to most of us, this is busy season. but to a marketer like jean marie caragher, it’s opportunity season. caragher, author of the 90-day marketing plan for cpa firms, offers three simple strategies for leveraging practice-building opportunities while also promoting tax returns. 1. … continued
39% year-over-year increase in first weeks. next question: the accountants outlook for busy season 2015. join the survey; get the answers. tax professionals e-filed about 5.9 million returns through jan. 30, 2015, up 39.1% from the 4.2 million returns e-filed … continued
use these busy days to get to know your clients better. with a few quick questions, every client meeting can turn into a new relationship-building opportunity. ask how the firm is doing as a whole to assess satisfaction. ask some … continued
how many of these do you need to fix in your firm?
by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns
clients have many choices, including the choice of a tax preparer. every new client an accountant gets is because that client left – fired! – their previous accountant.
here is a listing of 21 major reasons why clients switch accountants. ask yourself how many of these mistakes you could correct immediately and think about what that might be worth. read more →
five traits of the best tax season managers.
by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns
reviewing tax returns is a key part of tax preparation. it also is an area vulnerable to major bottlenecks and backlogs. inevitably, firms have more preparers than reviewers. the latter are highly skilled professionals who are more difficult to train or find. therefore, you must consider ways to reduce review time, even at the expense of adding preparer time.
the best tax season managers know how to: read more →
4 ways the new breed of workflow application can simplify your tax season.
by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless
the most important aspect of transitioning the firm’s tax process to a digital environment is managing electronic files that are no longer physically viewable in assorted stacks around the office. this requires a digital tax workflow system that lets everyone know the status of every return and easily connects that person to digital copies of the return and the source documents. under traditional manual tax systems, firms utilized due date tracking databases that identified when a return was due, but not what information was missing, or the preparation, review or extension status.
no, coffee is not one of them.
by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator
busy season is just around the corner. can you feel the excitement? or the dread?
here are eight ways to boost your stamina and minimize burnout for those of you who are working long hours in the weeks ahead. read more →
the 2014 national map survey shows widening divide between large and small firms.
exclusive to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
the national map survey of cpa firm statistics
marking the third consecutive year of quickening expansion since the recession, cpa firms are posting 6.7% revenue growth, according to the latest results from the national map survey of cpa firm statistics reported here exclusively by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.
“the national map survey of cpa firm statistics: the rosenberg survey” is well known and well respected within the national cpa industry, due to its solid reputation for accuracy, thoroughness and high participation rate. exactly 75% of the firms in this year’s survey participated in 2013. this allows for more accurate year-to-year data comparisons. all of these characteristics, plus the highly sought-after executive summary, make “the rosenberg survey” a must-read for any entrepreneurial-minded cpa firm. the survey captures data from participating firms of all revenue ranges, from solo practitioners to those with over $20 million in net fees. read more →
2015 is another opportunity to fine-tune your business.
what are you planning? join the survey; see what accountants are saying.
by sandi smith leyva
i was drawn to reading howard buffett’s new book because i am completely intrigued by huge social problems and figuring out ways to solve them. for buffett, who is a farmer at heart, the challenge is how to tackle world hunger.
one of the stories in the book (which is 40 chances: finding hope in a hungry world) has buffett listening to a lecture for farmers on how to improve their yield year after year. buffett recalls the speaker saying that one farmer, on average, will have a 40-year career from the time he or she starts working the land to the time to retire. on average it will be 40 harvests and 40 plantings. read more →
how some smart firms spent their summer vacations…
by hitendra patil
pransform inc.
a new busy season is fast approaching and vacation season is coming to an end. but some firms haven’t been taking time off. they’ve been assessing the lessons from the 2014 busy season to apply to 2015.
more on the entrepreneurial accountant: 8 seconds into the future: meet generation z • 5 reasons gen y will make or break your firm • 3 ways amazon’s new fire phone hints at the future of accounting • the 8 traits creating the firm of the future today • get more done, make more money: stop doing these 17 things • what shopping habits reveal about accounting clients • create your “not-to-do’s” list • irs bitcoin rule: 5 things accountants need to know • tax season tips: train your brain to focus • what the bitcoin phenomenon means for accountants • overcoming your clients’ worst fears • 5 tech tips for reigniting growth • a case study in using linkedin • accountants and six fundamental human needs • client satisfaction starts with ‘likeability’ • why accounting? your clients want to know • what’s next: predictive accounting
here are six of the things that the most innovative firms have been doing. and no, they aren’t what you might necessarily expect. read more →
and 5 ways to get more business tax clients.
question: i need a few more clients for tax season. any suggestions?
response: since we will be getting ready for tax season now is a good time to address this. here are two checklists, one for individual returns, the other for business client returns.
checklist: 10 ways to get new individual tax clients read more →
and complaining and correcting…
by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor
question: my tax return reviewer continually complains to me about the quality of the returns she gets to review. yet, many of the returns she passes on to me have errors. how do i fix this?
response: common problem. also common is the continuing nature of this problem and the apparent inability of cpa firm leaders to correct this.
more practice doctor q&a: 44 critical criteria for accounting staff performance evaluations | why i don’t hire on experience | 5 time management tips for an overworked accountant | staff training starts with doing something | 11 business-getting tips for the young staffer | when staffers don’t listen to you | questions and answers on selling a practice to staff members | measuring growth in yourself, staff and partners | complaining client? no wonder!
the reviewer blames the preparer, but i see training the preparer as part of the reviewer’s job – if not direct classroom teaching, then an active ojt (on the job training) program where errors are called to the preparer’s attention, and the preparer corrects not only this error, but any returns already in the pipeline that they worked on but haven’t been reviewed with similar errors. read more →
question: this is not a question that an accountant asked me, but a fellow traveler on my vacation. he was using a tax preparation service and wasn’t happy and felt he could do just as well by doing his own tax return. i told him there were many benefits to using a tax professional like a cpa or ea that were well worth the extra cost. so my question to myself is “what are they?”
response: people with rental property, unincorporated businesses, investments that generate k-1s, grantor trusts, substantial investments in marketable securities or large retirement accounts and 401(k) balances need to engage a professional firm, and this checklist is directed toward those clients. read more →