bissett bullet: what does it cost to undertake?
today’s bissett bullet: “it is important to know the cost price of any given job.”
by martin bissett
today's features
accounting disruptors are heading your way … with deep pockets
if you’re not ready to make your move, you’d better hope your competition isn’t.
by jody padar
the radical cpa
change isn’t just knocking at your door; it’s kicking it down. we’re in the middle of a major transformation because of new players, cutting-edge technologies and a financial surge. the rules are being rewritten before our very eyes.
more: the convergence of trends makes pricing changes imperative | stop looking for talent that does not exist | advisory work must be priced by value, not hours
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
if you consider accounting a giant chessboard, many players are making strategic moves. you have the old-school firms on one side who are navigating a rapidly changing landscape. on the other side, you have the new-school disruptors. these innovative entities are reshaping the industry with cutting-edge technologies and fresh approaches.
six steps to battle cybersecurity risks
what cost or time investment would you pay to protect your firm and your clients?
by donny shimamoto
cybersecurity for accountants
when it comes to cybersecurity, one risk aspect to consider is whether or not the steps you’ve taken to protect clients’ pii will stand up in court in the event of litigation related to a data breach or damages to a client because of a cybersecurity issue caused by your firm. during litigation, opposing counsel will often bring in cybersecurity experts to describe cybersecurity best practices—which are often a higher level of controls than just compliance.
more: understanding the full cost of a data breach | the 7 categories of of cybersecurity solutions firms need | future firm growth requires a mindshift | donny shimamoto explains how ‘agile’ applies to cpa firms | ai, ocr, nlp & cpas: oh my! | accounting nerds, unlock your super powers | early adopters gain an edge in audit | dustin wheeler: for serious cas success, hire tech teams | csr for cpas: the missing ingredient | donny shimamoto explains how ‘agile’ applies to cpa firms | staff retention for remote workers | why the future is in risk advisory | ready for non-cpa “cpa” firms?
be sure to consult with both your cybersecurity advisor and legal counsel to determine which controls you may still want to implement even if you qualify for some of the exemptions. many controls, like the ones identified in the ftc exception, do not cost much to implement and can demonstrate that you still fulfilled your professional obligation to protect clients’ data—reducing your litigation risk.
are accountants charging too little?
hourly billing on the decline but still holding on.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
by all indications, cpa firms are outperforming the general economy by a very satisfying margin.
but are they charging enough?
more: chatgpt for the reluctant cpa | cpas needed to help small biz adopt ai | revenue growth is top priority for small firms | survey shows challenges, priorities shifting | survey shows that tech remains the great divide | is the cpa business model the clog in the pipeline? | can big data spot financial fraud? | will unclogging the accounting pro pipeline kill mobility? | accountants cozy up to clients with cas | accountants torn over 2024 economy, offer advice | accountants bullish on income
all categories of median net fees show substantial increases from 2021 to 2023 in the latest aicpa national management of an accounting practice survey:
- net client fees leaped up 24 percent.
- net client fees earned since prior year: up 15 percent.
tax & accounting profession keeps growing
more workers, with some making quite a bit more money.
by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
winter doldrums didn’t seem to affect the tax and accounting profession, which saw several sectors hit new hiring highs in february.
elsewhere in the nation, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 275,000 in february, nudging the unemployment rate up to 3.9 percent. professional and business services saw little change for the month.
more: accounting hiring hits another high | staff wages hit record high | 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
overall accounting profession employment at a record 1,163,600 was up 1,000 or 0.1 percent for the month and 29,600 or 2.6 percent for the year. employees averaged 35.9 hours per week, down 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the month but up 6 minutes or 0.3 percent for the year. their earnings hit a new high of $41.41, up 21 cents or 0.5 percent for the month and 34 cents or 0.8 percent for the year.
read more →
five questions for grading prospects
remember, a list is not a pipeline.
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
so you’ve done all the work to get yourself composed and prepared to go out and generate new opportunities, find new business and new clients. now what? how will you know who to contact for the first step?
answer: your pipeline.
more: be clear about your roi proposition | keep business development going during busy season | walk the commitment walk | two steps toward mastering selling | 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 | five ways to rally your firm to its culture | when would-be partners aren’t candidates | make your expertise a new-client magnet | don’t think of it as selling
many partners think they have a pipeline, but they don’t. what they actually have is just a list of prospects they’ve
- met with,
- would like to meet with or
- have worked with in the past.
eight steps to putting back office support into place
includes details for the client operations manual.
by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers
moving from compliance to reliance services is not an easy task. if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point, that’s okay. however, the joy of offering back office support (bos) services and working closely with clients to help them meet their goals is well worth the effort. having a strong team, clear procedures and technology that works for you are the building blocks that allow you to succeed in this endeavor.
more: after you check your cybersecurity, help others | cover these five areas of information security | three examples: pricing your bos value add | use timesheets for productivity, not billing | revisit your back office support procedures | federated search: what it is, why it matters | accounting tech tools to minimize your pain | do your apps play well with others? | it’s ok to have favorite clients | ten questions for teamwork | yes, you can be an outsourcer
the next layer is the clients – meeting with them, working with them and setting up the procedures to ensure that you are truly their advisor. when you carefully select your clients, take the time to understand their needs and goals, and hold them to a paperless work environment, both your team and clients will reap the rewards.
read more →
five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership
as cpas, we exercise due professional care in all we do. when we perform audits, the bar is higher.
by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future
in my work with auditors around the country, and as i’ve thought about where audit is headed, i’ve developed a framework of five key attributes of successful leadership for audit. if we focus on these five attributes, i truly believe we can transform audit from the checklist exercise that it’s becoming into a service that genuinely adds value to our clients.
more: traditional audits don’t deserve premium billing | four basic understandings every auditor must master | put the ethics code to work for your clients and your firm | turning audit & accounting into assurance & advisory | wanted: great audit mentors | is audit in crisis because of definitions? | stop sending the wrong message to audit teams | closing the audit expectations gap
let’s look at each of these five crucial attributes of successful audit leadership:
tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing
the happy news for taxpayers: refunds are up.
by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the tax deadline, as most americans define it, is drawing closer, and the country’s tax pros are gaining about 2 percentage points a week in market share of tax filings. go, accountants!
more: tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
the internal revenue service had received 54 million individual income tax returns, down 1.7 percent, as of march 1, the latest data available. it had processed 53.2 million returns, down 2 percent from one year ago. the 2024 season has been seven days shorter than the 2023 season because of a later start date.
read more →
chatgpt for the reluctant accountant
getting started is fast and easy.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
artificial intelligence has a lot in store for the accounting industry. ai is still in its infancy, but it’s also ready to start helping any cpa firm, even the low-tech solo shop.
more: cpas needed to help small biz adopt ai | revenue growth is top priority for small firms | survey shows that tech remains the great divide | can big data spot financial fraud? | accountants hopeful, concerned and confused about ai | the 7 categories of cybersecurity solutions firms need | research: accounting pros cautiously optimistic about generative ai | how auditors can beat ai
you can start right now. you don’t need to invest anything other than the few minutes it takes to register to use chatgpt at chat.openai.com. it’s free. you can ask a question, and an astonishingly poignant and detailed answer will appear within seconds.
and there you are, on the cusp of 21st-century technology.
read more →
‘sales’ is not a four-letter word
the five steps of the sales cycle and what you need to know.
by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services
for a long time, the word “sales” was not an accepted word in accounting firms. unfortunately, too many accountants associated sales work with some type of unprofessional and even unethical activity. fortunately, those days are long gone.
more: three pillars support a successful accounting firm | four questions for choosing your marketing audit strategies | four steps to a successful email marketing campaign | five reasons to implement change orders | make your practice better | eleven marketing strategies for smaller firms | five questions for developing your marketing plan | you only have four strategies
the word “sales” is not a four-letter word; it is a professional activity. people who sell make a promise of some future deliverable: “i will do this and this for you.” in turbulent times, selling is a skill that accountants must learn to be successful. here is my definition of selling: “selling is problem solving.” nothing more and nothing less. it’s what you do every time you help a client with a problem. if you have been a successful new business developer, then you have been a successful salesperson.
read more →
randy crabtree: stress management for overworked accountants
tax chat ’24: how to pause and recharge when you hit the wall in tax season.
subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: apple, google, spotify, iheart, deezer, amazon music and audible, player fm, audacy, gaana (india), and boomplay (africa).
with seth fineberg
for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
randy crabtree, perhaps best known as the host of the unique cpa podcast, tells seth fineberg in this episode of tax chat ’24 that tax practitioners can avoid tax-season burnout with just a few simple shifts in their workflows.
more crabtree: follow these 3 rules to keep employees happy
more takeaways:
the irs is coming! get your clients into compliance
10 million high-income taxpayers targeted.
by eric green
those of us in the know have been saying for a while now that the irs is sending a “wave” of tax notices, and you need to prepare your clients for compliance and, ultimately, remittance and resolution. well, that day has finally come.
the irs is launching its long-awaited effort to crack down on high-income taxpayers who have failed to file tax returns.
more in tax: eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | what’s your value to your tax clients? | are you excited about tax season? | what the corporate transparency act means for accountants | train now before it costs you down the road | surge pricing: what works for uber could work for cpa firms | uncooperative partner might not be the problem | it’s time to fix the problem of qtips and llcs
for practitioners, many taxpayers will be scrambling for help from tax professionals. understanding how to handle these taxpayers when they come in will have a real impact on how painful the re-entry into the tax system is going to be.