Today's Features
SPECIAL

What Commitment Means Now

Smiling woman with colleagues in backgroundDo you and your firm have the same perception?

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

The Passport to Partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style. The need for commitment is showcased below and was repeated many times in various different ways.

So many use us as a stepping stone and we’re now trying to determine who those are at the interview stage.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: 13 Steps to True Commitment | How Good Is Your Network? | 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
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Proof – if any were needed – that long-term commitment is not a given in the next generation of accounting professionals.
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SPECIAL

Radical or Complacent? You Choose

Erasing the words "status quo""Reacting" is no longer enough.

By Jody Padar
The Radical CPA

CPAs must be “radicalized” so they cannot be lulled into com­placency and driven by reaction to their current firm or live­lihood. The changes that are happening in today’s fast-paced world need to be addressed.

MORE ON RADICALISM: 3 Questions to Ask If You Dare | Are We Really That Radical? | Customer Viewpoint: Creating a Journey Map | Process Maps: Methods, Meetings and Materials | Who, Me A Consultant? | Target Prospects for Best Fit | How Spiritual Value Affects Pricing | Make Radical Connections | Get Ready for Radical Transparency | The Roots of ‘Radical’ CPAs

You and your team have already felt the changes. The silent majority of many employees are hurt, suspicious and feeling unheard. They see and experience the changes happening around them and don’t understand the complacency or the resistance to change from firm management. You may even be feeling this yourself within your firm of one.
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SPECIAL

Optimize Scanning Procedures

Woman scanning a documentFirst front-end scanning, then OCR.

By Roman H. Kepczyk
Quantum of Paperless

For the next few years it is anticipated that accounting firm clients will deliver the majority of their organizers and supporting tax documents to the firm in a physical format.

MORE: Why a Digital Tax Workflow System is Vital | SURVEY: 72% of Firms Annotate PDFs | SURVEY: 67% Turn Client Documents into PDFs | How 53% of Firms Use Intranets to Work Smarter | Check Your Bandwidth | Microsoft Office 201x vs. Office 365 | How the Cloud Plays into Scheduled Server Replacement | Monitor Real Estate: More IS Better
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To utilize this information in a paperless environment, it must be effectively scanned and managed at the lowest possible cost. Early paperless adopters scanned the tax return and the supporting documents at the back end of the process when a return was complete.
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CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

CLIENT INSIGHT: Small Businesses Sell for Highest Prices on Record

Tariffs and Elections Take Center Stage as Market Aims to Continue Record Pace.

A new report obtained by CPA Trendlines reveals record highs in small business financials, allowing sellers to ask and receive more money than ever recorded.

Sale prices of businesses sold in the third quarter of 2018 reached new highs, according to the BizBuySell Third Quarter 2018 Insight Report. The record sale prices are directly related to stronger business financials which also hit new levels in Q3.

With buyers able to offset increasing prices by acquiring healthier businesses, the result is a well-balanced market.

Full results are included below, with statistics from business-for-sale transactions reported by participating business brokers nationwide.

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SPECIAL

Robot Teachers Might Be the Largest Internet Business in 2030

Robot teacher in front of classroom of studentsThe AI boom has a lot to do with it.

By Rick Richardson

Thirty years ago, it was a big deal when schools got their first computers. Today, it's a big deal when students get their own laptops.

MORE TECH THIS WEEK: Add This Phrase for Mobile Check Deposits | Cyber-Security: Finally, Something Better Than Passwords | Microsoft Targets Consumers with ‘Modern Life Services’ | Ride Apps May Benefit Poor, Minority Communities | 6 Blockchain Jobs of the Future | Paying for Life in 2040 | New Lidar Sensor Slashes Cost, Boosts Production | IBM Has Created a Computer Smaller Than a Grain of Salt
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According to Thomas Frey, the senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute think tank, “In 14 years it'll be a big deal when students learn from robot teachers over the internet.”
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FEATURED

Basis: Turning a Common Client Question into New Business

How a simple conversation opens the door to a host of new opportunity.

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

Basis seems like a simple concept, but as with so many tax issues, it can become complicated quickly. This is especially true after recent tax reform.

More Hot-Button Topics for Clients: Supreme Court's Wayfair Ruling on Sales Tax Sows More Confusion  |  Making Passwords Hack-Proof  |  Check Your Clients' Withholding Now  |  What Clients Need to Know about Bitcoin

GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

First, let's start with what "basis" means. Clients need to understand that basis is usually what you paid for an asset. According to the IRS, a capital gain or loss is the difference between your basis and the amount you get when you sell an asset. So, if you sell an asset that is worth more than you paid for it, you will have to pay taxes on the gain.

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CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Working Hard? Or Hardly Working?

Man working hard at office deskHow to communicate your value to clients. 

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

One summer I worked for my father at one of his large clients. It was a hot July day and I was wearing a suit and tie and there was no air conditioning in the office, just a fan that wasn’t one of the most expensive you could buy.

MORE: Beyond the Numbers: Be a Friend | When Discounts Don’t Work | Call Me Before You Do Anything | Learning to Delegate: Slow is Faster
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Across from my desk sat the owner’s father. He just sat there; he did no work. I was working hard and barely looked up, but when I did our eyes met occasionally and he nodded, but that was it.
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FEATURED

14 Partner Agreement Issues in Mergers

Two businessmen holding giant puzzle pieces in silhouette against a sunriseMake sure you're looking at the big picture.

By Marc Rosenberg

This post applies only to transactions that are true mergers, which require the sellers to sign the buyer’s partner agreement.

MORE: Partner Agreement Issues Affecting Women | Mandatory Retirement: Pros and Cons (And Is It Legal?) | Deciding How to Allocate Partner Income | Making Partner: Today’s 15 Essential Skills and Traits | How to Specify Managing Partner Duties | When Votes Must Be Taken, What Are the Options? | A Crash Course in Partner Retirement/Buyout Plans | Protect Your Business with a Solid Partner Agreement

In a sale, the owner(s) of the seller don’t sign the buyer’s partner agreement because they won’t become owners of the buyers.
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FEATURED

Top 20 Social Media Hacks to Build Your Business

Social media words on cubesSome of these can be automated.

By Becky Livingston
for From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide

Social media should be a major part of your business marketing plan.

MORE ON RADICALISM: Four Rules for Setting Boundaries in a Social and Mobile World | Maximizing Social Media: The Importance of People | The Cloud at Work | A Legacy of Leadership Must Extend to Diversity | The Persona: A Closer Look | 3 Challenges in Shifting to Product Management | Tips from a Veteran Product Manager
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Here are 20 ideas to help you build your small business.

You can use many of these ideas on one or more platforms; they are all designed to help increase engagement, develop leads and grow your brand.
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FEATURED

The Do’s and Don’ts for a Happy Accounting Office

The knack of feedback doesn't always come naturally.

By Rick Telberg

If the finance and accounting people in your office work together like a well-oiled machine, then consider yourself lucky.

Let me suggest you take them all out to lunch and raise a toast to their attitudes ... Because without their skills and goodwill, you are no longer working in a firm or company. You are a solo practitioner.

Even if you're not working in a traditional command-and-control hierarchical organization, you are, in the end, a professional. And you work with fellow professionals. Understanding how to trade feedback honestly, openly and without rancor is an essential ingredient to your successful work life.

Personnel who fall short on skills can usually be brought up to speed. All it takes is a little coaching and training.

But personnel who fall short on attitude are a big problem. You need to talk with them, and you need to do it the right way. While a few words might suffice for the wise, you need carefully chosen words for the attitudinally challenged.

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About Us

Four Ways to Leverage Client Retention for Growth [Webinar]

How to take advantage of this time-tested solid growth strategy

Join us for our 30-minute webinar for firms of all sizes:

Tuesday, October 9, 2018
2:00-2:30 p.m. Eastern

Register here

Attend and you will learn:

  • What the decreased focus on client retention means to your firm.
  • Why offering niche or specialty services is a Top 5 marketing tool of nearly all firms.
  • About an often-overlooked marketing tool and its role in client retention.

Based upon our Marketing and Business Development Strategies for Accounting Firms study, this fast and focused webinar will provide you with ideas and strategies about one of your most important targets – your current clients.