Monday, May 7th, 2012
E. Lynn Nichols – Tax Guru
Lynn Nichols, is that you with Rita?
Lynn Nichols, CPA, is legendary in the world of tax CPE. I heard his name early on in my career as CPAs raved about his tax classes. I’ve also worked on conference committees where the planners would always say: We must have Lynn Nichols!
He has a devoted and passionate audience. He has been providing tax consulting services to accounting firms for 40+ years and presents more than 100 CPE seminars sponsored by state societies and CPAs each year, plus he is a featured speaker at most major tax conferences.
Having given you all of that information (which you probably already knew), you can imagine my excitement at having my picture taken with Mr. Nichols at the Minnesota Tax Conference last fall. Now I have a “Lynn Nichols, is that you with Rita?” gem to add to my collection.
I wanted to post this now because of Mr. Nichols’ recent article that appeared in the Ohio CPA Voice magazine and in some other states’ society newsletters. It has a wonderful and important message and causes my admiration to continue to grow.
- "The mental stress and long hours associated with a CPA's work can be difficult to handle."
Sunday, May 6th, 2012
Lighten-Up, It’s The Weekend – The Vocal Fry
The weekend, time for something off-topic, humorous or even weird.
I didn’t even know what you called it. That irritating vocal style (mostly used by women) where every sentence ends in a gravelly vibrato. I notice it being used by young women interviewed on TV and mostly because my husband complains about it and mocks it. They drive him crazy and he in turn drives me crazy because he can imitate the style quite well.
A recent post by Fast Company describes it quite well using a situation where a job candidate was ruled out immediately because of how she talked on the phone. The position required someone to have a high degree of interaction with senior executive clients and required that the person in the position establish their credibility in the first few seconds of a conversation with those senior executives.
When a young lady, who appeared perfect for the position on paper, was interviewed over the phone, every sentence ended in a gravelly low vibrato. They describe it as a grating, kazoo-like effect that made the candidate sound immature, unconfident, and, frankly, annoying. A recently published article in the Journal of Voice reports that 2/3 of the female college students studied used vocal fry.
Watch the video for an amusing example. While it makes me smile, it’s a serious topic if you are a young lady looking for a job in public accounting.
- "All great speakers were bad speakers at first."
Friday, May 4th, 2012
Nurture These Characteristics In Your Firm Leaders
I sometimes read a blog that is directed to startups and entrepreneurs. It’s called startupprofessionals.com. Recently a post featured 9 attributes of entrepreneurial leaders.
I think they definitely apply to CPA firm leaders. Follow the link, above, to read details about each attribute.
- Clarity of vision and expectations.
- Willingness to make decisions.
- Experience and knowledge in your business area.
- Commitment and conviction for the venture.
- Open to new ideas and creativity.
- Courage to acknowledge and attack constraints.
- Reward continuous learning.
- Self-discipline for consistency and reliability.
- Accept responsibility for all actions.
You might want to recommend the blog your entrepreneurial clients.
- "The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.""
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Solutions For CPA Firm Leaders – May Newsletter
The May issue of my newsletter went out yesterday morning.
If you have ever thought of getting rid of things (or people) in your firm, you might want to read the first article:
- Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division
Have you ever struggled with the decision to keep the same staff members assigned to a client engagement year after year as opposed to moving a newer team member into the role? Maybe this article will help:
- Same People On The Same Engagements Year After Year
You can receive the newsletter directly if you sign-up on my website. To read this month’s issue click here.
- "Action is the foundational key to all success."
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
I Owe You An Article. The CPAs Struggle To Write.
One of the best ways to enhance your reputation as being an outstanding CPA is to write. Don’t cringe! One of the best ways to attract new business is to write. One of the best ways to obtain more business from your current clients is to write
You should be writing about what you know – accounting, tax, auditing – or about a special industry you serve, where you have become extremely knowledgeable – auto dealers, distributors, high wealth individuals, non-profits. Write about a special tax situation you solved for a client.
For years, firm administrators, administrative assistants and marketing directors in CPA firms have been waiting on you to provide that article you promised.
Here’s how the story goes. At a pipeline meeting, Pete (the tax partner) mentions that he will write an article for the next firm newsletter. Sally, the firm administrator, thanks him and informs him that she will need the article in three weeks. Pete acknowledges that is enough time for him to provide her the brief (350 to 400 word) article.
Two weeks later Sally sends Pete an email to remind him that he has one more week to write the article and she even stops by his office to inquire about his progress (he hasn’t started it yet). Two days before the due date she inquires again via email and receives no reply. The next day she asks him in the hallway about the article and he explains, “I know I owe you an article but I have been too busy, maybe I’ll do it tomorrow.” Sally delays publication of the newsletter, awaiting the promised article. After three or four days of standing outside his office door to nag him, she gives up and substitutes a “canned” article. Now, repeat this scene over and over again. One of my favorite phrases applies: Good intentions, no implementation.
In today’s business environment, writing has become more and more important. CPAs should be blogging, tweeting, sending newsletters with articles written by their own partners and staff, submitting articles to their local business newspaper, starting discussions on LinkedIn and iShade. The written word is being blasted around the planet in astronomical numbers and CPAs should be part of the noise. It has become absolutely critical for CPAs to be writing on social media.
Want to learn how to write for social media and how to make it an easy natural activity? Take 6 minutes and watch this excellent video from Jeffrey Gitomer titled, Writing is Not a Mystery. It’s Your Best Chance to Achieve Mastery.
- "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Please will you…. Change, Evolve, Re-engineer, Research, Experiment And Test?
For many years, I was fortunate to be part of a growing CPA firm that continually evolved, changed, re-engineered, researched, tested, made mistakes, learned from mistakes and strived to be on the leading edge (not the bleeding edge). Simply put, the firm (it’s leaders) were not afraid of change. All shareholders embraced it (agreed to the rules and played by them – most of the time) and thus, the firm continually moved forward.
Last week, I followed the happenings at a conference for association executives via Twitter. It was held in Orlando and was called the 2012 DigitalNow Conference. On Friday, Bill Sheridan of the Maryland Association of CPAs blogged about Geoffrey Moore‘s presentation at the conference.
I continually urge my clients to: Do things! Sheridan’s opening paragraph sounds similar:
You know you have to change. Complexity is hitting you from every angle, impacting every corner of your business. Every fiber of your being screams out, “Do something!”
Take a few minutes and read Sheridan’s blog post titled, Want to change? Keep dancing. Take note of the paragraph that begins with: Think about it….
- "Keep dancing and eventually others will dance with you."
Monday, April 30th, 2012
The Firm Won’t Pay? – - Why Not Invest In Yourself?
Do you have your CPE for 2012 planned yet?
One of the comments I often hear goes something like this….“I can’t attend that conference this year. I’m going to the (fill-in a name) conference and that’s all that is in the budget for me.”
Okay, that might be true. Have you ever considered changing your mind and going to something different than the usual technical (tax and audit) track or to the MAP conference you always attend?
CPA owners sometimes wonder why their managers and staff don’t show any interest in firm management or marketing. Perhaps it is because partners do not mandate that these “younger” CPAs attend CPE that has a management focus. It is important that managers and staff always get to hear an “update on the CPA profession” every year.
Managers and staff – - I’m talking to you in this paragraph. Have you ever considered spending you own money (and time) to attend a career- and mind-broadening conference or workshop? After all, it’s your career and ultimately your responsibility to move your career toward greater success. Or, you can remain average (mediocre) for your entire career.
The same thing applies to CPA firm administrators, marketing directors, human resource directors, and IT managers. I also hear you say, “the firm won’t pay for me to attend.” Why not set aside some of your own money and invest in your own future?
Think about it and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit!
Here’s some opportunities:
The Texas Chapter of AAA and the Dallas Area Administrators May meeting in Dallas – May 4, 2012. I’ll be speaking on The Key Role of the Firm Administrator in Succession and A Woman’s Nation Changes Everything.
The Tennessee Society of CPAs Women’s Career Summit - May 8, 2012 in Brentwood. Attend my session titled, A Woman’s National Changes Everything.
If you are in New England, here’s two sessions I am doing for the Massachusetts Society of CPAs. Climb the Ladder of Success – Engage Your Staff and Make Your Firm More Successful: The Importance of Professional Management and Administration – May 23 & 24 – for more information click here.
AICPA PractitionersTECH+ - June 11-13 in Las Vegas. I’ll be speaking on How A Firm Administrator Can Make Your Firm More Successful.
Association for Accounting Administration National Practice Management Conference - Las Vegas, June 19-22 at Green Valley Ranch.
- "In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."
Saturday, April 28th, 2012
Lighten-Up, It’s The Weekend
The weekend is time for something off-topic, humorous or maybe even weird.
I’m always nagging CPA firm leaders about being more creative. Many of you do what you have always done (because, basically, it still works). Many of you do what everyone else is doing (because you hang your hat on MAP surveys and stories told by other CPAs at your state society or firm association meeting).
This weekend I wanted to give you a good example of being creative. I really like this short video from Johnson & Johnson. It talks about their Credo, which I want you to take note of. Consider their graphic and how you could use it to help you find the meaning of what you are doing as a company. More importantly, watch how the company, facing a problem/challenge, came up with an really creative and unique solution.
Enjoy your week-end!
- "I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself."
Friday, April 27th, 2012
Leave It to the CPA Firm Administrator
Free partners from the administrative jungle.
I have two questions today for those of you who are CPA firm owners. Do you have a professional firm administrator handling the day-to-day operations of your firm?
As you ponder that question, hopefully you will contemplate these two items:
- If you answered no, why not?
- If you answered yes, is that person a highly-trained and motivated administrative (or operations) manager who you have empowered with significant responsibility? Shorter version: are you pleased with their performance?
If you would like more information about hiring a firm administrator, promoting someone from within or helping your current administrator become more successful, here are some options:
- Read my Management Commentary article in the May issue of CCH Practice Management Forum. The article features real-life stories from three successful firms. Thank-you to Barb Gillock and Walter Lynn of Lynn & Associates, Bill Hubly and Bernie Lietz of Corbett, Duncan & Hubly and Kelly Nizzer Bates and Tom Hager of Schlabig & Associates for taking the time to be interviewed for the article.
- Attend my session at AICPA PractitionersTECH Conference in Las Vegas on June 11-13 titled, How a Firm Administrator Can Make a Firm More Successful. My break-out session is on Wednesday morning
- Browse through the archives on this blog.
- Investigate membership in the Association for Accounting Administration.
- Call me to discuss and explore the situation at your firm.
- "Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them."
Thursday, April 26th, 2012
Changing Your CPA Office Layout
Last week-end I read an article in a business journal – you know, the network of business newspapers across the country. You probably have one in your city. This article was in the Sacramento Business Journal.
The article reports that KPMG, the New York-based accounting firm is changing the layout of its offices nationwide from a model of having separate offices to more of a collaborative open layout with cubicles.
This is a topic I have been talking to CPAs about for quite a while. The business world has moved to a more collaborative work-style and simplified office design. The tradition of having offices on the window side of the space with cubicle “stalls” (often referred to as the bullpen) in the middle of the space is no longer practical, efficient or collaborative.
Photo: The picture is the office of Mono, a Minneapolis advertising and branding agency.
I know, as CPAs, you are thinking, “we’re not creative advertising people, we’re traditional accountants.” – - All the more reason to unleash your creativity and expand your universe (and become the cool firm in town). Baby Boomer CPAs, think back and remember when you were young and cool.
Jason Blumer of Blumer & Associates has a unique way to solve “how do we configure our office space” problem. He’s doing away with his firm’s office altogether. The firm has evolved to a true virtual environment. Listen to at least the first two minutes of this video on Accounting Today TV to find out why this works for his firm and what your firm will be facing in the future.
- "Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes."
