jobs

putting the “no jerks” rule to work in tax season

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and a couple more ideas for high performing firms.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

ed mendlowitz
ed mendlowitz

if you have staff, have happy, cheerful, helpful people. don’t surround yourself with downers and nay-sayers.  make sure they are team players.

part of this is your firm’s culture.  it takes work to get people to work together and to focus on doing what it takes to service the client fully, properly and timely.  everyone working together gets it done.  you need to create that atmosphere.

here are three things that might help:

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after an economic pause, the accounting industry restarts expansion engines

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the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer
click to join the survey; see the results

but many cpa firms appear to be missing out on the recovery.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间  research

the nation’s tax and accounting industry appears to have re-started expansion with new hiring in january, after a two-month pause at the end of 2012 in november and december, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research. but the gains appear to be concentrated in non-cpa-owned offices.

analysts are attributing the 2012 year-end economic stall to two major storms which slowed economic activity: one, hurricane sandy, and, the other, congress, which has been gridlocked under a bubble of hot air.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members:
get the instant download
full report (pdf, 20 pages), here.

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when’s the right time for a full-time quality control reviewer?

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not when, but how?

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

ed mendlowitz responds: 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.

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.

more ed mendlowitz:  free instant download: sample fee schedule for 1040s    |  tax season opportunity guide 2013   |  12 reasons to love tax season   |   implementing fee increases for 2013

a firm needs a dedicated qc person when the work load volume warrants it, especially where there are bottlenecks and backlogs because the supervisor or partner who would review the work is not readily or easily available; the scheduling becomes exceedingly difficult; and the expertise and training becomes more specialized and wider in scope. read more →

overcoming the three biggest obstacles in succession planning at cpa firms

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hint: start linking it to compensation.

by marc rosenberg, cpa
author of “cpa firm succession planning”

it’s common sense that the key to succession planning is developing future leaders, a practice at which the vast majority of cpa firms billing under $15-million-a year struggle with.

marc rosenberg
marc rosenberg

more on cpa firm management and leadership for pro members [go pro here] :   cpa firm merger “non-negotiables”   •   the “aha moment” in cpa firm leadership   •    leadership is overrated: it’s good management that makes successful firms •  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 •

here are three tactics for developing future leaders: read more →

novice manager needs to know: how to do it all?

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15 strategies for a first-time supervisor’s success.

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.

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and amore from ed mendlowitz, the practice doctor q&a: why no one listens to you | fun reads for busy season  |  when not to offer a free initial consultation | measuring growth in yourself, staff and partners  |  what do you think you’re doing?  | can you teach judgment?  |  clients’ calls at home  | what you need to know before expanding into business valuation |

question: my boss asked me to call you.  i am a staff accountant with five years experience.  i am having a lot of stress trying to manage everything i have to do. i am juggling supervising people that i don’t know how to supervise, being managed less by those above me and having to figure out more for myself – including things i never did before or in industries i never worked on previously, keeping current with changes in accounting rules and taxes (since i am more like a generalist and clients ask me everything) never seem to have any free time, juggling my schedule because most of my clients are never ready when they say they will be and being accountable to my boss for everything i do plus what the staff working under me does. so how do i do it all? how can i prioritize all my responsibilities? read more →

how to apply sam walton’s 10 rules for success at your firm

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they work at walmart. here’s how to make them work for you.

by august j. aquila
aquila global advisers

if they were good enough for sam walton, shouldn’t they be good enough for you and me? is there anyone who wouldn’t want his or her firm to be as successful as walmart?

august aquila

more august aquila on 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:   nine steps to effective succession planning for the small firm |  thinking merger? look before you leap  | four new checklists for succession planning  |   partner accountability: seven signs your firm may be in trouble |

of course, we can’t guarantee your success, but you are more likely to achieve it if you follow walton’s ten rules. read more →

measuring growth in yourself, staff and partners

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“knowledge gap” method uses a client-centric approach.

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.

more for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members: what do you think you’re doing?  | can you teach judgment?  |  clients’ calls at home  | what you need to know before expanding into business valuation | asking an attorney for a referral fee  |  are partner retreats really worth the cost? | audit reports without doing the work? | should i really spend the time making checklists? | what’s a tax practice worth today? |

question: i suspect that my partner has “maxed out” and cannot grow further which will retard our growth.  what can i do or how can i deal with this?

read more →

what new accounting grads want from your firm

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survey of college professors provides clues for successful recruiting.

internships and social networks speak loudest when new college accounting graduates weigh their first jobs offers, according to a new public accounting report survey obtained by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

the study ranks the relative importance of factors to students when choosing a job offer, including:

  • access to latest technology
  • compensation and benefits
  • desirable location or geographic base
  • long-term career opportunities
  • technical reputation
  • the firm’s long-term business outlook
  • the firm’s quality of life in terms of an employee-friendly environment
  • whether the offer is from a big four firm
  • workplace diversity

and the survey reveals the companies and cpa firms soon-to-be graduates are hoping to join:

  • a company in private industry
  • any big four firm
  • any top 25 firm
  • a local firm
  • bkd
  • deloitte
  • e&y
  • grant thornton
  • kpmg
  • pwc

the survey also shows how many undergrads have actually worked in a public accounting firm before graduation, and the top 10 corporations would recommend as employers. but the most closely followed part of the survey are the rankings  of the top 25 undergraduate accounting programs.

the responses are tabulated in the following charts with analysis by the survey’s author:

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the five essential building blocks for creating a strong accounting firm

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the ideal management structure for a profitable cpa firm.

by marc rosenberg, cpa
author of what really makes cpa firms profitable

the vast majority of cpa firms are well under 100 people and therefore don’t need the kind of formalized structure that larger firms need. but virtually all firms, regardless of size, need some minimum form of structure.

marc rosenberg
marc rosenberg

more like this: the seven signs of great leadership in a cpa firm | the 10 biggest mistakes cpa firms make in reading map statistics | new rosenberg map survey says cpa firm revenue growth re-accelerating | five skills that separate winners from losers in the accounting business | don’t ask a cpa what profitability means | the essence of cpa firm profitability | compensation issues for the new managing partner | 20 decisions for your firm’s new partner compensation committee | three ways to break partner gridlock in an accounting firm | what partners are entitled to, and what they’re not entitled to | how to make partner? | why accounting firm partners are “popping prozac like m&m’s” | more…

there is a natural tendency for firms to minimize the role of management. there are several reasons for this: read more →

2013 trends in starting salaries in finance and accounting

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business demand drives hiring, new competition for talent.

special to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

fueled by new demand from business clients, cpa firms of all sizes are looking to expand audit and tax practices and pursue new new market segments, according to a fresh report on the accountant jobs market. (pro members: get the full report, courtesy 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.)

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