2016 outlook: no end to mergers in sight

2016-roundtable-outlook-for-rosenberg-map-commentary-vf-240x219a buyer’s market is on the horizon.

they say “past results are no indication of future performance.” maybe. maybe not. but if anyone should know, it’s our panel of experts, their comments drawn from the new edition of the rosenberg map survey. these are their bullet points and comments, verbatim, looking back at the last 12 months and looking ahead to 2016. – rick telberg, ceo

by gary adamson
adamson advisory

lessons from 2015:

merger mania continued over the last year for several reasons:

  • continued slow post-recession organic growth,
  • thousands of baby boomers with no internal succession plans in place and
  • competition heating up for middle-market clients (the big firms want our biggest and best clients!).

more from the rosenberg map survey: why outsourcing beats unicorn hunting | 2016 battleground: aging leaders vs. emerging leaders | private clouds on the rise | firms growing, still face talent challenges | outlook 2016: another economic storm coming? | how succession issues are driving desperation mergers | outlook 2016: change catches up with auditors | strategic plans undermined by out-of-control partners | growth, succession plans critical for firms | talent wars go from white gloves to boxing gloves | trend outlook 2016: change agents needed

firms are improving profitability with per-partner income rising while the talent wars that we saw pre-recession are returning.
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are we really that radical?

illustrating customer at centerbonus chart: waves of innovation from 1970 to the present.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

what the radical cpas have done is put our cus­tomers first. we have made our firms customer-centric instead of the traditional firm-centric model of years past.

more on radicalism: customer viewpoint: creating a journey map | basics of process mapping: how and who | target prospects for best fit | how spiritual value affects pricing | keep scope creep and seep from hurting bottom line | make radical connections | 5 radical ways to be social and strategic | how social media transforms firms to their core | six competitive advantages for the radical cpa 

our firms have changed to meet the needs and requirements of today’s fast-paced mobile, social, value, experience-driven consumers.

being a radical cpa is hard.

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customer viewpoint: creating a journey map

various cartoon facial expressionsbonus: examples, including a complete tax return preparation.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

we use a value stream map, a process map and a sipoc in process mapping. what all of these have in common is that they highlight the process, time, inventory levels and the actors.

more on radicalism: understanding the types and uses of process maps | 4 questions for choosing the right digital workflow tool | target prospects for best fit | radical pricing fixes cash flow problems | the radical approach to bundling services | how i got started being social

however, one key variable they all fail to take into account is the customer’s emotions as they journey through the process. a customer journey map solves this problem.
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understanding the types and uses of process maps

the four basic symbols used in most process maps
the four basic symbols used in most process maps

different maps serve different purposes.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

there are several different kinds of process maps. each map has a specific purpose and use, so here we will cover some of the more common and useful maps.

more on radicalism: process maps: methods, meetings and materials | basics of process mapping: how and who | who, me a consultant? | radical pricing fixes cash flow problems | get ready for radical transparency | six competitive advantages for the radical cpa

mapping symbols

despite the wide array of mapping symbol choices available in products such as visio, powerpoint or others, there are four basic symbols that are used in most maps.
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process maps: methods, meetings and materials

closeup of businesswoman writing on a flipchartbonus checklist: 3 key points for mapping a process.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

there are several ways to gather the information you need to create your process map.

more on radicalism: basics of process mapping: how and who | who, me a consultant? | target prospects for best fit | keep scope creep and seep from hurting bottom line | the radical approach to bundling services | get ready for radical transparency

depending on the scope and length of the process, you could observe the process in action. this works best for a process that cycles quickly. if a process can be started and com­pleted several times in a day or an hour, this is a good candidate for observation. if you can observe multiple operators performing the process, you will begin to get an idea how consistently it is followed.

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do you want a practice … or a business?

hand putting coins into blue piggy bank7 decisions accountants may someday regret.

by hitendra patil

you might end up losing a million dollars or more. surprised? here are ways you could be frittering money away without even realizing it.

more on entrepreneurial strategy: new survey results: ‘decisiveness’ rated top trait for success in accounting business | the 5 most common marketing blunders accountants make | 10 things that accountants didn’t worry about 10 years ago | what if accounting firms were ‘apps?’ | six steps for a better tax season

1. doing instead of getting things done

accounting is not a service industry. hotels and package delivery are service professions. they thrive on efficiency, technology, standardization of processes and so on. read more →

the basics of process mapping: how and who

woman drawing flowchart on a blackboardconsider your “pain points.”

by jody padar
the radical cpa

in creating a process map, there are several choices to be made that will determine who and what is needed. since, as we mentioned before, almost everything is a process, consider this the process mapping process.

more on radicalism: process mapping for improvement | who, me a consultant? | target prospects for best fit | the radical approach to bundling services | get ready for radical transparency | 10 radical steps into the cloud

the first decision is which process to map.

what do you want to select?
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lessons from adam smith: process mapping for improvement

bottles of sunflower oil on an assembly linefour ways adam smith can help you run your firm better.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

adam smith discovered a basic truth of process improvement: you can’t improve a process if you don’t know what the process is.

more on radicalism:  | target prospects for best fit | keep scope creep and seep from hurting bottom line | the radical approach to bundling services | let’s get radical about content | each social channel has a language | 10 radical steps into the cloud | six competitive advantages for the radical cpa

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

around the time of the american revolution, adam smith made the first recorded attempt at process improvement by mapping out the 18 distinct opera­tions involved in creating a single metal pin. by documenting and understanding each step, he was able to suggest improvements to make the best use of the labor and machines available at the time.

while this is easier to see in a manufacturing environment, it still applies in a service-based industry like ours.

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10 ways to build a better firm

top 10by august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership

as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. your vision is a journey to some place in the future. it’s not where you are today. it may even take generations to get there. it becomes even more compelling when it’s somewhere your people want to go.

more on leadership: the 4 best ways to use your senior partners  | how to tell a culture change is due| today’s top six partner compensation trends | 11 steps to building a better partnership team | why your firm should be a republic | 8 financial ducks to line up now |partnership is about persuasion | 6 things leaders must doit’s not always about money: 16 tweaks for your comp system | how to build a growth-centric pricing strategy |  how to combine two firms after merger: carefully

while it’s the ultimate destination that people engage with, the journey there is also important. if the endpoint is exciting and has benefits that your people share, they will be more engaged in the journey. and, when partners are engaged with the firm’s future, they perform better.

so, how do you create a firm where all of the partners work to create an even better firm?

here are some ideas:

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4 questions for choosing the right digital workflow tool

work flow decision choiceare you ready to experience the process?

by jody padar
the radical cpa

without standardization, your customer isn’t going to be able to expect consistent results.

more on radicalism: who, me a consultant? |how spiritual value affects pricing | radical pricing fixes cash flow problems | keep scope creep and seep from hurting bottom line | the radical approach to pricing | let’s get radical about content | 5 radical ways to be social and strategic | how i got started being social | radical customers are on their way | 5 radical transparencies; are you ready?| being radical is all about your customer  |  

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

workflow is just a fancy name for an electronic process and how information moves through a firm. in the old days it was the way a paper file moved from desk to desk. today it is how a digital file of data moves through an office or firm. it’s every­thing from customer input to tax return delivery. email is not a good solution for keeping track of where everything is within an office.

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who, me a consultant?

young man facing image of himselfit’s time to look at yourself in a new light.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

i love andersen consulting, now accenture. i especially love the story that when andersen consulting first started, the consul­tants who worked for the firm were not accountants. they hired mostly liberal arts majors – creative thinkers who were exception­al at communicating and innovating, but not so great with the numbers. the executives at andersen taught the consultants accounting and, well, how to be an actual consultant.

more on radicalism: target prospects for best fit | how spiritual value affects pricing | radical pricing fixes cash flow problems | each social channel has a language | 5 radical ways to be social and strategic | six competitive advantages for the radical cpa | 5 radical transparencies; are you ready? | why start being radical now? | the roots of ‘radical’ cpas

>>> sign up for jody padar’s radical cpa updates for the future-ready firm

i hope this motivates today’s firms. this younger generation of accountants has more than 150 hours of accounting, but they are less well rounded than previous generations. this is a problem.

we can no longer complain to the aicpa as to when they made that 150-hour rule, why they created more necessity for young accountants to learn more useless financial knowledge that’s constantly changing as opposed to having them develop better writing and analytical skills. that’s most important in today’s workforce.

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talent wars go from white gloves to boxing gloves

2016-roundtable-outlook-for-rosenberg-map-commentary-vf-240x219more from the rosenberg map survey.

they say “past results are no indication of future performance.” maybe. maybe not. but if anyone should know, it’s our panel of experts, their comments drawn from the new edition of the rosenberg map survey. these are their bullet points and comments, verbatim, looking back at the last 12 months and looking ahead to 2016. – rick telberg, ceo

by allan koltin
koltin consulting group

lessons from 2015:

the past 12 months have shown positive growth for most firms. it’s coming more in consulting and value added services.

more on the  2016 outlook & forecast: cpa firm growth rates hit a wall  |  the five treacherous factors hobbling today’s cpa firm  |  sam allred: change agents needed  |  tamera loerzl on growth, succession plans critical for firms  |  get the full report: the rosenberg map survey

there has been a lot of discussion regarding the three “big c’s” (compensation, capital and [deferred] compensation at firms). there has also been more rethinking of traditional bonus programs for staff…paying everyone something has become an entitlement (and doesn’t really leave enough for the stars) vs. just giving a bonus to those who “really hit it out of the park.”

the war on talent has gone from white gloves off to boxing gloves on. firms are also getting much better at

  • defining goals,
  • expectations of performance and
  • having leadership hold partners accountable for performance.

forecast for 2016:

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