Today's Features
AUDIT & ASSURANCE

Why Most Audit Plans Repeat Last Year’s Problems

Why planning often reinforces existing constraints – and how to design for a different outcome.

By William Englehaupt

Most audit teams believe they are planning for the future. In reality, they are often replaying the past. This is what many would label as SALY, “same as last year.”

MORE by William Englehaupt
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

As a Prussian general once observed, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” In auditing, that “enemy” is reality: uneven client data, evolving judgment and the rework that becomes visible once work begins. Most plans are not corrections; they are continuations.
READ MORE →

MARKETING & SALES

Keep Clients by Expanding Your Services Checklist

woman and man smiling and talking in business setting

Six questions to ask.

By August Aquila
MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability and Client Retention

Let’s explore ways to provide additional services to existing clients. Here is a short checklist that will help you obtain additional services for your clients.

MORE by August J. Aquila
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

  1. Other than accounting and tax services, what additional services do you provide to this client? Create a spreadsheet listing the type of service, the fees, the year of service, the engagement leader and the client’s satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 5. If your list of additional services is lengthy, you are providing good service to the client. If it is short, continue to the following questions.

READ MORE →

PRO Member Exclusive

Why CPAs Quit Public Accounting

Midsection of businessman moving out with cardboard box from office

Ten reasons, including bosses.

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

As I have written about CPAs who leave public accounting, there has been widespread interest. There is a lot more to say so I’ll address many of those questions.

MORE by Ed Mendlowitz
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

General Comment

Generally speaking, many bosses do not listen to staff concerns. At many firms, there is a lack of serious mentoring and little help for staff people in managing their careers. In many practices, there is an appearance of a lack of growth, or if there is growth, then staff people are often left behind. In most instances, these problems are exacerbated by staff people not being clear about what they want. They are hesitant to speak up, share their concerns with their bosses or venture beyond their comfort zone. Both are culpable, but I place greater blame on the bosses, who should know better.
READ MORE →

GROWTH STRATEGIES

Trisha Daho: What Firms Are Missing on Talent | MOVE Like This

“They are requiring us to be the leaders that we deserved and didn’t get.”

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 The True Adviser: Buy now | Learn more 

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines Research podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.
 
The True Adviser: Buy now | Learn more

MOVE Like This
With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
For CPA Trendlines Research

In this episode of MOVE Like This, Trisha Daho joins Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to talk about what’s really happening inside accounting firms when it comes to talent, leadership, and growth. Drawing on her experience as a former Big Four partner turned fractional chief people officer, Daho offers a clear-eyed view of where firms are getting it right, and where they’re falling short.

MORE MOVE Like This | MORE Benchmarks: Register for MOVE 2026 | MORE CPA Trendlines Streaming Network

At the core of the conversation is a simple but often overlooked point: the firms that are succeeding aren’t just focused on growth, they’re intentional about how they grow. That starts with having a defined talent strategy. Firms that prioritize development, align values with their people, and create consistent leadership experiences tend to see stronger retention, better performance, and more engaged teams. In contrast, firms that treat talent as secondary or assume people will simply “figure it out” often struggle to keep their best performers.  READ MORE →

PRICING, FEES & BILLING RATES

How to Call the Right Plays for Your Clients

Understand their goals and their weaknesses.

By Jody Padar
Radical Pricing – By The Radical CPA

It’s up to you to recognize the client persona most suited for your firm, but you’ll want to start by defining your customers’ needs. So, what do people really want, and how can you figure it out?

MORE by Jody Padar

GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

Certainly, you can engage in expensive research, from questionnaires to focus groups. But, in reality, most of the clues you need will come from your knowledge of the people you work with within that group.
READ MORE →