Ty Hendrickson, Author at CPA Trendlines

5 Crucial Areas of Firm Culture Not to Ignore

Top talent is looking for true support.

By Ty Hendrickson

Firm culture. I recently saw an interesting post about culture on LinkedIn that got me thinking about this topic. Culture has become almost a buzzword in the accounting industry because firms are facing an incredibly competitive talent market combined with high expectations and long hours that come with this career choice. Firms are making a big deal out of building a culture that is a fun and balanced working environment in hopes of attracting and retaining the best talent, but unfortunately, the majority of firms are missing the mark.

MORE: The CPA Firm Partner’s Role Is Changing | Are You Botching Your First Impression? | Maybe the Pandemic Isn’t All Bad | The No. 1 Reason Accountants Fail To Build Advisory Practices | The REAL Problems Created in a Remote Workforce | Can You Really Grow Without Adding Clients? | 4 Reasons to Welcome Rejection
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Let me let you in on a little secret, which was the exact point of the LinkedIn post I mentioned. The most attractive cultures are not the firms that have team events and mixers and other “fun events.” Fun is not what the top talent is looking for in a firm culture. In all reality, a fun culture with events is going to attract the opposite of the top talent you desire as a firm.
READ MORE →

FEATURED

The CPA Firm Partner’s Role Is Changing

… like it or not.

By Ty Hendrickson

The role of a partner in an accounting firm is changing. Actually, the role of a partner in an accounting firm has changed and now too many firms and individuals are playing catchup.

MORE: Are You Botching Your First Impression? | Maybe the Pandemic Isn’t All Bad | The No. 1 Reason Accountants Fail To Build Advisory Practices | The REAL Problems Created in a Remote Workforce | Can You Really Grow Without Adding Clients? | 4 Reasons to Welcome Rejection
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Accounting firms as a whole have changed significantly over the past 10 to 15 years with the influx of new technology that modernizes the work being done within the firm. Compliance work is now being done much more quickly and efficiently because of ever-improving software that automates many accounting tasks.

More of the day-to-day work is being done by software, which has caused the following to happen:

FEATURED

Are You Botching Your First Impression?

Three steps to the perfect elevator pitch.

By Ty Hendrickson

Eight seconds. That’s all the time that you have to catch someone’s attention and draw them in before they become disinterested in you and your conversation.

MORE: Maybe the Pandemic Isn’t All Bad | The No. 1 Reason Accountants Fail To Build Advisory Practices | The REAL Problems Created in a Remote Workforce | Can You Really Grow Without Adding Clients? | 4 Reasons to Welcome Rejection
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The human attention span has dropped recently from 12 seconds down to a whopping eight whole seconds. Sadly, a goldfish now has a longer attention span than humans at nine seconds. For accountants who are working furiously to grow a practice through networking, this presents several challenges.
READ MORE →

FEATURED

Maybe the Pandemic Isn’t All Bad

4 hidden blessings.

By Ty Hendrickson

I have never felt the power of the old saying, “The only constant is change,” more than this year. As we navigate the second half of 2020, I find myself reflecting on how much has changed in the course of just a few short months.

MORE: The No. 1 Reason Accountants Fail To Build Advisory Practices | The REAL Problems Created in a Remote Workforce | Can You Really Grow Without Adding Clients? | 4 Reasons to Welcome Rejection
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

I don’t want to talk about COVID-19 or the new normal or unprecedented times or any of the other hot terms we’ve all heard about 100 times daily. Everything that 2020 has hit us with has been incredibly heavy, insanely bizarre (can we please never hear about murder hornets again?) and for someone like me who already functions with a high level of anxiety, it is has been very stress-inducing.

2020 has been a wild ride both personally and professionally, and I’m ready for a fresh start.
READ MORE →

CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

The No. 1 Reason Accountants Fail To Build Advisory Practices

Shift your mindset for COVID-era client services. Stop thinking about selling and start thinking about helping.

By Ty Hendrickson

What is the number one reason that accountants get stuck providing transactional services?

Mindset.

Now, I’m not one of those gurus that preaches mindset and how if you want something in your life, all you have to do is visualize it. That’s not the mindset I’m talking about here. I’m talking about the mentality that accountants “feel bad” for charging someone for their expertise and advice.

MORE: The REAL Problems Created in a Remote Workforce | Can You Really Grow Without Adding Clients? | 4 Reasons to Welcome Rejection |

Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

While this is not a new problem, it has bubbled to the surface amidst the Covid-19 crisis. In the vast majority of my conversations with firm owners recently, I hear the same line over and over again, “I’ve spent so much time talking to my clients about loans and explaining their options that I’ve hardly gotten any tax work completed. Now, I have to charge them $1,000 for those conversations, and I just don’t feel like I can do that because I know the financial situation they are in right now. I feel bad.”

What?!?!

Here’s what you’re looking for: Ty Hendrickson