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.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
I’ve reviewed my posts for 2022 and selected one from each month. Maybe, just maybe, some of these will inspire you to DO THINGS to make your accounting firm, your people, and yourself more successful (and happier in your business life) in 2023.
Here’s wishing you a successful and unstressful 2023!
“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” – Henry Van Dyke
I love Thanksgiving. I ignore all the negative vibes going on in the world (and on social media and in the news). Try take time daily to think about what you, personally, are thankful for.
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” – Albert Einstein
I recently read the following quote by Deke Bridges. To me, it brought to mind the old “What, me worry?” saying.
“The greatest fear that holds most people back is the fear of what other people think. Your creative works far outweigh their doubting words. Have the courage to stand up and grow.” — Deke Bridges
Inside accounting firms, people worry way too much about what other people think.
Be brave and always keep moving forward.
If you have an over-preoccupation with perception and trying to please people’s expectations, then you can go mad.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act.” – Amelia Earhart
Back in late August, Daniel Hood, Editor-in-Chief of Accounting Today asked the question, “Is it too hard to become a CPA?” He referred to the difficulty of the CPA Exam and the extra credit hours needed to sit for the Exam. You can read my opinion here.
Many other people, most of them CPAs, sent their replies and opinions to Dan. Last week, he published many of them.
I think you will find the answers interesting – the ones from practitioners and the ones from CPA want-to-bes. Read them here.
Difficult things aren't easy, but they're worth it.
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” – – Albert Einstein
This week’s Flashback Friday is SO OLD that I am not able to provide a link. So, I am copying and pasting it into this post.
I thought it would be fun to look back on my blog posts from the very first year I began writing this blog – 2006. Here’s a flashback to August 17, 2006. Koltin had a different role then.
Is Your Firm An Overachiever?
According to Allan Koltin, President and CEO of PDI Global Inc., your firm is probably an overachiever if it has these traits:
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James
Has professional courtesy completely disappeared? Do you talk to people and they are not even looking at you, they are looking at their phone or computer. Check out this post from 2019 about what a school is doing to instill professional courtesy in their students.
Have a nice weekend. I love summer!
And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.” – Abraham Lincoln
My husband and I are history buffs, especially Civil War history. We have visited many battlefields and other sites. Ken Burns’ Civil War has taught us so much and a movie I always recommend is Gettysburg. It tells the story from both sides and is quite informative. It was actually filmed on the National Battlefield site in Gettysburg, one we have visited many times.
At Gettysburg, you, of course, think of Lincoln. Last week we did a road trip (the first one since COVID) and visited Lincoln’s birthplace in Kentucky (and Jefferson Davis’ birthplace, also in Kentucky). Here’s the memorial at Lincoln’s birthplace.
Our road trip also took us to Graceland and Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo. We visited Shiloh National Military Park and Vicksburg National Military Park. I refer to this road trip as the birthplace and battlefield trip.
Now, think back on the history of your accounting firm. How has it evolved over time and what can you learn from your triumphs and your failures? I have observed that some firms that historically had a more dictatorship type of leadership changed to a very laid-back culture when new leaders took over. I have also seen the opposite happen. A very casual, and honestly disorganized type of leadership changed to a very structured and even rigid culture when the next generation took over.
What is your culture like now? Is it the type of culture you are proud of? Does your culture (and your brand appear attractive to potential employees and potential clients? Exploring your firm’s history might be quite eye-opening like American history is to me.
More pictures – the Jefferson Davis birthplace and, of course, Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo MS.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
“How difficult it is to be simple.” – Vincent Van Gogh
CPA leaders working in public accounting have a bothersome skill. I have observed on many occasions that they have the ability to complicated almost anything. Maybe it is their inquisitive nature. Rather than just try something, test something to see if it works, they research, investigate, question an idea over and over and usually end up NOT trying something new.
They have high expectations for the team members but don’t often clearly (and simply) communicate them.
Here is some simple advice intended for a high school marching band as they depart on a road trip. I hope you can see how it could be used to communicate with your own team members. It also applies to your partner group.
You've got to change incentives for good behavior as opposed to just disincentivizing bad behavior.
“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” – Leonardo da Vinci
It’s Friday and time for a Friday Flashback post. I think this one is definitely needed right now.
It’s Friday and you probably have very few people in the office or even working remotely. Many firms actually close on Fridays during the summer months. Hopefully, Monday through Thursday there is a real sense of urgency within the firm and a lot of creative client service is happening.
