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…

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…

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…

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…

Just read Michelle Golden’s post on sending out mass mailings.  I thought it was very funny, and says so much about why we are so turned off by most of the mail we get today.

But most of all, I thought it also shows the value of criticism.  I read the other day, that the best thing you can hear as a company is a criticism, because that’s when you have the chance to improve.  If you never hear them, you can never get better. Read more…

I hailed from a large international accounting firm and like most of my coworkers there I became sick of the long work hours and never ending cycle of stress and emotional guilt tripping that comes with trying to justify going home after just ten or twelve hours. Searching for another job was difficult, as I rarely had a minute that wasn’t filled by working, commuting or sleeping. But the most substantial barrier to quitting my big accounting firm job was the myths that circulated concerning small firms. Read more…

After writing my first blog post, “Intern’s Corner: The Big Four Push” I began to think about how does one choose the right firm. I am lucky enough to have had to opportunity to experience different firms and different values over the past two years. I have been a member of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) in that time period. By having those opportunities, I feel that I have been able to explore different options, and I know what is right for me. These are the steps that I took when choosing the firm I choose Read more…

Unquestionably, large mature accounting firms can have some distinct advantages.  As smaller firms can we overcome them and compete on the same level?

When I left the ‘Big 8′ (yes children, before it was the Big 4 it used to be the Big 8 back in the olden days) to practice with several other big firm refugees we were certain of the many opportunities that existed to invoke positive professional change, and do it better.  Like most teenagers, we knew it all – especially everything that was ‘wrong’.  We missed no opportunity to criticize.  And like most teenagers, we somehow missed all the things our former Big 8 employers had done that were ‘right’.  The naivete of youth.  And we were professionally youthful having only been recently emancipated.  Read more…

Recently, Bob Nugent the Chief Financial Officer for Scolari’s Markets, a chain retail grocer in Northern Nevada and one of our favorite and most valued clients, gave our firm a compliment that created a HSD for me. (HSD is the acronym for High Satisfaction Day – a phrase I first heard from author Ron Baker.) We had recently completed several projects for Scolari’s, which had involved several of our team members. Bob, not known for lavishing unsolicited praise in the thirty years I’ve known him, told me how impressed he was with the knowledge, professionalism and service level he had received from our associates. Read more…