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OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

High-Impact Learning: 4 Ways to Maximize CPE ROI

And the fatal mistake CPA firms make in their training budgets.

By Michael Ramos

For years CPA firms have tried to measure the ROI from their learning and development spend, an effort that has produced mostly unsatisfactory results.

Standard learning and development metrics provide some insight into the training function, but firm partners are more interested in measuring something much more elusive: tangible economic benefit from training spend.  What the profession has struggled with is, while measuring costs is easy, measuring direct return has proven to be quite difficult.  Faced with an incomplete ROI model, firms turn to the only side of the equation they can control, the cost side, which leads them to take the only option that seems viable – cutting costs as a way to drive ROI.

The problem is firms are asking the wrong question. Instead of focusing on precise measures of return on training dollars, CPA firms would be better served by asking the more subjective question, “What should we do to make sure our training dollars are being spent wisely?”  The answer to that question may lack the precision firm leaders desire, but it does have one distinct advantage over precise objective measures: It is a question firms can answer.  And the answer, if thoughtfully considered, may achieve the ultimate goal: providing high-impact training at an affordable cost. READ MORE →

GROWTH STRATEGIES

Four New CPA Opportunities for the New Economy

CPA Mike Ramos sees government policies moving the economy in a new direction.

This will affect your clients’ business — and their business needs. Your opportunity is to provide a service to address those changing needs.

Four promising areas to consider:

1. Tax planning and compliance: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) — dubbed the stimulus package — brought major changes to the tax code. So does the Obama administration’s budget. The tax code overhaul offers significant opportunities in tax planning and compliance.

2. Services for state and local governments: Firms skilled in audits of state and local governments and the requirements of OMB Circular A-133 are well positioned to expand their practice. The ARRA’s reporting requirements go far beyond existing rules for those receiving federal funds. ARRA fund recipients have many questions.

3. Services for nonprofit organizations: Many nonprofits are receiving ARRA funding. They face the same issues facing state and local government receiving ARRA funds. Moreover, many nonprofits will face another challenge: preparing for their first A-133 audit.

4. Renewable energy: Keep your eye on wind, solar and other renewable energy sources. The Obama administration has signaled it will make significant investments in the rapidly growing renewable energy sector.

In these historic times, Ramos says, CPA firms that decline to change their pre-2007 business model risk being overtaken by competitors.

via Four Trends CPAs Need to Know.