INNOVATION & CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Adrian Hong: Necessity Can Make You an Expert

By

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

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

By

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 Prices | Marie Green: Your Bad Apples Are Ruining You | Megan Genest Tarnow: Hire for Curiosity Rather Than Compliance | Clayton Oates: One Way to Keep Clients for Life | Randy Crabtree: Follow These Three Rules to Keep Employees Happy | Erik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More | Donny Shimamoto: Future Firm Growth Requires a Mindshift | Jennifer Wilson: Empower Young Workers to Build the Firm Everyone Loves | Mike Whitmire: Re-Think Your Hiring and Training Practices | Hector Garcia: Success Strategies of a Quickbooks YouTube Superstar | 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  | Disruptor: Jason Statts Shakes Up the Status Quo | Think Small to Think Big with Matt Wilkinson | When Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey Schmidt | Can 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 →

What Can ChatGPT Do for Accounting Professionals?

By

The dawning of new technologies is usually daunting, but this is one we should all be excited to try.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

ChatGPT has been in the news almost daily. It’s the latest “hot” technology. You might be wondering what’s so great about it, i.e., what can it do for accountants?

 

New Course: Are you looking for an accounting-specific course on ChatGPT?  We have one right here! 

When we answer that question, we really need to answer a couple of questions. First, what can it not do, or what shouldn’t we use it for? And second, what tasks are safe or low-risk that we can use it for to increase our productivity?

MORE: Make the Most of CPE Conferences | Set Bold New Goals for the Rest of the Year | Generative AI: Should You Avoid It or Adopt It? | Five Ways to Acquire More Clients | Five Stages of Any Business | Leverage Your Client List Today | Need Leads? Try a Quiz
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

First, we’ll look at what not to use ChatGPT for and then we’ll look at what you should be using it for. Last, we’ll examine two rules to follow when using ChatGPT.
READ MORE →

Sandra Wiley: Staffing Problem? Check Your Culture

By

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 Prices | Marie Green: Your Bad Apples Are Ruining You | Megan Genest Tarnow: Hire for Curiosity Rather Than Compliance | Clayton Oates: One Way to Keep Clients for Life | Randy Crabtree: Follow These Three Rules to Keep Employees Happy | Erik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More | Donny Shimamoto: Future Firm Growth Requires a Mindshift | Jennifer Wilson: Empower Young Workers to Build the Firm Everyone Loves | Mike Whitmire: Re-Think Your Hiring and Training Practices | Hector Garcia: Success Strategies of a Quickbooks YouTube Superstar | 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  | Disruptor: Jason Statts Shakes Up the Status Quo | Think Small to Think Big with Matt Wilkinson | When Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey Schmidt | Can 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 →

The Three Best Project Management Apps to Control Workflow

By

Working from home? These three apps can help you collaborate better with long-distance colleagues.

By Beth Ziesenis
App of the Week

It’s probably no surprise that more than half of Americans would prefer to work from home. Fortunately, technology has progressed so rapidly since the 1980s that more than 80% of Americans say their homes are properly prepared for home offices. (A pandemic forcing employees to work from home and companies to adequately prepare for remote employees didn’t hurt the cause, either.)

MORE APPS of the WEEK:  Automate Captions for Videos | Can’t Read it Now? Save it for Later | Don’t Lose Precious Memories: Digitize Old Photos | Track Your Mileage Automatically | Keep Track of Your Subscriptions | Capture Testimonials to Increase Credibility | Find an Extra Set of Hands for Time-Consuming Tasks | Personalize Communication and Set Yourself Apart from Competition | Waiting to Exhale (i.e., Can April 19 Hurry Up?) |
SEE ALL: Apps of the Week here |
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

However, keeping your entire team on the same page with regard to objectives, strategies, expectations and deadlines can be a chore. Fortunately, there are lots of project management apps out there to help, but how do you know which one is best for you? Here, I’ll highlight three of my favorites.

READ MORE →

Closing the Audit Expectations Gap

By

Regulator expectations versus client expectations: Is there a middle ground?

By Alan Anderson
Transforming Audit for the Future

Instant download:
“The New Manifesto for Accountants.“

The overarching goal of the audit is to issue the correct audit opinion.  But what else do we expect from an audit?

MORE: Three Fundamental Questions to Ask in Audit | How Auditors Can Beat AI | The Big Issues in Audit: Frustration, Inconsistency and Technology | Five Ways to Increase Audit Efficiency | Early Adopters Gain an Edge in Audit | Talent Retention: Five Tips for an Audit Adjustment | Six Benefits of an Internal Audit | The Ten Financial Controls That’ll Make You a Hero | Five Cash Reports You Can’t Live Without | When an Audit Is a Great Thing
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The word “audit” comes from a Latin word that means “to hear.” Originally, the official examination of accounts – what we would call an audit – was an oral procedure. And, for many centuries, listening was a primary way of gathering information in an audit. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines audit as “a formal examination of an organization’s or individual’s accounts or financial situation” or as “a methodical examination and review.” READ MORE →

Generative AI: Should You Avoid It or Adopt It?

By

With AI, will it pay to be an early adopter or to be more cautious?

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

When a new technology arises, accounting professionals tend to be skeptical. They are seldom the people who are first to jump on the bandwagon. It’s been true at the introduction of mainframes, when PCs first arrived, when networks were first developed, at the internet’s inception, and during social media’s adoption. So, it’s not surprising to hear that accountants are skeptical of the newest technology, generative artificial intelligence.

While there are certainly issues to be aware of with all new technologies, generative AI tools such as ChatGPT have the potential to save employees roughly two hours per day. It makes sense to at least learn about this technology to see if it fits in your firm.

MORE: Now’s the Time to Clean Up Your Email List | Transform Your Marketing with CRM | Five Kinds of Small Thinking | Five Tests: How Open Are You to Change? | Maybe Price Isn’t the Problem | Three Thoughts for a Quiet Morning | The Seven-Step Plan for Marketing by Spreadsheet | Beyond QuickBooks: Wowing Your Clients | 11 Ways to Boost Billings and Impress Clients
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The term generative AI refers to technology that uses a machine learning model and that contains interactive features such as the ability to chat. One example is ChatGPT, which is a public, consumer-based product developed by OpenAI. Microsoft’s generative AI product is Bing AI, and Google’s entry is Bard. There are a dozen or so others, but those are the “big three.” These tools are rapidly evolving with new features, capabilities, and content added weekly if not daily.
READ MORE →

The Disruptors: Al Anderson on The New Manifesto for Accountants

By

Change your firm or go extinct.

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

Al Anderson has been trying to change audit for nearly his entire career and has always been “willing to try things differently.” While he’s always loved auditing – and thinks to this day that auditing can be fun – what he didn’t love was “auditing by doing it the same way every year.” However, he sees far too many firms performing audits the same way they have for decades. Anderson believes that “the firms that are unwilling to change eventually are going to be history.”

INSTANT DOWNLOAD: Al Anderson’s “The New Manifesto for Accountants.“

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 Prices | Marie Green: Your Bad Apples Are Ruining You | Megan Genest Tarnow: Hire for Curiosity Rather Than Compliance | Clayton Oates: One Way to Keep Clients for Life | Randy Crabtree: Follow These Three Rules to Keep Employees Happy | Erik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More | Donny Shimamoto: Future Firm Growth Requires a Mindshift | Jennifer Wilson: Empower Young Workers to Build the Firm Everyone Loves | Mike Whitmire: Re-Think Your Hiring and Training Practices | Hector Garcia: Success Strategies of a Quickbooks YouTube Superstar | 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  | Disruptor: Jason Statts Shakes Up the Status Quo | Think Small to Think Big with Matt Wilkinson | When Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey Schmidt | Can 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.

In an effort to combat the rising tide of commoditization of audit and assurance services, Anderson has been teaching a revolutionary framework for audit leadership to auditors around the world and has now written a book (to be released later this year by CPA Trendlines) that describes the five attributes of this framework.

These five attributes include:

READ MORE →