today's features

here’s how profit sharing improves your firm

pay for performance to reap greater rewards.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

as long as you’re changing how your firm operates, you should also look at how your staff is compensated. if your customers are paying for value, shouldn’t your teams be paid on the same basis? once your firm turns to a value paradigm, the people delivering the knowledge work – your staff – are your most valuable asset and should be compensated as such.

more: five areas to ground new metrics other than time | five reasons to ditch timesheets for good | six steps to creating a standardized practice | value pricing requires defining your clients | stop selling time | three critical factors drive the value pricing trend | stop looking for talent that does not exist
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

it’s all about alignment. clients pay on value. staff should be compensated on value. there are proven ways to make sure this alignment takes place.

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turnover timebomb: 4 of 5 senior managers at risk

and seven ways to overcome staffing issues.

by hitendra patil

the talent crisis in the accounting profession has been relentless, and it now seems that the staffing issues are moving up the ladder.

more hitendra patil here
more on staffing here

the preliminary results of the inaugural accountants professional satisfaction survey show nearly two in five directors and senior managers at accounting firms report dissatisfaction. only one in four seniors are highly satisfied. on the other hand, one in three managers are dissatisfied at their firms, and only 17 percent are highly satisfied.

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are client services a fourth-rate priority?

bar chart

there are a few barriers hindering expansion.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

when the thomson reuters 2024 state of tax professionals survey asked 500 professionals in tax and accounting firms what their top priorities were, client services came in fourth, behind efficiency/automation, talent retention/hiring, and pricing/revenue.

more: revenues rising as pricing models evolve | 150 credit hours: helping or hindering? | can’t recruit? retain! | the accountant as a strategic business partner | report: efficiency still the top priority for accounting firms | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | audit firms nervous about new tech | what accountants can learn from t-ball | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | to replenish the talent pipeline, go back to the classroom | beware the work-life/workload doom spiral | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

note how the top three all might be included in a category called “getting your act together.” they basically deal with fine-tuning the accounting firm machine.

putting that machine to work aims at offering more or better client services and, the fifth priority, growing the practice.
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eight questions that target personal accountability

young man facing image of himself

what are you selling on?

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

the secret to overcoming failure to correctly implement a successful business development strategy is by “winning your first client” and this starts by being accountable to someone for your performance.

more: how to prepare for partnership | stop waiting for business to come to you | four key questions about leadership | showing leadership through customer service | the real math behind the sales pipeline | keep business development going during busy season | walk the commitment walk | two steps toward mastering selling | thirteen ways to show commitment | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential

 

now that “someone” may be your fellow partners in the firm. if you are a senior manager, that may be the partner to whom you report.
read more →

is nasa about to make air travel cheaper?

a larger fan and a smaller core can produce the same thrust with less fuel and air pollution.

by rick richardson
technology this week

a team of nasa specialists isn’t aiming for the stars with their ground-breaking jet engine core design, which is now under development. instead, the hybrid aircraft engine might result in a 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption for earth-based travel on future passenger aircraft.

it’s a component of a clever concept that aims to reduce air pollution and travel expenses.

more: startup creates legolike brick that can store air pollutionyour brain can store 10 times more than anyone thoughthow many ev charging stations will we need?google launches new private space featuremicrosoft discovers a security flaw impacting android apps | what is an ai pc, and should i get one?fool’s gold may not be so foolish nowai-engineered enzyme could be solution to plastic pollution | german researchers develop ev motor with no rare-earth magnets | ai named the highest-paying in-demand tech skill for 2024
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

aerospace is working with general electric to design the engine. it will use a larger fan and a smaller core, emphasizing sustainability and efficiency. read more →

four questions to make your firm more successful as a business

where on the spectrum of accounting firms do you want to operate?

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

many firms limit their consideration of businessmindedness to the narrow focus of growing their top line. however, generating sufficient revenue to cover costs and generate profit is only a baseline measure for businessmindedness.

more: move to advisory and assurance with relevance | how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong | exceptional audit client service demands effective communication | five ways to prevent audit bottlenecks | how do we drive relevance in audit? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | four basic understandings every auditor must master | wanted: great audit mentors
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the inward component of businessmindedness concerns how the firm operates. this includes the kinds of projects and clients the firm takes on. to provide relevance, you need to consider whether your firm can deliver on relevance for a particular engagement or client and whether that work makes sense for your firm.

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two options for collecting past due fees

you can do more work, but under certain conditions.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: client didn’t pay his bills to me, doesn’t return my phone calls and his secretary keeps sending me the tax notices he gets with notes of “when are you going to take care of them?” i tell her that i need the client to call me before i can do any more work and she ignores this and keeps sending me the notices and other tax correspondence he gets.

more: you can’t win with lowballing | nine reasons not to specialize | hiring experience vs. training inexperience | a friendly chat or a billable discussion? | when selling a firm to staffers is tricky | courting a client? don’t give too much away for free | nine tips for a healthier tax season | fifteen strategies for first-time supervisors | measure knowledge gaps (then close them) | should you offer financial services? | ready to retire? selling your practice is no strategy | 20 things you need for a business valuation
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

i don’t want to tell him i am dropping him because then i don’t think i’ll ever be paid. every year he goes on extension and he usually pays me half of what he owes when he sends me his tax info, but the past due amount has really accumulated to about three years’ fees. what should i do about getting paid?
read more →

revenues rising as pricing models evolve

bar chart

boosting your bottom line could come down to better billing.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

one thing cpa practices aren’t complaining about is revenue. according to a thomson reuters survey conducted in the first quarter of 2024, 72 percent of 500 respondents say their firms’ revenues increased over the previous 12 months.

more: 150 credit hours: helping or hindering? | can’t recruit? retain! | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | seven enticements to keep talent on board | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | seven steps to a stronger future | auditing standards ‘yellow book’ updated | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

average increase: 24 percent.

not bad, if you like money.
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pause to praise the tax pro volunteers

two businesswomen meeting in an office

they prepared 9.3 percent more returns this year.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 hereby calls for a pause in the post-season doldrums to salute the 67,000 tax pro volunteers and other concerned citizens who helped the needy file their tax returns this year.

more: irs vs. fraudsters | imagine! the national tax advocate does | art werner: maximizing fringe benefits | is the irs mismeasuring phone service? | irs makes big progress but … | tax practitioners say happy days are here … again | the irs is coming! get your clients into compliance | end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep | eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | ftc nails turbotax for ‘free filing’ scam | if only the irs’s tax pro were useful | id theft a problem for irs even when it doesn’t exist | the nightmare of non-credentialed tax preparers | taxpayer assistance centers: a good idea that should be better | irs still falling short on service | must the irs be a dark hole?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

yes, 67,000. that’s really an impressive number of people. not only are they coming to the rescue of people who, despite their problems and limitations, really want to pay their taxes, but they are doing so during the tax season.
read more →

irs vs. fraudsters

the endless war is not going well.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the fraudsters of the world continue to see the u.s. treasury as a bountiful chest of riches just waiting to be plundered.

it doesn’t take much. a taxpayer’s name, a social security number, a bank account number, maybe an email address, a phone number and a little luck.

more: imagine! the national tax advocate does | art werner: maximizing fringe benefits | is the irs mismeasuring phone service? | irs makes big progress but … | business booming, but not as much as last year | busy season barometer offers clues for better business | tax practitioners say happy days are here … again | the irs is coming! get your clients into compliance | end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep | eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | ftc nails turbotax for ‘free filing’ scam | if only the irs’s tax pro were useful | tax pros file 33% of early returns | can’t irs online accounts be more useful?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the irs is used to this. it knows what to do about it.

it just doesn’t do it very well.
read more →

what makes a great website? 

two women looking at a screen as they design a website

nine things to ask as you build.

by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services

don’t kid yourself: creating a great website takes a lot of time and creative talent. websites must also be constantly updated with new material.

more: losing can help you win more | three more strategies for growing your practice | understand the 10 steps of the buying process | calculate the cost of losing clients | eleven possible pitfalls of mergers | six ways to expand your client services checklist | ten questions to refine your successful marketing plan | four questions for choosing your marketing audit strategies | four steps to a successful email marketing campaign
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

if you plan to update your current website or prepare one for the first time, or if you plan to do it yourself or just hire a marketing communication specialist with website-building experience, make sure you have clear answers to the following questions:

  • who is your target market? accounting firms usually have more than one market they are going after. consider how your various markets will find themselves on your site.

read more →

150 credit hours: helping or hindering?

one study suggests there is little if any upside but plenty of downside.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

four decades ago, the american institute of cpas promulgated a rule requiring accountants to complete 150 credit hours to qualify for certification, an increase from 120 hours. basically, it required a fifth year of college education.

more: can’t recruit? retain! | the accountant as a strategic business partner | report: efficiency still the top priority for accounting firms | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | to replenish the talent pipeline, go back to the classroom | beware the work-life/workload doom spiral | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | global trends show many dissatisfied cpas | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

state boards of accountancy had discretion over when to enact the rule. by 2015, all states and u.s. territories had adopted it.

fun fact: the national rule did not impose any requirements on what courses the students had to take. it didn’t have to be courses on tax law or accounting standards. philosophy, music theory or basket-weaving would do. state boards, however, often mandate specific course requirements.
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bissett bullet: how healthy is your pipeline?

today’s bissett bullet: “it is no coincidence that the accounting firms that have superior profitability are those taking growth seriously and forecasting their new business income.”

by martin bissett

not recurring business, new business. your pipeline should be able to tell you, at any time, where the new business is coming from, how likely it is to convert, how soon you are likely to win it, how much the deal is worth and so on. if you are serious about growth, and you should be, your pipeline should be up to date and active at all times.

today’s to-do:

review your pipeline and score yourself honestly between 1 and 10. 10 being an active, up-to-date pipeline and 1 being no pipeline at all. what do you need to do in order to be in a position to accurately forecast new business?

see more bissett bullets here

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