here’s what you’re looking for: l. gary boomer

leadership

the news about the economy is not as important as what you decide to do about it.

“too often, accounting firms head immediately for the bunker and dwell on any negative news,” practice management consultant gary boomer says.

he tells firm leaders: “the challenge for you is to maintain personal confidence while building the same in your staff and clients.”

boomer suggests six steps to take today:

1. have a new opportunities conversation with your clients. discuss what they have and are grateful for.

2. list each client’s current dangers, opportunities and strengths – then select and focus on the top three.

3. develop an action plan. be creative.

4. focus on progress and not perfection.

5. agree to speak again with the client within the next 30 days.

“the uncertainty of the times is real,” boomer says. “fear should not cause paralysis, but rather motivation to take positive action. while some things are out of our control, how we react is not. take time to think, write down your thoughts and act. in so doing you will devise a remedy for the present and a plan for the future.”

more at the boomer bulletin.

staffing & recruiting

gary boomer: on the staffing crisis

four reasons why cpa firms lose young professionals. and what to do about it.

by l. gary boomer

i think there are obvious reasons accounting graduates are not sitting for the cpa exam and staying in public accounting. some of the more relevant reasons are:

1. a large percentage are going into private accounting right out of school. (about 70% from the last statistics i saw.)

2. firms work them too many hours and don’t provide the required technical, soft and it training. it is all about the charge hour in most public accounting firms.

3. the exam is difficult and many candidates procrastinate. firms need to develop fast track programs for getting people through the exam as quickly as possible. existing cpas de-motivate many candidates by referring to how the exam is easy since is computerized. most cpas can’t tell you the four parts, nor could they pass it today.

4. many firms are top heavy and younger people don’t see their significance or buy into the vision of the firm.

most of these are negative, but all progress starts with the truth. the one thing firms should communicate is that a cpa can have the 10 to 20 lifetime jobs talked about by the generational experts . they can even be with the same firm. the cpa certificate provides a multitude of opportunities.