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tax season client meetings: kill them now

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man working hard at office desklet’s try to spike phone calls and emails while we’re at it.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

what did dorothy and her friends fear in the wizard of oz? “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” dorothy feared the wrong things if she’s a partner in a cpa firm. we don’t see much wildlife in our offices during tax season unless you count fast food delivery people and the occasional crazy client.

more: make your firm faster, smarter, richer … with millennials | seven ways to beat staffing shortages | the happier, saner, richer tax firm | avoiding projects hung up in process | teaching the meaning of ‘done’
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we should really fear the events that destroy our priorities and drain hours from productive work. meetings and phone calls and emails, oh my! let’s look at why these communication methods are so destructive from a practice management standpoint.
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do you give yourself too much credit?

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young black businessman looking at his reflectionprobably. here’s how to change your ways.

by bill reeb

“focus on changing you” is an important technique to embrace. for your life to change in a meaningful way, it is about you changing – not anyone else.

more: how to focus your priorities | why clash when you can harmonize? | make tension work for you | it’s all right to enjoy success | failure paves the road to wisdom | are you paralyzed by fear? | how to change the way you think (and why)
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while this sounds cliché, it is absolutely true. as a consultant, i work with organizations helping them with everything from improving operating processes to succession. because every project i am involved in requires me to deal with a number of different personalities, if i want the client to achieve a successful outcome, it becomes critical for our team members to understand the following premise:

change occurs when you change!

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who’s heating up accounting tech?

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the 21 top venture capital funds and the software companies they’re backing.

by randolph p. johnston

through the years, the opportunity to introduce good entrepreneurs with fine products to larger companies or investors to help their company and product grow. while preparing materials for presentations, the money behind the technology used by accounting professionals.

more in tech: survey: communication plan is to stay the course | stop drowning in client documents | survey: phone, email tied for client communication | hunker down: the irs backlog isn’t going away anytime soon | five top tech trends for 2021 | make tech your ally in protecting clients |

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while who owns what changes daily, investment strategies illustrate what will happen in the future. while my personal preference is to create and operate, many operators prefer to create and flip, taking the money they have made and choosing to do something else.

the links in this post should help you navigate who is holding what. my intent is certainly not to show you all technology company holdings but to simply illustrate a few that are critical to accounting professionals. first, consider a simple listing of venture capital partners and firms. (you can click through these links to see a simple list of each.)

now for a few examples of vc firms and representative holdings:

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the six types of “impossible” clients

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not that there aren’t others.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

as a cpa, i deal with many types of clients’ personalities. if i chose only one type, i would not have had much of a practice. and i doubt i would have found that one perfect type too many times. i have been very fortunate to have really nice and very smart people as clients.

more: 50 ways to make more money in busy season | 14 simple, easy tips for a better tax season | how to recoup staff training costs | 10 ways to stay in control | advice to new accountants | clients don’t lose sleep for overpaying taxes | when time-based pricing works
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i believe entrepreneurs are the most stimulating people to work with. however, this doesn’t mean they don’t have peculiarities and that this sometimes makes them difficult to deal with – sometimes, but fortunately not most of the time.

here are six examples of types i had to put up with and had to learn to overlook some of the unfortunate traits.
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the 17 rules for making partner at a cpa firm

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checklist: it’s a big job, after all.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

we’ve all heard the names given to various generations of people over the past century. the lost generation. the greatest (wwii) generation. the silent generation. baby boomers. gen x. millennials. gen z. though i don’t know of any studies on this, i’m quite sure that every generation of cpa firm ownership has complained – bitterly – about the younger generation.

more: who shouldn’t be a partner? | nine reasons people are promoted to partner | how to make partner?
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baby boomers and gen xers love to complain that today’s staff don’t want to be partners. they cite this as a major reason why it’s so difficult to bring in new partners.
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the irs’s $3-billion problem

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bar chart

 

92% of paper returns stuck in the backlog.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

tax preparers would be wise to advise their clients to e-file this year. according to the government accountability office and the taxpayer advocate service, the irs is not keeping up with paper returns.

in fact, it seems to be barely trying.

more: hunker down: the irs backlog isn’t going away anytime soon | the irs studebaker bomb | imagine irs ‘concierge’ service. just imagine. | irs has recruiting problems, too
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chickenfeed

the covid-19 pandemic is only part of the problem. yes, of course, last year, with irs offices shuttered and phones shut down for months, a backlog built up. by the end of the year, “irs had a significant backlog of returns and taxpayer correspondence,” according to the gao.
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family feud isn’t just a game show

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jason p. trenton
jason p. trenton: how to avoid family feuds.

why you need an estate administrator pro.

by anthony glomski and russ alan prince
your $5-million high-net-worth practice

being named executor of an estate places many legal and fiduciary responsibilities on that person. an executor is entrusted with settling the decedent’s affairs, arranging for the payment of any income and estate taxes, and distributing the assets of the decedent’s estate. in most cases, people choose a loved one or family member to serve as executor.

more: working with the ultra-wealthy | become a thought leader | working with the super-rich and single-family offices | the family office model | the new way to get the best clients | the four-step process for client-focused business development | life insurance as part of wealth management
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“unfortunately, i have seen executors neglect their fiduciary duties during the estate administration period, which has exposed the decedent’s estate to unnecessary legal expenses, tax liability, and family feuds,” said jason trenton, a top trust and estate attorney in the los angeles office of venable llp’s tax and wealth planning practice.
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stop drowning in client documents

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pile of documents on desk stack up high waiting to be managed.a better way to keep track.

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

question: we are in an era of paperless procedures and files, but many times clients send in paper documents, cds or stick drives, besides emailing their information or using our portal.

more: employee demands a raise she doesn’t deserve | but i am managing! | how to run a practice in 90 pages | how improv can help accountants | four tips for new partners | an alternative to pro bono | 14 better uses for timesheet data | 9 must-haves for firm growth
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how can this be handled? we seem to always be tripping on the information.
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how to write your cas engagement letter

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woman holding paper at deskdefine not just what, but also when.

by hitendra patil
accountaneur: the entrepreneurial accountant

“people think of us (accountants) as the compliance agents – the necessary evil.”

this sentence haunts me even today, after hearing it nearly 15 years ago from a multi-award-winning, highly experienced cpa.

more: designing your firm’s cas processes | your firm’s processes can set you apart | technology and your cas clients | top five cas killers and how to overcome them | 21 ways to adjust your practice in 2021 | how to become an outsourced/virtual cfo
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perception!

has the accounting profession’s brand been (predominantly) perceived as “compliance” only?
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five common negotiating mistakes

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three people speaking by videoconferenceyou’re after success, not a “win.”

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

we enter into negotiations every day without realizing it, whether it is on a professional or personal basis. irrespective of whether it is a contractual transaction between a company and vendor or if a husband and wife are deciding on which couch to buy, each side is seeking to gain something. neither side may get everything it wants because an all-or-nothing-at-all approach will be a barrier to making any progress.

more: courtesy still matters | business is about relationships | can a cpa firm be different in a changing market? | a rapidly changing business environment requires flexibility | another meeting?!?! … sigh | organizational trust: top-down and bottom-up | how can change management really produce change? | trust: one building block of success
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negotiating involves getting and keeping agreements that work for all parties. you can reach an agreement but the issue is whether you can maintain the agreement and the relationship built around it. both sides need to have a sense of “victory” or at the very least, feel they have not lost, because if this should occur then further conflict will result.
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ask the right question(s)

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stack of cards labeled with question markswhat don’t you know you don’t know?

by gary bolinger

the most valued advisors spend a lot of time listening. they spend more time listening than they spend talking.  listening provides insights to enhance advisory services. of course, listening means that the advisor needs to spend time asking the right questions. questions are hard.

more: seven elements of engagement for cpas | true advisory work isn’t just consulting
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if you are engaged with staff, any question you ask will be different than when meeting with a partner. and different yet again with clients and prospective clients.
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