does firm culture still matter?

…having staff that can state the uniform culture. as i said above, if you don’t know, ask. in fact, you should be regularly engaged with your team, whether it’s a…

three ways to thrive with limited capacity

smiling man working at laptop in office with glass walls

turn the staffing shortage into a new opportunity.

by frank stiteley
the relentless cpa

charles dickens had to be writing about the accounting profession when he wrote, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

clients are plentiful. i met a new client coming out of the restroom at our office complex. we get four to five inquiries a day – out of tax season. during tax season, we turned down four out of five prospective clients.

more on staffing: tax and accounting jobs and salaries show strength | olympics of outsourcing and offshoring for accountants | new study: strong and steady growth for accountant jobs and salaries | can’t recruit? retain! | 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 | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist
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staff are not plentiful – at least not good ones. i’m getting two or three resumes a day, but they’re the warm body sort most of us learned the hard way not to hire during the pandemic. you’ve seen these resumes too. they are people with six employers in eight years. you are certain to be number seven in nine years. they claim eight years of experience, but you can see from their job history that it’s really two years of experience repeated four times. and – they want $100k for those two years of real experience.

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microsoft patents an encryption system to block visual hacking


has microsoft created the ultimate public anti-hack? 

by rick richardson
technology this week

your computer or tablet screen can easily be visually hacked in public, which allows someone to steal private information. plastic screen coverings are one technique to stop this from happening, as they make it harder for someone to view the document unless they are directly in front of it. microsoft might develop a technology that encrypts text graphically as you read it.

more: recently discovered antibiotic spares ’good’ bacteria | is nasa about to make air travel cheaper? | your brain can store 10 times more than anyone thought | microsoft discovers a security flaw impacting android apps | ai-engineered enzyme could be solution to plastic pollution | ai named the highest-paying in-demand tech skill for 2024 | lenovo readies new thinkbook laptop with a transparent display | microsoft moves further into nuclear development with new director | tack one launches new location tracker for children and seniors

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a recent microsoft patent describes a system that encrypts a document so that only the reader can decipher it. the approach encrypts the document by changing the letters in the text section of the original document. the document is then shown in a private mode using an alpha-blended version that combines the encoded and original copies of the text. next, the system uses eye tracking to show the user the decoded portion of the document at their fixation point and the encoded version at the periphery of their field of vision.
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the top tip for reviewing tax returns

what would you say?

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

question: i know you have a lot of advice on how to review tax returns. what’s your single best tip?

more: you have to start somewhere | two options for collecting past due fees | when board service gets tricky | eleven ways new staffers can help bring in business | busy season is over, so it’s time for some resolutions | want to merge? six steps to take | how to start providing family office services | every accounting firm needs quality control | no one listens to you? change how you talk | 47 types of business valuation to provide | thirteen things to consider before you sell your practice | uncooperative partner might not be the problem
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response: i had never thought about this until this question was asked.
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can a service center model solve audit staffing shortages?

providing superior client service eliminates the perception of audit as a commodity.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

most firms have abysmal project management, which makes it nearly impossible to see if there’s any room to take on extra work. plus, piling all the work into busy season means your people already work far beyond 40 hours a week. and, if you’re relying on timesheets as a measure of capacity, you may not be capturing the time your staff eats because the work is taking more than 40 or even 60 hours in a week to complete.

more: don’t take on audits in an industry you don’t understand | four questions to make your firm more successful as a business | say adios to audit fee pressure | deliver more audit value by getting out of the conference room | six essential elements in audit planning | before the audit: more than just planning | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | put the ethics code to work for your clients and your firm | is audit in crisis because of definitions?
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during the 2020-21 covid-19 pandemic, some audit firms had to lay people off, or reduce work hours as projects got canceled or curtailed. but the long-term trend for years has been a shortfall in talent that will only get worse. burnout from overwork is the number one cause of employee turnover.

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analyze your firm to keep it current

six people seated at table for a business meeting, with another six people visible on videoconference screen

does everyone have the same vision?

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

i have discussed some of the issues behind developing an effective website. if your partners can’t agree on the overall points of the website, it merely means that there are different visions for the firm within the firm. the best way to overcome this obstacle is to conduct a self-analysis.

more: what makes a great website? | losing can help you win more | eight areas to cover for personal goals | service quality: the key to client retention | how life cycle changes your marketing | clients buy solutions, not features | make sure you know what you will get from your marketing | three pillars support a successful accounting firm | clients have six reasons for needing you | six ways to market your technology consulting practice | sixteen marketing activities to try | the four steps of your personal marketing process
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you can use the following questions at a firm retreat. hand out the questions to the retreat participants prior to the meeting. ask the retreat participants to write out the answer to each question. then have open discussions about the questions and their answers, and try to come to some agreement. here are the questions:
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tax and accounting jobs and salaries show strength

line chart
overall accounting profession employment hits a glitch.

hourly earnings fluctuate.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

despite a slowing increase in employment for the u.s. economy in general, the nation’s tax and accounting sector is improving on most fronts, marking more than four years of solid year-over-year gains.

more: new study: strong and steady growth for accountant jobs and salaries | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | payroll leads job gains in tax & accounting sector
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

to be sure, tax and accounting employment nudged slightly down in july, according to the latest data available to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research. but it remains ahead of last year’s figures. and record highs are popping in key hiring segments, including staff, cpa firms and payroll services. is talk of staffing shortages overblown, or would growth be even stronger if more qualified candidates were available? read more →

what relevance means for staffing in accounting

five young business people at work in an office setting.

seventeen ways to improve.

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

the business graveyard is littered with major organizations that missed the boat by failing to see cataclysmic game changers happening right before their eyes.

  • ice companies failed to get into refrigeration because they saw themselves in the ice business.
  • railroads missed out on autos and aerospace because they didn’t see themselves in the transportation business.
  • a ceo of digital equipment corporation said he couldn’t imagine why people would want a computer in their own house.
  • it took the wright brothers five years to get the u.s. government to even talk to them about their invention.

more: how accounting staffing has changed
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in all fairness it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to anticipate and accept massive changes like these.
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