CPA Trendlines

Top 100 Firm Blue & Co. Spins Off Aliign Small Biz Specialty Unit

Aliign offers one-stop shop for integrated and flexible tax and accounting services

Indianapolis-based Blue & Co. is reportedly launching an independent business unit aimed at small business called Aliign LLC in the Indiana and Ohio markets.  Kentucky is due to follow in the first quarter of 2010. Aliign’s website lists seven directors and five offices.

The firm says:

“Aliign provides an integrated suite of tax and accounting services offered within a highly advanced technology platform—providing clients with 24/7 web-based access to their financial documents and data.”

Hammel

“Our vision with Aliign is to offer small businesses a single source for all their accounting needs—including tax planning, full-service payroll, outsourced bookkeeping, and general accounting,” stated Jerry Hammel, director at Aliign. “Striving to offer clients maximum convenience, we provide our services within a highly advanced technology platform, which includes secure client portals, hosted QuickBooks, and web-based payroll and bookkeeping. Clients enjoy anytime-anywhere, paperless access to their financial documents, as well as real-time access to Aliign professionals. It’s all at the clients’ fingertips!”

Aliign was developed as an alternative to larger firms—providing the same level of sophisticated services with a highly personal touch. Catering to small businesses, Aliign’s business model supports custom, technologically advanced service packages at an affordable rate.

“Aliign is unique in that we offer a full-line of services within an advanced web-based platform, while also supporting a personalized, one-on-one approach to working with our clients,” said Hammel.

“We develop partnerships with clients—working side-by-side throughout the year to ensure that they understand their financial position. It’s not enough that we simply supply clients with documents; we want to make sure they understand the data in order to make sound business decisions,” said Hammel.

Five Reasons You Can’t Stop Business Development during Busy Season

Make busy season into business development season.

“Firms need to look at the busy season as a stepping stone for 2010, while your clients are focused on taxes and accounting more than any other time,” according to John Ezell’s ProHorizons.

Here’s why you need a business development strategy in busy season:

1. Accounting draws attention: The tax season is the time where you get the opportunity to meet your clients in person. Accounting is an important issue that, generally, captures an audience.
2. Competitive advantage: Firms that make an effort at marketing during the busy season gain a competitive advantage over other firms who are not in the marketplace.
3. Strengthened relationships: It is an opportunity to further strengthen relationships with existing clients.
4. Increased referrals: Strengthened relationships will improve both quality and quantity of referrals.
5. Accelerated growth: It offers opportunities to increase business and should not be wasted.

via Blog | ProHorizons.

Fee for itemized 1040 to average $229 in 2010, up 10% in past two years

National Society of Accountants calls prices “affordable.”

The National Society of Accountants biennial survey of nearly 8,000 tax preparers shows the average tax preparation fee for an itemized Form 1040 with Schedule A and a state tax return is $229.

Rates for non-itemized returns are also “low” – the average cost to prepare a Form 1040 and state return without itemized deductions is $129.

Thenew $229 benchmark represents about a 10% price increase over the last two years.  In 2007, the NSA reported average tax preparation fee for an itemized Form 1040 with Schedule A and a state tax return increased less than 2 percent during the past two years – rising from $201 to $205. Rates for other services inched upward – the average cost to prepare a Form 1040 and state return without itemized deductions is only $115, up from $110 two years ago.

“The tax code becomes more complex every year – especially this year with so many new tax credits and other rules as the federal government attempts to provide some taxpayers with relief during the economic downturn,” says NSA President Robert L. Cross, PA, ABA, ATA. “With the constant changes and new provisions, it pays to have a professional tracking all the potential tax breaks for their clients, who may miss them on their own. Even one extra deduction or tax credit can more than cover the fee paid to a professional tax preparer.”

Taxpayers may also benefit by obtaining tax preparation estimates from more than one preparer from different size companies. For example, the survey found that tax preparation fees for an itemized Form 1040 with Schedule A and a state tax return averaged only $217 at one-person firms, and rose to an average of $245 for firms with three or more staff.

Firms with lower levels of gross income also charged less on average than larger companies. For example, tax preparation firms with gross annual income of $50,000 or less charge an average of $174 for an itemized Form 1040 with Schedule A and a state tax return, while a company with gross income of $400,000 or more charged an average of $305.

The survey found that the average fees for preparing other Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax forms include:

• $212 for a Form 1040 Schedule C (profit or loss from business)

• $551 for a Form 1065 (partnership)

• $692 for a Form 1120 (corporation)

• $665 for a Form 1120S (S corporation)

• $415 for preparing a Form 1041 (fiduciary)

• $2,044 for Form 706 (estates)

• $584 for a Form 990 (tax exempt)

• $58 for a Form 940 (Federal unemployment)

All fees assume a taxpayer has gathered and organized all necessary information.

Fees also vary by region. The average tax preparation fee for an itemized Form 1040 with Schedule A and a state tax return in each U.S. census district are as follows:

• New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) – $205

• Middle Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA) – $252

• South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) – $243

• East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) – $137

• West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) – $220

• East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) – $193

• West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) – $192

• Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) – $207

• Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) – $292

Sixty percent of accounting firms do not require payment until returns are completed and clients are satisfied. Ten percent require a percentage of the payment upfront, and 23 percent require payments during tax return processing. Ninety-one percent of accountants also offer electronic filing services for Federal and state tax returns, and accountants report that 84 percent of clients eligible for electronic filing choose this option.

Many accountants also hold one or more professional credentials that demonstrate their experience and expertise. These credentials (and the percentage of NSA survey participants holding these credentials) include:

• Enrolled Agents (federally authorized tax practitioners) – 49.2%

• Accredited Tax Advisors – 26.3%

• Accredited Tax Preparers – 26.2%

• Certified Public Accountants – 24.8%

• Accredited Business Advisor/Accountant – 16.2%

• Registered/Licensed Public Accountants or Accounting Practitioner – 11.8%

15 Proven Ideas for Low-Cost, Local Advertising

A department store mogul once famously said: “Half my advertising is wasted; I just don’t know which half.”

You need to advertise your firm, but that comes with two stipulations: Advertising needs to be both inexpensive and targeted to your local audience. Who wants to spend thousands of dollars reaching prospects in Topeka, Kan., when you’re based in Tacoma, Wash.?

Consider these 15 suggestions for low-cost, local advertising, from the National Federation of Independent Business:

1. Set up online accounts on local business directories, such as Yelp and Yahoo! Local. The online guides help people find local businesses, restaurants, retailers and more. In addition, users post reviews of businesses, so ideally your company will receive great word-of-mouth marketing from happy clients. Setting up a business account with Yelp is free, though you can buy sponsorship ads, too. A basic Yahoo! Local Listing is free, and you can upgrade for a small monthly fee.

2. Submit press releases to local newspapers and business magazines. Be sure the story is newsworthy, not simply an advertisement. Send press releases when you hire new employees, open a branch, win an award, reach a milestone, host an open house, partner with another company, expand your products or services, restructure your business, work with a charity or rebrand your business.

3. Drive home your message — literally. Make your car can an advertising vehicle: Put your company name on your license plate or license plate frame. Place a bumper sticker, decal or magnetic sign on your car.

4. Sign up for a free online phone directory, such as yellowpages.com and yellowpagecity.com. You can also purchase ads in the directories.

5. Post flyers about your business on message boards at libraries, community centers and grocery stores.

6. Donate a prize to local radio stations for giveaways or contests. You’ll get on-air exposure and perhaps a mention on the station's website, too.

7. Place an ad on Craigslist.com in your city’s edition under the appropriate business category.

8. Enter a parade float in your town’s homecoming, Memorial Day or July 4th parades.

9. Try out cross-promotion. Talk to a non-competing company in your community about cross-referrals. You could add links to your websites, share a booth at a local trade show or split the costs for a direct mail piece. You can also help many kinds of clients team up: a hair salon and a clothing boutique, a print shop and a computer repair store, a day care center and a pediatrician, etc.

10. Sponsor your local chamber of commerce’s website.

11. Attach a promotion to your invoice. Offer customers a discount if they refer a business or person who buys your product or service. Extend a discount on the new client’s first purchase, too.

12. Try pay-per-click advertising: You can create an ad for search engines and specify the city or region where you’d like it to run. Two popular options include Google AdWords and Yahoo! Sponsored Search. Both allow you to set the click amount and daily maximum you’re willing to pay, so you remain within your budget. For more information on pay-per-click options and reviews of more than 30 per click search engines, check out payperclickuniverse.com.

13. Create a company Facebook page, join local Facebook groups dedicated to business and post frequent comments to the group's wall. Consider joining other local groups: For instance, businesses in Pittsburgh can become members of the Green Pittsburgh group.

14. Volunteer at a community event wearing company t-shirts. You might hand out water at a 5K race or run a concession stand at a local art fair.

15. Don’t underestimate word-of-mouth marketing. Encourage employees to talk about the company at sporting events, church functions, the grocery store, etc. Reward referrals, too.

What would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.

via 15 Proven Ideas for Low-Cost, Local Advertising | NFIB.

Key Tips for Career Success in Accounting and Finance

Veteran CPAs reveal their competitive edge.

by Rick Telberg

The formula for success in a career in accounting and finance begins with a laser-like focus on serving clients and other stakeholders above and beyond normal expectations, according to a roundup of opinion from over 200 professionals and practitioners.

To be sure, career success, as always, requires hard work, diligence, integrity, an ability to get along with people and lifelong learning. But some qualities may be more important than ever in the year of uncertainty and turbulence that many expect of 2010, according to CPA Trendlines research by Bay Street Group LLC.

“By far the most important thing is individual service,” according to Gloria A. Arvanitis, CPA, at Genesis Partners in Bloomingdale, Ill. “I picked up three new clients through referrals this year due to the fact that they did not like how they were treated by their prior accountants. They want to know they are being paid attention to, and that the best tax-planning decisions are being made for them before year-end.”

Peter Jannis, Clerk and Comptroller for Palm Beach County in West Palm Beach, Fla., has just one word of advice: “Focus.” Carlos L. Holt, CPA, CIA, CFE, an internal audit manager in government service in Nashville, Tenn., has two: “knowledge” and “experience.”

Of course, your career isn’t everything. Mike Gibson at Cole & Reed CPAs in Oklahoma City, Okla., recommends, above all, “maintaining a healthy lifestyle.” But then, he adds, you need a healthy lifestyle “so that you have both the physical and mental energy to manage the stresses of the profession and succeed when stress levels are at their highest.”

To Jay Jackler, CPA, at Goldstein Lewin & Co. CPAs in Boca Raton, Fla., that means “working hard for clients.” They’ll love it if you can, like Jackler, tell them you’ve “caught government mistakes within the IRS, state Department of Revenue, and the Social Security Administration.”

For sure, client service distinguishes both the successful firms and successful professionals, followed by hard work, ability, skills, knowledge and “people skills.”

“I work hard for the clients,” agrees Samuel Elfe James, CPA, at his self-named firm in Blairsville, Ga.

“Serve your clients, employers, and your personal contacts well, and everything will work out well for you in the end,” says Andrew S. Pfau of Jericho, N.Y. “Give 100 percent effort and treat everyone the way you would treat your best client.”

But you can’t stop at that. Scott T. Rediger, CPA, at Rediger & Co. in Lincoln, Neb., urges aspiring CPAs to “continue to learn, adapt to new laws and new technologies.”

To Melissa M. Wetzel, CPA, a practitioner in Emmitsburg, Md., it’s all about “hard work and learning all the CPA requirements.”

John Kelly at Gurman & Company, PLLC, in Fairfax, Va., urges “Flexibility and keeping up with education. “

Melissa Hawes at Miles Financial Management, Inc., in Malvern, Pa., believes in “relationship-building and accountability.”

The bottom line, of course, is that you can’t ignore “good production and good clients,” advises Chet Ingalls, practicing in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Accountancy is as much a business as a profession. So Jon Neal at The Neal Group LLC, in Milwaukee, Wis., sees career success in the “ability to be a businessman first, CPA second.”

But one piece of advice may be especially apt for a year like 2010. Donald C. Turnbow, a CPA in his own practice in Dallas, sums it up in one word: “Grit.”

I don’t know where that’s covered on the CPA exam. But it’s something every successful CPA already knows.

Copyright 2009 AICPA. Used by permission.

CPA firms are anticipating a happier new year.

IOMA forecasts some margin relief in 2010 for accounting firms.

“Many firms and owners are anticipating higher revenues and have taken steps to adapt to the economic environment so that growth can continue or resume. Some of the steps include identifying new opportunities, adjusting marketing and billing practices, and refocusing strategies and goals,” , according to the  latest edition of the IOMAPartrner’s  Report, a monthly update for CPA firm owners.

The speed with which many CPA firms react, the ability to adapt, and the underlying strength of a firm’s people and ptocesses could determine success or failure in 2010.

IOMA sees firms adopting a number of  tactics:

1. Adapt.
2. Think strategically.
3. Change focus.
4. Empasize efficiency.
5. Develop new niches, expand existing ones.
6. Economic realities.
7. Cost cutting and marketing expansion — simultaneously.
8. Reduce staff.

Meanwhile, IOMA is preducting that 51% of firms will see gains in net income in 2010. About 23% predict an increase of less than 5 percent. Another 17% percent foresee a 5% to 10%  increase, and 11% expect more than a 10 percent.

What will firms be doing to drive topline revenues?

1. marketing to new clients
2. increase billing rates
3. marketing to existing clients

One thing IOMA doesn’t need to say: it won’t be easy.

CPA firms face pricing pinch

Price index declines 1.1% in latest month.

After years of gains since the government started keeping track in December 2003, overall prices for CPA firm services plummeted with the onset of recession in December 2007.  Since then, firms recovered some of their losses, but now appear to be dipping again.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the price index for CPA firms declined to 113.7 in October from 115.0 in September. In the year-ago October, the index stood at 115.6, up from the October 2007 level of 113.1.

So, if you’re feeling a little squeezed on fees, you’re not alone.