession is experiencing unprecedented pressure from the economy, staffing shortages, technology, and competition. read more →

pcps map: profits and pay lag behind revenue gains at cpa firms

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revenue grows 11%. profit trails at 4%. entry-level salaries not ‘competitive.’


by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

cpa firm revenues are growing strongly, but profits and entry-level salaries are failing to keep pace, according to new survey data analyzed by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

more in surveys & research: firms rev up expansion plans | overcoming the five hurdles to advisory services | research: accounting pros cautiously optimistic about generative ai | why compliance still matters. but it’s not enough. |  new businesses mean new business | how to transform your team into trusted advisors

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

although the average base salary for new entrants to the profession increased by $5,000 to $50,000 in the fiscal year 2022, this still lags behind comparable pay in fields such as engineering, the aicpa says in commentary accompanying the new 2023 national management of an accounting practice survey, adding "competitive compensation is crucial to firms’ ability to attract talent."

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partner accountability: the only two things that really matter

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both tax and audit partners can achieve margin goals, but in different ways.

by bill penczak

i was leading a midyear review of the 2023 strategic plan for one of my cpa firm clients, one that has experienced exponential growth (you’re welcome) in the past few years but simultaneously is facing the positives and negatives that accompany rapid growth. as we delved into the goals and objectives in the six strategic areas, it dawned on me that partner focus – and the ensuing measurement and related compensation – should be narrowed to just two things, which i will address in a bit.

more bill penczak: how to boost profits by (omg) sharing the upside | bill penczak: stop forcing smart people to do stupid work | chase birky: overcoming paralysis by analysis | dustin verity: keep an open mind and constantly learn | five ways to put success into succession planning | o.d. lanier: stepping into advisory | secret to success? a growth and abundance mindset | from tax to transformation | five steps to building advisory work | the six essential kpis for managing partners | the great resignation: five reasons accountants are quitting | five tips for better decision-making | your marketing sucks: six reasons why | five global cpa leaders: four survival strategies | are you too generous with your write-offs? | nine smooth moves to build client satisfaction | planning for success in 2021 | re-thinking today’s firm with five global leaders | 5 things your firm should do differently this summer | do you have the guts to beat the covid crisis? | how to inoculate your firm against covid competition | ‘found money’ delights clients | don’t buy a rolodex, buy a process | the three r’s for beating the corona crisis | 6 reasons why your marketing sucks
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the polar opposite of this kiss approach was the managing partner of a $100 million-plus firm that wound up being gobbled up by one of the supernationals almost 10 years ago. he was brilliant – he could look at an excel spreadsheet and, in “rain man” fashion, immediately identify wrong entries or formulas. (for those readers on the younger age spectrum, “rain man” was an academy award-winning film from 1988 starring dustin hoffman and tom cruise.) being the king of excel, this managing partner had created a 20-column rating sheet for each partner to measure their performance. in the words of one partner at the time, “there was so much detail, we didn’t even know what to focus on.”

time for wapner, indeed.

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accounting tech tools to minimize your pain

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a businessman with some jigsaw puzzle pieces in his hand

concrete ways that small to midsized firms can build their back office support.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

obtaining the source documents is the most difficult aspect of being a virtual back office support (bos). waiting for documents is the death knell for this type of work.

more: strengthen client ties with workflow tools | decoding accounting tech (and all those acronyms) | digital marketing strategies level the playing field | eight tasks to delegate today | advisory services done your way | ai is not your enemy
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luckily, technology has provided tools to take away this pain.

here are just five of the tools we use currently to collect information from our clients:
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want more tax clients? here’s how

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plus 21 ways to get additional business clients.

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

a target is the result of a plan.

more on marketing: bundle tax services with financial planning | when clients haven’t filed taxes for years | how to help a client start a new business | second opinions: an old service under a new label | help clients with employment compensation | help clients with basic budgeting | questions for after tax season | 28 data points for a financial planning discussion | four additional services to suggest
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so, what is your plan?
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six keys to turning prospects into clients

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six vintage keys

plus seven things that trusted advisors don’t need to do.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

what makes a written proposal become accepted by the potential client – every time?

more: seven mistakes in winning new fees | tell the world your worth | four surprising keys to communication | culture can’t be ignored | three questions about your competence | 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
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proposal writing is a micro-science in its own right but here are the proven principles that it takes to get proposals accepted.
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stop clients from performing “favors”

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“oh, you shouldn’t have.” (you really, really shouldn’t have.)

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

we all have clients who bring in tax documents in laminated three-ring binders. they smile big toothy grins and tell us how they’re our most organized client. there’s no reason for us to organize the documents, as they’ve already done us this huge favor. of course, there will be no reason for us to remove anything from the binder and everything should be left in the binder just as it is.

more: who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | business owners face one of three exits | how small firms can win the talent wars | do you know your turnaround time?
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we call these people binder boys. they have no clue that organized for them is not organized for tax return preparation. preparing a return from documents in a binder takes twice as long, at least, as preparing returns from a well-organized pdf file.

we also have the people who use five pounds of staples to organize 20 pages. they don’t want any loose documents falling out of the file.
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what is an heic file?

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drop the jpgs for better storage capacity.

by rick richardson
technology this week

on all iphones and ipads, the default image format is heic. along with apple, heic files are supported by canon, sony, qualcomm and samsung.

more: ai + mri = diseases that doctors might miss | printer ink: not just expensive, but a blatant scam? | bill gates behind next-generation nuclear plant | your boarding pass could onboard hackers | generative ai coming to microsoft 365 | electronic skin that can sense touch will transform robotics | chatgpt passes cpa exam on second try | stanford scientists 3d-print heart tissue | four of today’s new technologies that will be tomorrow’s ‘norm’
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here is all the information you need about the heic file format.

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20 things you need for a business valuation

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man reading in paper notebook in front of two screens

how to help a client who wants to sell their business. (hint: it’s about them, not you.)

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

question: i have a client who’s thinking of selling his business, and he asked me to recommend a consultant to help him get his business in shape to sell. i am afraid that if he finds someone on his own i’ll lose control of the client. he might end up not selling and i could lose the client. i do not know anyone to recommend. what do you suggest i do?

more: valuing a family-owned business: eight options | business valuation comes down to cash flow | 50 ways to create value for business owners and board members | what earnings mean for a business valuation | use organization charts to rewrite the future | what clients don’t know about cost variances | why and how to track payroll costs
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ed’s response: i suggest that you decide what is best for the client and proceed that way. you can find consultants by contacting other cpas, attorneys, or business brokers that work in this area.

however, i also think that this is something where you can probably do most of the work yourself or through your firm. it is not a magic process, but a four-part process.

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