leadership

the roots of ‘radical’ cpas

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young businessman thinking, software icons in thought cloudhow the ‘new firm’ was born.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

i started to use this newfangled payroll software that worked through the internet. back then they didn’t call it the cloud. it was just payroll software that used an internet browser. it solved my business problems of preparing paychecks, paying taxes and filing tax returns for my customers. the technology was paycycle, a cloud-based payroll software.

more radical cpa: the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice

paycycle (which has since been acquired by intuit) fundamentally changed my firm and my life. all of a sudden payroll became one of the most profitable areas of our firm. it also became a catalyst to selling and packaging our other core services.

it was the beginning of something bigger.

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cpa firms must ‘man up’ and get women on board

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businesswoman and businessman reviewing a document.beyond mentoring: why sponsoring women for leadership matters.

by ida o. abbott
sponsoring women: what men need to know

smart accounting firm leaders want to be in the forefront of efforts to advance women.

as the global economy continues to become more competitive, firms need to use all the talent they can muster — and more and more of that talent will be women.

more on sponsoring women for leadership: is sponsorship right for your firm? | and now, a few words about sex (and 14 tips) | make flexible scheduling work for everyone | your protégée needs your feedback |  9 ways to promote your protégée to others | 8 ways to help your protégée focus on career opportunities | how to start an effective sponsorship … and follow through | 3 ways to initiate informal sponsorship | how to establish a sponsor-protégée relationship | 3 roadblocks to women and men working together well | fear of sex and rumors inhibits sponsorship | why women resist networking and powerful role models

companies that successfully tap into the full potential of women will be far ahead of their competitors. the key to doing it is to identify women who are likely to succeed and sponsor them so they reach the top levels of leadership. this requires direct per­sonal involvement by leaders, particularly leaders who are men. read more →

5 ways to roll with the changes you didn’t want

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man in suit with head leaned back on couch, hand on foreheadattitude is a big factor.

change, in business as in life, doesn’t always happen the way we want it.

especially in busy season.

it’s at those times when we may need some help. here, from “change expert” m.j. ryan, author of “adaptability: how to survive change you didn’t ask for,” are a few helpful thoughts…

1. focus on the solution, not the problem. because society rewards analytic thinking, we believe that identifying the cause of our troubles is the answer: why is this happening? that’s a starting point, but don’t spend too much time there. what are you going to do about where you are?

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the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice

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and the 3 questions you should be asking yourself today.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

i had just come off a really bad tax season.

this was about eight years ago now, and i knew there had to be a better way. i left a mid-sized firm, with seven partners and about 50 other employ­ees and i joined my dad’s firm — literally and figuratively. figu­ratively, because many of his technology and processes were “old school.” read more →

walking the walk with a radical cpa

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broken chainget real. get up from your desk. go for a ‘gemba’ walk.

by tom hood
the radical cpa

i remember sending a video intro to jody padar’s first meeting of ic opportunities where i read a quote from the february 2012 edition of fast company magazine in which the editor, robert safian, intro­duced the concept of “generation flux” and it reminded me of jody and her tribe:

tom hood
hood

“in our hyper-networked, mobile, social, global world, the rules and plans of yesterday are increasingly under pressure; the enterprises and individuals that will thrive will be those willing to adapt and iterate, in a disciplined, unsen­timental way… generation flux is a term that describes all of this — the chaotic business era that we have moved into — as well as the people who are poised to thrive in this environment.”

so what is a “gemba walk,” you might be thinking? read more →