Monthly Archives: July 2011

Six Steps to Building Firm-Wide Accountability

By

Start by stopping.

Skip Reardon

Stop doing things that undermine accountability, says Skip Reardon at Six Disciplines business coaching, “stop overseeing, legislating and micro-managing.”

Reardon, a veteran of the accounting business dating back to Solomon Software, says “accountability is not something you ‘make’ people do – it has to be chosen or accepted by people within your organization. People must ‘buy into’ being accountable and responsible. For many, this is a new, unfamiliar way to work. Most importantly: individual purpose and meaning come from assuming responsibility and accepting accountability.”

So, how do you build company-wide accountability?

READ MORE →

Six Ways to Cope with Technological Change

By

Technology isn’t new. But the pace of change is.

And it’s adding new stresses to CPA firms every day, according to L. Gary Boomer of Boomer Consulting.

The impact can be seen — and felt — in how firms attract, retain, nurture and leverage talent, he tells the CPA Leadership Institute. Staffing takes on a whole new meaning when it’s done within a firm-wide culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Here’s how: READ MORE →

What Recession? Accounting Sector Grows 4th Month in a Row; Hours and Wages Up Also

By

Defying national trends, accounting industry expands by 2,200 jobs.

Total employment, accounting and bookkeeping sector, through June 2011

Total employment in the accounting and bookkeeping sector grew by 2,200 positions in June (preliminary, seasonally-adjusted), to 933,200, the fourth straight month of gains and the highest headcount since 944,600 in December 2008, according to new government data.

The surge is being fueled by big gains in tax prep shops and in payroll services. CPA firms slimmed down after tax season, as usual, but headcounts are still running higher than a year ago.

READ MORE →

Alan Vitberg: Accounting Marketing on the Verge of a ‘Lead Gen’ Revolution

By

How smart firms are turning to digital tools and metrics.

by Alan Vitberg
VitbergLLC

Click for more

I believe that marketing and business development at CPA firms is on the edge a transformation based upon the monumental changes to the way we receive, process, use and share information.

It’s not about “pushing” information out to prospects, it’s about

  1. being found by prospects searching online for solutions to their needs, issues or pain;
  2. converting those eyeballs into leads and new business; and
  3. employing tools that deliver metrics for pinpointing the ROI from investments made in marketing and business development.
Alan Vitberg
Alan Vitberg

Successful firms are taking a fresh approach to business development that combines traditional 1-to-1 marketing with new marketing strategies and tactics built upon inbound marketing, a laser-like focus lead generation, and the many faceted ways that social media can be employed for new business purposes.

Among the key strategies and tactics they employ are: READ MORE →