special

why your approach to cas and cfo services is wrong

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how thinking about your grandmother could be the answer.

by w. michael hsu

client advisory services and the progression of the “virtual” cfo have gained incredible popularity, or at least attention, in the accounting profession. but the fact is, many firms are doing it wrong and setting themselves up for failure. i should know, it nearly happened to my firm.

more w. michael hsu: seven principles to work less and achieve more | how do firm leaders learn? | when it comes to pricing, it’s about ‘can’t afford not to’ | your client base is global |

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flashback to about 13 years ago. it was the middle of the night, and everyone was asleep. the aicpa had just featured me at one of their major industry events in vegas for firing 50 percent of my clients. while i’ve enjoyed the publicity, i’m now sitting in my room wondering if i should have done that.

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do your partners pay their own way?

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there are objective and subjective measures. bonuses are for the extraordinary.

by august j. aquila
what makes a great partnership

while times may be good for many cpa firms, we should not forget that firms cannot afford to have partners coast or be unable to pay their own way. firms are expecting more from their partners. it doesn’t mean that partners have to work longer hours, but it does mean that partners need to contribute more to the economic value of the firm and learn how to work smarter.

more: why partners need written goals | seven keys to becoming an equity partner | how to achieve partner unity | the seven building blocks of a great partnership
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evaluate partner performance

in the majority of firms there is no formal written evaluation of partners. while most partners don’t want to be and don’t like to be evaluated, it’s a common fact of life. how else can you fairly evaluate and compensate your partners? there is a definite trend today for firms to identify standards and have written, measureable goals for partners. this permits management to evaluate actual performance against the goals set at the beginning of the year.

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chatgpt spurs competition in different ways

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microsoft and google bank on their own versions.

by rick richardson

recently, microsoft held a press briefing to announce two new web-based software upgrades. the same ai technology that powers the chatbot chatgpt has been updated and included in the latest edition of microsoft’s bing search engine. a fresh experience for exploring the web and getting information online is promised by the firm as it introduces the product alongside new ai-enhanced features for its edge browser.

more tech this week:  chatgpt: what it is. why you need to know. | russia-linked ransomware back with a vengeance | amazon aws: the mainframe killer? | amazon launching its first internet satellites | russian solarwinds hackers at it again | nasa finds a $10 quintillion asteroid | firms must balance benefits, risks of emerging technology | microsoft and google go to war
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“it’s a new day in search,” said microsoft ceo satya nadella at an event announcing the products. the paradigm for web search, according to nadella, hasn’t changed in decades, but ai can offer information more swiftly and fluidly than conventional techniques.

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you don’t need a cas sales pitch

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two businessmen shaking handsthree keys to discovering a mutual fit.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

“i am not a good salesperson.”

i have lost count of how many accountants have told me this over the years. but i also learned that what they really mean is that they do not have a well-defined, structured “sales process.”

more: get clients to toot your cas horn | how to market cas to existing clients | 12 cas profitability killers | how weekly cas reports help businesses | cas: much more than bookkeeping | matching your tech to your cas clients
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this post is not about fundamental sales skills. that is beyond our scope. this is more about how to develop and execute your client accounting services sales process, pitch and supporting collaterals that can help get you more cas sales.
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what does taking control of your firm mean?

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it starts with setting the right priorities. 

“your business does not have to control your life. when you choose control and proactivity and the way you serve your clients, you start to support your life.”
–john mitchell, creative director, rootworks

by seth fineberg
at large

in a q&a about what being a ‘modern’ firm means during adp’s recent digital accountant summit, john mitchell let loose this quote about control in your firm’s life. so what does that really mean?

more fineberg: what bogs down accountants | your classic business model won’t allow growth

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certainly, accountants who work at or run small firms (which, as we know, encompass the vast majority of the public accounting profession) would like to feel like they have more of a say in what goes on in their professional lives versus it happening “to” them. but few are involved in any initiatives to do just that.

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three types of skills you need to become a partner

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senior businessman mentoring two younger workerswhat is your firm doing to help staff develop these?

by marc rosenberg
how to bring in new partners

the old-school way of developing staff into partners was very simple:

  • staff are bountiful. those with the right stuff move up; we’ll move the others out and hire a new crop to replace them.
  • it’s up to the staff to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and make their mark. nobody showed us how to make partner. nobody held our hands.

more: six ways new partners differ from managers | sixteen duties of a partner | seventeen basic expectations of partners | the four essentials for every new partner | five people to keep out of partnership | nine ways to woo a prospective partner | tell potential partners what it takes
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  • it’s up to the staff to tell us that they want to be partners. unless and until they show us this ambition, we won’t talk to them about becoming a partner.
  • bringing in business can’t be taught. you’re either born with it or you’re not.
  • and while we are on the subject of business development, we all know from experience that marketing must be done nights and weekends. clients are too busy during the day. and we need the days to get our billable hours in. so a partner must commit to working long hours, including nights and weekends, and be willing to sacrifice his or her personal life for the firm.

not much of a clear or easy path in those days, was there?
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what’s in a (domain) name? plenty

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not knowing what you’re doing can cost you plenty.

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

domain names are cheap compared to other marketing costs. they average $15 to $20 per year per domain. but if you register many domains, they can begin to add up. and if you switch domains, you could end up costing yourself far more than $15 in lost revenues if you don’t know what you are doing.

more: need leads? try a quiz | five emotional skills for entrepreneurs | transform your marketing with crm | five kinds of small thinking | five tests: how open are you to change? | maybe price isn’t the problem | the seven-step plan for marketing by spreadsheet
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here are my thoughts and what’s possible with domain names, especially as they relate to search engine optimization at the macro level.

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tax season opens with refunds up 85%

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data tablenearly two-thirds of returns have been self-prepared.

by beth bellor

the latest tax season is off to a roar, with refunds up 85 percent and processing up 29 percent above last year at this time.

more on tax season: more: marchternity: just say ‘no’ | marchternity: the solution is community | why the irs is still doing data entry by hand | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good | why we all hate the tax code | how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse?

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as of feb. 3, the end of the first week of collections, the irs had received 19 million individual income tax returns, up 13.5 percent from the same week in 2022. it had processed 16.8 million returns, up 29.1 percent.
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battling cas cost pushback

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hitendra patil cas q-and-a logowhat is the prospect unable to do on their own?

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

q: how do you convince a potential client that through cas you are adding value above the cost?  i always hear “it costs too much” or “we’ve been getting by without the added cost.”

more cas q&a: clients don’t understand cas, but they know value | how to differentiate cas | cas marketing is different. here’s how
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a: interestingly, the roots of this question are hidden in the value pricing realm.
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when returns should be submitted for review

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three times it’s appropriate.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

the workflow of returns submitted to reviewers needs to be managed, otherwise the reviewer could become overloaded with incomplete or partially completed returns waiting on additional information. this adds nonproductive work to the reviewer that can best be delegated to the preparer, who is actually delegating it to the reviewer, i.e., upward delegation, which makes no sense, or have it assigned to an administrative person for follow-up. for efficiency i suggest that the preparer is the best person to follow up and maintain control of the incomplete return.

more: 10 errors that ‘smart’ scanners make | three ways to improve tax returns | don’t use eyes, use brain | three types of tax return reviews | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
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the firm mindset must be to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the reviewer. (i keep repeating this. this must be a top goal if you want to get the best that the reviewers can offer to you.)
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how to use onenote to create a firm playbook

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portrait of investment advisor businesswoman sitting at office in front of computer and consulting with young professional man.client-specific information that should be included.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

we use onenote to create a firm playbook for each client we work with. this program allows you to record voice and video and save it to a page or implant videos directly into the relevant onenote page.

more: how to develop internal procedures | why federated search matters | tips for getting clients started on bos | the best tech for your team and clients | marketing? know your goals first | eight things to stop doing now | you don’t have to do everything
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we get lots of zoom recordings on procedures from firms. in our world, the onenote template has a specific page for all videos as a subpage for each client. this onenote book resides on the shared server so that all the team members can access it at any time to verify, review or update procedures.
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a lesson in customer service and reputation

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manager standing in front of wall of tvswho needs to see you lead?

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

in order to become a commercially aware practice leader, we need to understand the dna of leadership.

more: 10 questions for reconsidering your prices | five reasons firms don’t thrive | four biz dev tasks to start the new year | what the next generation of practice leaders faces | five ways to show commitment | selling isn’t hard | do you make your firm look good?
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any woman or man leading an accounting firm, who chooses to overcome each operational or client challenge as it if their future depended on it, will not only succeed in practice but will become capable of delivering advisory value to their clients unmatched by their competitors, thus achieving true differentiation.
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