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.
“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.
CHICAGO, Jan. 4, 2023– Effective Jan. 1, 2023, prospective certified public accountants in Illinois will only need to present proof of having 120 eligible semester credit hours, versus 150, and a baccalaureate degree to apply to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam, the universal exam all certified public accountant (CPA) candidates must pass to earn the distinguished CPA credential. Individuals passing the exam will still need 150 semester credit hours to become licensed.
The Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS)—one of the largest state CPA societies in the nation—advocated alongside the Illinois Board of Examiners (ILBOE) to reduce the credit-hour requirement for testing eligibility from 150 semester credit hours to 120. In 2021, the Illinois House and Senate unanimously passed ICPAS-sponsored legislation to amend the Illinois Public Accounting Act to allow this change. While earning 150 semester credit hours remains a key education requirement to become a licensed CPA in the state, ICPAS hopes that requiring fewer credit hours to initially sit for the CPA exam will help make becoming a CPA both more appealing and accessible to a broader candidate pool, particularly among accounting students, graduates, and young professionals.
“Earning the CPA credential is one of the most notable ways to establish your professional identity and exhibit a high level of competence in the accounting and finance profession,” says Todd Shapiro, ICPAS president and CEO. “Yet, despite strong market demand for the specialized services CPAs are entrusted to provide, we’ve been witnessing a nationwide decline in new CPAs. It’s our hope that this rule change will help alleviate some of the time and financial barriers associated with becoming a CPA and, ultimately, strengthen the CPA pipeline.”
Individuals planning to sit for the CPA exam can submit their credentials evaluation application on the IBOE website at www.ilboe.org once they’ve earned 120 semester credit hours (including 24 hours in accounting with at least one course in audit and one course in tax, a minimum of 12 hours of business courses, and a baccalaureate degree). Provisional approval will be available for students completing the educational requirements in the final term in which they receive a degree. ICPAS’ FAQ on preparing to take the CPA exam is available at www.icpas.org/cpaexam-faq.
Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.
Lexington, KY, October 3, 2022 – The Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) has announced it will host its third annual virtual conference, Emerge, on November 4, 2022. The theme of this year’s conference is “growth through realignment,” and it will address the current merger and acquisition frenzy impacting the profession.
The one-day virtual conference will allow accounting marketing professionals to collaborate with AAM’s network of marketing, business development, and growth strategists. Allan Koltin, one of the top M&A consultants in the accounting profession, will keynote the event. Allan will address how the playing field is rapidly changing and its impact on future growth for CPA firms.
Emerge 2022 sessions will cover timely topics related to mergers & acquisitions, including due diligence, communication considerations, merging brands and cultures, the client experience, the realignment of teams, expansion into other service areas, and more! Attendees of this year’s conference will receive a merger & acquisition toolkit.
“We have an incredible lineup of topics and speakers this year,” said Rhonda Clark, Executive Director of AAM. “The content that we are offering is invaluable right now. Even for firms that want to remain independent, the discussion topics are geared towards helping firms adjust their growth strategies.”
AAM’s Emerge conference will include panel discussions, fireside chats, and networking breaks. Event attendance is open to both members and non-members. Additional information, including the full agenda and how to register, is available on the event website.
About AAM
The Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) is an international association boasting a network of marketing, business development, and growth strategists. The association was formed in 1989 to elevate the profession and advance the careers of growth professionals in the accounting profession through education, community, thought leadership, and leading-edge resources. Learn more about AAM at www.accountingmarketing.org.
Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time.
“Learning never exhausts the mind.” – Leonardo da Vinci
I really enjoyed talking with Blake Oliver of Earmark CPE for his podcast. You can earn free CPE if you listen. They have titled it “If You Want to Grow, You Need a COO” on #EarmarkCPE.
“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl
I have a Google notification set to alert me about accounting firm news. I noticed that a firm in a large city earned several spotlights in the news, one from a local source, and it was picked up by Yahoo news.
The news is (and it is old news to many of us) that the firm is closing its offices at noon on Friday for the remainder of the summer.
Why is publicizing something like this a good lesson for you? Younger CPAs focused on growing their careers will read the press release and think: “I should learn more about that firm and apply for a job there.”
In your hiring ads, mention that you close on Fridays in the summer. At this point, normal activities to attract talent have worn out. Do you have a unique employee benefit? Publicize it.
The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein
I’m sure you have been reading about EY’s break-up plan. Splitting the audit and advisory businesses faces significant hurdles but other firms could follow.
“Once a new technology rolls over you if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” – Steward Brand, Writer
Every other year the CPA Firm Management Association does a survey of its membership relating to what firms are using relating to technology.
It addresses things like the most used tax software, most used practice management software, and others. It also disclosed that 68% of respondents are in the cloud.
When asked when firm respondents believed that firms would run entirely online without on-premise servers, 33% of respondents estimated it would happen in the next three to five years, while 32% thought it would be less than three years.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
I have known Marc Rosenberg for decades. He is a good friend and colleague. We enjoyed so many enlightening years together in The New Horizon Group. And, I have known Kristen Rampe for many years and have recommended her to many of my clients and contacts. It makes me happy that these two have joined forces to create a new force in the CPA firm consulting world. My best wishes and congratulations to both and to their team.
Below is the news from both Rosenberg and Rampe.
From Marc Rosenberg:
“I am thrilled to be uniting with Kristen Rampe’s team,” said Marc Rosenberg, founder and Co-Managing Partner of the new Rosenberg Associates. “During our five years of working together, I’ve witnessed first-hand how Kristen and her team have enthusiastically embraced and absorbed the CPA firm consulting philosophy and methods I have honed for twenty years. I’m equally excited to add new services such as leadership development, professional coaching, human resources consulting, and strategic planning. These new services will greatly expand our ability to meet our clients’ growing needs. I have been consulting with CPA firms for a long time and enjoyed every minute. Now, by combining with the Rampe Group, we have ushered in the next (and certainly not the last) chapter of Rosenberg Associates!”
From Kristen Rampe, Co-Managing Partner:
“Our focus, as we merge these two incredible firms, is to continue to provide innovative, proprietary consulting services to CPA firms across North America. Marc has created incredible resources for firms over the years and we are honored to become part of Rosenberg Associates so that we can provide consulting services to CPA firms for generations to come.”
If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.
“The No. 1 cause of burnout is doing the same thing over and over again and not seeing results.” — Steve Kaczmarski
I am convinced that if CPA firm workers were able to do more REAL work, they could easily get it done working four days per week. Of course, I mean more chargeable/billable work. This applies whether you still bill by the hour or by the project.
Constant interruptions have resulted in some workers saying their attention span is shorter than it was a year ago. Checking email and other tech platforms often result in being “on-call” 24/7. Often this will result in burn-out. You may have noticed some of your team are definitely stressed. They must deal with technology interruptions and also questions from other team members.
Check out my post about interruptions – and read the article referenced above.
Sahar Yousef, a cognitive neuroscientist at UC Berkeley says, “Having a clear beginning and ending to the day is important to not only avoid burnout but it also helps people feel good about their work.”
Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.
