how to offer family office services

bonus: sample letter.

by ed mendlowitz
101 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice, the complete 2-volume set

q: some of my clients are getting older and are becoming unable to handle their own financial affairs and i have been asked if i could assist them. what is involved and how do i charge for it?

more: why hiring out of school works | how to improve quality control | why no one listens to you | how to stop yourself | how to handle referrals with attorneys | why checklists?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

a: many large firms provide “family office” services. this is a complete one-stop financial service that helps clients manage their money, pay their bills, collect their dividends and interest, and make sure insurance isn’t cancelled; mortgage, car lease or condo fee payments aren’t skipped; and tax payments paid on time.
read more →

how to explain internal controls to clients

man writing in notebookthen you have to use them.

by ed mendlowitz
77 ways to wow!

what are internal controls? auditors widely use this term. it also appears multiple times in engagement letters for audits of businesses and not-for-profits, but i do not believe many outside of the accounting profession really know or understand what internal controls are. i will try to explain it here.

more: the ten financial controls that’ll make you a hero | rule #1: start with cash | the priorities were backward | how to read a financial statement | 77 thoughts about client needs
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

internal controls refer to an organization’s system of deterrence, oversight, checks and balances. an illustration is where someone in a business writes and mails the checks to pay a bill. if this same person then receives the bank statement and performs the reconciliation of that account, there would not be any control or oversight on that person and whether the payment was proper and not misdirected. they are checking their own work. this is how many frauds occur.
read more →

the ten financial controls that’ll make you a hero

what clients need to know.

by ed mendlowitz
77 ways to wow!

if you want your business to grow, don’t focus on only the easy financial controls where you can see quick results – such as holding down petty cash expenditures or checking expense accounts for accuracy.

more: rule #1: start with cash | organization minutes too often overlooked | the seven-minute financial statement | the kpi an absentee manager needs
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

instead, go for the tough steps that affect long-term profits and facilitate growth.

read more →

telling prospects too much

know when to stop.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers

q. i usually give away too much info at a meeting to get a new client. we simply answer too many of their questions during the initial meeting.

more: how to improve quality control | how to get into your own cpa practice | when not to charge for an initial consultation | what good managers know about bad judgment
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

we don’t know how much info to give away, so the possible new client will get hooked and not take the information and run to somebody else. usually, somebody else is cheaper.

how do i find the right balance?

read more →