Daily Archives: March 3, 2015

CPA Firms Must ‘Man Up’ and Get Women On Board

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Businesswoman and businessman reviewing a document.Beyond mentoring: Why sponsoring women for leadership matters.

By Ida O. Abbott
Sponsoring Women: What Men Need to Know

Smart accounting firm leaders want to be in the forefront of efforts to advance women.

As the global economy continues to become more competitive, firms need to use all the talent they can muster — and more and more of that talent will be women.

MORE ON SPONSORING WOMEN FOR LEADERSHIP: Is Sponsorship Right for Your Firm? | And Now, a Few Words About Sex (and 14 Tips) | Make Flexible Scheduling Work for Everyone | Your Protégée Needs Your Feedback |  9 Ways to Promote Your Protégée to Others | 8 Ways to Help Your Protégée Focus on Career Opportunities | How to Start an Effective Sponsorship … and Follow Through | 3 Ways to Initiate Informal Sponsorship | How to Establish a Sponsor-Protégée Relationship | 3 Roadblocks to Women and Men Working Together Well | Fear of Sex and Rumors Inhibits Sponsorship | Why Women Resist Networking and Powerful Role Models

Companies that successfully tap into the full potential of women will be far ahead of their competitors. The key to doing it is to identify women who are likely to succeed and sponsor them so they reach the top levels of leadership. This requires direct per­sonal involvement by leaders, particularly leaders who are men. READ MORE →

Who’s Minding Your Client Contact Information?

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Synchronizing data from a tabletLeading firms are centralizing client contact updates for consistency, efficiency, security.

By Roman H. Kepczyk
Quantum of Paperless

Many firms today maintain contact information within multiple applications such as practice management, Outlook, tax systems, and other marketing and CRM (customer relationship management) programs.

MORE ON TECH SPENDING: Standardize QuickBooks Support for Clients | How to Choose the Right Client Portal Solution | Streamlining Bill-Paying at CPA Firms | Digital Tools Streamline Audit Production | Accounting Firms Run on More than Checklists Alone | Going Paperless Means Convincing Clients First | Making Digital Tax Process Easier Is All About the Workflow | Why Firms Need Document Retention Standards | New Tech Tools for the 24/7 Accounting Firm | The Single Best Defense Against Computer Viruses | How to Choose the Right Backup System | How to Know It’s Time to Scrap Your Old Server

Too often, a significant amount of time is wasted in firms pulling contact information together, reconciling and verifying lists for mailings, invitations and even organizers. It is critical that firms centralize the updating of contact information for consistency. READ MORE →

Three Amazing CPAs Who Want to Do Tax Returns for Free

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Creating awesome value to become the go-to business strategist.

By Hitendra Patil
Pransform Inc.

As part of my role in calling on CPA firms, I meet with as many as a hundred in a month. But three of them absolutely blew me away. Let me tell you why.

They all share one common factor in their thinking, which is creating awesome value for their clients. All of them provide the same standard services to their clients that an accounting and tax firm would. What happens beyond those standard services is what separates them from the rest of the world. And they use a simple trick to create awesome value. READ MORE →