Today's Features
CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

How to Choose a Specialty

Woman's hand pressing words "ASK AN EXPERT"

Considerations that might not have occurred to you.

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

Once you decide upon a specialization, you need to go about making yourself an expert. Read, join professional associations, take focused CPE, and try to write articles or give speeches. Accountants who are industry experts become industry thought leaders.

MORE by Ed Mendlowitz
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Some specialties require obtaining designations or certificates of completion that require study and time – an investment you and the firm would have to make. There is no easy path to growing and establishing expertise, but it is a joyful ride.
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PRICING, FEES & BILLING RATES

Hourly Billing Sells Firms Short

You have more to offer than time.

By Jody Padar
Radical Pricing – By The Radical CPA

Amazing things happen when you stop thinking about what you’re selling and focus on what clients are buying.

Many of the things clients don’t value are compliance-related like:

  • Tax returns
  • Payroll
  • Accounting services

MORE: Why Pricing Is So Disruptive | The Radical Pricing Model: Start with $25K | Three Critical Factors Drive the Value Pricing Trend | Accounting Disruptors Are Heading Your Way … with Deep Pockets | The Convergence of Trends Makes Pricing Changes Imperative | Stop Looking for Talent that Does Not Exist | Advisory Work Must Be Priced by Value, Not Hours
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But much of what they do value is less defined, though of higher value to their business lives:

  • Small business expertise
  • Management support and confidence
  • Any service requiring specific knowledge or experience

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AUDIT & ASSURANCE

Psychological Safety Is a Throughput Issue, Not a Soft Skill

Firms rarely struggle because their people lack intelligence, training, or work ethic.

By William Englehaupt

Most teams are staffed with capable professionals who understand the standards and care deeply about quality. Yet issues still surface late, reviews still congest near deadlines, and leaders are often surprised by risks that “should have been obvious earlier.”

MORE Audit and Assurance

The common explanation is experience gaps or workload pressure. The more accurate explanation is simpler and more uncomfortable: uncertainty is being withheld until it is too late to deal with cheaply. That is not a personality problem. It is a system problem.

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MARKETING & SALES

Four Obstacles to Selling for Accountants

Businessman with head in hands

A detailed and historic look.

By Martin Bissett
Winning Your First Client

Let’s take a look at the last 20 years of my experience and my research as to where new clients come from in an accounting practice. I don’t think there are going to be too many shocks here.

MORE by Martin Bissett
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What I’ve found is that 82 percent of all new clients in a given year who come into an accounting firm come in from a referral source. This may be a bank or a lawyer or some other source, perhaps an existing client, who has recommended that a particular business meet with your firm and come on board as a client.
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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Merger Checklist: 34 Action Steps

https://cpatrendlines.com/2021/11/09/why-its-time-for-an-acquisition/

There are a lot of decisions to make.

By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide

Most firms find that it takes three to four years to fully implement a merger. But during the first few months after the effective date of the merger, there are quite a few administrative and procedural things that need to be attended to immediately.

MORE by Marc Rosenberg
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Most firms try to get as much of a head start as possible, before the effective date of the merger.
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