Last Fall I posted on the benefits of using Client Service Agreeentss (CSAs).  One of the truly great benefits to your firm is obtaining concurrence with your client on a schedule of payments in advance of doing the work.  It is a practice management tool that is increasingly more important in our current economic environment.  But here’s the best part! Read more…

CPAs like to get together to compare notes and try to solve the world’s problems. At one of these meetings, a fine group of partners were discussing their teams, especially in light of the recession.

When  the discussion turned to  the current economy the general consensus was that this was an appropriate time to reduce overhead by firing marginal  team members – thinning the herd.  I have two very significant problems with this concept.

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Much has been written about the deficiencies of Millenials, all totally irrelevant in my opinion true or not (and mostly untrue), but what about the Gen Xer’s?  As the current and future generation of business management executives are they worthy of receiving the torch the Codgers (those born between 1945 and 1957 who prefer to be called ‘baby boomers’ and can be identified by their bell-bottom slacks and bee-hive hairdos) want to pass them?  Can they handle it? Read more…

Some of the most common complaints expressed by our assurance seniors are that the client “didn’t complete the schedule request properly, or provide adequate support timely, or apply the appropriate accounting principles properly, or, or, or, yada, yada, yada”. And correspondingly the audit team didn’t meet, or, had trouble meeting their due date. (We assign due dates for projects based on budgets, and allow the team members to determine when, where and how they will perform the engagement, rather than attempting to micromanage their time and daily lives.) After hearing this refrain / excuse for the umpteenth time during one of our recent after action reports for a very good client, I reminded the offending senior of the purpose of our use of Client Service Agreements and why we have change orders. Read more…

Long known for our inability to communicate effectively either orally or verbally (yes there is a difference) as accountants we’ve found new facades to hide behind. Our communication with our clients is typically limited to brief general conversations, and written communications mandated by professional standards, such as engagement letters. The email / text message / voice mail have supplemented the traditional letter facilitating the anonymity so many in our profession seem to prefer, with the frequent result being misunderstanding or no understanding at all. Read more…

In the years since I began practicing, our profession has changed radically.  I do not want to sound like my parents and grandparents who lamented the passing of the nickel candy bar, 1 cent stamps, and walking to and from school ( up hill, both ways in the snow of Southern California), but are we progressing or regressing in terms of advancing the profession of public accounting and making it an attractive career?  What are the underlying currents that influence or even drive change? Read more…

Last week we were informed we had been selected by Accounting Today as one of the top accounting firms  to work for in the United States.  I understand there will be an article published in January, 2009.  How did we go from being a firm that had the universal difficulty of other accounting firms – attracting and retaining top talent – to being named to such a prestigious club in four years?: We changed our business philosophy, and consequently our overall approach to providing service, after following the traditional accepted approach for 25 years. Read more…

If not, then why do you think you can do your own marketing effectively?  If your firm is like most firms, you periodically find yourself in need of legal representation, investment advice, insurance analysis, etc.  In most cases, you will retain a professional to help guide you.  We’ve had great counsel from many sources over the years, yet for many years when it came to one of the most fundamentally important functions critical to our healthy growth – marketing – we did it ourselves.  And not particularly well.

Simplistically there  are three aspects to a successful growth plan from a marketing perspective Read more…

Several years ago when our team members collectively drafted our mission statement,  one of the underlying principles defining who / what we are was “We strive to do more than our clients expect”.  Subsequently published on our web site as part of our culture, we endeavor to live up to it – not always as successfully as we would like, but nonetheless always attempted.  Unfortunately in our society the value of exceeding expectations is more often forgotten or ignored than practiced.  There aren’t a lot of great examples of companies or organizations who do this.  Two years ago, on yet another honeymoon, I experienced it first hand. Read more…

In a recent post on Trendlines, Gary Boomer held forth on the staffing crisis in our profession.  Succinct and to the point, Boomer lists four reasons.  While all four are valid, my experience over the past five years has identified one as being most significant – Firms with low retention and high staff turnover work their associates too many hours.  It’s not rocket science. Read more…