How to Build a Marketing Plan on an Excel Spreadsheet

7 key elements.

By Sandi Smith Leyva, CPA
Accountant’s Accelerator

It’s quite common for accounting firms (even the regionals) to have no marketing plan in place. The marketing plan might very well be, “get as many referrals as we can.” Or it might be a number for each partner (which is not a marketing plan). Or it might be, “if it’s not busy season, I’ll go to my Business Networking International group.” None of these are plans. They are individual marketing tasks and components. READ MORE →

2014 Roundtable: The Baby Boomers Take Control

2014 Top Trends logo vF
Click for the full Rosenberg MAP Survey

As one generation ages out, a new one reshapes the future of the profession.

See the complete 2014 Roundtable

By Jennifer Wilson
Convergence Coaching

Analysis

Without a doubt, succession issues permeate all aspects of the firms we’re encountering.

These include identifying and developing successors — especially rainmakers and practice leaders, ensuring that the buy/sell makes sense and can be sustained over time, determining retirement timing and issues, establishing and executing transition plans, communicating plans, recruiting new talent to backfill positions and exploring new ways to govern the firm to give more voice to those who will be taking over. Succession implications are far-reaching and can be consuming. READ MORE →

2014 Roundtable: Tax Season Tech Boom

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Buying opportunity: Firms trailing the tech curve will need to merge out – cheap.

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By Roman Kepczyk
Xcentric

Analysis

Firms are getting optimistic again and gearing up for slow steady growth. We are seeing investments in many specific technologies (workflow, cloud, remote access, security, BYOD) and projects targeted for handling this growth.

Kepczyk
Kepczyk

Outlook

I think cautionary investments will be the rule and we can expect to see major activity coming out of busy season for both investments in firm technology and processes, particularly cloud applications that are more secure, available from any Internet-enabled device and less expensive. READ MORE →