why start being radical now?

your competition can come from anywhere now.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

i’ve been in the cloud for eight years so it’s old news to me.

the biggest thing to do is to look around and look at the competi­tion. you can probably leave your firm and start your own firm with less than $400 a month in software and without or very limited overhead. isn’t that terrifying for you old-timers!

more on radicalism: going radical: the 4 tenets of a ‘new firm’ | why should cpas be radical? | the roots of ‘radical’ cpas | the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice

that’s what the next generation of accountants has at their disposal. and they are doing it whether it’s good or bad, whether they have the experience or not. they are opening their own accounting firms. the times they are a-changin’. read more →

going radical: the 4 tenets of a ‘new firm’

happy young businessman jumping in tornadothere are 4 keys, but they come down to meeting needs.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

people often ask me: what makes a firm a “new firm?” there are four fundamental tenets.

more on radicalism: why should cpas be radical? | the roots of ‘radical’ cpas | the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice

these four tenets, although adopted dif­ferently within each firm, compromise a new set of values that most of the “movement” firms embrace. ready? here we go:
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why should cpas be radical?

businesswoman lassoing light bulbthe alternative is complacency. we all know where that leads.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

cpas must be “radicalized” so they cannot be lulled into com­placency and driven by reaction to their current firm or live­lihood. the changes that are happening in today’s fast-paced world need to be addressed.

more on getting radical: the roots of ‘radical’ cpas | the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice

you and your team have already felt the changes. the silent majority of many employees are hurt, suspicious and feeling unheard. they see and experience the changes happening around them and don’t understand the complacency or the resistance to change from firm management. you may even be feeling this yourself within your firm of one.

read more →

the roots of ‘radical’ cpas

young businessman thinking, software icons in thought cloudhow the ‘new firm’ was born.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

i started to use this newfangled payroll software that worked through the internet. back then they didn’t call it the cloud. it was just payroll software that used an internet browser. it solved my business problems of preparing paychecks, paying taxes and filing tax returns for my customers. the technology was paycycle, a cloud-based payroll software.

more radical cpa: the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice

paycycle (which has since been acquired by intuit) fundamentally changed my firm and my life. all of a sudden payroll became one of the most profitable areas of our firm. it also became a catalyst to selling and packaging our other core services.

it was the beginning of something bigger.

read more →

the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice

and the 3 questions you should be asking yourself today.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

i had just come off a really bad tax season.

this was about eight years ago now, and i knew there had to be a better way. i left a mid-sized firm, with seven partners and about 50 other employ­ees and i joined my dad’s firm — literally and figuratively. figu­ratively, because many of his technology and processes were “old school.” read more →

walking the walk with a radical cpa

broken chainget real. get up from your desk. go for a ‘gemba’ walk.

by tom hood
the radical cpa

i remember sending a video intro to jody padar’s first meeting of ic opportunities where i read a quote from the february 2012 edition of fast company magazine in which the editor, robert safian, intro­duced the concept of “generation flux” and it reminded me of jody and her tribe:

tom hood
hood

“in our hyper-networked, mobile, social, global world, the rules and plans of yesterday are increasingly under pressure; the enterprises and individuals that will thrive will be those willing to adapt and iterate, in a disciplined, unsen­timental way… generation flux is a term that describes all of this — the chaotic business era that we have moved into — as well as the people who are poised to thrive in this environment.”

so what is a “gemba walk,” you might be thinking? read more →

the 3 hallmarks of the ‘new accounting’ business

news flash – the business model has changed.

by gale crosley
crosley+co.

when we think of innovation we typically think of a new product or service – something that didn’t exist yesterday that will make tomorrow better. innovative offerings are essential to the portfolio of any growth-minded cpa firm.

more from crosley: the three elements of growth strategy [video] | defining the new business model [video] | the new growth evolution [video] | at the best firms, growth is no accident | jody padar’s new vision for the ‘new accounting’ | reality check: achieving world-class growth requires real-world intelligence | no shortcuts to sustainable growth | expand your vision and expand your business | leveraging leadership: a new way of looking at growth | are you creating a sustainable firm? | don’t confuse marketing with a true growth strategy  | overcoming four imaginary barriers that limit cpa firm growth | how firms unleash the power of diamonds, cash cows and fat cats | how smart firms use market research | got leads? get real. learn how to qualify big opportunities | it’s a new generation in lead generation | four keys to success at seiler cpas | how accounting firms are re-building their sales pipelines | how to get started on ifrs in one easy step | 9 big ideas for turbulent times

however, long-term sustainable growth requires a far more comprehensive innovation in your growth model, the strategic blueprint that helps you get from point a to point b.

read more →

emerging breed of cpa rewrites the rules of the profession, smashes old business models

pisano
pisano

‘generation flux’ embraces adaptability, flexibility, openness, decisiveness.

by gretchen pisano
the radical cpa

with a lifelong commitment to con­tinuous learning, cpas are some of the most willing learners you’ll ever come across.

today’s new generation of cpa embraces adaptability and flexibility, an openness to learning from anywhere, decisiveness tempered by the knowledge that business life today can shift radically.

read more →

social business: how new communication tools are revolutionizing the accounting profession

william r. pirolli, cpa/cff/pfs, cgma email vcard bill is a partner with over 30 years of experience in public accounting. bill was formerly managing principal for the accounting firm of pirolli, deller & conaty.
pirolli

and yet, the heart of the cpa business remains a constant.

by william r. pirolli, cpa, cff, pfs, cgma
the radical cpa: new rules for the future-ready firm

at the heart of our profession are people… connecting with people. the human connection to the information we deal with is what makes our profession so personal and rewarding. it should always be at the heart of what we do.

the ways we connect have changed dramatically over time. while we all still use the telephone, fax, face-to-face meetings and the occasional written note, the invasion of facebook, linkedin, twitter, skype, youtube, instagram, cloud-based services and that smartphone or tablet you might be reading this on all serve to make our communications and services immediate, exponential and virtually limitless. read more →