Rita Keller, Author at CPA Trendlines

Consulting for Pigeons

Rita Keller reports on the closing day of the Winning is Everything conference in Las Vegas this week with a story from consultant David Maister. He talks about the difficulty of coaching people and the critical importance of bringing them along step by step.

Read Keller’s post at David Maister — The Person…

And then visit Maister’s blog here.

FEATURED

$1,500 for a 1040?

Rita Keller reports: Alkon & Levine, P.C. in Newton, MA is test-pricing 1040 preparation at $1,500. “That wasn’t a typo with one too many zeros!” Keller writes. “They bundle 1040 prep with a mandatory financial planning session, unlimited telephone calls during the year and response to IRS notices, etc… Just in case you are wondering, Renee’s firm is a small firm – so if a small firm can do it, maybe we all can!”

More at Keller’s CPAmanagement.

RESOURCES & VENDORS

Admininstrators: New Force in the Profession

So says Rita Keller reporting from Indianapolis…

“This week I am at the Association for Accounting Administration National Management Conference in Indianapolis. AAA now has nearly 700 members! There are about 225 paid attendees at this year’s Annual Conference. The sharing and learning that goes on at this conference blows me away. It is definitely very unique. With 700 members, I think AAA is becoming quite a force in the profession.”

You can get more of her AAA coverage at CPA Management.

Rita Keller

MORE AT STORE.CPATRENDLINES.COM

Rita Keller, President and Founder of Keller Advisors, LLC, is a nationally known CPA firm management consultant, speaker and author.

She is a co-author of Bridging the Gap: Strengthening the Connection between Current and Emerging Leaders in the CPA Profession.

Keller is a former shareholder and Chief Operating Officer of a successful regional CPA firm and has over 30 years hands-on experience in the management, marketing, technology and administration of a successful firm.

She is widely known for her leadership, presentation and implementation skills, and passion for CPA firm management. She works as a change agent for firms throughout the country focusing on the people, internal management, operational, implementation and partner issues. She also provides a mentoring/coaching program for the firm’s management team.

Keller provides unique facilitation for partner retreats, bringing the people issues, succession issues and processes into the spotlight. As a facilitator and speaker,

She has been featured at nearly every prominent management conference, such as Management Summit, The Advisory Board’s Forum for Women in Accounting, AICPA Forum on Staffing Issues, the AICPA Practitioners’ Symposium, the AICPA Leadership Forum, the AICPA National Advanced Accounting Technical Symposium, The Association for Accounting Marketing, and The Association for Accounting Administration National Management Conference, plus numerous CPA firm association and state society management meetings. Rita has frequently been named among the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.

She has received the Everest Award from Management Summit, established to recognize major/ongoing contributions to the CPA profession and the Association for Accounting Administration ACE Award for achievement, commitment and excellence in CPA firm management and administration. In December 2009, her popular daily blog, devoted to CPA firm management, was named one of the Top 50 Blogs for Accountants. She serves on the AICPA Practitioners’ Symposium Committee as past Chair and is also on the advisory board of the CPA Practice Management Forum and the AICPA Seasonality Success newsletter.

Keller served on the national Board of Directors of The Association for Accounting Administration for seven years, two of those years as National President and is past president of the Indiana Chapter and cofounder of the Ohio Chapter. She is a contributing author to the AICPA MAP Handbook, AICPA PCPS Human Capital Center and has been featured on the cover of The Practical Accountant. She is often quoted in CPA management publications, Internet newsletters, blogs and Twitter. She has been featured four times in the Journal of Accountancy (February 2009, April 2007, September 1999 and September 1997) and authored the article, Make the Most of Mentoring, for the August 2008 issue of the Journal.

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