the relentless cpa

foreword

(why you should read this book)

read this book because you’re tired of 14-hour days during tax season.

read this book because you’re done having your work schedule determined by the client screaming the loudest.

read this book because the days of extending half your clients’ tax returns are over.

read this book because you intend to be in business five years from now.

for years, i’ve written angry-man blogs flogging cpas and tax preparers for not treating their practices as businesses. i coined the term “ruthlessly efficient workflow management” to promote the marriage of project management and delegation. i ridiculed consultants who believe you can fight commoditization by jawboning clients into paying premium prices for harry homeowner tax returns. i’ve been a mean, sarcastic man.

and i have failed you. i didn’t realize my failure as a result of charles manson tagging me in a facebook post, “frank stitely is wrong about project management. like and share this post.” that was just a bad dream. i hope. i turned down his friend request to be safe. no, i realized my failure from trying to help firms improve their project management.

these firms all saw the value of efficient project management.

they saw the value of including clients in their workflow processes.

they saw the value of preparing for the future.

but i might have had better success teaching trout to sing the national anthem.

does my failure mean i’m going to be less sarcastic and mean? certainly not. as popeye said, “i yam what i yam.” but now, i understand why firms fail to change and improve. firm leaders are not blind or incompetent. they are trout singing the national anthem. they are experienced tax preparers, but they’re woefully inexperienced at running efficient businesses. they got into the business to provide incredible service to clients, but now they’re trout standing on the yankee stadium turf waiting to sing before the game. the cpa biz changed, and they’re now fish out of water.

success no longer depends on dutifully data-entering w-2s and 1099s into solo workstations. turbotax killed that market. success now means managing thinning profit margins on more complex returns. success means harnessing electronic data flows in the cloud. success means providing a great client experience – maybe not on a disney world level, but certainly way above what we provided 20 years ago.

so, i apologize for not understanding. i promise to start at the very beginning. i also promise to drop the trout analogy.

– frank stitely, cpa, cva, traffic cop, and reviewer of other people’s tax returns.
stitely & karstetter, cpas | clarity practice management

 

contents

foreword

prequel – easy answers

chapter 1: the case for effective project management

chapter 2: what is a project?

chapter 3: defining project workflow and statuses

chapter 4: managing people, the heart of effective project management

chapter 5: your role as ceo

chapter 6: driving profitability and client retention with effective project management

chapter 7: implementing effective project management

chapter 8: thriving as a 21st century firm using effective project management

afterword – debunking the demise of the cpa firm

appendix – checklists

 

about the author

frank stitely, cpa, cva, is the managing member of stitely & karstetter cpas in chantilly, va., and leader of clarity practice management.

he graduated summa cum laude from clarion university and received the elijah watt sells certificate in recognition of his performance on the cpa exam. his professional affiliations include: the american institute of certified public accountants, virginia society of certified public accountants, president of the association of professional accounting software consultants, member of the sage software small business certified consultants’ steering committee, member of the national association of certified valuation analysts, chair of the audit committee on the board of directors for christian relief services, maryland society of accountants, and the national society of tax professionals.