today's features

five ways to target the low-hanging fruit

ripe apples are hanging on a branch covered with first snow

easy tips you can implement right now.

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

if business has slowed for you, it’s not just you. with people finishing their holiday preparations, getting ready for school vacations and trying to keep from falling to the latest batch of colds making the rounds, it’s all most of us can do to stay on our routines.

more: eight ways to build busy-season stamina | five things that clients don’t know about accountants | you’re missing 60% of your revenue | beyond compliance: six tips for adding value | track six figures to test your marketing | eight things to give new clients | four ways small firms can beat large ones | five emotional skills for entrepreneurs | transform your marketing with crm | five kinds of small thinking | five tests: how open are you to change?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as entrepreneurs, we still need to make payroll, meet our budget goals and get enough cash in to keep our doors open. so how can we cash in on the low-hanging fruit?
read more →

bissett bullet: beware scope creep and seep

today’s bissett bullet: “‘while you’re there, could you just …?’”

by martin bissett

the scope creep is all of those seemingly small requests that fall outside of your agreement, for which you generally do not charge, out of a desire to please a new client or to avoid an awkward conversation. seep occurs when you volunteer to do that extra work and it becomes an issue when we are too busy doing that free work over and above the original scope to spend time winning any paid-for new work.

when presented with requests for additional tasks, it is important to say that a particular task is not within the original agreement but that absolutely, you would be very happy to raise a new invoice or undertake a new project for them.

today’s to-do:

practice confidently responding to a can you just …?request with a client so that the conversation feels natural when it next occurs.

see more bissett bullets here

read more →

top 20 tough choices for the partner comp committee

man, woman, man having serious discussion around conference table

production isn’t all that matters.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

increasingly, cpa firms are adopting the compensation committee system for allocating partner income. firms are finding that systems such as formulas, pay based on ownership percentage or pay-equal no longer work.

more: voting on ownership basis? three better methods | what partners do and don’t deserve | tell potentials what partnership takes | fifteen big questions for your next strategy session | five steps to transition to partnership | disturb the present to improve the future
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if there is one overarching cause for this significant trend, it’s that firms are understanding that their partners need to be something more than production machines. in addition to bringing in business, managing a client base and working billable hours (all of which continue to be important values in a compensation committee), partners need to excel in intangible areas such as helping staff grow and develop, developing specialized expertise and teamwork. the compensation committee is one of the best systems available to cpa firms to allocate income based on this diverse array of performance criteria.
read more →

the big 3 success tips for 2024

three coworkers wearing suits, smiling and talking

profitability is just part of the picture.

by matt rampe
the rosenberg map survey

over the next 12 months, three big disruptions will shake the accounting industry.

more: firms must choose best workplace model | tech, capital will drive accounting profession growth | ‘great shakeup’ in cpa firms on the way | pe, consolidations to keep impacting accounting profession
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

fortunately, there are at least three ways that firms can prevail.

read more →

are you excited about tax season?

woman working at two monitors

if not, take time to determine why.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

successful people are happy with their practices and what they do and get joy from interacting and helping clients. i know a lot of accountants who continuously complain about tax season – yet they make most of their money during the period.

more: nine tax season resources that get forgotten | eight ways to charm a client | you’re only as good as your last screw-up
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

do they expect someone to knock on their door with a wheelbarrow of money to hand them? if they are financially secure, why do they keep working? if they are not, then, duh! either do it or find something else, but stop complaining. better yet, look at all the benefits from what you do (if you need me to tell you the benefits then find something else to do).
read more →

treasury ig sees progress at irs

bar charts
comparison of individual return inventory carried over to the next filing season

backlogs cleared, fraud detected.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the treasury inspector general for tax administration has issued a report on the 2023 filing season, and it is generally complimentary to the irs.

more: vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks | top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

one big accomplishment: by feb. 2, 2023, the irs had cleared the entire carryover inventory of unprocessed individual tax returns received in 2022 – a backlog of 447,000 paper returns and 445,000 amended returns.
read more →

sixteen guidelines for naming conventions

hands on keyboard

why they matter so much.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

one of the most time-consuming parts of reconciliation is attempting to discover why or where to allocate expenses. you want to find and pay the correct vendor. you also want to be sure that you have the vendor’s correct name and tax id number when 1099 reporting time rolls around, yet it won’t be easy to do so if you do not have a consistent vendor naming convention.

more: revisit your back office support procedures | every back office support client needs a playbook | creating a back office support playbook | strengthen client ties with workflow tools | understand your online marketing options | narrow your prospects by choosing a vertical | build your team, then choose your clients | how back office support adds value
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

consistent naming conventions are a critical component of good file management. the same is true if customer names are in the accounting program. any list really needs to have consistency of entry. duplicates and linking to the wrong record are common mistakes that take time to find and fix.
read more →

rate your personal purpose

young man facing image of himself

bonus: experts discuss challenges for new leaders.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style. the need for commitment is showcased below and was repeated many times in various different ways.

so many use us as a stepping stone and we’re now trying to determine who those are at the interview stage.

more: nine checkpoints before every prospect meeting | thirteen ways to show commitment | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

proof – if any were needed – that long-term commitment is not a given in the next generation of accounting professionals.

one question we ask is: would we want to pass our firm on to someone like this?
read more →

staff wages hit record high

line chart
payroll services staff hourly earnings

their bosses aren’t seeing the same increases.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

going into the new year, the average american is doing somewhat better. earnings are up a bit; unemployment is down a bit.

more: despite staffing crunch, firms freeze pay raises | tax & accounting firms grow for 9th straight month | tax & accounting profession grows, but wages don’t | tax and accounting pay advancing at 5.9% pace | accounting jobs up 4% for year
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

for employees in the tax, accounting and bookkeeping business, things are more complicated. pay for employees overall? usually down, way down. but pay for staff in every sector? all-time highs.
read more →

47 types of business valuation to provide

serious woman working at two screens

there are great money-making opportunities, but don’t overlook the difficulties in getting started.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: i am exploring the business valuation credential as a way to expand our practice. i’m still (relatively) young to the profession and would (i think) love to expand into this niche area.

a few things:

more: referral fee? forget it | should you offer financial services? | ready to retire? selling your practice is no strategy | 20 things you need for a business valuation
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

1) we don’t do any bv now so my ability to acquire the abv credential would be difficult w/o the experience aspect.
read more →

eight questions for estate planning

woman speaking across desk to couple

difficult conversations: it’s difficult to talk about wealth transfer, but it’s vital.

by anthony glomski

many accomplished entrepreneurs are looking beyond their own financial needs. they want to ensure that their heirs, parents, children and grandchildren are well taken care of in accordance with their wishes – with minimal difficulty and cost.

more: check tax effects before liquifying | control the level of risk | how to flip the switch to wealth preservation | three ways to work together on wealth | five challenges of liquidating a business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

according to vanguard, more than half of affluent americans say they are highly concerned about their kids’ (and grandkids’) financial situations. and yet, too many successful entrepreneurs have outdated estate plans or charitable giving plans that are not in sync with their current life circumstances and needs.
read more →

put the ethics code to work for your clients and your firm

accountant searching for laws

future audits will yield far more information much faster.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

some cpas say that auditors can’t provide any kind of advice without harming our independence and violating our professional ethics. but remember, the pillars of our ethics as cpas are objectivity and integrity. independence is the measure chosen by our profession to measure our objectivity.

more: is audit in crisis because of definitions? | stop sending the wrong message to audit teamsthe big issues in audit: frustration, inconsistency and technology | talent retention: five tips for an audit adjustmentthe ten financial controls that’ll make you a hero | five cash reports you can’t live without | when an audit is a great thing
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if we remind ourselves of those pillars and make our decisions from that viewpoint, we’ll be fine. you can offer advice and options for a client, but they must be the ones who make the management decisions. the decision-makers at the client must be the ones who choose an option and who implement that option. we can’t choose and we can’t implement.

read more →

firms must choose best workplace model

man sitting at desk in otherwise empty office, facing glass wall

what will help you move forward?

by kristen rampe
the rosenberg map survey

editor’s note: every year, the rosenberg map survey asks the industry’s top consultants to share their observations from cpa firms across the country. how do you think the next 12 months will unfold? also, how would you assess the last 12 months?

the obvious: staffing challenges will continue. firms that are stuck in their old ways must add younger talent with the ability to influence leadership ranks. senior partners who are seeking an internal buyout, or better priced external sale, need to recognize how essential this is.

more: tech, capital will drive accounting profession growth | new energy comes from new ways of doing business | ai for accounting automation will be significant | a 40-hour workweek is feasible | it’s time for a new business model
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

less obvious: workplace models will continue to be varied, and there is no one-size-fits-all. i have clients who hardly went home during covid-19, and their staff have to be asked to work from home to free up office space for a growing team. i also have clients with thousands of square feet of vacant office space because no one has returned. of both groups (and those in between), some have critical failures in productivity. some are crushing it.
read more →