In this issue
December 19, 2013
The Evolving State of Accounting Firm Workflow
Change comes in waves that sometimes are less astounding when looking at them in the present, but can be dramatic when their cumulative effects are viewed after several years.
October 20, 2013
How to Maximize Financial Analysis and Reporting
Businesses often want to see how their company’s financial performance stacks up against the competition, but it’s difficult for accountants to find quality data on comparable, private companies.
October 7, 2013
4 Tips to Improve Firm Workflow Processes
Process improvement has been a stated goal in most firms for some time now. Looking for ways to do more with less became even more important during the economic downturn. And the concepts of Lean Six Sigma that started in manufacturing are now making their way into professional services firms, including accounting.
October 7, 2013
Will New Healthcare Laws Hurt the CPA-Client Relationship?
As this column goes to print, provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as the “ACA,” or ObamaCare) will change accountants and tax preparers from “trusted advisors” to a more derogatory status:
October 2, 2013
Payroll Systems Becoming More Mobile, with More Employee Self-Service Options
As we began 2013, taxpayers were shrouded in a cloud of uncertainty concerning taxes. That seemed to quickly be resolved for this year and into 2014, but we are now faced with a number of new tax and payroll issues.
October 1, 2013
How Accountants and Tax Pros Can Manage Business Risk
Summer may seem like a time where accountants can take a breath. They’re just past the April tax rush and still a ways ahead of end-of-year planning. But that timing makes August and September the optimum time to work on managing your practice – an essential part of which is managing business risk.
September 30, 2013
Payroll – To Be or Not To Be
Both accounting firms and industry accountants ask me regularly about opportunities for their firms. One area that has been avoided by industry and public practice CPAs alike is payroll. We’d prefer to transfer the work, liability, risk, schedule commitment and governmental reporting to someone else.
September 30, 2013
How to Avoid the Top 4 Household Employment Tax Mistakes
When families become employers, they take on many of the same responsibilities that business employers do – although many of the forms, deadlines and labor laws for household employers are unique.
September 30, 2013
Mastering the Art of Technology
How a tech-savvy firm owner leverages his experience with advanced technologies to create a lucrative new service offering
September 30, 2013
Looking and Feeling Great! The Five Key Components of Your Firm’s Brand Image
Recently I had a fellow CPA visit our firm in Bloomington, Indiana. We spent a few hours talking about processes, growth, the importance of websites, and staffing…all good stuff. Before he left our visitor told me, “Your office has a really comfortable feeling to it, when I walked in it just felt right.” He also…
September 30, 2013
Improving Business with a Virtual Office
When Bryce Forney, CPA realized he was duplicating many tasks and wasting countless hours simply checking email, he knew it was time for a change. He transitioned his email from Outlook to Gmail and began looking for other ways to eliminate waste and redundancy in his practice.