CPAs reveal top competitive strategies for 2008. Get the secrets. Join the study.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
Tax season is right around the corner, so what are tax professionals doing to add value to the service they bring to clients? The answer is simple: They are getting personal.
Jon Neal, managing member of Greenfield, Wis.-based The Neal Group, says he offers “personal attention with explanations and advice on how to make things better.â€
Neal is not alone, and many would likely argue that that’s a good thing. Recent research indicates that there’s room for improvement when it comes to tax preparers promoting the value they bring to small-business clients. A National Federation of Independent Business survey found that 88 percent of businesses with fewer than 250 employees used tax professionals to prepare their most recent federal tax returns. However, only about 5 percent of all small businesses, including 3 percent of those with more than 20 employees, said it’s a more cost effective move compared with handling the taxes in-house.
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The world is changing, your career path will change with it.
by Rick Telberg
If you’re just starting your CPA career and you’re not sure which specialty path to take, don’t fret. Many experienced CPAs are confounded by the same question.
Based on CPA Trendlines research by Bay Street Group LLC, practitioners from all parts of the profession note that selecting a niche is among the more befuddling issues facing newly minted accountants.
But making the right choice is not of paramount importance to success. A commitment to lifelong learning is.
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Get the best tips from the most experienced professionals. Join the survey group. Get the answers.
November 12, 2007
by Rick Telberg/At Large
If you’re reading this in your pajamas, you’re not alone. In fact, you may be a fairly typical CPA. Tax and accounting professionals, you see, are a fairly home-oriented bunch of people.
The vast majority of CPAs work at home, for one reason or another, at one time or another. They may be taking work home with them. They may be operating full-time or part-time businesses. They may be moonlighting after their day jobs. Or a little of all of the above. What are you doing?
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Retirement planning takes on new urgency. Are Baby Boomers ready for retirement? Join the survey; get the answers.
November 5, 2007
by Rick Telberg/At Large
Americans excel at many things, from lawn care to rocket science, but perhaps our most common accomplishment is accumulation. If you don’t believe it, go look in your garage. If you don’t have a garage, well, you have a place somewhere — a certain closet, perhaps, or a kitchen drawer — that I’ll bet is almost too full to shut.
The same goes for investments. For most Americans, accumulation includes a lot of home equity, an array of mutual funds, maybe some annuities, a stash of stocks and bonds, a pension fund or two, some cash under the mattress and, for a lucky few, more than half a tank of unleaded regular.
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