Six qualities the best candidates have.
By Anthony Glomski and Russ Alan Prince
Your $5-Million High-Net-Worth Practice
Being “too busy” may signal a need to reprioritize.
By Steven E. Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals
Upgrade membership with no-risk free trial
It makes managing them easier.
By Marc Rosenberg
The Role of the Managing Partner
Over the years, during countless partner interviews, many have told me they aren’t sure of their role and what is expected of them.
MORE: How the Managing Partner Manages the Partners | Overarching Authority That Managing Partners Must Have | Exceptional Managing Partners Offer Their Advice | Why Management Is the #1 Key to the Firm’s Success | Herding Cats: Advice for Managing Partners
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
Here is a basic, universal technique for improving performance and providing feedback:
READ MORE →
The same information is available in better ways.
By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting
I have never felt annual staff evaluations are effective.
They are forced meetings that lay on complaints and blame for past failures, many of which are not remembered or are vague memories at best. I have rarely seen resulting changes last more than two or three weeks before old habits are reverted to.
MORE: 10 Ways to Stay in Control | 20 Best Practices for Staff Training and Retention | What Does the Client Want to See? | 6 Ways to Increase Your Fees … If You Dare | The Clients that Got Away | Upselling Made Painless | Boosting a Fixed Fee Substantially
I think these annual meetings are a waste of time. Instead, I have been very successful with immediate and periodic evaluations, coupled with regular mentoring meetings.
READ MORE →
Make it profitable for your employees to bring in business.
By Ty Hendrickson
Flash back a year ago, pre-pandemic, to yet another after-work networking event that you feel like you have to attend to build your practice. You have some good conversations with people you always see at these events. You have some food and drinks, but you don’t come home with any new real leads. The only thing you get is an extra pound on the scale in the morning and another night away from friends and family. Does this sound familiar?
MORE: Five Time Management Tips to Survive Busy Season | Sales Shouldn’t Be Scary | 5 Ways to Rethink the Way You Communicate | Get Goal-Ready for 2021 | Three W’s for Networking the Right Way
Fast forward. Many of these events no longer exist … not that you were finding them all that effective anyway. How do you find leads in our current environment?
READ MORE →
It’ll probably take some legwork to make the fees stop.
By Rick Richardson
Many Americans are very frustrated that they have to pay a mandatory router rental charge every month as part of their internet service provider bill. It gets added even if you purchase and use your own router in many cases.
MORE TECH THIS WEEK: 5G Delivered Via Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft | Five Edge Computing Predictions for 2021 | What You Need to Know About Amazon Sidewalk | AI Is Open to Anyone with Passion | Microsoft Takes Down Malware Network | Alexa’s Moving into Your Next Apartment
But as of Dec. 20, the practice is now illegal, and you can demand your ISP stop the charge.
READ MORE →
You (and only YOU) are in charge of your success.
By Anthony Glomski and Russ Alan Prince
Your $5-Million High-Net-Worth Practice
We have presented the following equation:
Conviction + Process + Expertise + The COVID-19 Crisis =
$5 Million High-Net-Worth Practice Built Quickly
MORE: Working with the Super-Rich and Single-Family Offices | The Power of Stress Testing | Guiding Clients through COVID | Maximize Referrals from Wealthy Clients | Building a High-Net-Worth Practice During COVID-19 | Setting Financial and Practice Goals During COVID-19
So, let us review. Working backward …
READ MORE →
Your mindset makes a difference.
By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor
QUESTION: Like every CPA I need to take continuing education courses. However most of what I take
MORE: How Improv Can Help Accountants | Strategic Planning for the Small Firm | Before You Sell Your Practice | Work the Client Needs … But Won’t Pay For | 14 Better Uses for Timesheet Data | 9 Must-Haves for Firm Growth | 5 Ways to Build Teamwork
Also, many of the speakers are boring. Yet, CPE is big business. Are there any suggestions you can give me to get better use of that time?
READ MORE →
BONUS: Specific tool suggestions.
By Roman H. Kepczyk
Quantum of Paperless: Technology Guide & Checklist
For the next few years it is anticipated that accounting firm clients will continue to deliver a significant amount of their organizers and supporting tax documents to the firm in a physical format. To utilize this information in a paperless environment, it must be effectively scanned and managed at the lowest possible cost.
MORE: Why You Want a Digital Tax Workflow System | Retaining Documents: How Long and Who Decides? | The Case for Wireless Broadband Access | Maximize Your Office 365 ROI | How the Cloud Impacts Server Replacement | Capturing Documents at the Source
Early paperless adopters scanned the tax return and the supporting documents at the back end of the process when a return was complete. This is still usually the first step when firms transition from a completely manual environment.
READ MORE →
Show your highest-priced package first.
By Hitendra Patil
Accountaneur: The Entrepreneurial Accountant
Will your existing clients or prospects buy higher-priced and more services from you? If you ask them to, will they feel put off?
MORE: Communicating CAS to Clients and Prospects | 21 Ways to Adjust Your Practice in 2021 | The Services That CAS Clients Want | Six Reasons CAS Is King | How to Develop the CAS Mindset
If you do not ask, will you leave real money on the table? If you do not tell them about more services your firm is capable of providing, will they switch to another accounting firm simply because they were not aware of your other services?
READ MORE →
This includes outsourcing.
By Steven E. Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals
One of the revelations arising from the Great Recession was that CPA firms found they could do more with less human resources, or at least maintain the same level of productivity. We are now operating in what is referred to as the gig economy, in which important functions can be outsourced and firms and companies can still focus on core competencies that impact growth and profitability.
MORE: Organizational Change Starts and Ends with People | SWOT’s the Purpose? | Is Your Firm’s Culture a Magnet or a Repellent? | Building Teamwork under COVID Pressure | Make Your Writing Count
Because it is increasingly challenging to maintain high standards in all functions while still focusing on core competencies that drive growth, seeking outside help is becoming an attractive option. So, when should you outsource services?
READ MORE →
