卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

today's features

ask the geek: a couple great gadgets for saving money on all your other gadgets

two inexpensive gadgets that could save you big money.

question: i’m having a long-standing ‘disagreement’ with my husband about whether we should turn off our home computer when we leave for the day. i like to be as green as we can, but he’s read somewhere that it causes more ‘wear and tear’ and energy use to be constantly turning things on and off. i think he just doesn’t like to wait for it to start up! what’s your take?

answer: i’d rather not take sides in a domestic (ahem) power struggle, but as your husband may have found when googling around on the topic, pc power saving can be a complicated business. still, i have some tips that may result in a household compromise. i went to a geek colleague, scott dare, for his suggestions. read more →

outlook & analysis

accountants, do you know your opportunity number?

the pragmatic six-step way to evaluate potential new clients.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

every week, do you get wonderful, exciting calls from new clients who want to use your services? you might want to talk with every one of them to get the sale. the problem is, if you do, you’re likely to go bankrupt. let me explain.

more for soloists and small firms from at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间: five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity • rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech • four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance • 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients • the success secrets women already know • his and her brains at work in tax and accounting • the power of deadlines in closing a deal • on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengths • the missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference •

each of us has 24 hours in one day. most of us have annual revenue goals. a few of us have monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly revenue goals. hopefully you know what your revenue goal is. (if not, you should!) if you don’t pull in that level of revenue for the week or month, then you’ve missed your plan.

let’s say you want to generate $1 million in sales for the year. on average, you need to pull in $20,000a week. that’s $4,000 a day. read more →

outlook & analysis

what accounting firms need to learn from personal financial planning specialists

is the traditional business model holding back the profession?

by bruce w. marcus
author of professional services marketing 3.0

it’s not a race, nor are there prizes for the winner. but it has been suggested that personal financial planners trading in college, retirement and estate planning are light years ahead of the accounting profession in marketing.

more for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members: the delicate art of positioning your firm in the mind of the prospect • who’s better at marketing? • lawyers or cpas? • even a random disaster can be controlled with risk management • managing risk in client relations • your clients love you? what if you’re wrong? • the three degrees of risk • four essential habits for building client trust • the nine hallmarks of a marketing culture • the four cornerstones to building a marketing culture • getting the client is only half the battle • practice development: it’s not rocket science • nine fundamentals for a healthy marketing culture in an accounting firm •

as veteran consultant terry lloyd, a cpa and financial advisor, points out, “even though the lines continue to blur between the services, there are still differences in the way cpas and financial planners are perceived.” read more →

outlook & analysis

cpa firm succession planning: a perfect storm

a roadmap for creating and implementing a succession plan.

this monograph provides a roadmap for creating and implementing a succession plan. it guides you through all of the issues, considerations and details related to succession planning for your firm. the goal of the monograph is a call to action for all cpa firms to understand the urgency of succession planning.

order today for $165

outlook & analysis

trends in accounting firm marketing strategies

latest edition, incorporating data and analysis from 2010 through 2012.

178 pages, four-color charts and graphs, printed, bound and free shipping.

click here to learn more

(price subject to change)

outlook & analysis

the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 top 20 topics for 2013

clues to new challenges and opportunities.

by rick telberg

the list of the top 20 most-clicked articles at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 provides a roadmap to the profession’s anxieties, aspirations and, just maybe, a glimpse into what 2013 holds.

key issues emerging in 2012 and gaining momentum into 2013 include economic recovery, intensified competition, squeezed profit margins, upward pressure on salaries, downward pressure on rates, panic over succession, and a rush to the cloud.

bullish on the accounting business. how firms are preparing for busy season: join the survey, get the answers. read more →

outlook & analysis

seven ways to increase fees

the techniques for telling clients you’re raising your rates.

by ed mendlowitz
author of “implementing fee increases“

any time is a good time is a good time to review your fees and consider increasing them. but the beginning of the year or a new season is especially good.

keep in mind that whatever the method you choose, you are making a business decision that should be handled with care and finesse and can affect the relationship with the client that you have been cultivating.

also, losing the client is always a threat, so you must be prepared for this. further, not raising the fee also presents a threat to your long term success and business viability, and this must also be considered.

here are seven methods of increasing fees: read more →

outlook & analysis

the problem with timesheets? not enough timesheets!

time tracking and the v.b.t. (value billing taliban)

by frank stitely, cpa
stitely and karstetter

i have long been a true believer in value billing. five times a day i kneel towards the east and pray, “i am not selling time. i am selling expertise.” however, i just can’t follow with the end of the prayer which goes, “time trackers are evil. we must stone them.” time tracking is essential to value billing, done profitably.

more unconventional wisdom from frank stitely, cpa: who’s missing in action from your workflow processing system? | how to make an extra $72,000 by working smarter

let’s invite some people to leave our discussion. if you are a coach, consultant, or some other type of cpa advisor, who has never owned an equity position in a cpa firm, please exit stage left. yes, i know you have decades of experience observing cpa firms. i have decades of experience watching professional football. that doesn’t qualify me to coach the redskins. veteran poker players know that playing someone else’s hand is easier than playing your own when big money is on the table. if you’re a cpa firm employee, please stay. some day you’ll need this information. but sit there silently until we are done.

there are three reasons time tracking is important: read more →

management

seven ways to build the right culture

and five ways how not to implement a system of partner accountability.

august aquila - full size mug — august j. aquila

august aquila, a veteran practice management consultant, works globally with accounting firms on leadership and management issues. if you’re thinking about the quality of leadership at your firm, think on this.

five wrong ways to make partners more accountable:

let’s make it into a checklist. one thing you can count on – accountants love checklists. it seems that a checklist is the answer to all our problems. read more →

leadership

leadership is overrated: it’s good management that makes successful firms

plus: a dozen deep thoughts on leadership vs. management in accounting firms.

by marc rosenberg, cpa
author of “cpa firm management and governance”

while the differentiation of management from governance is really an issue of professional jargon, a discussion of “management vs. leadership” is a more substantive matter. during my 30-plus year career in the business world, i have read many books and articles and heard many speeches on these two subjects that are near and dear to my heart.

more on cpa firm management and leadership: 40 great ways to improve firm profitability • four management metrics that fool even the best-run firms • 19 ways to improve accounting firm profitability • de-bunking the myth about niche marketing for tax and accounting firms • practice development is no longer an optional activity • 10 good ways the achieve partner accountability • pick your partners right to begin with • the first nine questions your partner team needs to embrace for optimal profitability • profitability and the value of strategic thinking • the five essential building blocks for creating a strong accounting firm • the seven signs of great leadership in a cpa firm • compensation issues for the new managing partner

when reading on management and leadership, it seems we are being told that the two traits are almost mutually exclusive, like black and white. yes, it’s true that many inspiring, innovative leaders are lousy managers because they don’t have the focus and discipline required to manage. and some managers make terrible leaders because either they lack the necessary interpersonal skills or over-rely on titles, authority and intimidation to get people to follow. read more →

outlook & analysis

the delicate art of positioning your firm in the mind of the prospect

and, it’s not a mission statement.

by bruce w. marcus
professional services marketing 3.0

there is no great mystique to the marketing concept of positioning. while it’s not as simple as some would make it seem, nor as complex as others would have you believe, it’s still very real.

more for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members: who’s better at marketing? • lawyers or cpas? • even a random disaster can be controlled with risk management • managing risk in client relations • your clients love you? what if you’re wrong? • the three degrees of risk • four essential habits for building client trust • the nine hallmarks of a marketing culture • the four cornerstones to building a marketing culture • getting the client is only half the battle • practice development: it’s not rocket science • nine fundamentals for a healthy marketing culture in an accounting firm •

like so many words used in marketing, positioning has come to be shorthand for some ideas that have come a long way in the pursuit of sound marketing practice. first popularized by ries and trout in their 1981 book, positioning, the concept took a basic advertising practice and codified it in a way that made it possible for other marketers to think differently about approaches to the market.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research has uncovered the startling fact of the wide disparity between how accounting firm management perceives their own performance and how their clients see their performance. (join the survey; get the results.)

the basic idea of positioning is simple. or at least, simple to state. read more →

outlook & analysis

three and a half ways to get your own cpa practice

and 11 good tips for once you do.

here at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间, ed mendlowitz answers some of the toughest questions practitioners can throw at him. he’s the right one to ask. after more than 40 years in the business – building his own practice, running the firm, and eventually selling it to a major regional firm, withumsmith+brown, where he remains a senior partner and consultant to professional services clients – he has the answers. we’re happy to have him at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. send your questions for ed here, or chime in with comments below.

question: i am working for a cpa firm, but would like to start my own practice. can you give me some suggestions?

response: essentially, you have three options (four if you count my pet project, but i won’t belabor it).

read more →

outlook & analysis

three strategies to improve buy-in for change

feeling the frustration?

by dustin hostetler
flowtivity

dustin hostetler 2012 mug — dustin hostetler

how many times has your cpa firm implemented a process change or new technology, only to find out on the back-end after implementation, that only a fraction of the firm is following the new process or using all the features?

if you answered something along the lines of “all the time” don’t worry, you are not alone. obtaining the much needed buy-in for process and technology improvements within firms is a concern i hear regularly. read more →