COVID Slams U.K. Accountants, Too
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You can already start to see which firms will survive, those that won’t, and why, says Martin Bissett in a video call with CPA Trendlines.
CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
The Three R’s for Beating the Corona Crisis
And 15 things every accountant should consider in these unprecedented times.
By Bill Penczak
My friend Tom Kallman, the president of a trade show company in New Jersey, sent me an email a few weeks ago that I’ll paraphrase:
Few, if any, of us lived through Pearl Harbor. Some of us experienced the Kennedy assassination. We all recall where we were when the planes struck the World Trade Center. The COVID crisis is another lifetime moment. We learned how to survive all those other events, and we’ll do the same again.
MORE: Re-Thinking Today’s Firm with Five Global Leaders | 5 Things Your Firm Should Do Differently This Summer | Do You Have the Guts to Beat the Covid Crisis? | How to Inoculate Your Firm against Covid Competition | ‘Found Money’ Delights Clients | The Three R’s for Beating the Corona Crisis
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If you examine the economic recoveries after 911, and after the financial collapse in 2007-2008, there were three economic phases that ensued for CPA firms, their clients, and the market in general that will likely occur in the post-COVID economy:
- Retention – Preserving as much of what we had.
- Recovery – Stabilizing and moving ahead, as slight as it might be.
- Rebuild – Coming out better and stronger.
COVID-19 Turns CPAs into Emergency Workers
Tax & accounting professionals rush to the rescue coronavirus economic casualties.
By Donny C. Shimamoto
Advising Cheapskates
What will their legacy be?
By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting
Accountants get unusual views of human frailty and baseness of character. Most of our interactions are stimulating and propel us to growth, but some expose others’ weaknesses and extremely poor personal judgment.
MORE: My Top 10 Personal Game Changers | My Top 10(ish) Regrets | My ‘Brand’ Is the Exciting History of Accounting | Social Security Is an Asset Class | How to Waste Lunch Hour | What’s Your Negotiating Style? | Large Clients We Landed from QuickBooks Consulting
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Three situations stand out. In one, the husband provided his wife with a stingy allowance to run the household and for her personal spending.
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COVID-19: How Your Firm Can Respond
Creating the “new normal.”
By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library
For the first time in most of our lives, an international health crisis has the makings of a science-fiction scenario becoming reality. The situation puts us in uncharted territory and experts tell us will get continue to worse before it gets better. The optimist in me says this too shall pass, but I also feel that the world will learn from this crisis in ways that will last forever once this is over.
MORE: Reward Partners for Performing Like Partners | Merging in Sellers: What You Need to Know | Take Yoda’s Advice on Strategic Planning | 15 Amazing Organizational Tactics to Manage a CPA Firm | 6 Ways to Retain NextGen Staff | How to Develop a Truly Progressive NextGen Culture
A cultural shift that will permanently change our lives
Retired Lieutenant General Russel Honore was interviewed on television recently. He was the joint task force commander for Hurricane Katrina. When asked if we’re doing all that we need to do, he responded: “We need to optimize virtual work. There will be a cultural shift in America that will permanently change our lives. We will finally see that we don’t have to drive crosstown to sit in front of a computer.”
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New Opportunities for the ‘New Normal’
Extracting a positive from a negative.
By Steven E. Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals: Practical Guidance for Today’s Accounting Firms
There are two quotes that are apropos for the coronavirus pandemic. The first was coined by President Kennedy. He said, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”
MORE: There Is No Leadership Without Integrity | Real Influence Vs. Immediate Gratification | Fake It ’Til You Make It: An Ultimate Goal? | 4 Ways to Boost Job Satisfaction | Have You Gauged Your Staff’s Enthusiasm? | Why Knowledge Maintenance Is Key | Retention Starts with the Hiring Interview
It was meant to think ahead to potential unforeseen crises and consider the precautionary measures to implement; to either avoid, or at least, mitigate a major problem before it happens. For the coronavirus pandemic, the ship has already sailed on this philosophy because the government defunded the efforts to deal with a major health crisis (among other missteps).
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7 Ways to Secure Client Loyalty in Uncertain Times
Stay on top of the issues that affect them.
By Carrie Steffen
COVID-19 Brings Out the Best in Accountants
We’re there when clients need us most.
By Salim Omar
straighttalkcpas.com
It’s been a long and tough week for accountants… one that has shown just how selfless and caring they are.
CPA Trendlines is providing FREE access to our latest coronavirus crisis updates: Start here for a guide to all our free coverage.
Bonus Tools and Guidance for PRO Members: For premium crisis-management tools and resources, look here.
During the busiest time of the year, accountants across the country STOPPED performing the cash-generating tax work they were deeply entrenched in. Instead, they channeled their energy and effort to help their small business owner clients to get through a crisis that has been upsetting and gut-wrenching.
My Top 10 Personal Game Changers
What does your list look like?
By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting
A number of single actions or happenings helped spur great success for me. There have been many, but here are some of the top ones that come to mind.
MORE: My Top 10(ish) Regrets | Getting Bonuses from Clients | Be an Accountant, Not a Salesperson for Other Things | When Clients Don’t Know | Why You’re Only as Good as Your Staff | Why Tax Time Is the Best Time to Get New Business | Becoming a ‘Media Star’ | Don’t Pass Up Opportunities Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
The order is not significant – it is just how I wrote them.
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My Top 10(ish) Regrets
What would YOU change?
By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting
I’ve written about the 10 reasons for my success. I received quite a few calls about that and I came up with some regrets, so I’m sharing them here.
MORE: Getting Bonuses from Clients | Yes, Christopher Columbus Had an Accountant | 10 Reasons for My Success | When the Kids Don’t Want to Take Over | Staff May Surprise You with Leadership
1. Not taking off Fridays: I could have taken off either every Friday or Monday and extended the weekend.
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More Services for Your Tax Clients
40 options, plus a checklist for making matches.
By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide
The following listing can give you ideas of additional services clients might need.
MORE: Keep These Tax Clients While You Have the Chance | What’s NOT to Like about Tax Season? | Do Your Clients Feel Important? | 4 Reasons to Push Ahead with Tax Question Research | Help Tax Clients Help You
This list is not complete, but it is a good start for you to start thinking about what types of additional services you can offer to your clients!
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Help Clients by Pivoting to Projections
Today’s crisis needs analysts more than historians.
By Gale Crosley
Major upheavals in economic conditions present an opportunity for significant growth. For firms prepared to embrace this concept, it’s Go Time for new service innovations that clients and prospects want, need and are willing to pay for.
SEE: All CPA Trendlines Special Crisis Coverage
MORE: Home Alone. But Not Really. | Dicey Disruptions | Be a Consultant or Be Left Behind | Sustainable Innovation: How to Pull It Off
With so many of us sequestered at home, it may be some time since you’ve actually been in your car. But you’ve probably not forgotten the difference between the view from your rearview mirror and what you see out the windshield. Applying the metaphor to accounting highlights the contrast between where we’ve been and where we need to go as a profession in the current environment.
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Getting Bonuses from Clients
ALSO: Value pricing vs. value billing.
By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting
I’ve written about being independent and not selling financial services or products to clients. Quite a few people called me to ask about “value billing” and how that fits in. Here are some comments.
MORE: Yes, Christopher Columbus Had an Accountant | My ‘Brand’ Is the Exciting History of Accounting | Social Security Is an Asset Class | How to Waste Lunch Hour | What’s Your Negotiating Style? | How to Make Your Own Opportunities | How I Became a Published Author
To start, value pricing is a pretty straightforward issue for those who truly value price and a misunderstood issue for most who do not. I cannot treat it completely in a short article and refer my readers to Ron Baker’s book, “Implementing Value Pricing.” However, today I will address the focus of my caller’s questions about value “bonuses” from clients.
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