Is now the time to get the hottest new tech tools?
Take the poll; get the answers.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
If you’re like most tax professionals, you’re already getting ready for the upcoming filing season. And one of the key areas you’re looking at is your technology setup.
Unfortunately, a vast number of tax practitioners work in small or home-based offices and they don’t have a full-time techie on staff to sift through all the new options. That’s why we went to Anne Stanton, the Norwich, Vt.-based consultant to many CPA firms for advice.
We started by wondering aloud if now is even a good time to make any big changes to your tech setup, considering that Microsoft is coming out with the new Vista operating system next year and hardware prices seem to drop a little bit more every month. Should we just wait to see how the dust settles? READ MORE →
Turns out there are many wealthy Americans who believe that income tax is voluntary or that the government has no right to tax citizens.
One popular tax evasion scheme–involving the claim that tax is only owed if income is derived from a foreign corporation–was cited by actor Wesley Snipes in a bizarre bid to secure an unwarranted $7.4 million tax refund, according to documents filed in federal court in Tampa, Florida…
See Wesley Snipes’ 1040X Tax Return for Yourself . . . READ MORE →
Entering the final quarter of 2006, CPAs’ economic outlook for the Year 2007 can be termed good and improving.
DOWNLOAD THE FREE EXECUTIVE PREVIEW (pdf):
Outlook 2007 — The CPA Business and Economic Forecast for the Year Ahead
HIGHLIGHTS:
In this study, 54% of respondents work in public accounting and 33% work in business & industry.
83% of respondents work in the small-business/small-office environment.
58% of respondents hold C-level decision-making positions.
Another 23% hold senior staff and general management positions.
66% of respondents are positive about the business and economic outlook.
41% voice growing confidence, versus 24% reporting no change in their opinion and 25% reporting less confidence.
CPAs are most confident about the prospects for themselves, their families, and their own businesses.
Respondents are generally optimistic about the environment for revenue growth and profits.
They are less optimistic about the climate for expansion, mergers and acquisitions, and cost of goods.
Key problem areas going forward continue to be lack of available staff, affordable health insurance and government regulation.
DOWNLOAD THE FREE EXECUTIVE PREVIEW (pdf):
Outlook 2007 — The CPA Business and Economic Forecast for the Year Ahead
READ MORE →
Does your firm have several different specialties, but you’re afraid that cross-selling may irritate your clients?
To the contrary, clients may actually see a cross-sell as a demonstration of interest in and understanding of their needs. But there’s a fine line between irritation and showing that you care.
If you want to appear compassionate rather than conniving, remember these fundamentals of cross-selling include:
• Knowing your clients – what they do and what services your firm is already providing them.
• Knowing your services, which includes training and educating staff on all that the firm offers.
• Asking questions and listening for clues.
• Assessing clients’ needs and proposing only appropriate services to meet them.
• Treating the sale as a suggestion. That makes it easier for the client to volunteer information and to accept an offer.
One more: Keep clients apprised of how changes in tax laws, accounting rules and government regulations may affect them.
Source: Elaine De Luca Byrnes, Luce Creative. Inc., Hauppauge, N.Y. READ MORE →
If we already have ‘fulfillment,’ ‘friendliness’ and ‘freedom,’ how hard can it be to add a fourth F?
Next question: The job outlook. Join the poll; get the answers.
by Rick Telberg
On Careers
What makes CPAs happy? It’s no small question, considering the profession’s focus on recruitment and retention. So when Gallup came out the other day with a poll on how Americans like their jobs — what they like and don’t like — naturally we found the results interesting. READ MORE →
The One-Day Program to Improve Prductivity and Profitability to Better Serve Today’s Client
Developed by
Bruce W. Marcus
The Marcus Letter
And Offered in Partnership
with The Bay Street Group LLC
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get the full 12-page white paper.
INTRODUCTION
There is a disconnect between the dynamic contemporary world of commerce and the traditional practices of the professions. It’s generating an ever widening gap between law and accounting firms, and the business world they serve. It’s fostered by anachronistic practices, in which economic advantages and productivity that could serve both the firms and their clients are impeded by traditional practices that are not far removed from the wigs and robes and scriveners of the past.
The Clean Slate Project™ is a one-day exercise that asks participants – the firm’s senior decision makers and planners – to wipe clean the slate on which is written the firm’s practice structures and techniques, and then to build a virtual firm focused not on process, but on the tasks that must be accomplished to better serve the firm and its clients. The exercise then moves forward to establish techniques for making the virtual firm a reality. The aim is to build a streamlined firm with increased productivity, greater efficiency, greater openness to new ideas, and ultimately, a matrix for increased profitability.
Because no two firms are alike, the Clean Slate approach serves each firm in its own way, predicated on the firm’s own culture and view of how to manage itself and serve its clients.
Results:
• Increased productivity
• Greater efficiency
• Openness to new ideas
• Roadmap to new profits
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get the full 12-page white paper. READ MORE →
A New Approach to Modernizing Your Firm
A One-Day Program To Keep Your Firm Relevant To The Dynamic Needs Of The 21st Century Client
Developed by
Bruce W. Marcus
The Marcus Letter
And Offered in Partnership
with The Bay Street Group LLC
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get the full 12-page white paper.
INTRODUCTION
There is a disconnect between the dynamic contemporary world of commerce and the traditional practices of the professions. It’s generating an ever widening gap between law and accounting firms, and the business world they serve. It’s fostered by anachronistic practices, in which economic advantages and productivity that could serve both the firms and their clients are impeded by traditional practices that are not far removed from the wigs and robes and scriveners of the past.
The Clean Slate Project™ is a one-day exercise that asks participants – the firm’s senior decision makers and planners – to wipe clean the slate on which is written the firm’s practice structures and techniques, and then to build a virtual firm focused not on process, but on the tasks that must be accomplished to better serve the firm and its clients. The exercise then moves forward to establish techniques for making the virtual firm a reality. The aim is to build a streamlined firm with increased productivity, greater efficiency, greater openness to new ideas, and ultimately, a matrix for increased profitability.
Because no two firms are alike, the Clean Slate approach serves each firm in its own way, predicated on the firm’s own culture and view of how to manage itself and serve its clients.
Results:
• Increased productivity
• Greater efficiency
• Openness to new ideas
• Roadmap to new profits
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get the full 12-page white paper. READ MORE →
Bad News: It may come at the expense of a post-SOX slowdown.
But what do CPAs think? Take the poll; get the answers.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
After the super-heated growth of recent years, tax and accounting professionals may be happy to hear that they might get a chance to catch their breath. In fact, a new economic study suggests that the accounting industry’s growth spurt may be starting to sputter. READ MORE →
It might help.
With the U.S. population hitting 300 million, take a look at the newest 100 million Americans…
…36% are Hispanic, with 34% white, 16% black, and 13% Asian-Pacific-Indian. [Source: Pew Trust] READ MORE →
