As of early 2011, 46 states had enacted some form of privacy regulation. In particular, those enacted by Massachusetts and Nevada in 2010 significantly raised the bar in terms of business requirements. Even organizations that have no facilities or personnel in Massachusetts may be subject to the state’s regulations if
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TOPICS / FIRM PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Firm operations
Hitting the Target: National Survey Looks at How CPA Firms of All Sizes Stack Up
Practitioners have put their business management skills to the test within their own firms during the past two years to minimize potential damage from the economic downturn, according to a biennial survey conducted by the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section in conjunction with the Texas Society of CPAs. The results
CPAs Share Continuation Strategies
Editor’s note: Also read “Who Would Run Your Firm?” Feb. 2011, page 40. In August 1988, 48-year-old CPA Jim Feigel was in an accident that left him in a coma for 23 days. “If anything ever happens to me, the first thing you should do is sell the practice,”
Who Would Run Your Firm?
There comes a time when every sole practitioner or small firm owner needs to consider the consequences of a disruption in leadership of his or her CPA practice. Illness, disability, family obligation or death can be devastating for the CPA’s clients, family and employees. Proper planning, however, can mitigate the
New Investment Adviser Requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act: What CPAs Should Know
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, PL 111-203 (Reform Act, tinyurl.com/26zalzn), which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in July 2010, will require sweeping changes to virtually all areas of the financial services industry in the United States and will affect a wide variety of
Firm Survey Shows Profitability Preserved Amid Flat Revenues
Despite flat revenues, CPA firms managed to maintain profitability during the past two years, according to the 2010 PCPS/TSCPA National Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) Survey, a biennial survey conducted by the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section and the Texas Society of CPAs. The survey results provide a comprehensive benchmarking
Project Management for Accountants
Project management is a client-focused process that significantly increases the probability of providing the desired results to the client. It can help an accounting firm plan its resources more effectively and ensure that work is delivered to clients in a timely manner. The project management methodology enables an accounting firm
Get Results: Specific Steps to Process Improvement
Editor’s note: This is a Web-exclusive sidebar for “Get Results: Improve Your Accounting Firm Processes Using Lean Six Sigma,” Jan. 10. Previous attempts by Rea & Associates to develop consistent procedures didn’t always result in the most successful, efficient or effective processes. Instead, 11 offices did things 11 ways
Get Results: Improve Your Accounting Firm Processes Using Lean Six Sigma
Poor processes directly affect client service and client satisfaction. You see it in delays in completing jobs, responding to client requests, or when a partner fails to communicate a piece of client-related information, causing an unnecessary mistake down the line. Inefficient processes can result in your firm’s inability to bill
Explaining the Sample Fixed-Price Agreement
Editor’s note: This is a Web-exclusive sidebar for “Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm.” Also see Exhibit 7, a sample fixed-price agreement. Date of the FPAThe fixed-price agreement (FPA) shown in Exhibit 7 can be either for a calendar or fiscal year, depending on
A Lesson in Value Pricing Ice Cream: From an Accountant
Editor’s note: This is a Web-exclusive sidebar for “Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm.” The history of business is the history of epiphanies. Sometimes the fog clears up, and the right path is seen. This certainly happened—with respect to pricing—for Ben Cohen and Jerry
After Action Review
Editor’s note: This is a Web-exclusive sidebar for “Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm.” The following questions should be answered by the pricing council/CVO after each major engagement: Did we add value for this client? How could we have added more value? Did we
Sample Change Order
Editor’s note: This is a Web-exclusive sidebar for “Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm.” Client: Date: Project description and scope of services [and estimated completion date, if appropriate]: ________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Price:$_____________ We believe it is our responsibility to exceed your expectations. This Change Order
Pricing Council and CVO Purpose and Criteria
Editor’s note: This is a Web-exclusive exhibit for “Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm.” Examples of purpose and strategy statements for the role of the pricing council and chief value officer (CVO) are: To ensure the firm prices on purpose, according to the value received
Disadvantages of Hourly Billing
Editor’s note: This is a Web-exclusive exhibit for “Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm.” Hourly billing misaligns the interests of the CPA and the client—the client wants work done effectively, whereas the CPA firm wants to log more hours. It does not focus on what
Sample Fixed-Price Agreement
Editor’s note: This is a Web-exclusive exhibit for “Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm.” November 19, 2009 Dear Client: In order to document the understanding between us as to the scope of the work that ABC, CPAs will perform, we are entering into this Fixed
The Five Cs of Value
Editor’s note: This is a Web-exclusive exhibit for “Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm.” For a firm to price on purpose, it must understand the Five Cs of Value: 1. Comprehend value to clients. 2. Create value for clients. 3. Communicate the value you create.
Price Psychology
Editor’s note: This is a sidebar to “Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm.” People tend to buy emotionally and justify intellectually, which makes the study of price psychology a worthwhile endeavor. Essentially, price psychology has two characteristics: 1. Price leverage 2. Pricing emotions
Pricing on Purpose: How to Implement Value Pricing in Your Firm
A business is defined by the value it creates for its customers. Your price speaks volumes about your value proposition, more so than any other component of your firm’s marketing. The business world pricing revolution began in the 1980s, when many of the Fortune 500 companies began to employ professional
Introducing the New Principles-Based Peer Review Standards
Editor’s note: G. William Graham is the AICPA Peer Review Board chair. The effects of the newly revised AICPA Standards on Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews (Standards) will be far-reaching. They directly impact more than 30,000 firms enrolled in the AICPA’s practice-monitoring program. In addition, the revised standards
Features
SPONSORED REPORT
Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season
As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.
From The Tax Adviser
November 30, 2025
Digital asset transactions: Broker reporting, amount realized, and basis
October 31, 2025
Recent developments in estate planning
October 31, 2025
