SURVEYS & RESEARCH

Discovery in California Could Power 375 Million Electric Vehicles

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According to World Bank projections, lithium consumption will increase by 500% by 2050.

By Rick Richardson
Technology This Week

The enormous, rapidly receding Salton Sea in the southeast of California holds the key to the global future of clean energy. A new assessment from the U.S. Department of Energy claims this region contains an abundance of lithium, sufficient to power more than 375 million electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This news places the area as a potential powerhouse in the global lithium industry, surpassing the entire number of automobiles now on U.S. roadways.

MORE TECHNOLOGY THIS WEEK: Five New Google Maps and Waze Features | New Warehouse Robot Could Revolutionize Efficiency | New Pacemaker Powered by Light, No Batteries | Is NASA About to Make Air Travel Cheaper? | Your Brain Can Store 10 Times More Than Anyone Thought | Microsoft Discovers a Security Flaw Impacting Android Apps | AI-Engineered Enzyme Could Be Solution to Plastic Pollution | AI Named the Highest-Paying In-Demand Tech Skill for 2024 | Lenovo Readies New ThinkBook Laptop with a Transparent Display | Microsoft Moves Further into Nuclear Development with New Director
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Lithium is essential for the creation of rechargeable batteries, which are used in everything from smartphones to electric cars. Given the global push for clean energy and the U.S. goal of increased energy independence, this discovery is a hopeful development. However, as researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) warn, there could be severe adverse effects on the environment and public health if America rushes to harvest lithium.

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Empower Your Team by Dumping C and D Clients

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Keeping bad clients can do more harm than you might think.

By Alan Anderson, CPA
Transforming Audit for the Future

Have you ever sat down with your team to get their honest opinions about what it’s like working with each one of your clients? This is an essential exercise if you want to build an empowered team. Their experiences with the same client and people may differ vastly from yours. Clients may treat the audit partner with respect but not the staff.

MORE: The New Formula for an Accounting Business | How to Upgrade C and D Clients | Can a Service Center Model Solve Audit Staffing Shortages? | Move to Advisory and Assurance with Relevance | Use Eight Audit Exit Items to Deepen Client Relationships | Know Your Three Audit W’s | Planning Lays the Foundation of Audit Relevance | Are You Correctly Identifying the Relevance Intersection? | Traditional Audits Don’t Deserve Premium Billing | Turning Audit & Accounting into Assurance & Advisory | Stop Sending the Wrong Message to Audit Teams
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Your team wants to do quality work, but they may struggle to deliver if the clients don’t honor their end of the agreement.

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Boost Your Value, Boost Your Fees

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person handing a folder to another person

Can you leave behind a cheat sheet? A toy? It’s not silly if it works.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firm

Want to charge more for your services? One way is to offer clients more value. Your fees and your value to the client should go hand in hand.

MORE: Three Ways to Make It Easier for Prospects to Say Yes | Make Your Next Busy Season Easier Now | Three Ways to Follow Up with Prospects | How Mindset Affects Your Marketing | Twelve Ways Your Business Card Can Hurt You | Got FOMO When It Comes to AI and ChatGPT? You Should: Here’s What You’re Missing | How to Weather Any Economic Storm | Ten Ways to Have More Energy This Tax Season | Seven Steps to Keeping Your Clients Forever | Give to Receive, and Eight More Ways to Boost Sales | Five Things That Clients Don’t Know about Accountants
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Here are nine ideas to increase your value to your clients:

1. Offer a Guarantee

You might feel like offering a guarantee is taking on a lot more risk than you’d like to, but this is a myth. When you offer a guarantee, you help to lower the perceived risk your client feels they might have when deciding to do business with you. This greatly increases the number of clients who will take that chance, even if they don’t know you very well yet. The surprising truth is that very few people will take the time to ask for a refund, making the increased sales far more valuable than the few returns you’ll need to process, if any.
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