trend outlook 2016: change agents needed
firm results are again on the rise.
strategy
linkedin adds messaging. finally!
new chat app accelerates business networking, client communications.
by hitendra patil
pransform inc.
linkedin, undoubtedly the “go-to” social media platform for prospects to check out cpas, is rolling out a messaging feature to allow real-time chat conversations. and it’s about time.
until now, linkedin supported only email-like communication. but with messaging, you can actually have a conversation.
but now, with “messaging,” linkedin makes it possible for cpas to have “conversations” with their connections. everyone knows how “chats” and “text messages” help in short-form, need-based conversations build relationships. with linkedin as the real business-connections platform, messaging on linkedin will now help cpas have conversations that build stronger relationships with their connections.
thinking technology? then think beyond average
‘average is where the best of the worst meets the worst of the best.’
by jim boomer
the accounting firm operations and technology survey
the accounting firm operations and technology survey provides some great insights on where firms stack up in both practice management and technology. i encourage you to view this as the starting point, though. strive to be better in all areas regardless of whether you are below, at or above average. after all, average is where the best of the worst meets the worst of the best.
break away from the herd
whether it is technology, processes or new service lines, we, as a profession, have the tendency to follow the herd. large firms look at peers and do what they do. small firms tend to look at other small firms.i challenge you to look beyond the firms of similar size for additional ideas on how to support your firm’s continued improvement and growth. we’ve found that small firms can learn a great deal from those that are larger and vice versa. read more →
why do cpa firms conduct retreats?
team building is great, but the benefits don’t have to end there.
by marc rosenberg
cpa firm retreats
management retreats are one of the best ways to accomplish the wonderful things that the so-called management gurus tell us our firms should be doing:
- communicating
- planning/thinking
- empowering
- focusing on objectives
- problem solving
- shifting our paradigms
- doing first things first
- being proactive
- changing with the times
… all designed to achieve success in our organizations, whether success is defined by profits, growth, survival, happiness, challenge or all of the above.
but what are the benefits of partner retreats?
a radical close look at value pricing
bonus checklists: 5 reasons not to manage employees by timesheet and 4 factors of fixed pricing.
join the survey; get the results:
pricing strategies and billing rates
by jody padar
the radical cpa
ron baker and ed kless of the verasage institute are the hands-down experts on value pricing. they do a phenomenal job of explaining how it works and why you shouldn’t track time. i’ve done it for the last eight years and i absolutely love it. i would never go back to time and billing. my quality of life has changed dramatically because of it. what it’s done for the culture of my firm can’t be measured. it’s an intangible. i started doing it because i figured out that there had to be a better way to sell my services. i didn’t want to sell myself by the hour and i found out that it worked without reading all the economic theories. so i continued.
more on radicalism: get radical about pricing | make radical connections | let’s get radical about content | each social channel has a language | get ready for radical transparency | 5 radical ways to be social and strategic | how i got started being social | how social media transforms firms to their core | six competitive advantages for the radical cpa | radical tenet #1: embrace the cloud | radical customers are on their way | 5 radical transparencies; are you ready? | 4 questions radical firms must face | being radical starts with being the change | why start being radical now? | going radical: the 4 tenets of a ‘new firm’ | the roots of ‘radical’ cpas | the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice
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the technology is only getting faster and better. eight years ago my payroll only took two minutes using paycycle. i had to ask myself: how could i make money on it? i believe that the pricing model finally is going to change. ron baker was the early adopter and started this 20 years ago. i believe the technology has now caught up. if firms don’t change our pricing model, we’re either going to have 25,000 customers or we’re not going to make any money if we continue to charge by time.
how the “1099 economy” will transform accounting
‘uberization’ disrupts the cpa business model.
what’s the success formula for an entrepreneurial accountant?
join the survey. get the answers
by hitendra patil
in “four signs the uberization of accounting has already begun,” we analyzed the opportunities and threats for cpa firms’ operations. after some more research into the “1099 economy” or the “contingent workforce,” the evidence all seems to point in one direction: transformation in the business model of accounting firms. the us dept. of labor notes that employers are seeking new ways to make employment more flexible with contingent work arrangement, and the dol recommends that the definition of employee and that of employer should be standardized and grounded in changed economic realities:
- 53 million workers in the us are now “freelance workers.”
- 2 million workers are “contingent workers” and this number is estimated to double by the year 2020.
- more millennials freelance than any other age group.
these and many other findings indicate key impacts on how accounting firms will do business in future. here are some of our thoughts:
get radical about pricing
forget about measuring by time.
by jody padar
the radical cpa
“forget about pricing and think about what people buy.”
customers are not buying our time. they may be buying our expertise. but they’re really buying a solution to their problem. famed management consultant peter drucker says, “a customer never buys a product by definition, the customer buys a satisfaction. satisfaction of a want, he buys value.” he’s buying a good feeling.
more on radicalism: make radical connections | let’s get radical about content | each social channel has a language | get ready for radical transparency | 5 radical ways to be social and strategic | how social media transforms firms to their core | 10 radical steps into the cloud | six competitive advantages for the radical cpa | radical customers are on their way | 5 radical transparencies; are you ready? | 4 questions radical firms must face | being radical is all about your customer | going radical: the 4 tenets of a ‘new firm’ | why should cpas be radical?
when lipstick leaves the manufacturer, it’s a solution. when it crosses the counter in a department store, it’s hope. from this perspective, how do we make our services into products or solutions? that’s essentially what you are doing with bundling and packages. you are productizing a service. read more →
make radical connections
you don’t define your brand, your customers do. by jody padar the radical cpa social media is great for connecting with clients and prospects, but it also makes it easier to get published in the real media and that will … continued
what cpa firms could learn from google’s alphabet
13 lessons in strategy and innovation from google’s founders.
next question: the essential traits for success as an entrepreneurial accountant.
join the survey; get the results.
by hitendra patil
pransform inc.
google’s creation of a new spin-off called alphabet, a new umbrella company that includes google itself, should raise some thought-provoking questions for cpa firms.
more for pro members on the entrepreneurial accountant: summer reading list: five great books for the five lives of a busy accountant | four signs the uberization of accounting has already begun | the one word that can make accountants rich | management guru chester elton on success | savvy cpas focus on the constants | 10 things that accountants didn’t need to worry about 10 years ago | three amazing cpas who want to do tax returns for free | can accounting firms lead with work-life vision? | why accountants could be the happiest people on earth | more…
founders sergey brin and larry page remind everyone in the alphabet announcement (at the iconic url http://abc.xyz) what they said 11 years ago, “google is not a conventional company. we do not intend to become one.”
let’s start there. read more →
let’s get radical about content
content is king and context is queen.
by jody padar
the radical cpa
most professionals speak and/or tweet above their audience. they don’t realize whom they’re talking to.
more on radicalism: each social channel has a language | get ready for radical transparency | 5 radical ways to be social and strategic | how i got started being social | how social media transforms firms to their core | six competitive advantages for the radical cpa | radical customers are on their way | 5 radical transparencies; are you ready? | 4 questions radical firms must face | being radical is all about your customer | being radical starts with being the change | the roots of ‘radical’ cpas | the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice
when you’re producing content, it has to be driven at the consumer level, not at the other professional level.
most cpas talk above their customers. some companies get it right. read more →
each social channel has a language
better to pick one spot and be devoted to it than scattershot across three.
by jody padar
the radical cpa
each social media channel has its own language, culture and dialect. you need to make sure that your culture (aka your voice and how you post) matches the specific channel, otherwise it’s going to seem awkward. social media has to be understood and used properly and even though you’re going to be experimenting there are also some unwritten rules. make sure that you’re following the basic rules of the social media channel you’re using.
more radical cpa: 5 radical ways to be social and strategic | how i got started being social | how social media transforms firms to their core | 10 radical steps into the cloud | the market is moving toward the radicals | 5 radical transparencies; are you ready? | 4 questions radical firms must face | being radical is all about your customer | why start being radical now? | why should cpas be radical? | the roots of ‘radical’ cpas | the first 3 questions i should have asked before starting my own practice
summer reading list: five great books for the five lives of a busy accountant
accountants fill many roles. and there’s a good book for each.
by hitendra patil
in “a dance with dragons,” “game of thrones” author george r.r. martin, says, “a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies… the man who never reads lives only one.”
more for the entrepreneurial accountant: four signs the uberization of accounting has already begun | the one word that can make accountants rich | management guru chester elton on success | savvy cpas focus on the constants | 10 things that accountants didn’t need to worry about 10 years ago | three amazing cpas who want to do tax returns for free | can accounting firms lead with work-life vision? | why accountants could be the happiest people on earth | more…
well, accountants don’t live just one life. at work, it’s almost as if they live five different lives. here is a summer reading list for accountants with one book for each of the lives they live.
13 reasons accounting firms merge
bonus list: a 12-point look at the merger market.
by marc rosenberg
cpa firm mergers: your complete guide
why do firms merge?
whether you’re looking to acquire a smaller firm, merge upward into a larger one or join forces with an equal, answering this basic question honestly and objectively is key to laying the groundwork for a successful merger.
more on mergers: mergers 101: when negotiations aren’t really negotiations | 5 steps to take before merging