today's features

the risks of not innovating in audit

hand below light bulb

technology is moving quickly. are you keeping up?

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

auditors, like most accountants, tend to be conservative in nature. we tend to be reluctant to change unless we’re on a burning platform.

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as i’ve said before, audit is at a crossroads. we can continue the way we’ve been doing audit and will likely go extinct. or we can make changes that will keep audit relevant and valuable for the next generations.
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ten types of tax clients to avoid | listicle

//www.g005e.com/category/checklist/listicle/by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

every tax season, tax preparers are looking for new clients, and taxpayers are looking for tax preparers. it’s tempting to take on everybody who expresses interest. and it’s tempting to hold on to the troublemakers of last year. but some are too complicated, or too risky, to deal with.

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here are 10 types of clients best avoided even if it means culling your current client list.

1. the chronically late: clients who are consistently late with documents and information complicate your busy season and often extend it by weeks or months. when clients end up penalized, their tax preparer looks bad.

2. non-compliant clients: individuals or businesses who dodge tax laws, hide income, manipulate deductions or outright lie can jeopardize a cpa’s reputation and lead to the costs and complications of legal liability.

3. unrealistic expectations: clients who demand unreasonably low tax liabilities or refunds without legal grounds may create conflicts and ethical dilemmas. and they’re going to tell others that you didn’t serve them well.

4. clients with frequent auditor flags: taxpayers who engage in high-risk activities (e.g., excessive charitable deductions, business losses year after year) may invite irs audits. the irs might question the ethics of the preparer, too.

5. aggressive fee negotiators: clients who argue over fees or expect reduced rates belittle a tax professional’s expertise and cheapen the preparer’s reputation.

6. disorganized record-keepers: clients who provide incomplete or disorganized records can waste your time and cause you to make errors that you may be held accountable for.

7. non-payers: let somebody else have clients who consistently fail to pay or argue over every invoice. it costs less to cut them loose than to take them to court.

8. overly litigious clients: individuals or businesses prone to solving problems through legal action can pose significant professional and financial risks. the cpa might get sued, and even if not, suits against others may require cpa testimony or other participation.

9. high-risk industry clients: some industries, like cannabis or cryptocurrency trading, come with regulatory uncertainty and heightened scrutiny. they may also require a lot of research on the accountant’s part, not to mention extra legal protections.

10. emotionally draining clients: taxpayers who consistently vent, complain or act unprofessionally can cause stress and burnout for the cpa. unless you’re comfortable billing them for the time they’re in your ear, best let them find solace elsewhere.

the trick, of course, is to identify these clients before you take them on. one thing to ask them is who their former accountant was and how well they got along. and if you think a potential client might be one of the above, you’d best just ask them about it.

steve yoss: boost security with mfa | quick tech talks

your data has probably already been exposed.

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quick tech talk
with steve yoss
cpe today

data breaches have become an unfortunate reality in the digital age, and with them, the risk to personal and financial information continues to grow. however, there is a simple yet powerful way to protect your accounts: multi-factor authentication (mfa).

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more tech
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mfa, sometimes referred to as one-time passwords, has become a cornerstone of modern cybersecurity. think about this hard truth: your data, unfortunately, has probably been exposed by either a website, a web service, or maybe even your favorite merchant at some point in the last 10 to 15 years. when passwords are stolen in data breaches, cybercriminals often use them to access accounts on other sites, exploiting the common habit of password reuse.

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toward a 21st-century cpa: a dynamic vision

portrait of susan bryant
bryant
susan bryant is a certified public accountant and certified tax strategist. she has earned widespread recognition, including honors as a woman of empowerment, enterprising woman of the year, and being named among the top 50 women in accounting.

seven areas of focus for every firm.

by susan bryant
the holistic guide to wealth management

as the old saying goes: “everyone wants an accountant; no one wants to be an accountant.” whether that saying is true or not, the future of our profession hinges upon casting a new vision.

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

 

accounting has been many things over the years, but “exciting” is not an adjective you hear often to describe it. reliable. dependable. necessary. sure, but rarely exciting.

however, we live in fast-moving and volatile times. everything is changing rapidly. the aftermath of the pandemic, and the seismic shifts it caused in the global and local economies, have upended nearly every aspect of business. sector after sector is scrambling to adapt to our fast-changing world. it’s a world in which the stock market is volatile; inflation is high; war, recession and weather events loom; and millions of boomers are exiting the work force and surging into retirement. with the world changing so fast, every aspect of business services needs to change with it, including accounting.
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deals 2024: over 100 cpa firm mergers and acquisitions

howard

buckle up for 2025.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

curious about the deals that went down in 2024 and how they might inform your next move? marc howard is, too. so, he compiled a comprehensive list.

howard is a serial entrepreneur in the accounting space, host of the pitch your firm podcast, founder of firmlever, founder of taxplow, co-founder of bizpayo, and creator of tax advisor gpt.

howard found upwards of 115 deals in 2024, ranging from the first deal of the year, ata cpas’ takeover of  whitehorn tankersley & davis on jan. 3, to the last, platform accounting group’s roll-ups of midwest advisors and crossroads advisors on dec. 23.

some of the most active buyers on his list include cbiz, which counted marcum among its three deals; citrin cooperman, with eight deals; cla, crowe, and doeren, each with three; and eisner, with four deals.

he predicts an even busier 2025 for the profession.

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