Today's Features
MARKETING & SALES

Nine Business Development Metrics to Measure

Businesswoman in wheelchair meeting with potential client

Plus seven mistakes to avoid in winning new fees.

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

Like it or not, the 21st-century accountant is in the relationship-building business.

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When a qualified accountant learns the art of developing those relationships in such a way as they empower the practice to be able to forecast its new fee income each year, the accountant becomes a profit center and their value to the firm increases tenfold.
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BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Two Types of Tax Review and How to Use Them

woman reading document at desk

Let color-coded tick marks be your friends.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

One of your roles as CEO is reviewer. There are two types of review: primary and secondary.

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Depending on the size of your firm, you may only have primary reviews. If your firm consists of you and a preparer, you won’t have a second level of review. I don’t consider the self-review as a review step. I consider it part of preparation.
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STREAMING NETWORK

Richard Roppa-Roberts: Collaboration Over Competition | The Disruptors

Find your community; find your people.

This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by “TurboCharge Your Profits: How to Thrive in the New Economy,” by Frank Stitely, CPA, CVA – See Today’s Special Offer

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The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Richard Roppa-Roberts created Roundtable Labs by accident.

MORE PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Ira Rosenbloom: M&A Numbers Are Easy – Culture Fit Is Hard | Roman Villard: Ditch the Suit & Shine | Monique Swansen: Align Firm Values with Services | Tina McGill: How to Create Lasting Client Impact | Stefan van Duyvendijk: Develop Operational Mindset | Steve Evans: Why Traditional Hiring Methods Fail | Roger Knecht: Can You Be an Accountrepreneur? | Beth Whitworth: Focus on Outcomes Not Hours |Mike Sylvester: Learn to Say No | Salim Omar: Identify Your Client’s $100,000 Problem | Jackie Meyer: Earn More with Fewer Clients | Jack Fleherty: Don’t Be a ‘Yes’ Person | Greg Adams: From Finance to Storytelling | The Disruptors | Jody Padar: Make Radical Changes Now If You Want to Be Relevant in 2030 | Rebecca Driscoll: Amplify Reach By Helping Other Firm Owners | Rory Henry: Create the Return on Relationships | Mike Maksymiw: Be the Leader You Wish You Had |

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He had just started his consulting firm, Quasar Cowboy, “and I had one spot available for a new client, and I had nine prospects, and I didn’t know what to do,” Roppa-Roberts explains. “I was new at this whole thing, and I’m like, Well, I’m gonna put them all in a room together and see what shakes out. And what shook out was the first cohort of Roundtable Labs.”

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ADVISORY & CONSULTING

What Struggling Small Businesses Need

bar charts

Digital apps and credit cards are helping.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Small businesses with one to 100 employees were struggling a bit in the year ending October 2024, according to a survey conducted by Intuit Quickbooks, but may be starting to get back on their feet.

MORE: Five Ways to Head Off Reluctant Leadership | Big Growth Coming for Client Advisory Services | Scams Getting More Sophisticated | You Need Capable Successors for a Seamless Transition | Mark Koziel: The Future of the Profession | Gear Up for Growth | America’s Running Short of Financial Advisors | Maybe the Pipeline Problem Is Technology | What If the Staffing Shortage Is Just a Myth? | Staffing, Tech, Prices Top Tax Pros’ Concerns
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The survey results may be of interest to accounting practices that are advising small businesses in various sectors and regions. In that digital and AI applications are giving advantage to companies that use them, accounting clients may be looking for advice on how to put these tools to work.
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AUDIT & ASSURANCE

Develop an Alternative to the Traditional CPA Career Track

older woman showing young woman something on office computer screen

How about lending new hires out to your best clients?

By Alan Anderson, CPA
Transforming Audit for the Future

I’m fortunate to have two great former auditors working with me in Accountability Plus – my son Tyler Anderson and Corey Schmidt, who met working together as auditors. But that firm – like most firms – was focused on total hours worked and realization rates, and had no tracks for auditors who didn’t fit in the normal staff to senior to supervisor to manager to partner progression.

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As Corey told me, “Tyler and I were good with workflow management and managing processes, and that’s what our firm should have had us focus on.” Corey demonstrated that when he was assigned the employee benefit plan practice at that firm, and through his leadership, improved fee realization from 60 percent to 100 percent.

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