today's features

every accounting firm needs quality control

man using laptop, pen marking imaginary checkboxes in air

the lowest cost always comes when the person first performing the service does it correctly.

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

question: i want to improve my firm’s review and quality control. do you have any suggestions?

response: this is a recurring issue for most firms. every cpa practice needs quality control. the issue is whether a dedicated quality control (“qc”) person is needed and, if not, how the qc can be done without one.

more: three ways to start an accounting practice | fifteen strategies for first-time supervisors | no one listens to you? change how you talk | free consultation? not always | measure knowledge gaps (then close them) | 47 types of business valuation to provide | referral fee? forget it | should you offer financial services? | thirteen things to consider before you sell your practice | how much is your tax practice worth? | ready to retire? selling your practice is no strategy | uncooperative partner might not be the problem | merge in lower-priced work without losing out | 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.

a practice is a business and every business must be run efficiently and profitably. qc is an area that i have found many firms getting tied up in and either spending nothing or much more than they should.
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four attributes your experts need

flow chart

 

plus more tips on building your team.

by anthony glomski
your $5 million high-net-worth practice

take a look at the chart above showing an example of the type of professional network to use in your client’s financial life. you can see that the personal cfo is at the center, acting as the coordinator of the team and the single point of contact. his or her primary relationships are with the four other core experts: private client lawyer, accountant, life insurance specialist and the property and casualty agent. these team members then have relationships with the other types of specialists you may need from time to time.

more: your wealth management team needs these five people | wealth management calls for a team of experts | see your client to a graceful exit | check tax effects before liquifying | why you should function as a fiduciary | your entrepreneurs need advice, but which kind?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

finding the right people to help

if you are building your own expert team from scratch, you will need to do your homework and identify good candidates in the key areas in which you need help.
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clients have six reasons for needing you

woman handing document across desk to client

understanding this is part of mastering the art of sales.

by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services

no matter how good your marketing tools are, there is one tool that needs to be especially sharp, and that is your salesmanship. all the marketing tools we mentioned previously will be of little value if you don’t know how to “ask for the business.”

more: four steps to a successful email marketing campaign | three types of marketing message, and which is best | why you need progress billing | five tips for cross-selling and upselling | five keys to successful marketing | twelve fundamentals of planning | one question to guide your growth plans
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

you need to understand the selling and buying cycles. they are critical for your success.

while there are many ways to make a sale, i prefer the consultative partnership approach (cpa) to selling accounting and consulting services. this approach is based on three key principles:
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ten keys to crafting ads

and why some ads don’t work.

by bruce marcus
professional services marketing 3.0

editor’s note: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 was privileged to have a long relationship with bruce w. marcus, who was ahead of his time in his thinking and practice in marketing for accounting. we are publishing some of the late expert’s evergreen work, which retains wisdom for the present.

certainly, the current crop of ads tends to be better than the earlier ones, although we had such weirdies as “accounting is our passion.” (“passion” is the current fad word). i thought passion to serve clients is more to be desired. how many words will be wasted to explain the link between their passion and their ability to meet your need?

more: eighteen things advertising can do for your firm | how hard do you work to keep your clients? | when clients think they know marketing | how to put target marketing into context | everyone in your firm is marketing | accountants vs. lawyers: who wins the marketing battle? | professional services marketing requires flexibility
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

then there was “financial restructuring without the bitter aftertaste,” for a law firm. the copy’s ok, but the illustration of three executive with faces screwed up (presumably from the bitter aftertaste) looks as if they’ve been drinking doctored kool-aid. pretty inviting, isn’t it? a good rule is don’t try to be funny in public until at least six strangers, none of whom is related to you, laugh at what you’ve written. nothing sours an ad more than unfunny attempts at humor.
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irs still falling short on service

letter blocks with middle section rotating to change word from "quantity" to "quality"

it doesn’t seem to know which problems most need solving.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service wants to do a better job. it really does. it got an infusion of funds (though it seems some might get taken back), and it’s got a strategic operating plan with objectives for improving the taxpayer experience and modernizing operations.

more: must the irs be a dark hole? | 10 tips to the irs for beefing up staff | eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and it’s made a lot of progress. but it’s still got wide open spaces to accommodate improvement.
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