special

break the burnout cycle in accounting | arc

by

“a firm’s culture during busy season reveals its true colors.”  

click to subscribe anywhere: apple, google/youtube, spotify, iheart, deezer, amazon music and audible, player fm, audacy, gaana (india), boomplay (africa), or rss.

more arc: analysis, reaction, comedy

accounting arc
with liz mason, byron patrick, and donny shimamoto.
center for accounting transformation

as the busiest time of year looms for accountants, industry leaders byron patrick, cpa.citp, cgma; donny shimamoto, cpa.citp, cgma; and liz mason, cpa, share practical advice in the first episode of the second season of accounting arc on maintaining resilience during tax season. their conversation explores actionable strategies to counteract stress and promote mental health. 

more accounting arc: accounting in transition: 2024 reflections & the road ahead | ron baker: visions for the accounting profession | angie grissom: next gen inspo for accountants | does accounting belong in stem? | rose wang: where numbers meet strategy and creativity | tiktok fraud exposes gaps in financial literacy | how accounting pros own the stage in public speaking | greg kyte: being a cpa is like being the marie kondo of numbers | rachel bashore: a lawyer’s case for reinventing accounting | beyond the basics in ethics eduction | bailey lenart: from ledger sheets to transformational change | election tax plans: what cpas need to know | leadership for the future: stakeholders, sustainability, and strategic vision |

the hosts share relatable anecdotes, from patrick’s newfound habit of scheduling haircuts to mason’s candid discussion about balancing adhd with professional responsibilities. shimamoto, founder and managing director of intraprisetechknowlogies llc and founder and inspiration architect for the center for accounting transformation, adds, “if it’s not on my calendar, it’s not happening,” highlighting the need for intentional scheduling. 

read more →

six methods for getting paid faster this tax season

by

sure it’s good for business, but it’s also considerate to clients.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

accounting is a business and businesses need to be paid.

it’s harder to justify prices when providing services rather than products. products are usually priced before delivery while many times services are priced after delivery, i.e., performance.

more: four steps could close the tax gap | art werner: how to turn tax prep into tax advisory | quick tax tip | art werner: navigating business structure decisions amid tax law changes | quick tax tip | tax season memo from staff to managing partner | is the irs adequately tracking corporate tax evasion? | irs still unsure how to measure audit rate | irs vs. fraudsters | is the irs mismeasuring phone service?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

many accountants price tax returns before they are worked on, usually basing the fee on last year, or a rate schedule. sending a bill with the return establishes the relationship that you should be paid promptly for the work done.
read more →

how to create price packages

by

hand moving triangle along beam to indicate balance between price and value

three steps to setting your monthly fee.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

packages are the first step toward productizing your services. your packages define your services as discrete offerings with defined parameters around what they include and what’s excluded.

more: seven steps to determining your price | using change orders with scope | when to increase scope and when to let it go | which clients should you scope? | getting aligned on scope helps your team and your clients | five areas to ground new metrics other than time | digitize clients for standardization | are you the key signal caller for your clients? | six steps to start value pricing | the radical pricing model: start with $25k | the convergence of trends makes pricing changes imperative
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the secret sauce to creating a fixed price package with a value add consists of combining several variables:

deliverables + client persona = well-priced packages

client-specific price point + market price point = well-priced packages

read more →

steve yoss: ai’s power in assurance services | quick tech talks

by

efficiency meets innovation when you turbocharge audits with ai.

subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: apple, google/youtube, spotify, iheart, deezer, amazon music, audible, player fm, audacy, rss.

quick tech talk
with steve yoss
cpe today

accountants can leverage ai tools—not just the industry-specific platforms like mindbridge and inflow systems, but also generative ai tools such as chatgpt and claude—to enhance their auditing processes.

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

amazing, dedicated ai tools exist for accountants, but did you know you can use general generative ai to analyze excel workbooks and other data files?

read more →

use humor to get tax documents in early

by

my secret? humor, sarcasm and a bit of shame.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

there are easy ways to get clients to do what we need them to do. in our office, we call the process “training” clients. one of our biggest headaches is the late delivery of tax materials. so, we train our clients to bring their tax documents in early.

more: end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | get clients to understand firm processes … or say goodbye | train now before it costs you down the road | keep clients from “balance due” shock | stop clients from performing “favors” | who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | easy ways to avoid ‘done but’ tax returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

we accomplish this through a series of e-blasts explaining our deadlines. the e-blasts start in december, and we call them “countdown to tax season.” they cover much more than our deadlines for clients to provide business and personal income tax returns documents.

we use the blasts to train clients in other areas – such as minimizing the use of staples when they give us their documents. we also discourage people from putting their documents in three-ring binders. as i’m certain you already know, staples and binders drive your admin staff crazy when they’re trying to scan documents.
read more →

salim omar: identify the $100k problem | the disruptors

by

if you try to help everyone, you don’t help anyone.

this is a preview. the complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members | go pro here

 subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: apple, google/youtube, spotify, iheart, deezer, amazon music, audible, player fm, audacy, rss.

the disruptors
with liz farr

salim omar, cpa, opened his firm in 1996 after working as a cfo in a small investment boutique firm because he wanted to be his own boss. but the experience was terrible: “i found myself working long hours. i was not enjoying the work i was doing. having the team was a revolving door.”

“there’s got to be a better way,” omar said then. “if this is what entrepreneurship is, i’m not sure if i want it anymore.”

more podcasts and videos: jackie meyer: earn more with fewer clients | jack flaherty: don’t be a ‘yes’ person | greg adams: from finance to storytelling | the disruptors | jody padar: make radical changes now if you want to be relevant in 2030 | rebecca driscoll: amplify reach by helping other firm owners | rory henry: create the return on relationships | mike maksymiw: be the leader you wish you had | terrell turner: build a solid business showing up as yourself | kelly mann: be the bull in the china shop | alicia katz pollock: create a human-centric business |  nancy mcclelland: be the one your clients ask first |alan whitman: stop accepting the status quo | sean duncan: discover your own genius | ingrid edstrom: true wealth is not financial | caleb jenkins: firm growth requires owners to shift roles |

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

omar started reading and studying books by other entrepreneurs, many outside the accounting industry. “and i just took what they were saying and what they were doing in their business, and they were getting success, and i brought it back to my own practice.”  after adding a few minor tweaks here and there, omar, the ceo of straighttalkcpas, says, “my practice was very different to what it had been when i started it a few years back.”

read more →

tsunami of m&a, pe is disrupting the accounting profession

by

cresting ocean wave made of $20 bills

return on relationship still just as important as roi.

by rory henry
the holistic guide to wealth management.

there’s no question the pandemic accelerated the accounting profession’s transformation and the entry of private equity (pe) into the marketplace. in many ways the pandemic years were an inflection point. the old way of doing things – meeting clients face to face and providing tax and accounting services – is essentially over. the pandemic and private equity are propelling the profession forward as firms adopt new service offerings, change how they operate, and find innovative ways to recruit, retain and compensate talent.

more: why cpas are best positioned to become financial advisors | how wealth management has evolved | introducing you to a fulfilling return on relationships | rory henry upends the traditional accounting firm | why now is the time for cpas to embrace wealth management
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

pe is considered “smart money” because it has a track record of building better business models, increasing efficiencies and then selling the companies and firms they invest in for a profit. smart money sees enormous potential by investing in accounting firms thanks to technology that makes it easier than ever to integrate professional services on a much larger scale.
read more →

how to advance from audit to advisory

by

four people on lower stairs, one on upper stairs, gap between

moving from quality control to quality assurance lets you advance from auditing and accounting to assurance and advisory.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

for decades, a&a has stood for audit and accounting. it’s been focused on compliance. but sooner than we may want to believe, business owners and stakeholders will be using technology to provide the assurance they need.

this is already happening. to remain viable, we need to move a&a from audit and accounting to assurance and advisory.

more: create a culture of audit quality assurance | what quality in audit leadership means | meet your client all year, not just during audit | give advice while remaining independent | the new formula for an accounting business | don’t risk losing good employees for bad clients | four questions to make your firm more successful as a business | say adios to audit fee pressure | deliver more audit value by getting out of the conference room | six essential elements in audit planning | before the audit: more than just planning | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

now all auditors take the quality control standards of our profession seriously. but quality control that only happens at the end is more about satisfying the minimum requirements for compliance. it won’t let you move out of providing the commodity service that clients need to keep their stakeholders happy. quality at the end doesn’t provide an opportunity to really look under the hood and think about what the client really wants.
read more →

expert panel: how marketing is reshaping the accounting profession | capstone conversations

by

“this is the golden age of opportunity for accounting… let’s seize it.”

stream, listen, download, and subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: apple, google/youtube, spotify, iheart, deezer, amazon music and audible, player fm, audacy, rss

capstone conversations
by jean caragher
for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

accounting marketing has come a long way since the landmark bates v. state bar of arizona case, which 45 years ago allowed professional services firms to market their services. today, as firms navigate digital transformation, client experience, and talent challenges, marketing plays an increasingly pivotal role. capstone conversations brought together a panel of trailblazers to explore the journey and future of accounting marketing. featuring four decades of association of accounting marketing (aam) marketers of the year, the panel included adrian ornik (ey), sally glick (formerly sobel & co.), eric majchrzak (beachfleischman), and sarah cirelli (hbk cpas & consultants).

follow jean caragher on 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 here. | get her best-selling handbook, the 90-day marketing plan for cpa firms, here | catch jean caragher’s other show, gear up for growth, on fridays here. | and browse all the shows in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 broadcast network here

ornik, the 1993 marketer of the year, recalls a time when accounting marketing was uncharted territory. “ignorance was bliss,” he shares, reflecting on a period when both marketers and their stakeholders were still learning. despite challenges, ornik emphasizes that the profession’s transformation provided immense opportunity.

glick, recognized by aam in 2003, credits her father, a sole practitioner, for offering her the freedom to innovate when marketing lacked measurable tools. “there wasn’t always a correlation between initiatives and results,” she notes, yet her creative strategies laid the groundwork for relationship-building in the profession.

read more →

you, a virtual cfo? why not?

by

accountants are perfect for the role and cas helps drive up the demand.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

tom, a cpa, has always been a curious person. for over 15 years, his tax “practice” was doing well. during the tax season, he had no time to think. but, oblivious to himself, with each tax return, he was depositing new questions in his subconscious.

he is now a shared cfo of 12 companies. but he took up the cfo work accidentally.

how?

more: who is ready for client accounting services? | wants? needs? cas helps fill both | automation can be exciting in client accounting services | eight steps for better client accounting services | do you have the client accounting services mindset? | four ingredients to your cas ‘why’ | cas clients are ‘stickier’
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

tom believed that it was his thinking power – armed with the cpa education, years of experience, and knowing which tools to use effectively to produce the impeccable tax returns – that could help him make a meaningful positive difference to clients’ businesses, and hence lives.
read more →

better starting pay calls for a new revenue model

by

young woman holding giant dollar sign in modern office

considering pe? beware focus on the next five years.

by michelle golden river
the rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics

pricing and talent are related. we’ll see another wave of fee increases as well as more firms feeling compelled to establish higher “minimum” fee thresholds. but these increases still won’t be enough. until firms earn a lot more revenue per person, they simply cannot pay enough to overcome starting salary gaps.

editor’s note: every year, the 2024 rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics asks the profession’s top consultants two sets of questions:

    • how do you think the next 12 months will unfold? trends? predictions? other thoughts?
    • how would you assess the last 12 months? trends? observations? struggles?

more: business models continue to evolve | accounting firms must consider capital resources | artificial intelligence plays role in analytics, optimization | people development still a concern | tech anxiety paralyzing some accounting firms | solving staffing requires intention | as private equity closes in, firms seek new answers to staffing problems | next five years are critical for accounting firms | the new pipeline: outsourcing and offshoring
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

our would-be hires choose higher-paying professions like finance and tech, and who can blame them? to offer commensurate starting pay (and raise legacy salaries, accordingly), we must change our revenue model. our current 5-10 percent annual increases cannot get us there. we fell behind more than a decade ago and, at this pace, we’ll never catch up.
read more →