10 ways CPAs can boost their local economies

If you’re tired of waiting for your government bailout…

Here are 10 ways an accounting firm can help give a shot in the arm to local business.  (And none of it costs a dime.)

1. Mentor a new business owner.

2. Host an event at your local coffee shop.

3. Send an email to friends raving about your favorite business.

4. Give feedback to a business owner about something they should fix.

5. Constantly promote others on your social networks.

6. Hook up people who should work together.

7. Host a “camp” for the recently laid off.

8. Attend a local Chamber of Commerce meeting.

9. Rave about your local community, and encourage investment and tourism.

10. Use your positive mental attitude for good.

via Escape From Cubicle Nation. h/t CB&H CPAs.

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Posted on November 24, 2009
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CPAs Love Their Gadgets and Gizmos

What CPAs Want for Christmas

by Rick Telberg

What’s on your wish list? Whether it’s gizmos or gadgets, toys or tools … CPAs love their technological hardware and software.

To be sure, CPAs are a sensible lot, and their spending plans for their business purposes are led by practical things like laptops and scanners.

CPAs’ Top Tech Spending Plans

Laptop/Notebook 56%
Printer/Scanner/Copier/Fax 39%
Updating/Building Web site 39%
Desktop PC 37%
Server/Storage 35%
PDA/Smartphone 34%
Tax Software 33%
Accounting Software 29%
Social Media 21%
Office Software 20%
Starting E-newsletters 19%
Web-based Apps (SaaS, Cloud) 17%
Telephone Equipment/Service 15%
Office Network 12%
CRM Software 10%
Launching a Web Blog 10%
HR/Payroll Solutions 6%

(Source: CPA Trendlines survey by Bay Street Group LLC for AICPA)

But ask a CPA about his or her biggest tech crave and the answers are a lot more fun. BlackBerrys and iPhones and netbooks … oh my!

So if you’re just beginning to assemble that holiday gift list for that special accountant in your life, take note. And if you’re hoping to get that new gadget you’ve lusted after all year, then just casually leave this article in a place where it might be conveniently (and totally accidentally) discovered.

A battle is waging between those who can’t live without their BlackBerry and those who love their iPhones. But don’t count out the Microsoft operating system. And we’re still waiting to see what the Google Droid can do.

I’m not taking sides. And we’re not making any recommendations or endorsements here, just reporting what CPAs are telling us. So you’re on your own to make your own best gifting decisions.

Still, CPAs do seem to love their smartphones.

“The smartphone/PDA continues to revolutionize business,” says IT manager Bob Davis at Rea & Associates in New Philadelphia, Ohio. “As companies continue to find new and productive uses for their phones, you have to ensure your company is able to connect ‘anytime, from anywhere.’”

Robert Orange at Orange Financial Solutions in Atlanta, Ga., couldn’t live without his BlackBerry and/or the wireless card on his laptop.  “I am connected 24/7 all over the country,” he says.

There’s a managing partner at a midsized firm with a not-so-secret crush on his HTC Touch Pro. “It’s not just for email,” he says. He likes to check ESPN, reading books, doing crossword puzzles. “Hey,” he says, “everyone’s gotta have a break.” Who’d argue with that, especially considering he’s the boss?

Richard Lee   in Los Angeles loves his iPhone for enabling him to “receive and send messages on the fly.” And an accounting professor in Washington State loves her iPhone, for its “portability, versatility, and apps.”

Jerry McHale in Fort Myers, Fla., uses videoconferencing extensively in his turnaround and workout practice. But he gets his biggest kick out of voice recognition software that makes note-taking and reporting a breeze. In fact, a number of CPAs made a point of lauding Dragon Naturally Speaking for freeing them from their keyboards.

McHale is not the only one. Chasity Hooks at Hooks & Associates in Lafayette, La. uses the VLIngo voice commands on her BlackBerry. It helps keep her competitive as “an aggressive, young, up-and-coming firm focusing on the small business niche that bigger firms are dismissing.”

With the exception of the iPhone, Apple products have been slow to be accepted by accountants. But there are signs that’s changing.

Marja Beltrami at Beltrami & Associates PC in Anchorage, AK, swears by her 15-inch MacBook. With a 32-inch Mac Monitor and a Microsoft Small Business Server combo working in parallel, she calls the setup “Sweet!”

Jane Ryder at Ryder Professional Group in San Diego says she is “getting more and more mobile,” adding, with a wink, she’s expecting “my phone and notebook to get married or at least start living together.”

To round out the holiday gift list, don’t forget a Kindle, a portable CD/DVD player, Skycaddie golf range finder, Flip Mini HD camcorder or Wii. Each got enthusiastic mentions in our straw poll.

But my personal favorite has no wires or batteries.

It comes from Paul E. Hornbuckle at Valicenti Advisory Services in Elmira, N.Y. He loves a good corkscrew. His Screwpull from Le Creuset is Teflon coated and pulls a cork “effortlessly” in seconds. “No wine before it’s time,” Hornbuckle reminds us. “But why wait any longer than you have to?”

Why indeed?

Copyright 2009 AICPA
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Posted on November 23, 2009
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10 questions you can never stop asking

These lessons were learned the hard way in the magazine business.

But they can apply to many, especially in these turbulent times.

  1. What is our purpose for existing?
  2. Who is our target customer?
  3. Why does anyone need what we’re selling?
  4. If there is a need, is it enough to support a profitable business?
  5. What are our competitors up to?
  6. Can you reduce expenses–without harming the product?
  7. Do we have the right leadership?
  8. Do we have the right employees?
  9. How will we continue to drive revenue?
  10. How are our employees holding up?

via Forbes.com.

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Posted on November 23, 2009
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Today’s CPA firm needs more than mere ‘managers’

Maybe there was a time the job of a leader and a manager could be completely separated.

But in today’s tax and accounting firms, where workers are no longer interchangeable cogs in a machine, people look to their managers for more than just assignments, reviews and approvals.

Great firms know that their managers need to do more than just assign jobs; they need also to define purpose. Firms need leaders and managers both to help nurture talent, optimize efficiency, and inspire results.

It was the late great management guru Peter Drucker who first said that “one does not manage people.” Instead, “The task is to lead people. And the goal is to make productive the specific strengths and knowledge of every individual.”

That said,  in his 1989 book “On Becoming a Leader,” Warren Bennis composed a list of the differences between leaders and managers. As you review this list, consider how the roles between leader and manager may already be blurring in your firm.

– The manager administers; the leader innovates.
– The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
– The manager maintains; the leader develops.
– The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
– The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
– The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
– The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
– The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.
– The manager imitates; the leader originates.
– The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
– The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
– The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

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Posted on November 21, 2009
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New Year’s resolutions already? Start bracing now.

Skip Reardon says  watch out, more change coming next year.

Here are his seven steps to preparing your organization for another bumpy year:

  1. Create a commitment to change.
  2. Engage the stakeholders.
  3. Visualize the changed future.
  4. Begin the transformation.
  5. Embed the new change into your culture.
  6. Create a sense of urgency.
  7. Continuously improve.

Get the details at the Six Disciplines blog.

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Posted on November 20, 2009
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CPA Career Rule 1: No Whiners Allowed

Accountants get it done, no matter what it takes.

by Rick Telberg

Many accountants and finance managers, faced with the pressures of a tough business environment and now the upcoming busy season, say they are working harder than ever.

Today, 83 percent of over 800 CPAs surveyed say they are routinely working more than 40 hours per week. Among the same group of CPAs, more than three out of four (77%) said they were working as long and as hard as they did five years ago, a six percent increase, according to the CPA Trendlines survey by Bay Street Group for the AICPA. Of course, accountants and finance managers have always put in the extra effort needed for their clients and companies. But in today’s economy, the pressures are clearly different.

Dan Thomas, a soloist in Irvine, Calif., says he’s working harder, putting in more than 50 hours a week, and it’s not even tax season yet. He explains that customer expectations have changed. “Clients,” he says, “expect more for less and quick response time from their service advisers.”

But the self-employed and the owner-operators aren’t alone. At the Milford, Ohio, office of a Fortune 500 consumer-goods company, CPA Tim McDermott is also working more than 50 hours a week. “Headcount at my company has gone down, but the work remains,” he says. “The message is ‘be glad you still have a job and here are your additional responsibilities.’”

For others, he advises, “Be pro-active in identifying non-value-added work and seek your boss’ alignment to push back on the ‘small stuff’.”

There are some stark differences between the CPAs who manage 40-hour work weeks and the ones burning the midnight oil. For instance, 77 percent of the CPAs working longer hours also report higher levels of stress, compared with only 22 percent of those who work a regular 40-hour week. Those working longer hours are 25 percent more likely to be considering changing jobs, even if it would mean a pay cut. But some are accustomed to the long hours, maybe even thrive on it. Half of the CPAs working more than 50 hours a week have been doing so for five years or more.

But where does the time go? We asked that question too.

We were able to account for about 44 hours of the typical accountant’s work week. The most surprising item: “Actually producing my deliverables” accounts for less than half the time. That makes sense considering, by some estimates, the typical CPA firm gets only 50 percent chargeable hours. And it speaks to the importance in an accountant’s work life of the skills and activities that go beyond simply doing taxes or accounting — like communicating and planning.

How CPAs Spend Their Time at Work — Weekly

Activity Time
Actually producing my “deliverables.” 19:45
Handling work-related e-mail. 7:54
In face-to-face meetings. 5:32
On the phone for work. 3.24
Planning, setting work priorities. 3:06
In conference calls, non-face-to-face meetings. 2.24
Learning new work skills. 2:24
Thinking creatively about work. 2:12

(Source: CPA Trendlines survey by Bay Street Group LLC for AICPA)

To get a sense of the accountant’s complete work-life mix, we also asked about their time spent not working. It seems that accountants may be a little sleep deprived, getting on average, six hours and 24 minutes per night. And they’re gulping down lunch, devoting maybe less than half an hour per day. On the other hand, they are spending about 11 and one-half hours a week on “quality time with family and friends.”

How CPAs Spend Their Time-Off-Hours — Weekly

Activity Time
Sleeping. 44:36
Spending quality time with family or friends. 11:30
Relaxing, playing, unwinding, involved in a hobby or sport. 7:26
Commuting. 3:28
Taking lunch break. 2:36

(Source: CPA Trendlines survey by Bay Street Group LLC for AICPA)

Is it a hard-working life? Every accountant knows it is. But there’s also professional challenge, personal satisfaction, pride and, in this economy, gratitude.

“People tend to only look at the negative aspects of everything,” says CPA Jim Luffman of Lakeland, Fla. “If you have a job today you should feel very fortunate because many people are out of work and more are getting laid off everyday.”

“There is a reason it is called work and not play,” Luffman says. “My advice is to enjoy the time away from work you have and make the most of it. Oh! And quit whining.”

Copyright 2009 AICPA
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Posted on November 19, 2009
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Downturn impacts 90% of small business

New survey by the Credit Research Foundation shows business shifting focus from driving revenue to preserving cash flow.

Details:

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Posted on November 19, 2009
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Economy Weighs on Busy Season Outlook

Still, many CPAs see a better year ahead.

by Rick Telberg

CPAs appear to be headed into Busy Season 2010 with cautious optimism that this year will be better, or at least no worse, than last year’s, when the economy seemed to be careening out of control.

A survey of 151 professionals shows that 38 percent of respondents expect the 2010 busy season to be “better than last year,” compared with 22 percent who are bracing for one “worse than last year.” The rest, 40 percent, expect “about the same” according to the CPA Trendlines poll by Bay Street Group LLC for the AICPA Insider.

Michael Kelfer of Kelfer & Associates in Granada Hills, Calif., may not be typical of every tax practitioner when he reports a surge in referral business buoying his outlook for tax season. Yet, he’s wary. “I think the economy is still suffering and I do not see any relief in the near future.” His strategy is simple: “Service. Service. Service.”

Busy Season 2010: What to expect?

How to get ready?

Join the survey; get the results.

(Free. Confidential.)

Among those preparing for a more difficult year is Jerry L. Eden, at Eden, Sprowls & Co. in Elk City, Okla., which, he describes as “an area where oil and gas activity dictates revenue.”

Eden’s anxiety and anger surfaces easily when you ask him about the business situation. “The downturn seems to be leveling out, depending on what segment of the business world you’re in.” But he’s “not sure how things can improve substantially if jobs continue to be shifted to foreign countries.” Jerry is going to do what he knows how to do best: Focus on “continued hard work and knowledge.”

At this early stage of planning, it’s clear that the general economic situation tops the list of chief concerns this year, with 62 percent of practitioners mentioning it, followed by late or unprepared clients and getting up-to-date on the new tax issues.

Chief Concerns for Busy Season 2010
General economic situation. 62%
Clients late or unprepared. 48%
Getting up-to-date on new tax issues. 41%
Tax code changes. 38%
Setting aside enough time to plan. 30%
Late or erroneous K1s, 1099s, etc. 26%
Personal or family issues. 23%
Getting up-to-date on new office, technology or software processes. 21%
Finding good staffers. 20%
IRS operations. 17%
Partner or office issues. 17%
Making plans correctly. 16%
Technology/software problems. 15%
Competition from others. 12%
Getting up-to-date on new accounting and auditing issues. 12%

(Source: CPA Trendlines survey by Bay Street Group LLC for the AICPA Insiders)

As uncertain as the economy appears, and as difficult as it may be, accountants remain more optimistic for themselves than the economy-at-large or even some of their own clients. Only 12 percent rate busy season at all positively for the nation’s economy in general, with more than half (54%) expecting further deterioration.  Less than a quarter (19%) see upticks in the next few months for their clients and customers, but more than a third (39%) see declines.

That said, more than one in three (38%) accountants see improvements in their own firms and businesses, while less than one in four (22%) are bracing for tougher times. And, personally, when it comes to their own families and themselves, more than one in four (29%) accountants are optimistic for their economic lives at home, with 23 percent expecting conditions to worsen.

Terence Niewolny of White Bear Lake, Minn., doesn’t claim to be an economist or even to own a crystal ball. But he voices a common opinion when he says, “2010 will be fairly flat,” and the “economy won’t turn around until the second or third quarter of 2011.”

On the other hand, he’s still hoping to get enough business this tax season to put on some additional part time help. Let’s hope he’s wrong about how long it will take the economy to get going and that he’s right about needing more help this tax season.

Copyright 2009 AICPA
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Posted on November 16, 2009
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Wanna find Freed Maxick CPAs on Twitter?

Just look up… at the billboard. Rush-hour tax tips, anyone?

FreedMaxick Twitter billboard

Interested? Visit FreedMaxick.com. And on Twitter at http://twitter.com/FreedMaxickCPAs.

In a nutshell, Freed Maxick is one of upstate New York’s largest public accounting firms and one of the nation’s 100 largest. They operate as an “alternative practice structure” with RSM McGladrey.

Not shy about marketing, this is a digital billboard, changeable at an instant or on a schedule.

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Posted on November 10, 2009
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