The Competition for Talent: It’s All about Motivation

At Microsoft, they worry about motivation, says Bruce W. Marcus, author of Professional Services Marketing 3.0. When everybody who holds any kind of a responsible job is making more money than any of them ever dreamed they would, and when they’re in an industry that would pay anything to hire them away, how do you motivate people? How do you get them to stay, and to produce at the high levels demanded by Microsoft and other high tech companies? Two ways.

In this report:

  • Five mistakes firms make.
  • Four strategies that can’t miss.

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12 Fast, Low-Cost Tips for a Stress-Less Tax Season

Stress management is critical to a successful season.

By Sandi Smith, CPA
Accountant’s Accelerator

I don’t want to stress you out, but we really do need to do something about our stress levels.

The American Psychological Association says our kids are getting headaches, having difficulty sleeping, and eating too little or too much due to pressure from school and household finances. The worst part is that  most parents were not aware of the severity of their children’s stress.

Many adults reported not knowing what to do to change their lifestyle so they could reduce their stress, so it just makes sense to talk about this a little.

Here are the most common stress-reducing tasks that some people do, according to the survey: READ MORE →

Putting the “No Jerks” Rule to Work in Tax Season

And a couple more ideas for high performing firms.

by Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

Ed Mendlowitz
Ed Mendlowitz

If you have staff, have happy, cheerful, helpful people. Don’t surround yourself with downers and nay-sayers.  Make sure they are team players.

Part of this is your firm’s culture.  It takes work to get people to work together and to focus on doing what it takes to service the client fully, properly and timely.  Everyone working together gets it done.  You need to create that atmosphere.

Here are three things that might help:

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Novice Manager Needs to Know: How To Do It All?

 

15 strategies for a first-time supervisor’s success.

Here at CPA Trendlines, Ed Mendlowitz answers some of the toughest questions practitioners can throw at him. He’s the right one to ask. After more than 40 years in the business – building his own practice, running the firm, and eventually selling it to a major regional firm, WithumSmith+Brown, where he remains a senior partner and consultant to professional services clients – he has the answers. We’re happy to have him at CPA Trendlines. Send your questions for Ed here, or chime in with Comments below.

Ed Mendlowitz CPA The Practice Doctor Q and AMore from Ed Mendlowitz, The Practice Doctor Q&A: Why No One Listens to You | Fun Reads for Busy Season  |  When NOT to Offer a Free Initial Consultation | Measuring Growth in Yourself, Staff and Partners  |  What Do You Think You’re Doing?  | Can You Teach Judgment?  |  Clients’ Calls At Home  | What You Need to Know before Expanding into Business Valuation |

Question: My boss asked me to call you.  I am a staff accountant with five years experience.  I am having a lot of stress trying to manage everything I have to do. I am juggling supervising people that I don’t know how to supervise, being managed less by those above me and having to figure out more for myself – including things I never did before or in industries I never worked on previously, keeping current with changes in accounting rules and taxes (since I am more like a generalist and clients ask me everything) never seem to have any free time, juggling my schedule because most of my clients are never ready when they say they will be and being accountable to my boss for everything I do plus what the staff working under me does. So how do I do it all? How can I prioritize all my responsibilities? READ MORE →

His and Her Brains at Work in Tax and Accounting

Three things that are different.

By Sandi Smith, CPA
Accountant’s Accelerator

Are men’s and women’s brains different, when it comes to the workplace? The answer is a resounding YES, and more importantly, science is finding that men and women work differently. When a woman works like a man does, her health suffers

Sandi Smith

More for soloists and small firms from Sandi Smith at CPA Trendlines: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking New Clients The Top 12 Business Card Blunders Accountants Make Seven Tips to Keep the Clients You Have How to Attract Clients Like a Magnet Eleven Easy Ways to Deliver More Value to Clients • Five Things Accountants Take for Granted That Costs Them Revenue• What’s in Your New Client Funnel? • What’s In Your Welcome Kit for New Prospects? • Five Fun and Easy Ways to Wow Your Clients • Six Ways to Give Yourself a Raise • Strategies to Stop Losing Business to Competitors

Here are three things that are different in men’s and women’s brains. READ MORE →

Can You Teach Judgment?

 

Empowering staff to make mistakes, safely.

Here at CPA Trendlines, Ed Mendlowitz answers some of the toughest questions practitioners can throw at him. He’s the right one to ask. After more than 40 years in the business – building his own practice, running the firm, and eventually selling it to a major regional firm, WithumSmith+Brown, where he remains a senior partner and consultant to professional services clients – he has the answers. We’re happy to have him at CPA Trendlines. Send your questions for Ed here, or chime in with Comments below.

Get more Ed: Clients’ Calls At Home  • What You Need to Know before Expanding into Business Valuation  • Asking an Attorney for a Referral Fee  • Are Partner Retreats Really Worth the Cost? • Audit Reports Without Doing the Work? Should I Really Spend the Time Making Checklists? What’s a Tax Practice Worth Today?Preparing to Sell Your Practice in a Few Years? 13 Things You Need to Know Today10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Decide to Add Financial Services to Your Practice •  Why Selling Your Practice Is Not a Retirement Strategy •  Congratulations! You Bought a Tax Practice. Now What? • How Accountants Can Keep the Business When a Client Wants to Sell Theirs10 Reasons Clients Don’t Pay, and What To Do about It • 13 Reasons Timesheets Will Never Die

QUESTION: Recently a colleague asked me: “How do you teach judgment?” and before I could respond, he answered it himself with “You can’t teach judgment!” READ MORE →