why you need to ditch your conference table.
leading-edge cpa firms are developing new growth strategies that are quick to replace slow-growing markets and fading services with new, narrow, fast-growing markets in need of specialized services, according to gale crosley, a growth strategy consultant for cpa firms.
“the foundation of the new business model is specialization,” she says.
more from this interview:
by sandi smith leyva
accountant’s accelerator
we all spend a huge amount of time working all those emails we receive. luckily, there are many ways to tame the task so you can free up valuable time to work on other things.
here are four ideas to check against what you’re already doing and possibly get a productivity boost… read more →
eight data points to check your tax season quality control systems.
by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns
accounting firms that have high review times usually have high error rates necessitating the higher review time. doesn’t that sound crazy?
why not set up procedures to reduce the error rate? i have been told that error rates range between 5% and 95%. 95%!? that is crazy! there must come a time when you decide to fix this. you can rationalize all the expediency reasons in the world, but this is just bad, stupid and poor business!
start by considering eight key metrics. read more →
how too many compensation systems fail of their own weight.
too many firms allow partner compensation formulas to become fraught with complexity, compromise and unintended consequences. here marc rosenberg, author of how to bring in new partners, considers 14 of the worst complications he sees. how many of these are lurking in your firm?
when will tax season kick into high gear for professionals? or is this the new normal?
how’s tax season for most professionals?
join the survey; get the answers.
today’s bonus question:
best tips and strategies for working at home. read more →
today’s firms come in two flavors: growth-driven or maintenance-mode.
teresa mackintosh, president & ceo of cch us, describes what it takes to be a progressive accounting firm these days.
separately, she fielded a few more questions: read more →
the nine essential personal commitments each partner must make.
by robert j. lees and august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
a firm’s success is ultimately tied to its partners’ performance. and yet, improving partner performance is one of the key issues facing the majority of firm leaders today. read more →
by ed mendlowitz
101 questions and answers
question: how can i get buy-in in the implementation of new things we decide to do?
response: i find buy-in the key to a successful program. it is also extremely hard to get. it is easy in the board room or at the meeting when the new process or procedure is agreed to, but then there has to be a champion to be responsible for the follow-through and success. read more →
don’t even try. you’ll get flattened.
by bruce w. marcus
professional services marketing 3.0
assuring cpa firm survival in the coming decades starts not with a radical redesign of the traditional firm – that will come of itself – but with six assessments that spring from the old and go to the new. change will not be imposed – it will emerge.
first, there are three factors that should be understood: read more →
nine reasons you need them and the one big reason they don’t get used.
by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns
this is an area i feel very strongly about, and it is a major reason for the success of the better firms and the lack of growth of smaller firms. read more →
as data-entry costs plummet, new opportunities for accountants open up.
by sandi smith leyva
accountant’s accelerator
after over 30 years in this profession, accounting has never been more promising and more exciting. the main reason is technology is driving data entry costs so low that it’s just about to disappear. that means we can finally focus on helping small businesses get more out of their accounting dollars through more analysis and better tools.
here are five areas that i believe are essential to serving clients best: read more →
what it takes to make partner: the 27-point checklist the best firms follow.
marc rosenberg, author of how to bring in new partners, cites at least six areas that partnerships at the nation’s best firms habitually evaluate before naming a new partner, including: nine intangibles, four financial and legal considerations, five practice development issues, three production and client management metrics, two technical proficiencies, three supervisory skills and one very important administrative credo. read more →
in its first sounding on tax season 2013, the irs says filings are coming in faster this year. and that may be true enough. as of feb. 7, the irs received 27.3 million returns, up 2.5 percent compared to the same time last year. electronically filed returns account for almost 96 percent of those filed so far this year.
but filing by professionals is actually running behind last year, by about 5.6%, and without the crushing effects of last year’s government shutdown. read more →