HUMOR

How a Case of Beer Saved the U.S. Financial System

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Great businesses are formed by trusting others … even if they need a 24-pack to get there.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

You’ve probably heard of the 1929 stock market crash, Black Monday, the dotcom bubble and the Great Recession. All of these combined pale in comparison to what almost happened back in 1986. Save for a case of Miller Lite, our financial world, as we know it, would not exist.

MORE: Even with Value Pricing, Time Tracking Matters and Here’s Why | End Tax Season Meetings with Clients…Seriously | Get Clients to Understand Firm Processes … or Say Goodbye | Train Now Before It Costs You Down the Road | Keep Clients from “Balance Due” Shock | It’s OK to Say No to Clients (Even the Large Ones) | You Train Your Clients, Whether You Mean To or Not | Business Owners Face One of Three Exits
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I landed this job not because of my fabulous accounting qualifications. I was a double major in economics/finance in college. I would have taken a job sniffing used toilet paper out of college with those academic credentials. I got the job solely from my relationship with Paul Karstetter, the second name in what eventually became Stitely & Karstetter, CPAs.

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Train Now Before It Costs You Down the Road

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Your time investment now could reap dividends during tax season. 

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

We’ve all heard it.

Ask if an assigned project has been completed and get the, “It’s done, but …” followed by a few reasons why said project is still – let’s be honest – incomplete.

MORE: Keep Clients from “Balance Due” Shock | Stop Clients from Performing “Favors” | Control Your Time: Avoid Ambush Meetings and Calls | Make Fewer Mistakes, Increase Revenue and Capacity | Six Ways to Create a Millennial-Friendly Firm
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Let’s examine how we got a “done but” society. A lot of this will sound like, “Back in my day, sonny …” old man nonsense, and a lot of it is.

However, I promise you a solution after my sociological exploration of 21st-century culture. You won’t need a degree in sociology to understand this.

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“Done” Only Has One Meaning

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“Done but” increases WIP and turnaround time. Profits go … well, you know.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

In my last book, I recommended hiring younger staff. In that book, I cautioned that you might have to teach very simple tasks like breathing and using the bathroom to your newbies.

MORE: Keep Clients from “Balance Due” Shock | Stop Clients from Performing “Favors” | Who Needs Fall Tax Planning? Clients … and You | It’s Okay to Say No to Clients (Even the Large Ones) | Control Your Time: Avoid Ambush Meetings and Calls | Make Fewer Mistakes, Increase Revenue and Capacity
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

One reader posted that she didn’t believe it was the responsibility of an admin department to teach bathroom use. She was new to this hot new writing technique called sarcasm, but she did a great job making my point that you have to teach your staff a lot of basic things.

One of those teaching tasks is the meaning of “done.”

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Keep Clients from “Balance Due” Shock

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With just a little advanced marketing, you can get paid year-round AND have more satisfied clients.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

When I talk with prospective clients in any medium, I lead with tax planning. I don’t care if I’m meeting them, calling them or emailing them. I lead with tax planning. The number one complaint clients have about CPAs and tax preparers is a lack of planning. They get tax returns and nothing else.

MORE: Stop Clients from Performing “Favors” | Who Needs Fall Tax Planning? Clients … and You | Get Clients to Bring Tax Docs Early…Yes, EARLY | Why Time Tracking Still Matters | Make Fewer Mistakes, Increase Revenue and Capacity | Six Ways to Create a Millennial-Friendly Firm
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The fun part is seeing the reaction when I mention planning. I tell them that they can know the results while there’s still time to change the results. Tax season is no longer stressful because they know the answers in advance about refunds and balances due.
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