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CHARTS & GRAPHS

SURVEY: New Tax Law Inflicts New Pains on Busy Season Practitioners

Blame the clients.

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines

Change and uncertainty are constants in the tax prep business, and this year’s busy season indicates no exception. This tended to be a good year, according to the annual CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer, with a majority of America’s CPAs foreseeing a better than average busy season.

See more Tax Season 2018 coverage here

But 31 percent see themselves suffering a worse season. Their definition of “worse,” however, swung between two opposites. Mosty of it boiled down to clients – late, unprepared, annoying, questioning, fee-resisting clients. READ MORE →

PRO Member Exclusive

Ready to Move to the Cloud? It Takes Planning

Byron Patrick will be appearing at the Accounting & Finance Show. Click here to learn more.
Portrait of Patrick Byron
Patrick

Careful setup makes it easy to disable accounts when people leave.

By Byron K. Patrick

Technology in the cloud has already shown its promise. Many small businesses have already moved from having physical servers onsite to a “cloud-only” technology strategy. They’re experiencing significant gains in productivity and mobility. You may be wondering if that’s the right decision for your company.

See more Accounting & Finance Show previews here

Cloud technology works. In fact, the cloud is secure, flexible, mobile, affordable and dependable. But it’s not magic. It takes more planning and work than simply saying, “Alexa, turn on the cloud-only tech strategy.”

Here are some key points to consider… READ MORE →

PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING

Financial Planning and the New Tax Law

John Napolitano will be appearing at the Accounting & Finance Show. Click here to learn more.
Portrait of John Napolitano
Napolitano

C corp instead of S? Paying down mortgages? So many questions.

By John P. Napolitano
U.S. Wealth Management

The new tax act once again puts tax planning at the epicenter of financial planning. While most high-income taxpayers have always considered tax planning to be a core part of their financial plan and economic well-being, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act makes a planning conversation between CPAs and their clients even more natural than it already was.

See more Accounting & Finance Show previews here

The biggest conversation piece for CPAs with high-end or business-owner clients is the rate reduction for businesses. This discussion starts out with an assessment of whether this provision will apply to your clients. READ MORE →

MARKETING & SALES

Changing the Referral Game

Portrait of Ryan Suydam
Suydam

Solid strategies for activating promoters in 3 phases.

By Ryan Suydam
Client Savvy

Many accountants agree: The best marketing is a delighted client telling others about the great service your firm provided.

More at CPA Trendlines on: Marketing, Practice Development, Sales, Growth Strategies.

Most accountants also agree: Our professionals and project managers don’t do nearly enough to leverage potential referrals, even when we’ve earned them.

  • How can you change the referral game?
  • What prevents your seller/doers from asking for a referral?
  • Why aren’t your best clients already telling everyone how great you are?

READ MORE →

MARKETING & SALES

10 Reasons Why Partners Don’t Understand Marketing

Portrait of Jeff McKay
McKay

But they need to.

Jeff McKay
Prudent Pedal

One of my more popular and controversial blog posts is “Why Your Marketer Doesn’t Understand Your Firm’s Business.” The title alienates marketers before they get to the first sentence. It satisfies partners because it recognizes what they might think but would never say aloud.

More at CPA Trendlines on: Marketing, Practice Development, Sales, Growth Strategies

Not being one to avoid controversy or healthy debates, I thought it would make sense to share a marketer’s point of view about why “the line” lacks a grasp of marketing. My sincere and ambitious goal is to reconcile and build the collaborative power of both parties.

Following are 10 reasons why practice leaders and partners don’t understand marketing.

READ MORE →