management

why deadlines get missed

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blindfolded at computeryou might have to rethink how they’re established.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

distractions, distractions and more distractions, coupled with deadlines. ah, deadlines! those are the bête noire of executives, journalists, record producers, book authors and anyone else in the workforce whose deliverables are expected by a certain date.

more: too busy? you may need to reprioritize | is it time to outsource? | five reasons you’re not swot-ready | who needs another meeting? | 4 questions for cpa firm boards | are you productive or just busy? | the five big rules for powerpoint presentations | how aging boomers impact the accounting profession | accounting is a profession, not an industry
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and what about those dates? are they arbitrary or do they have the real urgency of, say, a court order?
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too busy? you may need to reprioritize

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young businessman punching and breaking clock with fistfive steps to better time management.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

some firms encourage expanding workloads, creating questionable tasks or keeping people occupied under the pretense that their actual activities provide real value. what is the meaning of busy, really? and how are outcomes from efforts measured for value?

more: is it time to outsource? | five reasons you’re not swot-ready | who needs another meeting? | 4 questions for cpa firm boards | are you productive or just busy? | the five big rules for powerpoint presentations | how aging boomers impact the accounting profession | accounting is a profession, not an industry
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

part of the illusion of being busy is that you can master many things at the same time. it certainly would keep you busy (or occupied) but you won’t nurture new skills and discover what your real aptitude is to help yourself and/or your firm.
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check the roi of new tools

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roi illustrationinnovation is great when it’s for the right reasons.

by jody grunden
building the virtual cfo firm in the cloud

depending on your age, you may or may not remember lotus 1-2-3. it was a hugely popular spreadsheet program back in the ’80s and early ’90s that was eventually taken over by excel. if we had been “married” to lotus 1-2-3 at that time, we may have gone out of business because we wouldn’t have been able to react fast enough.

more: is that shiny new software your best choice? | distributed firms need different tech suites | staffing: 10 key interview questions | leaders need time to lead | when value billing eliminates guesswork | put bots to work for you
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this is the world of technology today. we have to operate under the mindset that what we’re currently using may or may not be around in five years.
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is it time to outsource?

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notepad with word "hire" crossed out and "outsource" written in underneatha swiftly changing environment demands flexibility.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

one of the revelations arising from the great recession was that cpa firms found they could do more with less human resources, or at least maintain the same level of productivity. we are now operating in what is referred to as the gig economy, in which important functions can be outsourced and firms and companies can still focus on core competencies that impact growth and profitability.

round 3: five reasons you’re not swot-ready | who needs another meeting? | the five big rules for powerpoint presentations
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

because it is increasingly challenging to maintain high standards in all functions while still focusing on core competencies that drive growth, seeking outside help is becoming an attractive option. so, when should you outsource services?
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the six essential kpis for managing partners

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proper planning prevents poor performance.

by bill penczak

we have all heard the term, “working in the business” instead of “working on the business.”   i would suggest that most managing partners and senior leadership fall more into the “in” than the “on,” given staff turnover, busy season deadlines, exhaustion, and advancing years of many managing partners.

more: the great resignation: five reasons accountants are quitting   |  five tips for better decision-making   |  your marketing sucks: six reasons why   |  five global cpa leaders: four survival strategies    |  are you too generous with your write-offs?    |  it’s time to herd your highly compensated cats  | nine smooth moves to build client satisfaction   | five tough questions for these tough times |  i started a consulting practice the first week of march 2020

i’ve endured enough management committee meetings during which the course of conversation leans more heavily towards rat-holes than addressing key firm issues of people, technology, quality, risk management, and growth.  at the end of the day, every decision you make as managing partner foots back to one of those areas. deciding on the venue of the holiday party does not fall into that category.

peter drucker, the famous management consultant, summed it up succinctly: management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

here are six ideas that managing partners should contemplate when it comes to running an effective and engaged firm: read more →

competing for talent in a private-equity world

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why your firm’s compensation and ownership model just became obsolete.

by anthony zecca
leading from the edge

talent has been one of – if not the – biggest bottlenecks blocking growth at accounting firms.

more on private equity for cpa firms: analysis: private equity the new source of growth capital for cpa firms?  |  analysis: how outside capital will remake cpa firms  |  exclusive:  ceo charly weinstein explains the private equity deal   |   flash briefing webinar: a “call to arms” after eisner private equity deal   |  eisneramper gets private equity backing |

in my strategy work with accounting firms, i hear over and over how firms can’t attract talent, how talented individuals are being recruited away to other firms or other industries with significant salary increases. i hear managing partners telling me that their marketing teams and partners are afraid to bring in new clients since the staff they have are already stretched beyond what is reasonable to expect.

now with private-equity investments in accounting firms, this fight for talent will only get more intense.

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determining your firm’s social contract

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it starts and ends with people.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

you read about companies every day: those that separate themselves from the competition by disrupting the norms and those that remain steadfast, much to their detriment. for the former, think about amazon, uber, netflix and other “change agents.” now, think about the latter: jcpenney, kmart and sears.

more: five reasons you’re not swot-ready | who needs another meeting? | 4 questions for cpa firm boards | are you productive or just busy? | the five big rules for powerpoint presentations | how aging boomers impact the accounting profession | accounting is a profession, not an industry
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as the late chairman and ceo of intel, andy grove said, “success breeds complacency. complacency breeds failure. only the paranoid survive.”
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new non-compete laws don’t affect cpa firms

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statue of scales of justicenon-solicitation is a different matter.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

in july, president biden signed an executive order that made it more difficult for non-compete agreements, in general, to be enforceable. in illinois, a more restrictive version of this change is ahead of the curve, making it more challenging for illinois employers to enter into non-compete and non-solicitation agreements with employees. i have heard that new york and perhaps other states have done the same.

more: when cpa partner votes go wrong | why billing less may mean earning more | what smaller firms must do to become firms of the future | when managing partners can’t | don’t let exiting partners double dip | the 13 signs you have a partner problem | covid-19, adversity and innovation | how covid impacts partner retirements |  three tough questions in partner buyouts | is mandatory retirement a best practice? | covid-19: how your firm can respond | reward partners for performing like partners
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

for cpa firms, it’s much ado about nothing. i’ll explain why in a moment.
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yes, shirt logos can matter

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two businessmen shaking hands at meeting in officemarketing is the totality of your efforts to get additional business.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

i like to wear shirts with my firm’s logo. we have an arrangement with land’s end where we can order what we want from their catalog and have the withum logo applied. it is a very easy process.

more: 10 more reasons cpas quit public accounting | family trees of clients | why accountants quit | when siblings battle over the family business | how bickering can ruin a family business | one hour a year since 1972 50 ways to make more money in busy season
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when i had my own firm we let staff freely choose what they wanted from the land’s end catalog, and we ordered it for them. it shows pride in the firm, is a walking billboard advertising your firm, and presents an appearance of a “together” firm. it is a low-cost method of promoting your firm and strengthening your brand and culture. in instances in which clients asked for shirts, we willingly provided them. there are other vendors, including local suppliers, and this is not restricted to land’s end.
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what is a “reasonable” number of work hours?

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clock facesit depends. but you knew that.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: how many hours a year do you recommend staff working?

answer: it depends…

more: make today “day one” of your new business | why does all work take so long? | profit sharing for a staffer? | titles can make people happier | reasons to drop your book of business | are you marketing for 2022 yet?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the quick answer is: as many as reasonable.
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distributed firms need different tech suites

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how we made our decisions.

by jody grunden
building the virtual cfo firm in the cloud

the tools that are used by a distributed firm with remote clients are going to vary greatly from those of a traditional brick-and-mortar firm.

more: a tech stipend for employees? why not? | it’s ok when some employees quit | take the pain out of online meetings | why your firm’s core values matter | be more efficient with tech stacks
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

every tool we consider or use has to be cloud-based. nothing can be restricted to a single computer or location.
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the great resignation: five reasons accountants are quitting

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and five strategies for addressing attrition – before it strikes.

gauging the staff shortage:
how are accounting firms adapting?
join the six-minute survey. get the answers.

by bill penczak

firms are getting nervous and with good cause. as they plan for the 2022 busy season, audit and tax departments are realizing they may not have the resources to staff their jobs already on the books, much less any new work that comes about in the fourth quarter of 2021.

more on the staffing crisis: the digital toolset for hiring at a small accounting firm  |  learning how to hire amid covid  | how covid rewrites the rules for recruiting | new covid strategies for staff recruiting and retention | irs has recruiting problems, too | 12 signs it’s time to outsource | how aging boomers impact the accounting profession | why remote workers need retreats |

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

there’s been a lot written in the past few months about the great resignation, but the turnover problem in cpa firms has been endemic before the pandemic. one recent report finds that turnover in the top 50 firms is 17%, and one in every six firms experiences an annual turnover of 20 percent or more. that means that one out of five people who attend the busy season kickoff event won’t be around for the next one.

here are five reasons your people are quitting your firm for other firms, for a job in industry, or to become a citizen of the gig economy and work virtually from a beach in thailand:

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five reasons you’re not swot-ready

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the tool works. but you need the prerequisites.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals

cpa firms that seek to position themselves for the future must be brutally honest and self-aware. they might normally start with a top-down or bottom-up analysis of their operations. one tool that has been around forever is the swot analysis.

more: who needs another meeting? | 4 questions for cpa firm boards | are you productive or just busy? | the five big rules for powerpoint presentations | how aging boomers impact the accounting profession | accounting is a profession, not an industry
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

swot stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. there are benefits to this tool because it serves as a motivator to examine a situation (e.g., operational, cultural, financial), assess core competencies and capabilities, identify the need to (and key drivers of) change and enable – if conducted correctly – an organizational cross-section of input and insight.
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