Today's Features
MANAGEMENT

DiSC Profiles Boost Staff Effectiveness

Overhead view of five people in a meeting

Better communication comes from better understanding.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

Working in a remote environment can be great, and it can also have its challenges. Communication is one of the biggest hurdles distributed companies have to overcome. To tackle this issue head on, Summit CPA has implemented many initiatives.

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One of our favorites is the DiSC profiles. Let me start off by telling you a little bit of the background on the DiSC profiles.
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ADVISORY & CONSULTING

CPAs Regain Upper Hand in Pricing Battles

Advisory and specialty services lead the way.

Tax pricing pulls away from audit, year-over-year percent change. (CPA Trendlines)

By CPA Trendlines

After two years of mostly weak pricing power, accounting firms appear to be regaining the initiative on billing rates, led by tax services with eye-popping 8% increases.

MORE in Pricing: Tax Prep Billing Rates Lift Busy Season | The Hidden Data Behind CPA Firm Burnout and Profit Pressure | Six Steps to High-Value Tax Advisory |

CPAs are raising rates by 4.2 percent year over year, reversing a 2.1 percent decline recorded a year ago, according to new CPA Trendlines findings.

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MARKETING & SALES

Bissett Bullet: Three Little Words

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Which three words would you use to describe your firm and the work you do for clients? If you struggle to give an immediate and instinctive answer, then this would suggest an onward problem in articulating it to clients.”

By Martin Bissett

Why not ask for this input from existing clients? Asking clients what it is you do for them in terms of outcomes will enable you to understand their perception of the firm and what they might say to a potential referral.

This also provides insight into what they value about the service you provide, which is a critical retention tool, especially if they are themselves what you would consider to be your ideal client. Their story and how you’ve helped them can then be leveraged within your marketing messaging to help you attract more Grade A clients.

Today’s To-Do:

Pick up the phone to a Grade A client. Ask them how they would describe you in three words to a fellow business owner and find out which they feel is the most valuable outcome you have achieved for them.

See more Bissett Bullets here

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PRO Member Exclusive

Independent Firms Have a Regulatory Advantage

three men seated at table in office and talking

Use it to set yourself apart.

By Hitendra Patil

This article covers something I do not hear discussed nearly enough in conversations about how independent firms differentiate themselves. Most of the differentiation conversation focuses on relationship depth, niche expertise and responsiveness. All of that is real, but there is a structural advantage available to independent CPA firms right now that almost none of them are naming to clients, and it is growing in legal and regulatory significance.

Structural independence in the attest function.

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How Private Equity Structures Actually Work

When PE enters an accounting firm, the transaction does not simply add capital to the existing firm. Generally, the acquired firm splits into two separate legal entities:
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PODCAST

The Google Playbook for Young Accountants | Accounting Conversations

Networking, timing, and intentional career planning help candidates stand out in competitive hiring processes.

Sponsored by True Advisor: The Definitive Success Guide for Client Advisory Services by Hitendra Patil |
See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.
The step-by-step operating guide for firms building, pricing, and scaling advisory services that clients value—and pay for.

Accounting Conversations
With Chayton Farlee
Center for Accounting Transformation

For many accounting students, the profession can seem narrowly defined by tax returns, audit rooms, and busy season deadlines. But according to Mike Manalac, CPA, accounting can also become a pathway into some of the world’s most innovative companies and industries.

In a recent episode of Accounting Conversations, host Chayton Farlee speaks with Manalac about how young accounting professionals can strategically leverage public accounting experience to build careers at companies like Google, Tesla, Uber, and Salesforce. 

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Manalac, an accounting manager at Google, currently leads a distributed team working on Google Search and YouTube advertising contracts. His role involves collaborating with engineering, legal, sales, finance, and compliance teams across the organization.

Farlee, an assurance associate at CliftonLarsonAllen, says conversations like these are important because many students are not exposed to the full range of accounting career opportunities.

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