13 Steps to True Commitment

Martin Bissett: "Make continual deposits in the goodwill account."What it means for partners.

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

Rising from senior manager to partner often means being promoted ahead of our peers and contemporaries. It creates a gap in earnings, stature and influence compared to those who just yesterday were our colleagues on a level playing field.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: How Good Is Your Network? | Shift Thinking from ‘We’ to ‘You’ | 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Going After New Work | Why Communication Matters So Much | 3 Questions to Evaluate Your Firm Culture | Competence: More Than Technical Skills | Are You Partner Material? Maybe Not
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It can also mean that if we are coming into a firm from the outside, we are being promoted over people who have served at that firm for many years and understand the culture of the firm a lot better than we do right now. We may have to lead these people as the head of a department and if so, they’d better be on our side.
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How Good Is Your Network?

4 happy co-workers looking at man's tabletBONUS CHECKLIST: 5 questions to evaluate your network and skills.

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

Ask yourself and answer these questions when considering the current and future “conversion” tactics that you’ll employ.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: Shift Thinking from ‘We’ to ‘You’ | When to Ignore a White Lie: A Cautionary Tale | Communicate Your Worth and Value | Best Practices for One-on-One Communication | Learn to Read Your Firm’s Culture
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  1. If I were to start today, could I name four businesses that I’d like to reach out to?
  2. What is our firm’s net fee growth goal this year and what can I do to contribute to it?
  3. What do I need to do to be able to handle the tough stuff like negotiation, pricing and handling objections? What start to learning these skills can I make today?

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Shift Thinking from ‘We’ to ‘You’

Portrait of a cheerful businessman smiling at the cameraBusinesses place value on expertise.

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

Please start understanding, valuing and respecting your own value in the marketplace with clients who could not reach their goals without you.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: When to Ignore a White Lie: A Cautionary Tale | RFPs: 7 Things NOT to Do | 5 Ways to Evaluate Your Communication | 7 Levels of Communication Management | 5 Ways to Get Buy-In for Firm Culture | Partnership: Competence Is Just the Foot in the Door | Are You Partner Material? Maybe Not
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Businesses are in need – sometimes desperate need – of your technical expertise and caring approach.
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When to Ignore a White Lie: A Cautionary Tale

Businessman covering face with handsHow well do you represent your firm?

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

The Passport to Partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: RFPs: 7 Things NOT to Do | 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Going After New Work | Why Communication Matters So Much | 3 Questions to Evaluate Your Firm Culture | Competence: More Than Technical Skills
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The main example that really stood out as the major indicator of a need for each future leader to be able to “convert” new business is showcased below and was repeated many times in various different ways.
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RFPs: 7 Things NOT to Do

7NotAllowedPlus 6 keys to the perfect proposal.

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

What makes a written proposal become accepted by the potential client – every time?

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Going After New Work | Communicate Your Worth and Value | Best Practices for One-on-One Communication | Learn to Read Your Firm’s Culture | Experts Advise What Partnership Takes
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Proposal writing is a micro-science in its own right but here are the proven principles that it takes to get proposals accepted.
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7 Mistakes to Avoid When Going After New Work

Error stampedPlus 9 business development metrics you should be measuring when checking your conversion rates.

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

Like it or not, the 21st-century accountant is in the relationship-building business. When a qualified accountant learns the art of developing those relationships in such a way as they empower the practice to be able to forecast its new fee income each year, the accountant becomes a profit center and their value to the firm increases tenfold.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: Communicate Your Worth and Value | 5 Ways to Evaluate Your Communication | 7 Levels of Communication Management | 5 Ways to Get Buy-In for Firm Culture | Partnership: Competence Is Just the Foot in the Door | Are You Partner Material? Maybe Not
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Our fourth “C,” Conversion, has flirted with being the top answer from respondents in the Passport to Partnership study and has featured in over 80 percent of all firms interviewed as to what makes a senior manager stand out as a potential partner.
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CPE Survey: Large-Firm CPAs Dealing with Large-Sized Issues

African Elephant DanceProblems CPE alone won’t solve.

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines Research

While the rest of the profession is focusing on tax services, the largest firms are expanding capabilities in accounting, financial reporting, practice management, and new technologies, according to new results from a CPA Trendlines survey conducted in conjunction with the Ohio Society of CPAs and consultant Michael Ramos.

https://www.research.net/r/CPE16
Join the survey, get the results.

MORE CPE TRENDS:  CPE Study Finds Six Essential Success Factors for Accounting Firms |  Top Trending Specialty Niches  | Busy Season Ends but Not the Focus on Taxes  |  Why Some CPAs Are Focusing on Accounting & Financial Reporting This Year  |  Top CPE Trends: How Accountants Are Re-Tooling for 2017  |  Mike Ramos on The Training Mindset: Mapping Firm Attitudes to Performance  |  Ohio CPA Society Teams with CPA Trendlines to Improve CPE ROI  |  Mike Ramos on How to Build a Powerhouse Learning Team for Your CPA Firm  |

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The profession’s large firms also have large problems – problems that can’t be solved by CPE alone, according to remarks by survey respondents. Problems like survival.

The survey results show in detail where large firms are investing their valuable time and resources, and how the best of them manage their training budgets to align with strategy. Many large firms could be getting a better return on their training budgets.

The survey shows, for instance, where most large firms fall short in: READ MORE →

Soloists Shift CPE Priorities to Taxes


Z_ CPE solo vs all other

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines Research

The survey on CPE and practice improvement, conducted with the Ohio Society of CPAs and consultant Michael Ramos, suggests that taxes are taking up a bigger part of soloists’ practices – even though many say they’d like to diversify into other areas.

https://www.research.net/r/CPE16
Join the survey, get the results.

MORE CPE TRENDS:  CPE Study Finds Six Essential Success Factors for Accounting Firms |  Top Trending Specialty Niches  |  Busy Season Ends but Not the Focus on Taxes  |  Why Some CPAs Are Focusing on Accounting & Financial Reporting This Year  |  Top CPE Trends: How Accountants Are Re-Tooling for 2017  |  Mike Ramos on The Training Mindset: Mapping Firm Attitudes to Performance  |  Ohio CPA Society Teams with CPA Trendlines to Improve CPE ROI  |  Mike Ramos on How to Build a Powerhouse Learning Team for Your CPA Firm  |

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In Paradise, Calif., CPA Al Sperske, who’s been reading CPA Trendlines for more than 10 years, is among those stressed out by keeping up. “Taxes,” he says. “Nuts in Congress will not leave them alone.” READ MORE →