GROWTH STRATEGIES

Five Steps to Building a Team That Lightens Your Load

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woman mentoring man in office

Plus 10 elements for your staff guidelines.

By Jackie Meyer
The Balanced Millionaire: Advisor Edition

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.

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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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Six Times to Pick Up the Phone This Tax Season

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Businessman talking on phone in the office

The personal touch goes a long way toward client retention.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

Clients are not numbers on a list that needs to be reduced. They are all individuals and consider themselves very important people and want professionals who treat them accordingly.

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It is attitudinal and accountants must adopt that mindset and transmit that through to their culture. So you need to know when it’s essential to pick up the phone.

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Top Tech Trends for Tax Season 2026

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Holding Steady, Tuning Workflow, and Testing AI.

Tech plans: 43% of accountants say they’ll be working with new or upgraded versions of practice management & workflow apps, followed by 25% with tax prep packages.

By CPA Trendlines Research

With the 2026 filing season approaching, most accounting firms are not racing to rip and replace their technology stacks. Instead, they are making selective adjustments, tightening workflows, and cautiously experimenting with artificial intelligence — all while keeping a close eye on staffing limits, client behavior, and return on investment.

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MORE TAX, PRICING,  PAY, HIRING, and THE 2026 OUTLOOK

That restrained approach comes through clearly in CPA Trendlines’ Busy Season Barometer, which shows a profession that is less focused on transformation than on execution. The dominant theme across survey waves is not disruption, but discipline.

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Who to Hire First

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Woman and man shaking hands across a desk

Strategies for building your dream team.

By Jackie Meyer
The Balanced Millionaire: Advisor Edition

“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.

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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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Twelve Ways to Use ChatGPT Today

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Embrace artificial intelligence in your accounting practice.

By Jackie Meyer
The Balanced Millionaire: Advisor Edition

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 by Jackie Meyer
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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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