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four ways to propel new cpas into growing your firm

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young businesswoman talking to her client and using tabletpractice makes progress.

by sarah johnson dobek
inovautus consulting

it’s no secret most accounting firms are facing partner succession and will continue to do so for years to come. the most common area of concern is how to involve new cpas in your firm’s growth activities.

more: five better ways to say no | six ways to engage young managers, staff in firm growth | the right dna for growth | how crisis illuminates your biz dev skills | business development and sales aren’t scary
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the short solution is young staff members should be involved in anything that will help them learn the business and develop the skills they need to lead one day, whether that means the partner track or some other role. it’s never too early to start. in fact, immersion should be expected from the first day they walk into the firm.

here are four instant and easy ways to get your young people involved in the business:

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tech vexes 58% of solos

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checklist: the five best ideas for winning the tech wars.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

solo practitioners enjoy certain privileges. they can set their own hours, pick their clients, work at their own pace, dress in office grunge, nap at will and take their dogs to work.

more in surveys & research:  clients would switch for portals | firms on the brink of big spending | m&a looms large for 30% of firms  |  is remote the new normal?  |  the top challenges in these turbulent times   |  new worlds of opportunity   |  accountants agree: the top five ways to fix the irs   |  survey: firms on the brink of big spending  |  irs audit rates are dropping, and big earners couldn’t be happier  |  six more ways to fix the irs  |  cpa hiring rises as number of new grads continues to decline   |  2022世界杯赛程安排  |  six quick solutions for irs backlogs  |  the big battles ahead for corporate finance

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but when it comes to tech, solos can be challenged. they may know accountancy and their clientele better than anybody in town, but when it comes to tech, they don’t know

  • what’s out there,
  • what’s coming down the techno-pike,
  • how to use new apps and
  • whether the latest stuff is worth paying for.

and they tend to run their hardware into the ground, investing in new tools only when they have to.
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firms battle disruptions in communications and workflows

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next up? scheduling and paper.

the accounting firm operations and technology survey

covid-19 and its variants forced a number of challenges upon the accounting profession. accountants are telling us that tops on that list were communication and workflow, at 49.4 and 49.1 percent respectively. even solos felt the burn, at 40.6%, so it wasn’t all internal communication to blame, although large firms of 51-100 felt it most sharply, at 60%.

survey results

top corona problems: communication, workflow, and digitizing paper top the list.

more: pandemic changed work for 64% | pandemic? what pandemic? | m&a looms large for 30% of firms | today’s top 3 tech problems: security, client onboarding and workflow | today’s top 3 problems: staffing, workflow and tech
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some responses that didn’t hit the top six still were notable. postal mail was called out by 21.9 percent, including 40 percent of solos and 33.3 percent of large firms. solos also reported phone calls and lost income at 24.6 percent. despite most groups saying lost income was a challenge, relatively few put that figure anywhere near the one for paying bills, except extra-large firms noting 11.8 percent difficulty with lost income and 5.9 percent with paying bills.

details by firm size read more →

five better ways to say no

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keep the flow going.

by sarah johnson dobek
inovautus consulting

learning to say no is an important part of growing your business. it helps you stay focused on your strategy and goals and helps you ensure you are using your time most effectively. however, saying no can sometimes also impede your growth.

more: six ways to engage young managers, staff in firm growth | four ways to help young rainmakers build their skills | are you solving your clients’ problems? | the right dna for growth | seven reasons your growth plans are stalled | five ways to grow new service lines
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you get referrals that don’t fit your target market, employees bring you ideas that don’t fit your strategy or you say no because of previously bad experiences or results from a situation. when these situations add up over time with individuals, it can stifle their willingness to refer you more business or share their ideas. the result is stifled innovation, loss of referrals and loss of growth opportunities.
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the big money in cas for small firms

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businessman ogling money over another's shoulderyou should see more investment and more referrals.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

the cloud makes it possible – no, it makes it inevitable – for smart business owners to focus on their core business and let professional accountants take care of accounting, including transactional work (to be done accurately).

more: what cas is and isn’t | do you value your cas value? | the mindset you need for client accounting services
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this new possibility gives rise to cas opportunities for accountants to work in collaboration with business owners in real-time.

cas is one of the fastest-growing new revenue segments of many top 100 firms, but perhaps the even bigger cas opportunity is more relevant and more available to smaller accounting firms.

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clients would switch for portals

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surprised? it comes down to security.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the latest data from atomik research’s 2021 client expectations study shows that cpa firms without portals, apps and solid security face a high probability of losing clients.

and not just a few but most.

more in surveys & research: m&a looms large for 30% of firms  |  is remote the new normal?  |  the top challenges in these turbulent times   |  new worlds of opportunity   |  accountants agree: the top five ways to fix the irs   |  survey: firms on the brink of big spending  |  irs audit rates are dropping, and big earners couldn’t be happier  |  six more ways to fix the irs  |  cpa hiring rises as number of new grads continues to decline   |  2022世界杯赛程安排  |  six quick solutions for irs backlogs  |  the big battles ahead for corporate finance

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overall, a staggering 78 percent of small businesses say they would consider switching accountants to one that uses “the latest technology.”

they aren’t necessarily expecting the latest in accounting software, but a burgeoning majority think an accountant with a portal might suffice to get them to jump the fence.
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pandemic changed work for 64%

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extra-large firms had the easiest going.

the accounting firm operations and technology survey

covid-19 threw some in accounting – 3 percent – into turmoil, while 61.4 percent reported that some change was in order.

 

bar chart

 

 

more: pandemic? what pandemic? | m&a looms large for 30% of firms | today’s top 3 tech problems: security, client onboarding and workflow | today’s top 3 problems: staffing, workflow and tech
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

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three thoughts for a quiet morning

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calm balanced businessman sitting outdoors on bench in yoga lotus pose meditating, with office building and blue sky in backgroundtake the time while you have it.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

with busy season over, it’s a good time to take stock of where we stand for the year, plus regroup as needed before the next one is upon us. with so many changes in software, politics, tax laws and global standards, it’s pretty easy to feel a little disorganized.

more: take a moment for appreciation | five skills that spell success | beyond compliance: what more you can provide  | the biggest seo secret of all: google business listings | five ways to get better clients
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here are three steps to help us take stock of our foundational business goals, re-evaluate our big picture and get us centered as we enter the next quarter.
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when hourly-billing hurts profits

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the rule of three algorithm vs. the new cost-plus worksheet.

by august j. aquila

the time has come for the accounting professional to rethink the paradigm on which pricing has been based.

most now agree that the traditional methods of price setting can have a negative impact on a firm.

more: the morning after the merger | 6 action steps for a smooth retirement transition | the eternal riddle of being an effective leader | 7 pieces of leadership advice | tomorrow’s leader in 9 bullet points | 5 ways to get clients to accept a new pricing philosophy | 11 alternative pricing methods

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somewhere along the line accountants began to believe that an hour of their work had a set value to their clients. as we shall see, this false assumption has led to the current state of affairs and has caused accountants to:

  • produce more chargeable hours by constantly reinventing the wheel
  • hoard work and, consequently, do a poor job of delegating
  • inhibit the creation of more efficient ways of producing accounting services
  • hinder the development of more efficient project management

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survey: firms on the brink of big spending

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economy, pandemic among the causes.

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the tech spend: some 32% of firms are planning increases in technology budgets, according to this year’s survey. and 63% are continuing to spend as much as during the height of the pandemic. source: accounting firm operations and technology survey.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

after two years of caution and hesitant changes, accounting firms are getting ready to make up for lost time, according to findings from the new accounting firm operations and technology survey.

more survey results: pandemic? what pandemic?  |  m&a looms large for 30% of firms | today’s top 3 tech problems: security, client onboarding and workflow | today’s top 3 management problems: staffing, workflow and tech

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the comprehensive national study of firms of every size says accountants are looking to change practice management, tax, audit, portals, workflow and document management systems. many had been reluctant to change their technologies during the covid-19 lockdown periods.
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irs audit rates are dropping, and big earners couldn’t be happier

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audit rates by total positive income: although audit rates are declining more rapidly for higher-income taxpayers, the audit rate for lower-income taxpayers claiming the earned income tax credit is running higher than average. the reason: irs says it doesn’t have the highly-trained staff needed for high-income audits. eitc audits are easier. shown: 2019 tax year.

for the wealthy, the irs says it’s out-gunned.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the percentage of taxpayers audited by the irs has been in precipitous decline since 2010, with the steepest decline in – surprise, surprise! – the highest income bracket, according to a new study.

hoisted from comments: “it is not the auditors who are to blame. it is the irs processes that the auditors are following.”

the odds of a taxpayer being audited are astonishingly low, an average of just 0.25% in 2019, way down from 0.9% in 2010.

more on tax: six quick solutions for irs backlogs | accountants agree: the top five ways to fix the irs | irs tops list of busy season problems |  thinking commercial real estate? think fast.  |  new small firm cost seg opportunities  |  what gig workers want  |  accountants agree: the top five ways to fix the irs  |  tax season ’22: working harder for every dollar  |  irs tops list of busy season problems
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audit rates for brackets between $25,000 and $500,000 are well below average, just 0.17%.
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pandemic? what pandemic?

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how some firms are flourishing in the new normal.

the accounting firm operations and technology survey

one of the benefits of an annual report such as the accounting firm operations and technology survey is the opportunity to see not only the current sentiments but those from years before. sometimes, though, new issues arise and are momentous to warrant inclusion via a new question … as when covid-19 crashed onto the scene.

bar chart

more: m&a looms large for 30% of firms | today’s top 3 tech problems: security, client onboarding and workflow | today’s top 3 management problems: staffing, workflow and tech
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of those working at home for the first time, by far the largest group fell into large firms of 51 to 100 employees, where 93.3 percent were new to remote work. medium and extra-large flanked them in those results, at 51.9 percent and 47.1 percent respectively. see table: read more →

six ways to engage young managers, staff in firm growth

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number 6shareholders have a role, but less hands-on.

by sarah johnson dobek
inovautus consulting

growing your accounting firm takes a lot of time and effort and, because of this, developing the skills of staff and managers takes a backseat. while each shareholder should take responsibility to contribute to growing the firm, that doesn’t mean they need to do it all themselves.

more: four ways to help young rainmakers build their skills | are you solving your clients’ problems? | five ways to grow new service lines | don’t confuse marketing with biz dev
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engaging your managers and staff is beneficial for three reasons:

  • it teaches them growth is important to the firm and helps establish a culture around growth.
  • it empowers them to learn how to market and sell, which should be key for anyone who wants to progress in their career.
  • it allows you to execute on key problems without everything falling on a shareholder’s plate.

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