Here’s what you’re looking for: Frank Stitely

BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Start Pondering Next Tax Season Now

businesswoman wearing glasses seated at computer; growth chart on wall

Take what you’ve learned and make your practice better.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Please have a seat. No, not that one. Take the one next to me. All of us are here because we love you to death. We only want the best for you. But we can no longer stand by and watch you suffer. When you suffer, we all suffer as a family. We have written some letters to let you know how we feel. I’ll let your firm go first.

MORE by Frank Stitely
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

“Your behavior has affected me negatively in the following manner. I’m not as profitable as I should be. You are stifling the development of your staff. Your clients are upset that returns aren’t getting done on time. Your kids resemble the mailman more than you.

“Please accept the help we are offering you today. We have your bags packed, and we’ll put you on a plane to rehab at the beach. Don’t worry about scoring your next fix. We’ll help you detox safely. But you must decide right now. You must give up your addiction to doing everything yourself.”
READ MORE →

BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Shorter Turnaround = Happier Tax Clients

woman with tablet wearing swimsuit sitting in beach lounge chair staring out at ocean

 

Do you know your turnaround time?

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Todd Rundgren sang, “I don’t want to work. I just wanna bang on the drum all day.”

I agree with half of that. I don’t want to work. However, I want someone else to bang on the drum all day for me. I’m not that ambitious.

The key to achieving Hall of Fame-level laziness is delegation.

MORE by Frank Stitely
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

If I have no ambition to do anything, but want things to get done, someone else must do them. Similarly, effective practice management is putting the right people in the right places accomplishing the right tasks at the right times. That’s a pretty damn good definition of effective laziness as well. There’s a subtle genius in that.
READ MORE →

BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Two Types of Tax Review and How to Use Them

woman reading document at desk

Let color-coded tick marks be your friends.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

One of your roles as CEO is reviewer. There are two types of review: primary and secondary.

MORE by Frank Stitely
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

Depending on the size of your firm, you may only have primary reviews. If your firm consists of you and a preparer, you won’t have a second level of review. I don’t consider the self-review as a review step. I consider it part of preparation.
READ MORE →

BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Make Tax Workflow Work for You

smiling woman wearing glasses, looking at computer screen

Tell quickly when a delay is the client’s fault. Plus: 12-step tax return and 8-step writeup workflows.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Let’s play buzzword bingo. I’ll go first: workflow.

Workflow is the CPA firm buzzword of the decade. Every vendor leech trying to suck the life out of your bank account drops this term, and in so doing, workflow now means everything and nothing at all. Marketers have so devalued the term that we shouldn’t be surprised that no one has an effective workflow, because no one knows what it is. Let’s flush the confusion.

MORE by Frank Stitely
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

Workflow is not scanning and import software. Workflow is not workpaper binder software. Workflow is not a portal or tax return preparation software. Workflow is not project management software, much as it pains me to so state. These are no more workflow than a hammer is real estate development. They are tools to accomplish workflow.
READ MORE →

BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Teach Time Management and Tax Reviewing

man and woman looking down at document

Avoid the dreaded “what’s the status of” questions.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Let’s discuss two training issues in detail: teaching time management and teaching review skills.

The biggest training gift that you can give your staff is time management training. You may want to offer formal training, but I have never found one that was really specific to CPA firms and the daily challenges we face.

MORE by Frank Stitely
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

Two time-management skills are at the heart of what CPA firms do. First, teach your staff task switching. By that I mean they shouldn’t get locked in on one type of task to the exclusion of others.
READ MORE →