and four simple solutions.
by rick telberg
if this is february, then it’s the season for already forgetting our new year’s resolutions. i don’t know about you, but i’ve already broken a few of them.
but there are some new year’s resolutions that we cannot afford to ignore. for accountants, here are just four. that’s right: only four. that’s all we have space for here. but each is hitched to a pervasive dilemma within the profession.
the eminent sage, august j. aquila (right), has an eminently practical to-do list to help firm managers get ready for tax season.
(related: click here for more about managing busy season.)
1. prioritize issues and work on the low hanging fruit first. do not try to fix all your problems at one time. read more →
work/life balance proves essential to recruiting, retaining staff.
by rick telberg
if that cpa working next to you appears stressed out by the job, take a long, hard look because you may not see him or her again in the future.
while cpas in all walks of the profession are strained and face tough workloads, those feeling the greatest stress and workplace demands are more likely to be seriously in the market for another job. at any given moment, according to my studies, about one on three cpas would consider changing jobs, even it meant a pay cut, in exchange for better working conditions. among the most stressed-out cpas, the ratio of job seekers jumps to about half.
so it’s imperative for managers of cpas to offer state-of-the-art workplaces if they want to retain hard-to-find staff. read more →
…then your cpa firm may be below average.
sageworks, a raleigh, n.c.-based business analytics software provider, reports in forbes that cpa firms may just be the most profitable business an entrepreneur can choose.
t
he offices of cpas tops a list of 20 other industries, with an average pretax margin of 17.1%. wired communication carriers (transmission-line operators and the like), with a 10.1% margin, rank 20th.
“industries which provide need-to-have solutions rather than nice-to-have solutions tend to do better,” says sageworks founder brian hamilton.
the data are drawn from financial statements on nearly 300,000 companies, most with under $10 million in annual revenue, and bucketed by five- and six-digit north american industry classification system codes. the figures were gathered between 2000 and 2009, to capture an entire business cycle. to be considered, each category included at least 100 companies.
but some challenges may still be ahead
via cch
accounting firms are doing well weathering the effects of the current economic slump, but unfortunately there may still be challenges ahead, even as the economy picks up, according to the findings of an independent nationwide survey of 100 u.s. accounting firms. the survey was conducted by opinion research corporation, and commissioned by cch, a wolters kluwer business (cchgroup.com).
according to the survey, despite the downturn, firms have been successful overall in maintaining rates, client services and staff productivity as they carefully manage the bottom line.
but even during the recession, firms reported difficulty in finding good staff. and, with the baby boomers about to retire in record numbers, a talent crunch looms on the horizon as the opportunity for business growth returns with the economic recovery.
“the accounting profession has performed well in a poor economy, but it should be a wake-up call for many that staffing challenges have persisted through the recession,” said cch president mike sabbatis. “firms should be considering right now what they need to do to win that talent war as the economy heats up again.”
the talent crunch
the good news is that the level of job reductions in accounting firms has been relatively low. twelve percent of firms surveyed had layoffs, while 18 percent instituted hiring freezes. however, firms highlighted difficulty in finding good staff even in the recession, with 20 percent reporting that they are unable to find people to fill open positions despite record-high unemployment rates.
if it’s after oct. 15, then it’s now cpe season.
we’re launching a new survey to gather the profession’s plans for continuing professional education this year.
join the survey and be the first to get the answers to:
click here to join the survey; get the results. or just add your comments below. the best comments may win a special preview of the survey findings.
you might have thought this was settled in the 1990’s.
but oklahoma remains one of six states left in the u.s. that still (technically, at least) bans non-cpas from owning a piece of a cpa firm.
today the oklahoma society of cpas will be emailing a survey to members to see if they want to bring their state’s rules into the mainstream. in a straw poll of directors and committee chairs, 40 out of 45 voted in favor of lifting the ban.
under the proposed change:
the state society says small to mid-sized firms will benefit from the change because it will allow them to “increase the scope of services to their clients” and “offer attractive partnership positions to non-cpa specialists in areas such as information technology or estate planning.”
but it’s always been the small and mid-sized firms who have traditionally opposed opening up cpa firms to non-cpas, fearing larger firms were more able to take advantage of the strategy.
only alaska, hawaii, new york, connecticut and delaware remain in oklahoma’s camp.
the association for accounting marketing, which will will be celebrating 21 years of service at the 2010 annual summit: building strong foundations for firm success, is inviting cpas and cpa firm marketing directors and advisers to submit applications to speak at the annual connference.
“by presenting at the summit,” aam says, “you’ll have the opportunity to share your marketing and sales knowledge with leaders in the field and those looking to take their firms to the next level.”
the conference is scheduled for june 22-25, 2010, in washington, dc.
application deadline: oct. 22
industry headcount stands at 928,300.
today’s u.s. employment report, which showed another month of a so-called “jobless recovery,” also signaled deeper problems for the accounting and bookkeeping sector.
the bureau of labor statistics reported a seasonally-adjusted decline in staffing by 6,000 positions, to 928,300 in september. coupled with downwardly revised figures since may, it represents the fourth straight month of decline. earlier bls reports had shown some gains.
compared to the year-ago month, accounting and bookkeeping employment declined about 1.9%, to 857,100 people from 874,100, not seasonally adjusted.
overall, the bls reported since the start of the recession in december 2007, unemployment has doubled in number and percentage, to 15.1 million people and 9.8% of the nation’s workforce idled.
the number of new york-area professionals at the region’s top 25 accounting firms fell by 1,929 people, or 7%, versus year-earlier levels.
the latest crain’s list of the 25 largest accounting firms in the new york metropolitan area shows the firms together employing more than 23,000 professionals as of june 30.
overall, only nine accounting firms saw their new york-area professional headcount increase during the june-to-june period, while the remaining 16 experienced a decline.
eisner—ranked no. 7 on the crain’s list—saw the biggest local increase, growing by 120 professionals, or 25%. marks paneth & shron also boasted a relatively large increase—47 professionals, or 13.4%. and rosen seymour shapss martin & co. grew its local professional head count by 11.7%, or 20 professionals.
for an article for accounting and tax practitioners, we’ve launched a new open-ended survey question…
(1) what are the essential year-end 2009 tax planning issues to address with clients today?
and
(2) what are the biggest headaches to expect for filing season 2010?
you can respond in comments below. but you know you can also always contact me directly: (914) 674 4531 eastern, or rickt@www.g005e.com.
i’m hoping to publish the article(s) for the aicpa insider (sample here) and here at www.g005e.com. so i might need your full contact info for verification and maybe a 73dpi web-ready head-and-shoulders portrait.
thanks,
— rick
ps: if you know someone else who also may be exceptionally qualified to answer this query, please feel free to forward this invitation to them. i’m sure they’ll be appreciative.