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Mike
Today's Features
Clarity Practice Management Releases Updated Software
SaaS-based practice management software for accounting and tax firms now at Version 12.0.
CHANTILLY, Virginia – Clarity Practice Management, LLC today announced the release of version 12.0. The new version includes new functionality including:
1. Recurring projects that can be created from:
- Project types
- Project templates
- Existing projects
What Small and Midsized Firms Can Learn from PwC’s Digital Upskilling
One possible side effect: reverse mentoring.
By Donny C. Shimamoto
Strategic Technology Decisions
Over the last three years, PwC has undertaken an ambitious initiative to provide digital upskilling to the entire firm. Yes, you read that right, the entire firm. Everyone including staff, partners and admin team members were involved in this voluntary program to increase their digital acumen.
MORE: What Big Data Means to Small Firms | Accountants: Unleash Your Secret Superpower | Ready for Non-CPA CPA Firms? | Accounting Services Aren’t What You Think They Are | Learning from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma | Focus on Cyber Risk, Not Just Security | Making IT Matter to Accountants | IT Nerds Need Budget Help | 8 Ways to Wrestle Software Subscriptions Into Submission | IT Hardware Gets Even More Complex (Great!) | How Accounting Geeks and Techie Nerds Can Play Nicely Together
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I was able to gather some lessons learned and understand some of the underlying strategies behind PwC’s digital initiative via an interview with Rod Adams, CPA, PwC’s U.S. talent acquisition leader. Recognizing that most firms don’t have access to the same resources that PwC has, I also asked Adams how small and midsized firms could approach this type of initiative for their firms.
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Traditional Benefits for Remote Employees
Is skimping worth the cost in loyalty?
By Jody Grunden
Traditional benefits often include things that many brick-and-mortar office workers take for granted such as paid time off, health insurance and a retirement plan.
MORE: Keeping the Right People on the Bus | 10 Interview Questions for Unlocking True Potential | Toss the Org Chart for an Accountability Chart | How Core Values Affect Remote Work Culture
Why do I say these are taken for granted? Well, some distributed companies may hire independent contractors to cut down on their expenses when it comes to “frivolous” things like this, but we believe in building a great place to work, and to us that means offering the kind of benefits that make employees feel secure and cared for.
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Set Your Staff on the Right Course
Help them develop soft skills.
By Steven E. Sacks
In the famous words found in Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road can take you there.”
MORE: How Does Your Firm Leverage Its Talent? | Retention Starts with the Hiring Interview | The New Way to Handle Exit Interviews | Who’ll Quit Next? | Strengthen Your Firm’s Screening Practices | Smart Trust in the Workplace | What Aspiring Accountants Need to Know
This is a lesson Alice learned much to her frustration. This, too, can be frustrating for professionals entering the workforce, especially in CPA firms. Firms often are not clear about establishing and communicating expectations for their new hires. The focus on billable hours takes precedence over building professional and personal growth.
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2020 Outlook: Demand Is High
AI, blockchain most likely to impact largest firms.
By Chris Frederiksen
What do I see for 2020?
Cybersecurity: There is a heightened awareness around protecting client data and protecting firms from what appear to be increased incidents of hacking. Firms are encouraged to move from in-house servers to entirely cloud-based solutions.
MORE: 2020 Outlook: Business Development Goes Borderless | Data Import on the Rise | Becoming the Most Valuable Advisor | Top Three Tips for 2020 Success | Where Do You Want to Be? | Dicey Disruptions | Upstream Mergers | 2020 Outlook: Staffing Gets Creative
Tax Season: Most of the firms I work with reported last year as the most brutal tax season on record. This was caused by lack of human resources – especially for firms that still had not adopted outsourcing – coupled with the need to spend extra time to comply with the new tax rules and to explain the changes to clients.
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IRS Crackdown Spells New Opportunities for Tax Professionals
BONUS: Specific online and offline marketing strategies.
By Michael Rozbruch, CPA
The IRS Audit Notice Checklist
I don’t think there is a better time in the past eight years to get into the tax resolution business than now.
MORE: The 10 Most Important Words for Getting Retained | Why Are Artists and Tax Pros Afraid to Sell Themselves? | What Do Taxes and Wedding Dresses Have in Common? | 2 Emerging Industries for Tax Resolution
I say it's never been a better time because of the convergence of some key industry metrics and observations. It’s almost like a “perfect storm” given the IRS’s 2020 focus on increased enforcement.
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Tax & Accounting Headcounts Hit Record High
Records set in several segments.
By Beth Bellor
With year-end employment figures in, it remains a great time to be an accountant.
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By the Numbers
In this report, CPA Trendlines highlights:
- Current hiring trends in each of the bookkeeping, payroll, tax and CPA segments of the industry (all data seasonally adjusted)
- Average hourly wages for key segments
- Typical hours worked per week
- Trends concerning women in the accounting workforce
Why Are CEOs So Confused?
Be a little of a mind reader.
By Andrew Hunzicker
Cannabizcpa.pro
Why are CEOs so confused about what they want from their bookkeeper, accountant, tax CPA or CFO?
MORE: Everything You Wanted to Know about Dispensary Accounting but Were Afraid to Ask | 5 Do’s and Don’ts for Cannabis CPA Marketing | Cannabis: THC vs. CBD Critical Differences | 4 Best Things About Being a ‘Dope’ Accountant | 5 Biggest Mistakes Cannabis CEOS Make | Five Secrets to Launching Your Own Cannabis Accounting Firm | Five Reasons Accountants Should Serve Cannabis Clients | CPA Andrew Hunzicker Creates Course in Cannabis Accounting
Here’s what they tell me they want:
- They want me to work “full time”
- They want me to track my time to “prove” 40-50 hours a week
- They want me to work on site
5 Reasons to Save Money for a 5G Phone
Speed goes up, prices come down.
By Rick Richardson
The majority of phones sold today are enabled for 4G connectivity, but if you’re looking to get yourself a new phone with the New Year, you would be wise to bide your time and get yourself a 5G phone.
MORE TECH THIS WEEK: The Top 5 Technologies for the Next Decade | Make Your Gadgets Much Harder to Find and Steal | When Should Your Child Get a Smartphone? | Tim Berners-Lee Launches Plan to Fix the Web
Here are five of the best reasons why:
1. 5G networks are better than ever and keep improving. When launched, 5G was limited to a few of the busiest areas of the biggest cities. But now, 5G is present in many more locations than before and will soon spread further.
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Can You Really Grow Without Adding Clients?
Combining new sales with upsells is a more reliable strategy.
By Ty Hendrickson, CPA
“Grow your practice without having to add any new clients!”
I seriously gasped when I saw this headline recently. I thought to myself, “Really? What kind of advice is this?!” I had to read this story to find out just what the author was suggesting and how this could be a good long-term strategy for anyone.
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As I read through the article, I was secretly hoping to learn some magic bullet or new idea that would make growth easier on so many people who do not like sales. However, as I continued to read, I became more and more anxious about the strategy that was suggested.
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How to Set a Profitable Price Every Time
The right clients will be willing to pay fair prices.
By Gabrielle Fontaine
AddviserPlus
Whenever in negotiations with a potential client, do you know when to walk away, or do you feel forced to lower your price just to win the sale?
MORE on PRICING: 4 Ways to Bill Clients | Timesheets: The Nuclear Option | Joey Havens on Advanced Pricing | I Lost a Client to an Accounting Firm with Cheaper Fees | August Aquila: What Marketers Need to Know about Pricing | Value Pricers Ignore Half the Pricing Puzzle | Where Marketers Fit in the Pricing Process | The Value-Pricing Con Job | Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Services
Especially when attempting to use flat-fee pricing, many accounting professionals get caught up in doing anything to win new clients. That's a mistake.
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Why You Need an Independent Security Review
Then follow up every few years.
By Roman H. Kepczyk
Quantum of Paperless
Going “paperless” means that all firm files and client data will be digitally stored on the firm’s network, which is almost always accessible to firm personnel via internal workstations and remotely via the internet. The firm has a fiduciary responsibility to protect this data from anyone not specifically authorized to view it.
MORE: ‘Learning Culture’ Requires Standardized Processes | Centralize Contact Administration | How Digital A/P Processing Boosts Productivity | How an ‘Owner’s Drawer’ Boosts Security | The Top Portable Monitors for Auditors | Why Scanning Procedures Matter
Proper security is VERY difficult for any internal network administrator to guarantee as few have the experience and have participated in ongoing training to implement security settings optimally the first time. Therefore, all “one-shot” implementations of firewalls, wireless routers, virtual private networks and other security settings should be outsourced to an organization that has experienced personnel dedicated to security.
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What Big Data Means to Small Firms
Focus on the hard trends, not the things you can’t predict.
By Donny C. Shimamoto
Strategic Technology Decisions
Emerging technologies will disrupt many lower-level accounting jobs, but overall they will be a boon to the accounting profession. To be able to adopt these emerging technologies and ensure that value is gained from their proper use, accountants must begin upskilling now.
MORE: Accountants: Unleash Your Secret Superpower | Ready for Non-CPA CPA Firms? | Accounting Services Aren’t What You Think They Are | Learning from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma | Focus on Cyber Risk, Not Just Security | Making IT Matter to Accountants
Accountants must develop additional competencies to ensure the success of projects associated with implementing emerging technologies and enable them to be value-added advisors to their organizations and clients.
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