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advanced tax preparers need managing, too

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four best practices.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

managing advanced-level preparers sounds easier than it is. these preparers will all have blind spots that appear at inconvenient times. some won’t be able to adapt to your internal procedures, because they worked at firms without well-defined procedures.

we had one person who insisted on printing out the prior year tax returns and workpapers before beginning a return. she said she just needed the paper in her hands. that didn’t work for us.

more by frank stitely
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she asked to be paid on a salaried basis. when we agreed, she then demanded to be paid on an hourly basis. we agreed to that as well. then she wanted to go back to a salary. she believed that whatever we agreed to would be bad for her.
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three questions about firm culture

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hand drawing a rainbow-colored 3

you should be a team. but what kind are you?

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

this second c is a stormy and choppy one, often fraught with political icebergs but navigated diplomatically and with maturity, will lead you through.

more by martin bissett
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case study on culture

deborah had done well. she was bridging the firm’s culture gap and fulfilling its desire to be seen as an equal opportunities employer by becoming the practice’s standout rising star.
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steve evans: why traditional hiring methods fail | the disruptors

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redefine how you hire and develop top accounting talent.

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

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the disruptors
with liz farr

in 2012, steve evans’ friend giles pearson, a big four accountant in new zealand, needed help. pwc kept making the same hiring mistakes because they had no way to assess a candidate’s technical accounting skills. steve, an expert in psychometric testing, thought it might take half a day to scour the marketplace for appropriate tests but found nothing useful.   

more podcasts and videos: roger knecht: can you be an accountrepreneur? | beth whitworth: focus on outcomes not hours | mike sylvester: learn to say no | salim omar: identify your client’s $100,000 problem | jackie meyer: earn more with fewer clients | jack fleherty: 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 |

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“they’re all rubbish,” he recalls telling giles. “they’re out of date. they’re not country-specific. they’re not really accounting-specific. they’re just math questions dressed up as an accounting test.” out of that failure, accountests was born.  

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move from a balance sheet orientation to a data orientation

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woman in white office meeting with man

rather than rely on sampling, you’ll use technology to find all the needles in the haystack.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

most auditors have grown up their entire career with a balance sheet orientation. “i can audit any balance sheet,” is a common defense against making any of the changes needed to move into the future. it is not an easy task to think about a data-driven orientation.

more by alan anderson
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but the amazing part of moving to a data orientation is that it deepens your understanding of your client. you understand how data moves through their systems, a perspective you cannot have if you just look at the balance sheet. you start asking your client deeper questions, so you understand what these transactions do. i’ve had partners tell me that after they work with this data-driven approach, they’re embarrassed by how little they previously knew about their clients. conversations with your client are more profound, more valuable and more relevant when they focus on the kpis specific to a client and their industry.
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four ways to provide wealth management in your accounting practice

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portrait of rob santos
santos
 rob santos is ceo of arrowroot family office, which he founded in 2013, and of arrowroot advisors, an investment bank focused on m&a for software-based companies. he works with affluent families providing bespoke family office services.

plus specifics on revenue potential.

by rob santos
the holistic guide to wealth management

at a california society of cpas conference our firm attended, a panelist said that before he made the transition to wealth management, he was very reluctant to register as an investment advisor. why? because he thought that registering would be too much trouble.

“eventually i made the decision to set up a separate ria firm,” he said “because as a cpa, we are regulated by the california board of accountancy. i didn’t want to also have another regulator, whether it was the state of california or the sec, in my accounting firm.”

more: profile of a modern firm: putting the vision into practice | toward a 21st-century cpa: a dynamic vision | what multiples mean to accounting firms | tsunami of m&a, pe is disrupting the accounting profession | 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
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that cpa-turned-advisor hasn’t looked back since. he told us later that he only wished he had set up his registered investment advisor many years prior. by setting up a separate firm he must be “very careful” about which hat he is wearing. “i don’t want to be a registered investment advisor in my accounting firm,” he said, “and i don’t want to be an unregistered cpa in my advisory firm.” he also told me there are very clear lines that his colleagues follow when it comes to which firm does the services for their clients. “all things considered, the obstacles weren’t all that great,” he added.
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the top ten problems the irs still needs to fix

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angry man wearing tie and glasses, punching fist through laptop screen

despite improvements, substantial issues remain.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

erin m. collins, america’s national taxpayer advocate, has been unusually complimentary in her annual report on the irs, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t identified 10 problems that should be – and could be – fixed.

more: tax pros gear up for a better busy season | irs processing up; payouts down | help tax clients help you | art werner: beneficial ownership and control | quick tax tip | four challenges of managing new tax preparers | irs funding pays eye-popping 415x roi | tax season 2025 begins. ready or not. | every tax reviewer should be able to answer these ten questions | art werner: corporate transparency act and fincen reporting | taxpayer advocate sees big improvements at irs | major changes to circular 230: implications for tax professionals | cornerstone report
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all of these problems impact the tax preparation business. the impact is often indirect, hitting taxpayers who have a tendency to ask their tax preparers to do something about their particular problem.
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diversity and technology take center stage in accounting debate | accounting influencers

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firms must embrace ai, digital tools, and diversity to remain competitive.

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accounting influencers
with rob brown

in the latest episode of accounting influencers, an international panel of distinguished accounting professionals gathered to discuss the profession’s challenges, opportunities, and future. featuring dr. anton lewis, kelly mann, sabby gill, and eriona bajrakurtaj and hosted by rob brown, the conversation delves into the pressing issues shaping the accounting landscape and the innovative solutions driving transformation.

the panelists from diverse professional backgrounds shared insights into the industry’s evolution. dr. anton lewis, associate professor of accounting at governor state university, highlights the acute shortage of accounting professionals, particularly in the u.s., and its implications on talent development and diversity. he emphasizes the need for greater collaboration between academia and the profession to better equip students for the modern workplace.

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thirteen questions to evaluate prospects for client accounting services

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stack of cards labeled with question marks

and why you should show your highest priced package first.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

will your existing clients or prospects buy higher-priced and more services from you? if you ask them to, will they feel put off? if you do not ask, will you leave real money on the table? if you do not tell them about more services your firm is capable of providing, will they switch to another accounting firm simply because they were not aware of your other services?

more by hitendra patil
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pitching relevant services to clients and prospects is nearly a fine art. it is fraught with the risk of coming across as is you have only your own interest in mind. at the same time, clients and prospects may not even know that you offer such services or that they need those services. you can lose such opportunities even before you explore those with your clients/prospects.
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five ways to fill the staffing gap

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bar chart

it takes more than moolah.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the 2025 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy barometer is finding that the talent shortage is one of the accounting industry’s primary concerns, and the wolters kluwer future ready accountant report confirms that the shortage of accounting professionals is expected to be a top issue over the next five years.

more: show us the money! accountants are making more | twelve years and out: seasoned accountants join the exodus | how accounting firms are handling the staff shortage
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the shortage is global, the wolters kluwer report says. around the world, 35 to 40 percent of firms identify recruitment and retention as their biggest challenge.
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tear down towers of knowledge to transform accounting

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why sharing beats hoarding.

by donny c. shimamoto

series note: this post is part of a series inspired by “joy, inc.”, written by richard sheridan, cofounder and ceo of menlo innovations. while his book is about the software industry, there are many direct analogies applicable to the accounting industry. we must #transformaccounting and bring joy back into the work we do to sustainably address our industry’s people crisis.

a “tower of knowledge” (“tower”) is a person on your team who has vast technical knowledge that no one else has. this knowledge could be about a client or about the project itself. this person is often seen as the center of the team or as a key person who holds the project together.

more by donny shimamoto
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for high achievers – which many accountants are – this probably sounds like a good thing. being a tower of knowledge reinforces our worth and makes us feel important. “yes, i’m critical to this project. yes, the team needs me. yes, i know a lot. yes, i am important.” yes, being a tower can be very validating and make us feel good.
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