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MANAGEMENT

Make It ‘Productive Season’

Don’t be busy. Be productive.

By Seth Fineberg
At Large

At this time of year, most accountants are considered to be mired in an annual waterboarding-like ritual known as “busy season.” While the moniker has long stirred ire, one way to rally against its implication is to take a good look at what being “busy” means. Moreover, why not make it more productive?

MORE FINEBERG: It’s Time to Do the Uncomfortable | Jeremy Sulzmann: Can Intuit Mend Fences with Accountants at QB Connect? | Meet Basis, the New AI Bookkeeper on the Block | Is This When Accountants Start Taking Freshbooks Seriously? |You’re Doing Email Wrong | Careful … You May Be Advising! | When Live Events Fail | Getting Real: Accounting Tech Decisions You Need to Make Today | Accounting Tech Doesn’t Have to Be Daunting |Who’s in Control? You? Or Your Clients?

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Perspective is everything. And while I’ve noticed more accounting professionals making concerted efforts to have more of a life/work balance, it is apparent that much of the work that contributes to being “busy” could evolve into productivity.

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MANAGEMENT

It’s Time to Do the Uncomfortable

Change can be difficult, but it can also be the key to success.

By Seth Fineberg
At Large

Yes, it’s that time of year again when proclamations of change are made, and everyone professes to be resolute in their goals.

The fact is that most of these statements don’t happen, despite all the best intentions, but let me give you one prescription for the New Year. Hopefully, beyond if accountants and the profession have any hope or goal of change, you need to do the uncomfortable.

MORE FINEBERG: Jeremy Sulzmann: Can Intuit Mend Fences with Accountants at QB Connect? | Meet Basis, the New AI Bookkeeper on the Block | Is This When Accountants Start Taking Freshbooks Seriously? | You’re Doing Email Wrong  |  Careful… You May Be Advising! | When Live Events Fail | Getting Real: Accounting Tech Decisions You Need to Make Today | Accounting Tech Doesn’t Have to Be Daunting | Who’s in Control? You? Or Your Clients? |  Time Management Rule #1 for Accountants |  Plan to Go ‘Live’ Post Tax Season |  Why VC Is a Bigger Threat Than AI  |   What Does Taking Control of Your Firm Mean? | Accountants Need Each Other More Than Ever | Marchternity: Just Say ‘No’ | Some Thoughts on In-Person Events | So You Think You Know Accountants? | What Bogs Down Accountants

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What does it mean to “do the uncomfortable”? It can include nearly anything outside of one’s comfort zone, ranging from not responding to every client call or email to working comparatively fewer hours using new technology to increase efficiency. It could even mean posting entry-level positions at a higher pay (you are raising fees anyway, yes?). And maybe, just maybe, embrace more diverse staffing practices.

Change, in and of itself, IS uncomfortable and not for everyone. It also doesn’t have to be anything major. These are incremental steps to improve your life and the life of your firm.

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PRO Member Exclusive

Three Ways to Improve Next Tax Season


You’ve survived 2023. Here are some key lessons.

By Seth Fineberg
At Large

In accounting, you know that tax season doesn’t end in April, as it often extends well into October. So, now that another season has come and gone and you’ve endured all the things you swore you’d never do again this year, What will be different in 2024 and beyond?

MORE FINEBERG: Jeremy Sulzmann: Can Intuit Mend Fences with Accountants at QB Connect? | Meet Basis, the New AI Bookkeeper on the Block | Is This When Accountants Start Taking Freshbooks Seriously? | You’re Doing Email Wrong  |  Careful… You May Be Advising! | When Live Events Fail | Getting Real: Accounting Tech Decisions You Need to Make Today | Accounting Tech Doesn’t Have to Be Daunting | Who’s in Control? You? Or Your Clients? |  Time Management Rule #1 for Accountants |  Plan to Go ‘Live’ Post Tax Season |  Why VC Is a Bigger Threat Than AI  |   What Does Taking Control of Your Firm Mean? | Accountants Need Each Other More Than Ever | Marchternity: Just Say ‘No’ | Some Thoughts on In-Person Events | So You Think You Know Accountants? | What Bogs Down Accountants

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Every year, I speak to tax pros and accountants with tax work at their practice’s core. I listen, I read what they share on social media, and it always seems to be the same. They swear they’ll get rid of clients who regularly extend into October. Still, they must hound those to the IRS deadline. They rail against the IRS and lack of guidance, or the hours spent on the phone trying to get answers or to resolve an issue for their clients. They exclaim, “This is the last year I’m going to…” And yet, little to nothing of significance changes. With more accountants getting increasingly frustrated with their careers and fewer coming into the profession, it is up to you to say what will change.

So, again, I ask you all, what do you need to change to make it more enjoyable, bearable and even productive for yourself?

Here are a few suggestions based on my observations. Take them for what you will.

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PRO Member Exclusive

Meet Basis, the New AI Bookkeeper on the Block

Founders focused on accountants’ pain points.

By Seth Fineberg

Artificial intelligence is entering accounting in numerous ways, so it should be no surprise that another company has thrown its hat in the ring to automate the bookkeeping and related processes for accounting firms.

MORE: Is This When Accountants Start Taking Freshbooks Seriously? | When Live Events Fail | Getting Real: Accounting Tech Decisions You Need to Make Today | Who’s in Control? You? Or Your Clients? | Time Management Rule #1 for Accountants
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After closing on a $3.6 million seed round, Basis, which touts itself as an AI platform for accounting firms, is officially coming into the accounting market. The idea behind Basis is that accountants can have AI-powered “intelligence” so they can (wait for it …) focus on being better advisors and not the “tasks” of being an accountant.
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