{"id":74249,"date":"2020-05-07t12:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-07t16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=74249"},"modified":"2021-07-21t08:30:36","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21t12:30:36","slug":"found-money-delights-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2020\/05\/07\/found-money-delights-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"‘found money’ delights clients"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>how to operationalize new services that find or save clients\u2019 money.<\/strong><\/p>\n by bill penczak<\/em><\/p>\n even during normal times, \u201cfound money\u201d solutions are great door openers for new clients and a great value-add for your current clients.<\/p>\n more:\u00a0<\/b>re-thinking today\u2019s firm with five global leaders<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a05 things your firm should do differently this summer<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0do you have the guts to beat the covid crisis?<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0how to inoculate your firm against covid competition<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u2018found money\u2019 delights clients<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0the three r\u2019s for beating the corona crisis<\/a> these solutions are different from traditional audit and tax work in that they are opportunities for companies to retrieve monies they\u2019ve paid in the past, or are ways for companies to lower the cost of a function, process, or service for which they are already paying.<\/p>\n such solutions include:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n the net operating loss carryback from the cares act:<\/strong> thought dead after the tax reform act of a few years ago, the cares act revived nols from the 2018, 2019 and 2020 tax years to be carried back to the previous five tax years (beginning with the earliest year first). the cares act also suspends the 80 percent of taxable income limitation through the 2020 tax year. <\/span>this<\/span> carryback can mean an immediate refund of prior taxes \u2013 the ultimate in \u201cfound money.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n r&d credits:<\/strong> there are many firms that provide nothing but these services, many times on a contingency fee, which presents no risk to clients and lots of upside to the provider. it\u2019s surprising what can be construed as research and therefore qualify for tax credits.<\/p>\n salt refunds:<\/strong> the labyrinth of state and local tax regimes can spin the head of the most seasoned tax professional, and i\u2019ve always admired salt professionals for their knowledge and penchant for detail. since its inception three years ago, one middle market client firm\u2019s salt group had identified $25 million in savings for the firm\u2019s clients (and new clients), so there\u2019s real opportunity in that space.<\/p>\n client accounting services:<\/strong> firms with which i\u2019ve spoken in different parts of the country indicate they can<\/p>\n in normal times, this was a great value proposition. with clients looking to save every dime, cas has never been more viable.<\/p>\n if your firm is not providing these services, there\u2019s no better time to do so. as i said in a recent linkedin post, nimble is the new smart<\/strong>. while some firm leaders will wring their hands in a pseudo-handwashing ritual,\u00a0 waiting for the economy to improve, the top-performing firms are taking actions to kickstart client solutions that truly make them financial first responders.<\/p>\n but where should a firm begin that process?<\/strong><\/p>\n here are some guidelines for taking a found money solution to market:<\/p>\n 1. the tone from the top.<\/strong> there\u2019s an old sicilian saying, \u201cthe fish rots from the head down.\u201d for any new firm initiative to garner success, the managing partner must make it clear to the firm, especially the partner group, that the \u201cfound money\u201d solution (i.e., the aforementioned solutions) initiative is a full-bore commitment for the firm, and that everyone in the partner group will<\/strong> participate. this doesn\u2019t have to be a draconian mandate, but explain to very smart but often change-averse partners that such solutions will generate new revenue, provide true value to clients and serve as a way of embracing your current clients. even the most jaded curmudgeon can\u2019t really argue those points.<\/p>\n 2. a sense of urgency.<\/strong> how many times in your firm does the partner group discuss a new initiative, only to find it languishing months or years later? offering found money solutions to your clients now could be the difference in them making payroll later. by their nature, cpas are a circumspect group, but you cannot let that caution get in the way of action. therefore, it\u2019s incumbent on firm leadership to set a reasonable launch date, and hold your people to it. this \u201cbias toward action\u201d can be a competitive advantage upon which you can capitalize.<\/p>\n 3. account planning discipline.<\/strong> larger firms that are successful in going to market know the value of a formal process to examine current clients or prospects to understand:<\/p>\n the gold standard for account planning is from miller heiman, which involves a thorough process that allows for a deep dive into the three aforementioned points. this process at one point was used by three of the big four firms. a more nimble approach to account planning involves facilitated meetings with partners who may be providing the found money solutions and partners who own the client relationships. a starting point might be for partners to identify five clients who may be experiencing industry tumult, cash flow or balance sheet issues, or some other logical criteria. it would be wise to include the senior managers in the process, as they will have a deeper understanding of the day-to-day operations at the client.<\/p>\n at a minimum, each partner should be required to make at least three introductions to current clients or prospects for the firm\u2019s found money solutions. on average, you should be able to close 50-70 percent of them, resulting in new revenue. and even if a new engagement doesn\u2019t ensue, the fact you\u2019re even thinking of your clients and looking for ways to help them will help foster a stronger relationship.<\/p>\n 4. reward, recognition, and celebration.<\/strong> you will gain better traction over time by providing a way to reward, recognize, and celebrate the successes resulting from this initiative. call out individuals who demonstrated leadership and initiative. keep a tally of the savings or recovery the firm uncovered, like the $25 million in salt savings example i used earlier. those data points are not only good fodder for the firm\u2019s website and social media, but a demonstration to the firm that the initiative is real, and actually producing benefit for your clients.<\/p>\n 5. postmortem.<\/strong> this call to action can serve as a beta test for how your firm can mobilize the hands and brains of a lot of really smart people into real action. yes, the firm will have to examine potential risks, downsides, and time issues that are usually the death knell of anything new in a cpa firm. but an honest assessment of what did and didn\u2019t work, and a transparent discussion with the partner group about the findings will go a long way to constantly improve the firm\u2019s ability and desire to launch new initiatives.<\/p>\n we are in unusual times, and the firms that act boldly now will reap greater rewards for their clients, their people and their partners into the future. i\u2019ll leave you with a chinese proverb that captures that essence:\u00a0\u201cthe best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. the second best time is now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" how to operationalize new services that find or save clients\u2019 money.<\/strong>
\nexclusively for pro members.\u00a0log in here<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a02022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
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\nby bill penczak<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3489,"featured_media":72889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3058,1905,1363,2271,3120,3002],"tags":[3084],"class_list":["post-74249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-client-accounting-services","category-clients-and-service","category-featured","category-marketing","category-pro-member-exclusive","category-special","tag-coronavirus"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n