CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Influence, Don’t Manipulate

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Two businesswomen meeting in an officePut yourself in the client’s shoes.

By Steven E. Sacks

We are often faced with trying to influence others through our beliefs and personal experiences. The wrong approach is to browbeat others until they “surrender.”

MORE: Fake It ‘Til You Make It: An Ultimate Goal? | Working Remotely Shouldn’t Mean Feeling Isolated | How Engaged Are Your Employees? | Managing Difficult Personalities in the Workplace | Set Your Staff on the Right Course | How Motivation Is Like Bathing
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Influence is really a straightforward approach to convincing people that your positions are well thought out, persuasive, justified and completely devoid of underhandedness, manipulation or trickery.

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Three Ways to Step Up in Uncertain Times

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Coronavirus crisis opens new opportunities to serve.

By Sarah Johnson Dobek

In the late hours of March 11, President Trump instructed the Treasury Department to defer tax payments without interest or penalties for certain individuals and businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19 pandemic, commonly known as coronavirus.

See CPA Trendlines Special Coronavirus Crisis Coverage

As many individuals and businesses grapple with the possibility and effects of illness, travel bans, quarantine, and economic distress, accounting professionals have a unique opportunity to step up as proactive advisors.

Here are three ways you can help your firm and help your clients through uncertain times.

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Yes, Christopher Columbus Had an Accountant

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John Vanderlyn’s painting, “Landing of Columbus” in the Capitol Rotunda, depicts Columbus’s accountant, Roderigo Sanchez, as fourth man standing on left
John Vanderlyn’s painting, “Landing of Columbus” in the Capitol Rotunda, depicts Columbus’s accountant, Roderigo Sanchez, as fourth man standing on left

Valuable contacts can become friends.

By Ed Mendlowitz

One of my hobbies is my interest in accounting history.

Delving through history is very interesting but usually a solitary pursuit. However, when you meet likeminded people, the discussions can become very animated. It can also cause you to meet extraordinarily interesting, bright and nice people, and I have.

Learn more: Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

I wrote the lead article in the Journal of Accountancy’s 125th Anniversary issue, and two of the editors were Dale Flesher and Gary Previts. We “met” over the phone discussing the article. A few months afterward the AICPA had its 125th Anniversary Council meeting and Dale and Gary called and suggested I come to Washington, D.C., to meet them and perhaps visit the Capitol and have our photos taken in front of the painting by John Vanderlyn showing the landing of Columbus, including Roderigo Sanchez, the accountant hired by Queen Isabella to accompany Columbus.

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Why Process Is Key to Remote Work

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Woman leading meeting, flipchart in backgroundIt benefits not only clients, but your team.

More Coronavirus Crisis Coverage here

By Jody Grunden

With the right people in place, empowered to work independently, and proper access to the tools that are necessary to get the work done, process comes next.

MORE: When the IRS and FBI Come Knocking | Cyber Security at a Virtual CPA Firm | Top Tech Choices for the Virtual Firm | Keeping the Right People on the Bus | How to Run Effective Leadership Team Meetings | DiSC Helps Remote Team Work Together Effectively
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Creating process is important in any business if you want to scale, but it is imperative when it comes to remote work. Process helps streamline things, reduces confusion and makes your team more efficient and productive.
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In These Turbulent Times, Leaders Must Lead!

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cpatrendlines.comSix things you needed to start doing yesterday.

By Allan Koltin

In the face of this unprecedented global pandemic, Leaders must Lead! We need to fill our days with talking to our people, clients, and our families and engaging them in the reality of the situation while at the same time stressing the positive things going on.

RELATED: All CPA Trendlines Special Coronavirus Coverage

I was on a call this morning with a client and I was sharing how wonderful it was to have all three kids back home (they would have been studying abroad, at college, or going to high school) and how nice it was to have family dinners together again. I was also sharing the positives with the kids that their grandparents were healthy, safe, and getting calls from so many family members and how important this was to them. As I was walking the dogs this morning it occurred to me that I heard birds chirping and that I had been “so busy being busy” for the past four decades that beautiful sounds like this or the smell of the morning air were never on my mind. At a deeper level, and to equate it to a sporting event, I feel like the proverbial “scoreboard” has malfunctioned and there is now a new way to keep score, and it is becoming the new normal.

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My ‘Brand’ Is the Exciting History of Accounting

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Smiling businesswoman talking on cameraWhat feels right to you?

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

In 1998 I read that Andersen Consulting would be spending $100 million to brand their company. This seemed unusual for a few reasons.

MORE: Be an Accountant, Not a Salesperson for Other Things | 10 Reasons for My Success | When the Kids Don’t Want to Take Over | Staff May Surprise You with Leadership | Problem Clients | When Pushing the Pencil Pays Off | When to Say No to Pro Bono Work
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1. They were in heated litigation with Arthur Andersen to leave the accounting firm and set up an independent company.
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Be an Accountant, Not a Salesperson for Other Things

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Extreme close up of female hand with pen pointing on cash flow document.“A piece of the action” didn’t pan out.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

There are accountants who only do accounting and accountants who also do other things such as selling financial products and doing deals with the client. There is nothing wrong with this, but with some very minor exceptions, I never did the other things.

MORE: 10 Reasons for My Success | 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 | Large Clients We Landed from QuickBooks Consulting
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Accountants have many openings and opportunities to

  • sell life insurance, annuities, mutual funds and tax shelters;
  • broker mortgages;
  • find buyers for a client’s business;
  • manage investments;
  • introduce investors;
  • perform executive searches and
  • even invest along with clients.

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10 Reasons for My Success

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Number 10Watch for opportunities.

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By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

Recently I was asked if I could provide some reasons for my success.

MORE: Social Security Is an Asset Class | 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 | Why We Train on Excel, Word and Adobe | Stop Pricing by the Hour | Getting by Giving Back
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This gave me an opportunity to think about it and I came up with a list of 10 reasons that I am presenting here. I hope you take away some ideas from this. If you have your own list, I would appreciate it if you would share it with me.
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Do Your Clients Feel Important?

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Portrait of a mature businesswoman giving a binder8 ways to delight them.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

Clients are our customers. They pay our salary and enable us to make good livings. Do what you can to accommodate them and make them feel important – as important as they believe they are.

MORE: 5 Small Leaks to Beware During Tax Season | 5 Tax Review Keys | 4 Reasons to Push Ahead with Tax Question Research | One Can’t-Skip Touch for Tax Season | 5 Steps for Tax Season Success | Help Tax Clients Help You | 3 Steps to Tax Season Happiness | 12 Ways to Have More Fun This Tax Season
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Also be user-friendly – do not make it difficult to work with you. Clients don’t know how smart we are. They think we are great, but they measure us by the small things – the good and bad.
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Social Security as an Asset Class

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Scale with coins on one side, alarm clock on the otherWithdraw funds from elsewhere.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

If you have ever worked in the United States or were married to someone who did, the chances are you will eventually receive Social Security benefits.

MORE: When Clients Don’t Know | When the Kids Don’t Want to Take Over | Staff May Surprise You with Leadership | Problem Clients | When Pushing the Pencil Pays Off | When to Say No to Pro Bono Work | I Used to Hate QuickBooks | Things Change
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There are different ages when regular benefits can start beginning at age 62. The longer the benefits are delayed, the greater they will be … until reaching age 70.
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When Clients Don’t Know

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Two older businessmen talkingInvestigate motive before diving in.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

We all have clients who wonder what their business is worth and sometimes imagine getting away from it all.

MORE: When the Kids Don’t Want to Take Over | How to Waste Lunch Hour | What’s Your Negotiating Style? | How to Make Your Own Opportunities | How I Became a Published Author | Large Clients We Landed from QuickBooks Consulting | 26 Value-Added Benefits Clients Need to Know | How an Out-of-Work Tax Preparer ‘Saved’ Our Lives
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Some even sell, but many more talk about starting the process but are not really committed to selling.
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When the Kids Don’t Want to Take Over

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If you didn’t have time pressure, how might your planning change?

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

I had a client who had five sons and three daughters who worked in his business. Their ages ranged from 28 to 48. I was helping him with exit planning and suggested that I could possibly structure a transaction where either some or all of his children could buy his business.

MORE: How to Waste Lunch Hour | 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
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He liked the idea and I told him to meet with them and suggest it.
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How to Waste Lunch Hour

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Business Colleagues Eating Meal Together and Discussing WorkThis was time that could have been spent working ON the business.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

I was recently in Manhattan during lunchtime and thought I would drop in at a CPA firm I did some consulting for to see if anyone was available to have a quick lunch with me.

MORE: Why You’re Only as Good as Your Staff | Staff May Surprise You with Leadership | Problem Clients | When Pushing the Pencil Pays Off | When to Say No to Pro Bono Work | I Used to Hate QuickBooks | Things Change | How to Be ’the Other Guy’s Accountant’
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It was around 12:45. If no one available, no harm done. I showed up (that counts as a “client contact”), would see a few people and then would only be there 10 or so minutes.
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