my first trainee

leads to new opportunities.confident businessman analyzing chart and explaining it to co-worker

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

i was fortunate early on in my career that i had a boss who gave me responsibility to supervise. on some level i was not really instructed how to supervise, but was told i could use the new person to help me get my work done.

more: the growing pains of a small firm | giving clients the best you’ve got | secrets in specialties | 10 more reasons cpas quit public accounting | when cpas leave to work for a client | when parents, children hit an impasse
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this was precipitated by an email i received from the first person ever i supervised. i had not spoken to him since working with him in 1968. he emailed me because he read one of my columns and just wanted to say hello. i remembered him and then i recalled how i got started training him – he was the first person i trained.
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nine tax season resources that get forgotten

happy family of four outdoors in winter clothing on snowdon’t take these for granted.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

we have many resources and need to recognize that. and we need to treat each with its own importance. even if you did everything yourself, you’d still need to rely on your tax software company, fedex and the postal service, stationery supplier, computer consultant, the internet and email, cell phone provider and copier/scanner machine. and that’s just a few of the resources we rely on. managing your resources well creates an aura of security and consistency to your practice.

more: 16 traits of the best tax clients | eight ways to charm a client | plug small leaks before they become big floods | you’re only as good as your last screw-up
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but there more. and they are often overlooked. or taken for granted. here are some more resources that need to be managed:
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21 reasons tax clients fire accountants

portrait of an angry man yelling on the phonewhat could you be preventing right now?

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

clients have many choices, including the choice of a tax preparer. every new client an accountant gets is because that client left – fired – their previous accountant.

more: 16 traits of the best tax clients | eight ways to charm a client | plug small leaks before they become big floods | you’re only as good as your last screw-up | four issues with ‘quick’ tax questions | when to pick up the phone this tax season | these five procedures will simplify your tax season | 11 steps to better client tax instructions | get your team ready for tax season | 12 ways to squeeze fun into tax season | 6 ways to get paid faster in tax season
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

so why do clients leave?

here are 21 good reasons why they should: read more →

buying a practice from an estate

businessman looking thoughtfulmake the terms work for you.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

this was precipitated by my hearing of the untimely death of a sole practitioner who was a friend. his family wanted to sell the practice and was shopping around for a buyer.

more: the growing pains of a small firm | giving clients the best you’ve got | secrets in specialties | 10 more reasons cpas quit public accounting | the 10 best movie accountants | when cpas leave to work for a client | when parents, children hit an impasse | wealth is a state of mind | the six types of “impossible” clients
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

he died two and a half months ago and a deal still hasn’t been consummated. another friend who was trying to acquire what was left of the practice has kept me advised of the progress.
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unhappy about tax season?

businesswoman holding green folderit’s time to figure out why.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

successful people are happy with their practices and what they do and get joy from interacting and helping clients. i know a lot of accountants who continuously complain about tax season – yet they make most of their money during the period.

more: 16 traits of the best tax clients | eight ways to charm a client | plug small leaks before they become big floods | you’re only as good as your last screw-up
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

do they expect someone to knock on their door with a wheelbarrow of money to hand them? if they are financially secure, why do they keep working?
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the growing pains of a small firm

the lessons every firm needs to learn.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

“cpa firm grows prosperous by heeding its own advice.” the wall street journal published an article with that title in their may 18, 1981 issue about my firm, and this column describes some of what we did.

more: giving clients the best you’ve got | why map programs are essential | making sure the son got proper credit | family trees of clients | why accountants quit | when siblings battle over the family business | how bickering can ruin a family business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the article began by stating there were about 28,000 cpa firms in the u.s., with about 19,000 being sole practitioners and many others with just two or three cpas. these numbers are lower than now, so the profession and small firms have grown significantly in the last 40-plus years.
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16 traits of the best tax clients

green cast iron sign with white 16 painted on it

subscriber frank kistner adds no. 17: clients who remove staples from source documents (because they can damage your scanner/copier).

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

clients are our customers who pay our salaries and present us with stimulating opportunities allowing us to grow.

more: eight ways to charm a client | plug small leaks before they become big floods | you’re only as good as your last screw-up | four issues with ‘quick’ tax questions | when to pick up the phone this tax season | these five procedures will simplify your tax season | 11 steps to better client tax instructions
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

there is no such thing as a bad or nuisance client – although there are clients who sometimes do bad or nuisance things.
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giving clients the best you’ve got

what it looks like in black and white.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

we all use the cliché that we give the clients the best we got, but what does it really mean?

more: how to become a specialist | making sure the son got proper credit | 10 more reasons cpas quit public accounting | preparing for the worst (thanks to my wife) | why accountants quit | when cpas leave to work for a client | readers rip: ‘she wanted her shoebox back’ | how bickering can ruin a family business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

i’ve written about value-added services and efforts we can do on behalf of our clients, but here is a different approach i have used.
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