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12 signs it’s time to outsource

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four businessmen standing on world mapalso: seven covid-driven client needs.

by hitendra patil
accountaneur: the entrepreneurial accountant

when you are the key person to make things happen at your firm, you want to invest as much time in “business development” (not just marketing and sales) as humanly possible. your firm’s growth will make you feel that producing and delivering your services is an essential core business function for you, but some of it is not.

more: how to create your firm’s cas team | technology and your cas clients | top five cas killers and how to overcome them | 21 ways to adjust your practice in 2021
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

freeing up yourself to spend more time focusing on the things that add value to your practice and help set it apart from the competition is the most essential differentiating growth strategy you will ever deploy. the same principle applies to your experienced, talented staff.
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business is about relationships

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two businesspeople meeting over coffeethere’s no secret sauce.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

business can usually be conducted by phone, videoconference or in person. it really doesn’t matter the approach; what is important is how you comport yourself – irrespective of whether the individual(s) with whom you are dealing are superiors, peers or subordinates. i can’t tell you how many times i have witnessed conversations that were best conducted behind closed doors. the old adage of praise in public, criticize in private is underused or completely ignored.

more: reaching for authenticity in client service | bigger firm, bigger thinking | 5 steps to better time management | swot’s the purpose? | is your firm’s culture a magnet or a repellent? | building teamwork under covid pressure
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when did we fall down on practicing the basics of common courtesy: returning phone calls, knocking before entering an office or saying “excuse me” when certain situations call for it?
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why clash when you can harmonize?

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3 metal funnelsput another way, are you a box or a funnel?

by bill reeb

a college professor i know has had a difficult time harmonizing as his approach always escalated to clashing and resisting. and no, this isn’t a story about michaelle in disguise, but someone else i had the pleasure of getting to know.

more: rely on strengths … but not too much | increase your odds of success | heading off course? time to correct | don’t let time pass without … | is your sense of duty misplaced? | are you sure you’re in the wrong place? | how are you programming your mind?
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he had a definite approach to teaching and was good at it. he believed in setting very high standards for his students and passing only those who achieved a specific level of excellence.
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team expectations: a checklist for busy season

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what do you think your staff knows about tax season? check again.

by kristen rampe

busy season is here. are you ready? is your team ready?

you might feel your team “should know” your expectations, but that’s not always the case.

more rampe: pandemic lesson: innovate faster | tax season savvy: five ways to stay sane | why host a partner retreat? | survey results: effective stay interviews for cpa firms | the 16 biggest #fails in delegation | survey: work-life balance: according to whom? | new survey results: two ways your strategic plan can reduce turnover |

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

a client of ours once assumed a five-year staff they hired from a top 10 regional firm would know tax professionals work on saturdays from february – april. she chose not to show up for any of them in february.

while the managing partner stewed over this behavior, we realized three key factors were in play:

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five ways to evaluate partners

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woman conducting evaluationbonus: two forms you can use.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

why do firms conduct performance evaluations of partners?

  • to clarify what is expected of the partner
  • to improve performance
  • to provide management with information to use in allocating partner income, which should be linked to performance

more: compensation is no way to manage partners | make sure partners focus on two things | entitled rainmakers and other practice development errors | breaking it down: marketing job descriptions | how and why to hire a marketing director | how to brand and differentiate your firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

five types of partner evaluations

  1. self-evaluation
  2. upward evaluations of the partners by the staff
  3. client satisfaction and loyalty surveys
  4. peer evaluations
  5. traditional one-on-one appraisal sessions, same as for staff

larger firms use evaluations more than smaller firms. this is because larger firms tend to have more sophisticated management practices, including partner accountability, which is one of several techniques for managing partner behavior and conduct. smaller firms often avoid partner evaluations because they struggle with partner accountability. that’s not good, but that’s the life they lead.
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true advisory work isn’t just consulting

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the difference may seem slight. but the dollars are very real.

this is the first in a series of articles by gary bolinger, the former ceo of the indiana cpa society, explaining how accountants can move beyond consulting and into higher-level advisory relationships with clients

by gary bolinger

call it consulting, advisory, small business growth or entrepreneurial services – does it make a  difference? cpa firms are seeking to add value to clients in non-traditional ways. something other than compliance-related services. but firms seem to struggle with defining what “it” actually is.

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

all too often consulting services are after the fact. practitioners discover a “problem” or some kind of shortcoming through a tax or financial reporting engagement. dutifully, the practitioner brings the issue to the attention of the client. the client dutifully asks what should and can be done. after some discussion, there are agreed-upon next steps. problem solved. sort of. that is consulting.
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you’re not just taxes

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make sure tax clients know about other services.

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

during a tax return preparation interview, getting a client’s information is a tremendous opportunity to find out the concerns of the client and how you can help.

more: 20 good ways to boost tax season production | 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
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the assistance you give can sometimes provide a life-changing benefit to the client while enabling your firm to increase its service base and gain additional revenues.
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how to implement the laziness equation

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time is money : clock hands on $100 billscalculate and cut turnaround time.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

one of the funniest parts of launching clarity practice management has been watching my business partner, peter daniel, learn about the business acumen of cpas and accountants. peter and i founded clarity as a collaboration between a cpa firm client (peter) and a cpa firm (me.). he knew what he wanted from a client perspective, and i knew what we wanted as a cpa firm.

more: the happier, saner, richer tax firm | ‘quick questions’ and other client sins | when clients create errors | how we killed the tax season client meeting | why small firms can win the talent wars | there are no easy answers | how to thrive as a 21st-century firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

peter owns a software development company and believes in the rational decision-making model for businesses. the rational decision-making model is totally irrelevant to the way most cpas and accountants run their practices. for instance, consider this interchange between peter and a practitioner at our clarity booth during a trade show.
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how are you spending the next five years?

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make time to learn new things.

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

question: i am just starting out in my own practice and started following your accounting today web blogs and your 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 blogs. i even bought some of your books.

more: how to run a practice in 90 pages | the wrong way to look for staff | strategic planning for the small firm | before you sell your practice | work the client needs … but won’t pay for
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you seem to know everything. how is that possible and how can i grow to become more knowledgeable like you?
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why daily t/e entry matters

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laughing businesswoman talking on the phone in office in front of four monitorshow about better cash collection?

by roman h. kepczyk

studies done over the past two decades have clearly shown that there is a significant improvement in realization for firms that enter, release and post time and expenses on a daily basis. this process allows for daily or “hotel”-type billing that is sent out with the completion of each billable project.

more: the case for digital auditing | what your auditors need in the field | why you want a digital tax workflow system | why digital communications matter | the right tech tools for covid work-from-home | it’s 10 p.m. do you know where your backups are? | the best scanners to buy today
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the next step in the evolution of time and billing systems provided real-time dashboards to report on firm activities and effectively allow firms to generate invoices. this can work only if all time and expenses for all personnel are captured within the system. while most firms have a daily time entry “policy,” the biggest abusers of the policy are often owners and managers, so it is about time for them to get on board and use the system.
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how to create your firm’s cas team

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plus how to boost their skillsets.

by hitendra patil
accountaneur: the entrepreneurial accountant

“we do not have the staffing for client accounting services.”

non-cas firms cite this as the topmost reason for not being able to offer cas. nothing could be further from the truth.

more: technology and your cas clients | will 2021 be your cash-flow year? | identifying the right clients for cas | cas is, first, a communication challenge | which of your existing clients are cas-fit? | client accounting services: the definitive guide
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

experience of firms that offer cas, including that of small firms with fewer than five staff members, proves beyond doubt that you do not need more staff to start offering cas. even solo practitioners provide cas. the only thing you need to begin your cas journey is to be ruthless, relentless and fearless to leverage newer and cloud technologies. automation, integration and even artificial intelligence make it easier, faster and cheaper to perform some repetitive, time-consuming work of accounting firms.
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