If you’re a finance manager on the client side, what do you say?
by Rick Telberg
Are most CPAs fooling themselves?
If you ask a CPA, as CPA Trendlines has been doing since 2006, how long they typically keep a client, you’ll get a fairly consistent answer through the years.
If you ask a client how long they’ve worked with their current CPA firm, you’ll also get a fairly consistent answer.
The problem is: The CPA and the client disagree. READ MORE →
There is an old saying that “no man is an island unto himself.” This is certainly true in the world that I live in. I am nothing without my clients. So when we have time with them it is important that we use it to maximum advantage. And having an agenda in place well before the meeting starts exponentially increases the productivity and value of the experience. READ MORE →
One of the key ways to improve client and workplace relationships is by showing appreciation.
“Too often” Leo Buscaglia, the author, once said, “we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
We can extend appreciation anywhere and everywhere — at home, at work, at school, and wherever you want to acknowledge those who make your life brighter.
Here are a few ideas that might work for accounting firms: READ MORE →
What we know that clients don’t even know they need.
By Sandi Leyva
I’m pretty sure that I am not the only accountant who has made the following mistakes with clients. Here are a couple of ideas to help us remember what we know that the client doesn’t and why it costs us when we forget.
Choosing a CRM system can be tricky. Here are some pointers.
By Becky Livingston
When Do You Need CRM? You know you need CRM when your list of contacts has outgrown your Rolodex. You remember what a Rolodex is right? Another indication is when you begin to forget important information about your clients, or you notice your communication with them has dwindled.
Also consider CRM when you are looking to increase sales as well as relationships with clients, in the end positively affecting the bottom line.
Lastly, if you find yourself personalizing emails manually and/or do not have a clear idea of where you customer or lead is in the pipeline, you may need CRM.
Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flows? It’s time for a fourth statement.
Edi Osborne
By Edi Osborne
CEO, Mentor Plus
In the words of Bonnie Raitt, “Let’s give ’em something to talk about; a little something to figure out.”
Fact or fiction, rumors or true business intelligence, those that can make the distinction have a HUGE opportunity to add value to their business relationships.
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with several business owners to interview them about how they make business decisions. Decisions, as it turns out, are one of the most important reasons business owners walk away from nine-to-five jobs. Business owners like to have control over their destiny. They actually thrive on the decision-making process and are willing to live with the consequences of those choices. And although, business owners don’t want anyone to take away their options, they do want someone to help them examine them. They want to know that the information they are basing a decision on is accurate and relevant. That it is not conjecture, rumor, or worse yet, self-serving misinformation provided by others at the company. Sounds like a job for a true, trusted adviser, would-be super hero.
Unfortunately, when asked about the quality and quantity of data, business owners utilize daily to inform their decisions, including the real-time, management value of financial statements, their answers paint a very unsatisfactory picture of the decision support provided by their accountant. As the role of CPAs who serve as CFOs in a corporate environment has morphed into that of a CIO — Chief Information Officer — CPAs in public practice continue to lag behind in this transition. When pressed on this issue, many CPAs admit they want to do more, but they are not comfortable outside the realm of compliance matters.
More from Edi Osborne for CPA Trendlines PRO Members (Go PRO here):
So how can public CPAs become Chief Information Officers? How can they utilize their accounting skills to capitalize on the fast growing business intelligence market?
You don’t have to be the Ritz-Carlton or Mercedes to provide your customer with a great experience. Just a little forethought and planning will make a huge difference. Here are five tips for your consideration:
