move to advisory and assurance with relevance

relevance protects you from technological obsolescence.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

the days of delivering an audit report months after year-end are numbered. how relevant is an audit report when it’s months after the fact? even when we move to continuous audit – which will happen sooner than you think – it will still be historical information. but what will make it more relevant is that it will be delivered more timely, even if we don’t change much about how we perform the audit.

more: how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong | say adios to audit fee pressure | eight items to cover in the audit exit to deepen client relationships and prove value | know your three audit w’splanning lays the foundation of audit relevance | how do we drive relevance in audit? | before the audit: more than just planning | are you correctly identifying the relevance intersection? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | traditional audits don’t deserve premium billing | four basic understandings every auditor must master
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

if you’re taking the time to understand the workings of the business, how that business works in relation to the industry, and how it serves its customers, you’re on the path to providing true relevance. that’s how you move into advisory and assurance. if you provide that baseline level of relevance and then build more real-time techniques and tools, you can expand on that knowledge base of the industry and the operating environment. then you can give your clients even more advice and suggestions for what they do.

read more →

five reasons to ditch timesheets for good

you get what you measure.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

when you measure time on timesheets, you are measuring a scarce commodity. there are only so many billable hours in a week.

more: productize services for consistent client value | digitize clients for standardization | six steps to creating a standardized practice | four ways automation pushes the paradigm shift | are you the key signal caller for your clients?value pricing requires defining your clientshow value pricing impacts your employees6 steps to start value pricingwhat are you selling?three critical factors drive the value pricing trend
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

by measuring billable hours, you’re living in a world of scarcity. this is bound to affect your firm, both internally and externally.

read more →

how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong

only a small percentage of audit leaders understand businessmindedness’s inward and outward components.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

i talk to leaders of firms all around the country who think that if they get their fee realization right, that’s a sign that they’ve got great business minds. they ask me what the market fee realization is, so i tell them that’s a miserable measure.

more: say adios to audit fee pressure | eight items to cover in the audit exit to deepen client relationships and prove value | know your three audit w’splanning lays the foundation of audit relevance | how do we drive relevance in audit? | before the audit: more than just planning | are you correctly identifying the relevance intersection? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | traditional audits don’t deserve premium billing | four basic understandings every auditor must master
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

there is no perfect fee realization. as extreme examples, i’ve worked with firms with 10 percent and 200 percent fee realizations. which is better? neither. the firm with a 10 percent fee realization bills at $5,000 per hour, while the other bills at $20 an hour.

read more →

you can’t win with lowballing

when to let the next accountant take the losses.

ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: a client of 10 years was paying a fixed fee that was now a little less than half of our time charges. also, there had been a gradual scope creep with additional services being forced on us without any extra fees.

more: nine reasons not to specialize | when board service gets tricky | yes, you have to share work papers | hiring experience vs. training inexperience | eleven ways new staffers can help bring in business | should you merge? here’s how to chart your path | a friendly chat or a billable discussion? | busy season is over, so it’s time for some resolutions | hold staff accountable if you want them to listen to you | when selling a firm to staffers is tricky | want to merge? six steps to take | how to raise your rates
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the cpa had not received an increase in six years because of the client’s constant complaining that the fee was too high. the client just told us they had a quote from another firm that was half of ours, and said if we didn’t match it, they would leave us. what should we do?
read more →

geraldine carter: why charging more is better for your clients

do the work you love for clients who value your expertise.

this is a video preview. the complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members. 

subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: applegooglespotifyiheartdeezer, amazon music and audibleplayer fmaudacygaana (india), and boomplay (africa).

the disruptors
with liz farr

geraldine carter wants accountants to get off the treadmill of working too many hours for too little pay. her new book – down to 40 hours – will help accountants achieve the “utterly reasonable” goal of working only 40 hours a week.

more podcasts and videos: vimal bava: when working smarter, not harder, is the only option | dawn brolin says grow your firm by shrinking itjason blumer & julie shipp: move leaders out of client service | james graham: drop the billable hour and you’ll bill morekaren reyburn: fix your marketing and fix your business | giles pearson: fix the staffing crisis by swapping experience for education | jina etienne: practice fearless inclusionbill penczak: stop forcing smart people to do stupid worksandra wiley: staffing problem? check your culture | scott scarano: first, grow people. then firm growth can follow |

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

carter helps accountants solve the problem of overwork with a three-pronged approach: creating value for clients, pricing effectively, and delivering services efficiently. a key to this approach is focusing on a niche. by focusing on a particular type of client, you see the patterns that help you create value for clients, “and you’re likely going to be one of the few with that expertise.” providing more value “enables you to increase your prices for the same work,” she says.

read more →

productize services for consistent client value

high-end alignment creates more satisfying client experiences.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

now that you have hopefully standardized your services, it’s time to look at productization. productization is the packaging of intangible services to make them feel tangible. you put everything you will do for a persona into an offering that resonates with them because it’s customized for them. it’s then clearly priced so the buyer knows what they get for their investment.

more: digitize clients for standardization | six steps to creating a standardized practice | value pricing requires defining your clients | stop selling time | three critical factors drive the value pricing trend | stop looking for talent that does not exist
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

this is just as useful for your clients as it is for your staff. clients appreciate it because they know exactly what they’ll get and what to expect. staff appreciate it because, unlike in traditional firms where there are at least four different ways to get to the same deliverable, this model has one pathway for each deliverable and service product, making it both efficient and traceable.

read more →

say adios to audit fee pressure

what client goes out for an audit proposal when their auditor provides relevant advice and useful suggestions?  

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

your client likely engaged your firm for an audit because they need an audit. but what is it that they want? they don’t want a stack of paper delivered months after year-end. like anyone else, they focus on “what’s in it for me?” or wiifm.

more: use eight audit exit items to deepen client relationships | exceptional audit client service demands effective communication | deliver more audit value by getting out of the conference roomknow your three audit w’splanning lays the foundation of audit relevance | how do we drive relevance in audit? | before the audit: more than just planning | are you correctly identifying the relevance intersection? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | traditional audits don’t deserve premium billing
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

they want relevant ideas that will help them improve their businesses. they want to learn from you about your experience with others in their industry or in a similar situation. they want a relationship with you to talk about their business in plain english. they want someone who can explain the accounting standards and how they impact how they report their results.

remember our definition of relevance:

read more →

four considerations when standardizing client tech stacks

how to make sense of their various channels.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

clients use the client technology stack to run their day-to-day businesses. the stack they use depends on their niche or vertical. for example, law firms use clio, while e-commerce businesses rely on webgility, among others.

more: digitize clients for standardization | six steps to creating a standardized practice | value pricing requires defining your clients | stop selling time | three critical factors drive the value pricing trend | stop looking for talent that does not exist | advisory work must be priced by value, not hours
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the next tech layer is data aggregation. all the data feeds will land here, and you can determine what to do with and how to organize this information based on kpis or other metrics around which you’re building their business success.

read more →

digitize clients for standardization

don’t lose your shirt over process.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

why is mcdonald’s easy to price and why is their product so consistent no matter where in the world you are? you know that if you get a big mac in chicago or one in new york, it will taste and cost the same. this is because of standardization, and you shouldn’t underestimate the role digitized data plays in maintaining this consistency.

more: six steps to creating a standardized practice | four ways automation pushes the paradigm shiftare you the key signal caller for your clients?value pricing requires defining your clientshow value pricing impacts your employees6 steps to start value pricingwhat are you selling?three critical factors drive the value pricing trendaccounting disruptors are heading your way … with deep pockets | the convergence of trends makes pricing changes imperative
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

your firm can standardize and price just like mcdonald’s does, if you have the right tech infrastructure, in addition to standards related to both clients and workflow.
read more →

disruptors: cut 90% of your clients with dominique molina

we risk losing a generation of highly talented people if we continue to expect them to pay their dues and work long hours.

this is a preview. the complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members.

the disruptors
with liz farr

in 2006, dominique molina was overworked and burned out at her accounting firm. but instead of throwing in the towel, she drastically overhauled her firm: she pruned her client base from 300 to 30, focused on her expertise in tax planning, and shifted to value pricing.

more podcasts and videos: dawn brolin says grow your firm by shrinking itjason blumer & julie shipp: move leaders out of client service | james graham: drop the billable hour and you’ll bill morekaren reyburn: fix your marketing and fix your business | giles pearson: fix the staffing crisis by swapping experience for education | jina etienne: practice fearless inclusionbill penczak: stop forcing smart people to do stupid worksandra wiley: staffing problem? check your culture | scott scarano: first, grow people. then firm growth can follow |

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

that transformation was “beyond my wildest dreams,” molina says. “i never could have predicted the joy that i feel in my life, the satisfaction and fulfillment i feel from my work” by helping her clients with their own business transformations.

read more →

six steps to creating a standardized practice

don’t be blinded to the benefits of standardizing services.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

the accounting profession will never resemble an automotive production line, perhaps for no other reason than we don’t look good in steel-toed boots. we’ll never be widget producers and, from my viewpoint, that’s a good thing. however, our position among the professional class shouldn’t blind us to the benefits of standardizing many of our services.

more: four ways automation pushes the paradigm shift | are you the key signal caller for your clients? | value pricing requires defining your clients | how value pricing impacts your employees | six steps to start value pricing | stop selling time | why pricing is so disruptive | the radical pricing model: start with $25k | three critical factors drive the value pricing trend | accounting disruptors are heading your way … with deep pockets | the convergence of trends makes pricing changes imperative | stop looking for talent that does not exist
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

anyone who has been an accountant for any length of time has certainly seen enough to eliminate the need to reinvent the wheel every time they start a new engagement. an entire firm has even more institutional knowledge to draw from. you can develop reliable and repeatable recipes for different services and deliverables by capturing this institutional knowledge. this is standardization, and it makes your service offerings more efficient, cheaper, consistent and predictable – all good business practices. you’ll be able to predict with better accuracy the time frames required for new projects, and you’ll be able to scope out exactly what will be required to bring the project to a successful conclusion. read more →

loren fogelman: stop undercharging and start being client-centered

stop letting your business and career “suck the life out of you.”

this video is a preview. the complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members. the podcast version will be available everywhere you get your podcasts.


the disruptors
with liz farr

loren fogelman is on a mission to help accountants and bookkeepers build businesses that “don’t suck the life out of you.” as fogelman says, “how much can you actually give up your personal life before it’s not sustainable any longer?”

more podcasts and videos: dawn brolin says grow your firm by shrinking itjason blumer & julie shipp: move leaders out of client service | james graham: drop the billable hour and you’ll bill morekaren reyburn: fix your marketing and fix your business | giles pearson: fix the staffing crisis by swapping experience for education | jina etienne: practice fearless inclusionbill penczak: stop forcing smart people to do stupid worksandra wiley: staffing problem? check your culture | scott scarano: first, grow people. then firm growth can follow |

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

according to fogelman, a keynote speaker and one of america’s top-ranked business coaches for business success solution, “at least 57% of firm owners are undercharging for their services.” she encourages professionals to double or even triple their fees, which frees up time so they can provide client-centered services and “go back to the gym or spend more time with your family or take that much-needed vacation.”

the highly-sought business coach has several methods her clients use to earn more, work less, and have more quality time for themselves.

read more →

four ways automation pushes the paradigm shift

everyone’s job is enhanced when you can automate wherever possible.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

when you have three people in your firm, each doing things their own way, you won’t be able to standardize until you get them all on the same page. technology makes it easy to do that.

more: are you the key signal caller for your clients?value pricing requires defining your clientshow value pricing impacts your employees6 steps to start value pricingwhat are you selling?three critical factors drive the value pricing trendaccounting disruptors are heading your way … with deep pockets | the convergence of trends makes pricing changes imperative | stop looking for talent that does not exist | advisory work must be priced by value, not hours
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

technology is spurring innovation and driving automation – and that’s reshaping the future of accounting. automation is simply using technology to complete tasks that are typically done by humans, and it will help you standardize by providing:
read more →