NEW SURVEY LAUNCHED: Personal Financial Planning – Issues and Opportunities for CPAs
Man, we couldn’t have picked a better time — or maybe worse time? — to launch a new study into the CPA financial planning environment.
First question: “How concerned are you?”
The survey was just launched today. Join the survey here; get the results.
UPDATED — With early comments… READ MORE →
When does Tax Season 2009 begin? Earlier than you might think.
Tax practitioners already looking ahead to the next busy season didn’t necessarily like how things went last season. So they are preparing new strategies and planning to implement them earlier, in order to minimize stress in this increasingly hectic aspect of their careers.
Headed into next tax season, practitioners’ top concerns, according to our CPA Trendlines research, are the following:
But a new issue is looming: new and changing tax codes and regulations. This year’s economic stimulus and housing bailout legislation contains a number of new issues for tax practitioners. And the next president and Congress could have additional ideas – quite possibly at the last minute. READ MORE →
Tax season checklist. Already?!
Yes. Now is the time to start planning for next tax season. In this month’s Accounting Technology, associate editor Alexandra DeFelice covers the waterfront. She includes this handy sidebar, listing six items to consider in going, well, if not exactly “paperless,” then at least “paper-less.”
Going Paper-Less
- Scan source documents the start of the process instead of waiting to scan returns.
- Dual or triple monitor can serve as the “paper” staff is used to holding.
- Save returns to PDF instead of printing copies.
- Client portals offered by some tax software vendors and third parties help accountants and clients share and store documents online.
- Workflow software can serve as an electronic routing sheet and provide a common view of the stage of all of the firm’s returns.
- Use extensions as a time to experiment and to train staff on new technologies and procedures.
Alexandra rounds up a great cast of characters for the article, including:
Happy reading in Accounting Technology at WebCPA here….
What are you known for?
Great businesses start with great positioning. Think: Coke is “the real thing.” Avis, “We try harder.” New York Times, “all the news that’s fit to print.”
What do you do if you’re a firm of women accountants of a certain age? How do you compete against bigger firms with fresher faces?
Here’s how, from Betty, an accountant in Cincinnati, Ohio, who tells the story of a big client win at the Betty’s Head blog. It’s a fun and useful story…
One of my staff and I sat in front of a roomful of white haired gentlemen and charmed them into hiring us. We were explaining to them that one of the reasons they should hire us is because every person in our firm is over the age of 35 and would be able to focus on their work instead of worrying about their fantasy football pics or their MySpace page. One of them joked and said, “Oh, so you’re the senior citizen accounting firm.†To which I countered, “Actually, we like to think of ourselves as the Hot Chick accounting firm.†They all laughed and at that point, I think their decision was made. It might also have had something to do with the fact that we are respected specialists in their industry, are just 15 minutes away, and the other firms were out of town and not as focused on affordable housing, but I really think it was the flirting. I do well with older men.
What’s your story? Drop us a line here.
Can you imagine telling a client:
So why, then, do so many CPA firms do all of the above?
Good question! And one Robert Fligel asks here…
Only a small number of colleges and universities are ready to teach IFRS.
Relatively few universities currently have a strategy in place to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) into accounting curricula in the 2008-2009 academic year, according to the results of a survey of accounting faculty conducted by the American Accounting Association and KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm.
In the KPMG-AAA IFRS Faculty Survey, conducted during July and August, only 22 percent of the 535 professors surveyed indicated that they can incorporate IFRS into curricula this year in any significant way. Sixty-two percent said that they have not taken any significant action steps.
Related: Ohio State University’s business school is among a few nationwide taking the lead in teaching a new language of business. Read it here.
Today’s best career advice: Join the survey; get the answers.
by Rick Telberg/At Large
No event in the life of a CPA is as monumental as taking and passing the uniform CPA exam. So it’s not surprising that our post on some healthy new trend lines about the famed rite of passage is generating so much response.
As regular readers recall, we reported in “Ready, Set, Sit!” that the number of CPA exam candidates seems to be returning to historical levels, before the paper-and-pencil exam went the way of, well, paper and pencils and was morphed into a computer-based test.
In that article, we listed the six key strategies that firms can employ to encourage as much exam success as possible. And we asked you to weigh in on what’s working at your firms. READ MORE →
Three successful CPAs salute the people who shaped their lives.
by Rick Telberg
At 20 years old, the world was a blank canvas with vast opportunities for Sal Inserra. He thought he knew exactly what he wanted in life.
“Until,” he says ruefully today, “I was set straight.”
Like many CPAs, Sal owes much of his career and success to a few key mentors who guided him early on.
Today — as the kids head back to school and college, and as the rest of us wind up our summers and look ahead to the fall — it may be a good time to salute the mentors who help steward a great profession to the next generation. READ MORE →
Get certified. Apply early and often.
I’m looking over the early responses to the our new CPA Careers survey and this one stands out for its practicality and wisdom:
For the Accountant who isn’t a CPA yet: If you aren’t a CPA already, make it a goal. If you need hours, apply to every accounting firm that you could drive to or are willing to move close to. Apply beginning in mid-April, after busy season, when accounting firms clean house. Accept a job at an accounting firm rather than a “private” one if you don’t have hours; the experience can’t be beat.
For the CPA looking for a job: Prepare a great resume (not a good one) and have a critical person review it–you’d be surprised at how many lousy resumes are sent out. Monster.com is a good resource. Temp agencies as well as head-hunters. Get on the internet. Tell everybody you know and have them tell everybody they know that you’re interested in a job. Take every interview that you’re offered, regardless of whether you’re interested in it or not; the interviewing experience is priceless and you’ll be ready for the job that you do want. If you’re not proficient at Excel (2007 has already come out) take classes. If you’re shy, this is the time to work at it. Even if you can’t overcome your shyness in such a short time, PRETEND that you’re not shy. Remember, you’re selling a product (YOU) to a potential buyer (employer). Practice doing interviews so that you’re more at ease during the real thing. If you are anxious about accepting the “right” job, remember that you can leave the job if you don’t like it; you are not tied there forever. If job hunting feels exhausting, you’re on the right track; it’s a full time job. If you don’t come across the “right” job but can’t afford to be unemployed any more, accept a job–and keep on looking! If you have a job right now, start interviewing and secure your new job before you leave the old one; employers like to hire individuals who are already employed. I think the individual also tends to look less desperate.
That’s from a veteran senior finance manager at a Fortune 1000 company.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN:
CPA Trendlines Technology Journal of Accountancy
