And how you can avoid the pitfalls.
by Rick Telberg
As state and federal governments struggle against an ailing economy, many accountants are bracing for a new surge of work from new tax and regulatory changes. But all that new work for CPAs may not be a good thing, according to one of the profession’s most outspoken iconoclasts.
Ron Baker, CPA, Verasage
“Regulatory revenue windfalls have a way of driving profits too much,” says CPA Ron Baker, perhaps the profession’s leading evangelist for burying the billable-hour business model.
The expected flood of new business, he says, “will distract us from what’s really important. The important things won’t get done. People will become complacent again.”
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Right-click view image to enlarge. Source: CPA Trendlines
What do accountants talk about when they talk about…?
When CPA Trendlines asks practicing accountants how they “delight” clients during busy season, one word pops up more than any other: “personal.”
Clearly, clients respond to “financial” “planning” “service” with “questions” answered about their tax “return” using the “personal” touch.
Four benchmarks for competitive comparisons.
In new CPA Trendlines research by Bay Street Group LLC, tax and accounting professionals are expressing cautious optimism for the 2011 busy season.
The survey, “Busy Season 2011 – Plans and Previews,” remains open and will continue gathering fresh responses for the next several weeks.
Busy Season 2011 – Plans and Previews
What to expect for 2011. What we learned from 2010.
Click here: Join the survey;
get the details and updates as they develop.
KEY FINDINGS (from initial topline results; may vary in final report):
- General Outlook: Almost half of respondents believe that the 2011 busy season will represent an improvement over their 2010 season; 35% expect it to be about the same; and 17% are bracing for worse.
- Issues / Challenges: The general economic situation, garnering attention from 62% of respondents, looms as the prime concern going into busy season 2010. Last-minute tax code changes follows closely, within the margin of error, at 56%
- Operational Metrics: A majority of professionals foresee improvements in revenue , net profits, and the number of clients over 2010. Many expect the number of clients on extension to increase.
- The Economy: Some 35% of accountants see their business improving while 48% see the economy continuing to deteriorate. On a score of 1 to 5, CPAs give themselves a 3.23 confidence rating, while granting the nation only 2.52.
DEMOGRAPHICS:
- Professional Sector: The vast majority (95%) of respondents work in public accounting.
- Size of Office: Most, 54%, of respondents work in offices of 2 to 10 persons, followed by 17% solo practitioners and 13% in offices with 11 to 50 persons.
- Title / Position: The vast majority (82%) of respondents are C-level decision-makers (President, CEO, COO, Managing Partner, Partner, CFO, Controller, Senior Executive).
Four ingredients essential to team building.
Jason M Blumer, CPA, CFE, Blumer and Assoc. CPAs
by Jason M. Blumer, CPA, CFE
THRIVEal+CPA Network
Building culture used to be an esoteric activity the dot-com companies, marketing agencies and cool startups thought about. But building culture is just as important for CPA firms as it is for the next Silicon Valley success. Building culture takes a lot of work, is highly strategic at its core, and is done over an indefinite period of time.
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Click here for the CPA Careers and Hiring Outlook: Take the survey; get the results.
Getting to the real issues.
A day after Vault, the job-seekers’ research service, published it’s Top 50 ranking of the Best Accounting Firms to Work For, Accounting Today released it’s own Top 100 List. Whose list is better? You can decide, but you’ll find a lot of the same names on both lists.
No doubt, workplace conditions play a huge part on accountants’ career decisions and in accounting firm competitiveness, but what does “A Great Place to Work” really mean in this economy? That’s the key question we’ve been asking lately in a new CPA Trendlines survey called “The CPA Careers and Hiring Outlook – Job Satisfaction and Retention benchmarks.” Join the survey and get the results.
If you think you’re immune, think again.
The Harvard Business Review has listed the top 10 fatal flaws that derail business leaders. While some may seem obvious, the study revealed something else about ineffective leaders that may surprise you: The worst leaders don’t even know it. In fact, those who exhibited the most negative behaviors often rated themselves very positively when surveyed. The findings parallel CPA Trendlines research which finds that too many accounting firms suffer from a lack of skilled leaders.
Here are the top 10, in descending order:
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In today’s uncertain economy, CPA firms must be especially agile and adaptable to survive. They must be real “learning organizations.”
So here’s the question: What are the characteristics of an agile, adaptable, quick-learning CPA firm? And how do you get that way?
Boomer
L. Gary Boomer, CPA.CITP
CEO, Boomer Consulting Inc.
LEADERSHIP! Firms that have strong leadership and realize they need a Director of Development or a Learning Coordinator will have the corner on the talent market. Professional development, especially in the soft and IT skills are a big advantage in retention and attraction of quality. A training/learning organization will be able to employ the multiplier effect. Multipliers can do more with less.
Many firms are cutting back on training in an attempt to maintain partner income. I believe this is very short sighted.
