today's features

a better way to provide performance feedback

two men seated across desk from each other, having discussion

yes, we included a form. but we almost didn’t.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm staff: managing your #1 asset

“feedback is the breakfast of champions.” – ken blanchard

“average players want to be left alone. good players want to be coached. great players want to be told the truth.” – doc rivers, nba basketball coach

more: training? cpe? they’re not the same | six tips for setting compensation | staff crave advancement and challenge | what leadership looks and feels at cpa firms | eleven things that good mentors do | give the recognition your staff needs | the importance of great bosses | how remote work is impacting accounting firms | make work flexibility work for everyone | why staff leave cpa firms … and how to stop them | how to solve the big disconnect in talent management | what relevance means for staffing in accounting | how accounting staffing has changed
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this post is divided into two sections:

  • the progressive view of providing performance feedback, which a minority of firms today practice. whenever something new to the field of practice management appears in a major way, many firms are slow to embrace it. examples: proactive selling, going paperless, adopting the cloud and managing a cpa firm like a real business.
  • the traditional view of providing performance feedback, which a majority of firms still practice today. if asked why the traditional practice continues, partners often respond, “that’s the way we’ve always done it. it ain’t perfect, but we are reasonably satisfied with it.”

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rory henry upends the traditional accounting firm

henry
rory henry, a behavioral financial advisor, is the director at arrowroot family office and co-founder of afo wealth management forward. he has created a program to help accounting professionals incorporate holistic wealth management and proactive planning services into their practice.

why “advisory” encompasses more than you might think.

by rory henry
the holistic guide to wealth management

i work at a virtual family office called arrowroot family office. over the course of my career i have learned that family (and family dynamics) significantly shapes who we are and how we form relationships in life.

more: why now is the time for cpas to embrace wealth management

research shows that one of the biggest drivers of family dynamics is the order in which each child is born. birth order theory, developed by alfred adler in the 20th century, suggests that the order in which children are born can have a significant impact on their development and personality.
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bailey parnell: why accountants must master soft skills in a vuca world | accounting influencers

having a growth mindset, seeking feedback, and auditing one’s skills are essential to continuous learning and development.

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accounting influencers
with rob brown

bailey parnell, owner of skills camp, says grit is just one element of resilience and that soft skills often characterize our relationships with ourselves and others. parnell also explains how to navigate through today’s volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—vuca, for short.

parnell says accountants need a growth mindset in times of change and stress. parnell highlights the need for a learner-centric approach to teaching soft skills that prioritizes the learners’ interests and learning styles over serving the institution.

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cas clients are ‘stickier’

businessman looking at question mark sketch on the wall

they’re more loyal and buy more services. what’s not to like?

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

client accounting services (cas) is the new revenue segment you cannot afford to miss.

if you are an accounting firm owner/partner, you do not want to miss the emerging, growing and profitable opportunities in client accounting services.

more client accounting services articles
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before we get to why, to ensure that we are on the same page, let us agree on a description of what cas is.
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john higgins: leveraging chatgpt for advisory | gear up for growth

“clients want value, and now, with these tools, you can give them more value.”
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gear up for growth
with jean caragher
for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

“ai and chatgpt-type tools can become your advisory services assistant,” says john higgins, founder and ceo of higgins advisory. “it can help cpas communicate better as an advisor and help identify the things cpas should focus on for the type of client they’re advising.” 

gear up for growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and effficient growth in today’s competitive landscape. more gear up for growth every friday here.more capstone conversations with jean caragher every monday | more jean caragher here | get her best-selling handbook, the 90-day marketing plan for cpa firms, here | more 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 videos and podcasts here

higgins was a guest on gear up for growth, hosted by jean caragher, president of capstone marketing, and powered by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. higgins shares specific examples of how chatgpt can help cpas become more efficient by providing quick research assistance, summarizing complex information for client presentations, and creating tools like excel templates for common tasks. how does efficiency impact a firm’s pricing model? 

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survey says 57% of firms are raising prices next year

bar charts

are you charging enough?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

more than half of american accounting firms plan to increase their prices next year, according to the 2024 u.s. accounting and tax pricing benchmark survey just issued by software developer ignition.

more: how will private equity impact accounting careers? | eleven questions about kids, wealth and the family business | twelve years and out: seasoned accountants join the exodus | how accounting firms are handling the staff shortage | gen ai in accounting: epic transformation, or overheated hype? | survey shows big opportunities in small business | salary guides for accountants vary widely: whom do you believe? | are you earning what you deserve? | the slow, painful death of the 150-hour rule | partner comp earnings gap: what’s the right spread?
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the survey finds that 57 percent plan to jack up their invoices across all services, with 31 percent of them going for a 10 percent increase. but 37 percent will limit their increases to just 5 percent.

and a gutsy 6 percent will go for 20 percent more.
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art werner: preparing for the tax cuts and jobs act to expire | quick tax tip

expect tax hikes and lost deductions.

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quick tax tip
with art werner
cpe today

as the end of 2024 draws closer, tax advisors and taxpayers should prepare for major changes that could significantly impact tax bills. art werner highlights an upcoming challenge: the scheduled expiration of the tax cuts and jobs act (tcja), which was signed into law in 2017 and brought significant tax breaks and lower tax rates.

click here for more art werner

like many tax laws, the tcja was designed to “self-destruct,” meaning its provisions will sunset at the close of 2025 unless congress takes action.

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bissett bullet: just another accountancy firm?

today’s bissett bullet: “why are my website inquiries so much more fee-sensitive than my usual referrals?

by martin bissett

this is because your website will usually list your services and as a lot of those are compliance-based, this will attract inquiries from those looking for a basic compliance solution rather than advisory services.

your referrals, on the other hand, have come from a recommendation of you as a trusted advisor. to someone searching for a service on google, you are “just another accountancy firm” so if you would like stronger inquiries via your website, you need to stand out from the competition by swapping lists of services for stories.

today’s to-do:

write the answers to the following: who have you helped? what time have you saved them? what tax have you recovered for them? what have they been able to reinvest in their businesses? how have you helped them in their personal lives? take one example and get someone to write a case study to feature prominently on your website.

see more bissett bullets here

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get more referrals in five steps

key to leads cloud shape

who do you want? (hint: it’s not “everyone.”)

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms

there are many great things about getting referrals. first, referrals have a built-in trust that helps you move through the sales process faster. second, there’s almost no marketing cost involved. third, they tend to make a better long-term client.

more: is your practice leaking money? | boost your value, boost your fees | how to put your strengths to work for you | are you throwing away profits? | three steps to becoming a millionaire | how to use chatgpt to create images | create a bad website in ten easy steps | leverage your strengths to beat stress | are you crossing off your business bucket list? | ten ways to make your business irresistible
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unfortunately, many business owners take a reactive approach to referrals, waiting until they come to them, rather than a more profitable approach, which is to proactively maximize referrals. here are five proactive ways to boost referrals:
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how accounting pros own the stage in public speaking | accounting arc

from free speeches to paid engagements, thought leaders discuss breaking into the speaking circuit and what they’ve learned along the way.

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accounting arc
with liz mason, byron patrick, and donny shimamoto.
center for accounting transformation

public speaking is not for the faint of heart, especially in the accounting world.

in a recent episode of accounting arc, hosts liz mason, cpa; byron patrick, cpa.citp, cgma; and donny shimamoto, cpa.citp, cgma; share how their speaking careers transitioned from volunteer gigs to paid engagements. they delve into their varied approaches to preparation, overcoming imposter syndrome, and learning from feedback, painting a picture of how they influence the profession from the stage.

more accounting arc: greg kyte: being a cpa is like being the marie kondo of numbers | rachel bashore: a lawyer’s case for reinventing accounting | beyond the basics in ethics eduction | bailey lenart: from ledger sheets to transformational change | election tax plans: what cpas need to know | leadership for the future: stakeholders, sustainability, and strategic visionin-person conferences still essential | non-accountants in accounting: a game-changer for the professionrubik yeriazarian: smaller firms offer big opportunities for rapid skill development in forensic accounting | accounting arc | ai will steal your job. and that’s a good thing | accounting arc | the right kind of lazy: innovative approaches to streamlining workflows | accounting arc

in their early speaking years, shimamoto, mason, and patrick often presented free of charge, primarily as a way to share knowledge and establish credibility. “when it’s a paid gig, there’s a different level of responsibility,” says patrick, ceo of verifyiq and vice president of client success at the b3 method institute®. today, these professionals are in high demand for keynotes and panels, representing a new, evolving face of the accounting profession.

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tech anxiety paralyzing some accounting firms

abstract illustration of binary data flow

ai? inescapable. but don’t forget cybersecurity.

by roman kepczyk
the rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics

wild ride: as i am primarily focused on accounting firm technology and departmental production, i will limit my observations to it, where the big trend will be that we will continue to see a profusion of new ai-assisted applications coming at firms from all directions, at an increasingly untenable pace. i think that the reality of the mantra stating, “you won’t be replaced by ai, but by someone using ai” will sink into every accountant’s brain in 2025 and the urge to jump to solutions will be overpowering

editor’s note: every year, the 2024 rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics asks the profession’s top consultants two sets of questions:

    • how do you think the next 12 months will unfold? trends? predictions? other thoughts?
    • how would you assess the last 12 months? trends? observations? struggles?

more: what’s going to happen? lots, say consultants | growth and complacency must concern accounting firms this year | solving staffing requires intention | how accounting firms are handling the staff shortage | the future of fees | as private equity closes in, firms seek new answers to staffing problems | when staffing falls short, clients get culled | how accounting firms are dealing with retirement | next five years are critical for accounting firms | staffing turnover’s down, but why? | what’s your firm worth? private equity wants to know
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like the dotcom boom of the early 2000s, i’m already seeing firms display a significant amount of anxiety around making application decisions and paralysis around concerns about integrating tools that could shortly be replaced by another, better product. my advice is to research peer success, pilot small and learn fast (or at least fail fast and move on).
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