How to Bring Core Values into Your Accounting Firm

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Plus eight tips for hiring and growing a team.

By Jackie Meyer

We’ve touched on core values quite a bit, and for good reason: they are the North Star for your firm’s culture and decision-making. Especially as you hire, incorporating core values into your team practices ensures you don’t lose the essence of what makes your firm special. Let’s delve a little deeper into identifying and integrating those values with your team.

MORE: Ten Key Guidelines for Accounting Staff | Hiring Strategies for Your Dream Team | Streamline Your Operations with Systems and Processes | From Compliance to Advisory: Shifting the Value Proposition | How I Became an Accidental Entrepreneur | Build a Seven-Figure Firm in Four Hours a Week
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If you haven’t formally defined five to seven core values for your practice yet, now’s the time. This isn’t just corporate fluff – done right, it’s a strategic compass. Some tips to pin them down:

  • Reflect on Your Beliefs: Think about the principles most important to you in how you conduct business and life. Is it integrity? Family? Innovation? Helping others? These are usually one-word or short-phrase concepts that resonate deeply.

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Ten Key Guidelines for Accounting Staff

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Emphasize delegation, trust and empowerment.

By Jackie Meyer

Hiring someone is just the beginning. What you do after they join is what truly determines whether you get the benefits of having a team.

MORE: Hiring Strategies for Your Dream Team | The AI Revolution: Embracing Artificial Intelligence in Your Practice | Leverage Technology for Growth | Streamline Your Operations with Systems and Processes | Craft Tiered Service Packages for Maximum Impact | Master the ROI Method: Price for Value, Not Time | From Compliance to Advisory: Shifting the Value Proposition | Niche Down to Scale Up | How to Define Your Vision | How I Became an Accidental Entrepreneur | Build a Seven-Figure Firm in Four Hours a Week
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Many entrepreneurs struggle with letting go of control. It’s natural – this practice is your baby! But micromanaging or failing to properly delegate will squander your investment in a new hire and frustrate both of you. Here’s how to build a team that actually lightens your load:

  • Delegate Effectively: Delegation is not throwing a task over the fence and hoping for the best. It involves clear instructions, the right resources and appropriate authority given. When you delegate, be explicit about the outcome you expect, any important parameters, and deadlines. For example: “Please reconcile Client X’s bank accounts for September and October and note any discrepancies or unusual items for my review by Friday.” Provide context too: “They had an issue last month with a missing deposit, so keep an eye out for that.” As your team member proves themselves, you can delegate in broader strokes. Early on, check in periodically (but try not to hover). Think of delegation as a skill you practice – you’ll get better at it over time.

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Hiring Strategies for Your Dream Team

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Who do you bring on first?

By Jackie Meyer

“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” – Simon Sinek, “Start with Why”

Building a successful advisory practice isn’t a solo endeavor. Yes, you might start as a one-person shop, but to truly scale your business, reclaim your time, and achieve the Balanced Millionaire lifestyle, you’ll eventually need a strong, capable team. Otherwise there’s a cap, or ceiling, on your revenue generation while you also burn all of your time.

MORE: The AI Revolution: Embracing Artificial Intelligence in Your Practice | Leverage Technology for Growth | Streamline Your Operations with Systems and Processes | Craft Tiered Service Packages for Maximum Impact | Master the ROI Method: Price for Value, Not Time | From Compliance to Advisory: Shifting the Value Proposition | Niche Down to Scale Up | How to Define Your Vision | How I Became an Accidental Entrepreneur | Build a Seven-Figure Firm in Four Hours a Week
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This article focuses on the critical process of hiring a team that aligns with your vision and values. We’ll explore how to identify what roles to hire for, craft compelling job descriptions to attract the right talent and conduct effective interviews to vet candidates.
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Hooda: Model a 7-Figure Firm in 10 Hrs/Week | The Concierge CPA

Build a business that runs itself.

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The Concierge CPA
With Jackie Meyer
For CPA Trendlines

When Concierge CPA host Jackie Meyer met UK-based accountant Reza Hooda at GrowCon, they quickly realized they were professional doppelgängers.

Both transitioned from traditional tax firms to leading-edge advisory businesses. Both created proprietary pricing models. Both teach accountants how to reclaim their time, value, and purpose.

More Jackie Meyer

But Hooda’s journey is one every accountant needs to hear: the story of how he walked away from PwC, bought a traditional firm from his father-in-law at the worst possible economic moment (2008’s global financial crisis), and slowly rebuilt it—from paper files and printed emails to seven-figure advisory success, working less than 10 hours a week.

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The AI Revolution: Embracing Artificial Intelligence in Your Practice

Twelve practical ways you can use ChatGPT or similar assistants right now.

By Jackie Meyer

In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP) and advanced large language models (LLMs, the brains behind tools like ChatGPT) are no longer futuristic concepts – they’re here now, and they’re incredibly powerful. Integrating AI into your tech stack can revolutionize your practice, freeing up time, enhancing client service, and providing insights that would be hard to get manually.

MORE: Leverage Technology for Growth | Streamline Your Operations with Systems and Processes | Craft Tiered Service Packages for Maximum Impact | Master the ROI Method: Price for Value, Not Time | From Compliance to Advisory: Shifting the Value Proposition | Niche Down to Scale Up | How to Define Your Vision | How I Became an Accidental Entrepreneur | Build a Seven-Figure Firm in Four Hours a Week
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It might sound a bit abstract or even hype-y, so let’s break it down in practical terms for an accounting and tax advisory firm.

What are AI, NLP and LLMs?

  • Artificial Intelligence: AI is a broad term for machines or software that mimic human intelligence processes. This includes learning from data (so they improve over time), reasoning to make decisions or predictions, and self-correcting when they get things wrong. In practice, AI can be as simple as an email spam filter (which “learns” what spam looks like by example), or as complex as an autonomous vehicle. In our context, think of AI as tools that can analyze data or perform tasks in a humanlike way – but at computer speed and scale.

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