Accodex Sets Up a Platform for Practice Management

Portrait of Chris Hooper
Hooper

The goal: admit new partners without bottlenecks.

By Kayleigh Padar

Chris Hooper, the CEO and managing partner of Accodex, recently redesigned the firm’s business model to respond to clients’ changing accounting needs. The firm operates in four areas: the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Philippines. It is made up of over 50 employees.

MORE ON RADICALISM: The Persona: A Closer Look | Happy Tax: Why You Need to Know Its Name | 3 Challenges in Shifting to Product Management | Tips from a Veteran Product Manager | Productized 1099s the New Vision Way | Karbon Builds a Practice Management Platform on Steroids | Why Our Clients Need Us to Be Radical | Introducing the Fifth Radical Tenet: The Business Model | Dear Midsized Firms: Yes, You Can Change
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“I started with a small practice in 2011 in Australia,” Hooper said. “It was 100 percent cloud, fixed fee, global from the get-go. There wasn’t really a need to change those fundamentals.”
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The Persona: A Closer Look

Closeup of businesswoman writing on a flipchartHow to create one and what to do next.

By Jody Padar
From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide

At my firm, one of our big personas is a real estate investment firm. They like a one-stop shop. They like our personalized attention. They know that we have a certain amount of practical, specialized tax knowledge that they can use.

MORE ON RADICALISM: Happy Tax: Why You Need to Know Its Name | Product Management: Start with These 6 Steps | Product Management Meets Strategy | Transitioning to Radical: How Carl Famiglietti Did It | How to Develop Productized Services | Firm Product Management Is the Way to the Future
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What do they dislike? They dislike the detail, because they’re deal guys, they’re big-picture guys, they just want to know: Can they defer the gain, can they not defer the gain, what is the gain? They tell us to take care of the details. Hands off, get it done yesterday, keep me out of jail, I hate taxes. I’m sure you know the type.
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Happy Tax: Why You Need to Know Its Name

Fixing the broken retail tax prep model.

By Kayleigh Padar

What if tax CPAs charged labor for a platform and were not even a firm, but part of a franchise and technology play?

MORE ON RADICALISM: Product Management: Start with These 6 StepsFather, Son Team Up to Capitalize on Capacity | Going Deeper into Product Management | Dean Quiambao: ‘If You’re Not Disrupting, You’re Not Doing It Right’ | Josh Zweig’s LiveCA Offers New Thinking from the Ground Up | How ‘Agile’ Applies to CPA Firms
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This is the story of Happy Tax. And it is changing the nature of our business as we know it.
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Product Management: Start with These 6 Steps

Scrambled thoughts enter man's head, straightened ones come outHow well do you know your potential customers?

By Jody Padar
From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide

So, you’re in your new role. Now what?

MORE ON RADICALISM:  3 Challenges in Shifting to Product Management | Tips from a Veteran Product Manager | Productized 1099s the New Vision Way | Karbon Builds a Practice Management Platform on Steroids
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It’s time to get organized and start rolling your plans out to the team. Here are the first steps to take in your new position as product manager.
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3 Challenges in Shifting to Product Management

Confident businesswoman looking straight at cameraAnd 4 skills the product manager must have.

By Jody Padar
From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide

Are you ready to take the plunge? As a Radical CPA, you’re already used to dealing with change.

MORE ON RADICALISM: Product Management Meets Strategy | Father, Son Team Up to Capitalize on Capacity | Going Deeper into Product Management | Dean Quiambao: ‘If You’re Not Disrupting, You’re Not Doing It Right’ | Josh Zweig’s LiveCA Offers New Thinking from the Ground Up | How ‘Agile’ Applies to CPA Firms
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But I’m here to tell you, your customers (and the market) are demanding that you not only deal with change, but master it. So how do you start?
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Product Management Meets Strategy

Businessman with briefcase crossing the word "product" between two buildings against sunriseGet ready to move ahead with no map.

By Jody Padar
From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide

The product manager in a CPA firm is the leader in developing new products that complement the firm’s strategy.

MORE ON RADICALISM: Father, Son Team Up to Capitalize on Capacity | Tips from a Veteran Product Manager | Productized 1099s the New Vision Way | Karbon Builds a Practice Management Platform on Steroids | Why Our Clients Need Us to Be Radical | Introducing the Fifth Radical Tenet: The Business Model | Dear Midsized Firms: Yes, You Can Change | The Four Tenets of Radical Firms: A Brief Review
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Therefore, you must know your firm’s strategy for this person to be successful.
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Father, Son Team Up to Capitalize on Capacity

Portrait of Bernie Ackerman
Bernie Ackerman

It’s about spreading change.

By Kayleigh Padar
From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide

Jason Ackerman and Bernard Ackerman run the firm BNA CPA together as a dynamic family duo. Based in Rock Hill, SC, the firm consists of 20 employees and is modernized, offering flexible schedules to its employees and choosing value pricing over timesheets.

MORE ON RADICALISM: Tips from a Veteran Product Manager | Transitioning to Radical: How Carl Famiglietti Did It | How to Develop Productized Services | Firm Product Management Is the Way to the Future | 10 Steps to Start Innovating | The Value of New Ideas
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“My dad has always had a progressive mindset,” said Jason Ackerman. “He has always had the mindset that anybody can contribute to the team and he really focuses on the team culture.”
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Tips from a Veteran Product Manager

Man and woman looking at computer screenDon’t be afraid to listen to the market.

By Bill Whitson

In my 20-plus years in the tax, accounting and finance world, I’ve learned a few things along the way. I’ll share some from the product management lens.

MORE ON RADICALISM: Transitioning to Radical: How Carl Famiglietti Did It | Going Deeper into Product Management | Dean Quiambao: ‘If You’re Not Disrupting, You’re Not Doing It Right’ | Josh Zweig’s LiveCA Offers New Thinking from the Ground Up | How ‘Agile’ Applies to CPA Firms | Our Pain Points Are Opportunities
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Product managers can be, in many ways, like trusted advisors: They have a strong opinion and an extensive toolkit, and they serve nearly everyone around them.
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