Harper & Co. CPAs: The Perspective of a Non-Accountant is Imperative

“The perspective of a non-accountant is imperative.”

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: AppleGoogleSpotifyiHeartDeezer, Amazon Music and AudiblePlayer FMAudacyGaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).


Transformation Talks
With Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

Center for Accounting Transformation
Center for Accounting Transformation

Glen Harper, CPA, says businesses should be willing to reinvent themselves and that diverse perspectives can be a valuable asset. The owner of Harper & Company CPAs should know: He’s had to embrace both philosophies to become successful. 

MORE TRANSFORMATION TALKS:  Menlo Innovations: Improve Office Culture by Overhauling Internal Reviews | Dustin Wheeler: For Serious CAS Success, Hire Tech Teams | Chase Birky: Overcoming Paralysis By Analysis | Dustin Verity: Keep an Open Mind and Constantly Learn | James Ross: CSR for CPAs: The Missing IngredientO.D. Lanier: Stepping Into Advisory | Mike Maksymiw: The Secret to Success? A Growth and Abundance Mindset | Paul Mueller: From Tax to Transformation

MORE PODCASTS & VIDEOS: CAS or CAAS? Getting Clarity | The Seller’s Guide to Getting the Best Price for Your Firm | Doing Nothing Is Not an Option  | Why the Future Is in Risk Advisory | Fine-Tuning the Subscription Fee ModelThinking Smart about New Tech: Byron Patrick | Blake Oliver: Why Tax Work Yearns To Be Free | Private Equity Explodes in U.K. | Brannon Poe: The Status Quo Must Go  |  Accounting Nerds, Unlock Your Super Powers  | Private Equity vs. the CPA Firm PartnershipThe FinTech Flood: Accounting Will Never Be the Same  |  Think Small to Think Big with Matt Wilkinson | Your Sales Tax Headaches Are Only Just Beginning | When Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey Schmidt  |  Can Geraldine Carter Save Accountants from Themselves? |  Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler Anderson |  Turning Client Service into New Revenue | See all podcasts and videos here

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

In a recent episode of Transformation Talks, Harper tells host Donny Shimamoto, CPA, CITP, CGMA, who is also the founder and managing director of Intraprise TechKnowlogies LLC and the founder of the Center for Accounting Transformation, that a good advisor can help you see your business from a different perspective and identify opportunities that you may have missed. He said after some self-reflection, he needed what his successful clients already had–a CEO.

Enter Julie Smith.

READ MORE →

150 Hours Revisited: The Profession Needs a Facelift

What if pipeline issues aren’t related to education or experience but rather just image?

With Steven Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals: Thriving in Disruption

While firms and accountants continue to lament staffing challenges and research continues into finding workable solutions for firms and finance teams of all sizes, one idea that is beginning to gain more traction has less to do with education versus experience and more to do with marketing.

David Bergstein, CPA, CITP, CGMA, discussed the future of the profession, specifically the ongoing discourse surrounding the perceived necessity of a fifth year in accounting education.

MORE STEVE SACKS: How Do You Value Your Most Important Asset? | Which is Better: A Year of Education or A Year of Experience? | Sell Service, Not Hours | Private Equity vs. the CPA Firm Partnership | CAS or CAAS? Getting Clarity | Fine-Tuning the Subscription Fee ModelWhen Cyber-Crime Hits Close to Home | How to Build a Winning Proposal | Six Ways to Fix Your Firm Agreement | The Great Resignation or a Reshuffling? | Listen to Learn | Build the Framework to a Solution with Five Answers | Try for Success, Not a Win
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Bergstein challenged the conventional wisdom surrounding the 150-hour requirement for CPA eligibility, suggesting that the industry’s primary challenge lay not in the academic threshold but in the misperception of accounting as a lackluster career. “We’re beating a horse that’s almost dead,” he remarked, questioning the emphasis on extending education rather than redefining the profession’s image.

READ MORE →

Heather Satterley: You’ve Got to Meet People Where They Are

Stop saying yes to everything and start saying yes to yourself.

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, Gaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).

See The Disruptors

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Heather Satterley is well-known for being an accounting tech expert. But tech isn’t the only skill accountants need today and for the future. “You can have great technology skills, but if you don’t have people skills and those softer skills, that’s going to be a problem,” she said.   

MORE PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Bill Penczak: Stop Forcing Smart People to Do Stupid WorkSandra Wiley: Staffing Problem? Check Your Culture | Scott Scarano: First, Grow People. Then Firm Growth Can Follow | Jody Padar: Build a Practice that Works for You, Not Vice-Versa | Ira Rosenbloom: With M&A, Nobody Wants a Fixer-Upper | Peter Margaritis: The Power Skills Every Accountant Needs | Joe Montgomery: Find the Sweet Spot of the Right Clients, Right Services and Right PricesMarie Green: Your Bad Apples Are Ruining YouMegan Genest Tarnow: Hire for Curiosity Rather Than ComplianceClayton Oates: One Way to Keep Clients for LifeRandy Crabtree: Follow These Three Rules to Keep Employees HappyErik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More | Donny Shimamoto: Future Firm Growth Requires a MindshiftJennifer Wilson: Empower Young Workers to Build the Firm Everyone LovesMike Whitmire: Re-Think Your Hiring and Training PracticesHector Garcia: Success Strategies of a Quickbooks YouTube Superstar | Blake Oliver: Why Tax Work Yearns To Be FreePrivate Equity Explodes in U.K. | Brannon Poe: The Status Quo Must Go  | Accounting Nerds, Unlock Your Super Powers  | Disruptor: Jason Statts Shakes Up the Status Quo | Think Small to Think Big with Matt WilkinsonWhen Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey SchmidtCan Geraldine Carter Save Accountants from Themselves?Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler Anderson

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

One of those softer skills that will be a key skill for the future is problem-solving, which requires keeping an open mind to “look at not just facts and figures, but look at tools, resources, people and pull them all together,” she explained. No one can be an expert at everything, so having “a wide network of really awesome professionals” is vital for filling in any gaps “to get the job done.”  

READ MORE →

Adrian Hong: Necessity Can Make You an Expert

Innovation Insights: Trial by fire may not be fun, but it can make you a pro.

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: AppleGoogleSpotifyiHeartDeezer, Amazon Music and AudiblePlayer FMAudacyGaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).

Innovation Insights
With Donny Shimamoto

Center for Accounting Transformation

Adrian Hong’s journey into the realm of environmental, social, and governmental (ESG) reporting has been nothing short of inspiring. As the founder of Hong Consulting, LLC, his dedication to assisting companies with ESG reporting stems from a rich tapestry of experiences, all pointing to one common thread – the desire to help.

Center for Accounting Transformation
Center for Accounting Transformation

MORE: Blake Oliver: Why Tax Work Yearns To Be Free |Private Equity Explodes in U.K. | Brannon Poe: The Status Quo Must Go  |  Accounting Nerds, Unlock Your Super Powers  | Private Equity vs. the CPA Firm PartnershipThe FinTech Flood: Accounting Will Never Be the Same  |  Think Small to Think Big with Matt Wilkinson | Your Sales Tax Headaches Are Only Just Beginning | When Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey Schmidt  |  Can Geraldine Carter Save Accountants from Themselves? |  Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler Anderson |  Turning Client Service into New Revenue

SEE ALSO: Deloitte Develops Audit Technology for Smaller Firms

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

After building a formidable reputation in auditing within public accounting and lending his skills to the Financial Accounting Standards Board for refining external taxonomy, life had other plans. Hong returned to his roots in Hawaii to steer the helm of his family’s venture, Island Plastic Bags.

READ MORE →

Bill Penczak: Stop Forcing Smart People to Do Stupid Work

Challenge your people and keep the work interesting or risk losing them. 

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, Gaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Too many accounting firms have “smart people doing stupid work,” according to Bill Penczak, a veteran sales and marketing professional. The founder and chief insights officer for Mica Ventures said to think about the effort it takes to get an accounting degree and get your CPA, and contrast that with the years of mindless work that many new hires are required to do, especially if they go into audit, he said. “One of the reasons why there’s such a talent shortage is because the market has figured this out,” and no one wants to do that stupid work, Penczak said.

MORE PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Sandra Wiley: Staffing Problem? Check Your Culture | Scott Scarano: First, Grow People. Then Firm Growth Can Follow | Jody Padar: Build a Practice that Works for You, Not Vice-Versa | Ira Rosenbloom: With M&A, Nobody Wants a Fixer-Upper | Peter Margaritis: The Power Skills Every Accountant Needs | Joe Montgomery: Find the Sweet Spot of the Right Clients, Right Services and Right PricesMarie Green: Your Bad Apples Are Ruining YouMegan Genest Tarnow: Hire for Curiosity Rather Than ComplianceClayton Oates: One Way to Keep Clients for LifeRandy Crabtree: Follow These Three Rules to Keep Employees HappyErik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More | Donny Shimamoto: Future Firm Growth Requires a MindshiftJennifer Wilson: Empower Young Workers to Build the Firm Everyone LovesMike Whitmire: Re-Think Your Hiring and Training PracticesHector Garcia: Success Strategies of a Quickbooks YouTube Superstar | Blake Oliver: Why Tax Work Yearns To Be FreePrivate Equity Explodes in U.K. | Brannon Poe: The Status Quo Must Go  | Accounting Nerds, Unlock Your Super Powers  | Disruptor: Jason Statts Shakes Up the Status Quo | Think Small to Think Big with Matt WilkinsonWhen Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey SchmidtCan Geraldine Carter Save Accountants from Themselves?Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler Anderson

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Besides making smart people do stupid work, Penczak said many of the firms he works with are realizing that they need to do a better job with mentoring and career development, as well as simply having more conversations with their people.

READ MORE →

Sandra Wiley: Staffing Problem? Check Your Culture

Whether it’s clients or talent, if you build a better business culture, you’ll get better results.

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, Gaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).

With Liz Farr
The Disruptors

As shareholder and president of Boomer Consulting, Sandra Wiley has been speaking with firm owners and leaders for nearly three decades and clearly sees the need for change in the profession.

“The business model that was built before cannot be the business model that you have going forward. It simply doesn’t work,” Wiley said. “Now, we’re still living in the old business model,” and we have to get out of it.

MORE PODCASTS and VIDEOS:  Peter Margaritis: The Power Skills Every Accountant Needs | Joe Montgomery: Find the Sweet Spot of the Right Clients, Right Services and Right PricesMarie Green: Your Bad Apples Are Ruining YouMegan Genest Tarnow: Hire for Curiosity Rather Than ComplianceClayton Oates: One Way to Keep Clients for LifeRandy Crabtree: Follow These Three Rules to Keep Employees HappyErik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More | Donny Shimamoto: Future Firm Growth Requires a MindshiftJennifer Wilson: Empower Young Workers to Build the Firm Everyone LovesMike Whitmire: Re-Think Your Hiring and Training PracticesHector Garcia: Success Strategies of a Quickbooks YouTube Superstar | Blake Oliver: Why Tax Work Yearns To Be FreePrivate Equity Explodes in U.K. | Brannon Poe: The Status Quo Must Go  | Accounting Nerds, Unlock Your Super Powers  | Disruptor: Jason Statts Shakes Up the Status Quo | Think Small to Think Big with Matt WilkinsonWhen Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey SchmidtCan Geraldine Carter Save Accountants from Themselves?Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler Anderson

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

When she does exit interviews to find out why people are leaving a firm, she said they all say it’s because of the hours. They need to find more balance in their lives, and they need to work less. While accountants do have government-imposed deadlines for tax returns, there are ways to reduce hours, Wiley explained. We can do extensions to spread the work out over time and people, and we can outsource. Most importantly, we can be more selective in the clients we work with. “We don’t have to work with every client we’ve ever worked with,” Wiley said. READ MORE →