Practical ideas, lessons learned and shared experiences for those in the world of CPA firm management, human resources, administration, marketing and technology.
In most CPA firms a huge number of the CPAs are Baby Boomers and they are aging!
In your firm, you need to learn all you can about the Millennials, they are the ones who will be dominating the profession in just a few short years.
Here’s a great infographic from the good folks at Online Graduate Programs:
Created by: Online Graduate Programs
Rob Nance, is that you with Rita?
Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Rob Nance for lunch. Rob is the new Curator of iShade and was key in helping roll out the new iShade Bulletin that provides “headlines from around the profession.”
If you haven’t set up your account yet on iShade, this would be a good week to get it taken care of. Then you can customize Bulletin to fit your desires, needs and interests relating to the accounting profession. I have my channels set-up and am tracking Firm News, Young Accountants and The M.A.P. Channel. There are 14 or so channels to choose from.
Rob has his own blog on iShade and I really enjoyed his post last week about “Time to trim the unwanted e-mail.”
Did you know that spam is no longer the cause of e-mail overload? Per Rob’s post, bacon has taken its place. It’s a true battle of the e-meats. So what is bacon It’s the messages you signed up for (newsletters, sale offers) but now you don’t want. It’s estimated that bacon makes up roughly 55% of unread email. Read the entire post here.
When we got together last week, Rob brought his camera and we did two pictures that I can use on my “Is that you with Rita?” collection.
How cool. ParenteBeard has written and released a story book for children about counting. I’m always talking to you about being unique, here’s a wonderful example.
As noted in the Philadelphia Business Journal, the Philadelphia-based Top 25 accounting firm is taking a different approach to the holiday season. They’ve got a message for the elementary school set.
The firm has published a charming children’s book called “Making the Holidays Count,” a story about a little girl who fears and hates math untill she meets up with a Christmas Carol-like “Countess” who shows her that numbers are really important and cool.
Last week the Parente Beard team members read the book and donated copies to the a local Boys and Girls Club in Philly.
Check out the PDF copy via the firm’s website. Oh yeah, the little girl’s dad is an accountant.
Yesterday, iShade – the free social and professional network exclusively for accountants – unveiled the iShade Bulletin. Perhaps you received one of the notifications that went out yesterday – BUT, did you actually follow the link and see what it is all about?
I did. And I quickly set-up “channels” that are of interest to me and my clients. It’s really a user-friendly news service that you can customize just for your special interests.
Hundreds of studies have found that the most engaged employees – those who report they’re fully invested in their jobs and committed to their employers – are significantly more productive, drive higher customer satisfaction and outperform those who are less engaged.
However, only 20% of employees around the world report that they’re fully engaged at work.
The recommendation made to employers certainly applies to accounting firms. You must shift the focus from trying to get more out of people, to investing more in them.
The last few years, many firms have been running lean and mean when it comes to staffing. Cuts needed to be made back in 2008/09 and maybe even 2010. Your people are now looking to you, firm leaders, to provide relief and appreciation for the extra effort many of them have contributed recently.
Here’s what the studies show as the things employees need.
I believe that CPA firms measure-up pretty well in many of these but still lack in others. How’s your firm doing?
Read the explanations that go with each item and the full article on HBR.
We all knew it was coming. But, the passing of Steve Jobs is definitely on my mind this morning.
I have lived in the Apple world since the mid-80s. We (our family) had an Apple II and a Macintosh. I am typing this on my new MacBook Air. Yesterday while I was walking around the French Quarter in New Orleans I was tracking my steps with the Apple Nano in my pocket. We have purchased numerous iPods over the years and of course, I awoke this morning to the alarm on my iPhone.
Leaving the PC world of a large CPA firm with four tech guys to keep it all running, I couldn’t have started my consulting business with as much ease if it weren’t for Apple (and Google).
Here are some past posts mentioning Jobs and/or Apple.
Marketing Is Service - posted in 2008
Our first MacIntosh – posted in 2007
Lighten-up – Dress Like Steve Jobs – posted in 2010
CPA Firm Managing Partner Succession Plan – Posted Sept., 2011
At the Washington State Chapter of the Association for Accounting Administration this week I had the honor to do a keynote presentation and an update on current trends session. Thanks so much to all of you at the Washington Chapter of AAA for your hospitality.
I also had the chance to listen to Roy Keely of Xcentric and Joe Tarasco of Accountants Advisory Group.
I thought you might find it interesting to just read some bullet points from both of their presentations. I am hoping some of these brief thoughts will make you think and then take action.
Keely:
Tarasco:
I am delighted and extremely honored to be named one of the Top 100 Most Influential for 2011 by Accounting Today. You can find my name listed in the #1.
To read about all 100 people named visit the digital version of the publication here.
Zappos, CEO Tony Hsieh did a keynote at the HR Florida 2011 Conference & Expo this week. I read about it on HR Capitalist. I agree with the author. There is a problem.
Once you hear a keynoter, like Tony, you want to be like Zappos. However, are you willing to do what it takes, it’s to reset your culture?
Are you willing to put up the most active employees you have on Twitter on a rolling widget on your firm’s website without controlling the messages? No? Then you’ve got some work to do before you can be like Zappos.
Hsieh doesn’t advocate being just like Zappos, he thinks you should build it in the way you want. That’s what I advocate for CPA firms, however, do you know what you want? Do you know how to build YOUR culture?
To me, a huge part of it is….. do you TRUST your people? Do they TRUST you? If you won’t show-off your team members, in various ways, perhaps you feel like some of them are not ready for prime time? What are you going to do about that?
Here’s the question from the HR professionals hearing a motivational keynote like the one at the HR Florida Conference: Culture is the wheelhouse of what HR is supposed to own. But no one really knows how to get started. How do you reset a culture that’s driven by your founder being around for the last 20 years and doing it the way he (and his wife) wanted?
Of course, I translate this into the CPA world: Culture is the heart and soul of a CPA firm and it is often the HR Manager, Firm Administrator or Managing Partner who should own it. But no one really knows how to get started. How do you reset a culture that’s driven by a group of partners who have been around for 20 years doing it the way they have always done it and not open to change?
Even if you do not manage and define your culture, you have one. Culture grows on its own and doesn’t always turn out like the owners think it should unless they are actively involved.
Be sure to check my blog post tomorrow to learn about Zappos Core Values.
Alice laughed, “There’s no use trying,” she said. ”One can’t believe impossible things.”
“I dare say you haven’t had as much practice.” said the Queen. “When I was your age I did it for half an hour a day. Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Hearing about and reading about the fingerprint thing for tax preparers this week, caused me to remember this blog post, Can You Believe Impossible Things from Intaxication, Tax Buzz With A Twist. The blog is by Red Moon Solutions.
Read the “Impossible Things” post and open your mind to new ways of solving problems. The old ways won’t work in this new age – you need a mind map!
