Rita Keller, an award-winning and widely respected voice to CPA firm management, is uniquely positioned to help CPAs and their teams face rapid and significant change.
“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.” – Paul Hawken
The CPA Consultants’ Alliance is a group of consultants who focus strictly on the CPA profession. They meet each year to talk about the hot topics (and challenges) they see facing the many accounting firms they work with.
Roman Kepczyk of Right Networks wrote a recent blog post about three takeaways from the Alliance meeting that happened in February.
The three topics:
DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives
PE (private equity) impacting accounting practices
Firms adopting unlimited PTO (Paid time off)
Read about the discussions on each of these topics here.
Only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion, and underperformance. Everything else requires leadership.
“One of the major keys to success is to keep moving forward on the journey, making the best of the detours and interruptions, turning adversity into advantage.” – John Maxwell
You are often put on the spot. You are the managing partner or the firm administrator (practice manager), and someone stops you in the hallway as you return to your office with a cup of coffee.
They say it is just a quick question. You know better.
Just know that you don’t have to answer every question immediately. Maybe you feel uncomfortable giving them a quick answer. No matter what the topic, just tell them that you’ll have to get back to them.
It is annoying getting put on the spot with random questions. Maybe you really don’t know the answer. It is okay to tell them that you don’t know and will get back to them. It gives you time to think about what they have asked.
Sometimes a quick answer will come back to haunt you.
Once, I heard a great presenter, at a conference, give this advice – If you don’t want to be bothered or interrupted while walking around the office, carry a clipboard and walk fast.
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
The 2022 survey featured a series of questions exploring ATAWW programs as well as remote client service, non-traditional staffing strategies, and cultural shifts required. Some interesting findings include:
95% offer remote auditing, and the percentage who performed more than half their audits away from the client site soared from 14% in 2020 to 54% in 2022
83% of firms allow Admin and Operations to work remote or blended
81% who employ remote talent hired a “stranger” outside their geography (up from 38% in 2020)
73% don’t dictate when extra hours are worked (no more mandatory Saturdays!)
19% offer Unlimited PTO
12% close the office between Christmas and New Year’s
“I would say in the past couple months it’s come a long way, but I still don’t think it’s there yet,” Katie Tolin, CPA Growth Guides
There has been so much discussion about ChatGPT and what it means for many varying situations. Of course, I wonder about CPA firms. My first inclination is that it could be very helpful. Would it actually replace a portion of what a CPA firm marketer does?
Inside Public Accounting provides us with a very informative article about what ChatGPT means for public accounting firms by featuring opinions from CPA firm marketing professionals.
I think that it’s going to give a path for experts who are bad writers to get to market. That’s what I’m hoping it will do, and then also streamline some drudgery that happens in marketing and other industries.
“The paperless office is possible, but not by imitating paper. Note that the horseless carriage did not work by imitating horses.” – Ted Nelson
How much do new college graduates know about life?
You are desperately seeking these accounting majors for your firm. You might be surprised at what they do not know about general life skills that are put to use in the business world. Many times have you heard them say, “I never learned that in college!”
I recently heard a story from a grandmother about her granddaughter, a college student. I was amazed, but I think the more you know about your talent pool, the better you will be able to understand, manage, and mentor them.
A baby boomer lady was driving accompanied by her 20-year-old granddaughter, a college student. The lady couldn’t find a U.S. Postal Service dark blue mailbox where she could simply pull up and deposit her (paper) mail. She parked a couple of parking spaces away and asked her granddaughter to get out of the car, walk a few steps and put a letter into the mailbox. From the sidewalk side of the mailbox, as you know, you simply use the handle to open the mailbox and drop in the letter. The granddaughter admitted she had never mailed a letter this way and couldn’t figure out how to get the letter into the mailbox.Grandma had to give her specific instructions.
As your new recruits arrive in the office, you already know that you have to teach them SO much. Sometimes the little things are very baffling to them. Be patient. They are accustomed to a paperless world.
I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think.
“Survey and test a prospective action before undertaking it. Before you proceed, step back and look at the big picture, lest you act rashly on raw impulse.” ~ Epictetus
The 2022 survey disclosed some very interesting information. I could analyze and recap it for you, but why do that? The CPA Journal has already done it for you.
“Don’t be fearful of risks. Understand them, and manage and minimize them to an acceptable level.” – Naved Abdali
Here is some information I received from the AICPA about risk assessment in a financial statement audit:
The AICPA has published a new audit guide, Risk Assessment in a Financial Statement Audit. The authoritative guide will help auditors implement Statement on Auditing Standards No. 145, Understanding the Entity and Its Environment and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, which takes effect for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after Dec. 15, 2023, with early application permitted. SAS No. 145 implements several changes to the risk assessment process, including:
A revised definition of significant risk
A new requirement to assess control risk at the maximum level such that, if the auditor does not plan to test the operating effectiveness of controls, the assessment of the risk of material misstatement is the same as the assessment of inherent risk
Revised requirements relating to audit documentation
New guidance on scaling the risk assessment process.
The guide is available in e-book format.
Risk Management lets you apprecite the risk while you let somone else shoulder all the worry.
“The safest principle through life, instead of reforming others, is to set about perfecting yourself.” –B. R. Haydon.
You’ve worked diligently and have built a glowing reputation grounded in your excellent skills in tax, accounting, and auditing. You’re known as the “go-to” person when a client is faced with tax and financial decisions. You have a very successful firm — but that’s not enough.
I am pleased to present a timely webinar titled “The Evolution of Your Firm From Compliance to Consulting” for Accountant Advocate.
The webinar will be on February 16th, 2023, at 11:00 am PDT, 2:00 pm EDT, and 7:00 pm BST.
Join me for an insightful discussion on:
Why change is now more important than ever
How to convince your partners to move out of complacency and embrace new challenges
Learn how to overcome the battles you will face with technology, talent, growth, and client services
“Don’t say, ‘if I could, I would.’ Say, ‘If I can, I will.’” – Jim Rohn
A new client is landed by one of the firm’s partners. They met several years ago at a Chamber of Commerce business event. The client knows the partner, but how much does he/she know about the firm?
It is important that clients become attached to the firm and not just the partner – for various reasons that some of you know all too well. You don’t want clients to leave the firm just because one person leaves.
Begin building the relationship with the firm at the beginning. In some firms, the first written piece of information a client gets from the firm is an invoice.
After a new client is added to the list, progressive firms send out a warm and friendly welcome letter. Make it different, put it in writing, on paper, and mail it (USPS) to them. It should have a real, written signature on it.
I like to see the letter come from the firm administrator. This helps the client know that there is another person they can contact immediately if needed. Eventually, they will get acquainted with the engagement team and build relationships with several people at the firm. However, in the very beginning, they may have many questions and not feel somewhat lost.
Express your appreciation for them joining the firm. It is also a great time to ensure they know your billing and collection policies. Most new clients always wonder about that but have been hesitant to ask.
