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
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TOPICS / FIRM PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Firm operations
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
Keeping It Together
Retirement, health issues for an owner, the desire to grow—all of these are reasons firms engage in mergers or acquisitions. Most firms decide to merge or acquire only after considerable analysis of financial and professional outcomes. Last month we gave general advice for ensuring a merger or acquisition goes smoothly.
A 2009 Tuneup for Your Firm’s Succession Planning
The pending retirement of the baby boomer generation and the unrelenting challenge of finding and keeping talented staff can have grave consequences for firms that fail to develop a succession strategy. With the AICPA’s 2008 PCPS Succession Survey showing that only 35% of multiowner firms had a written succession plan,
Mergers & Acquisitions of CPA Firms
Despite the best intentions of all involved parties, some CPA firm mergers and acquisitions are not as successful as originally planned; indeed, some end as failures. When viewed in perfect hindsight, it often seems that simple common sense, or lack thereof, was the reason for the success or failure of
Practice Management
A survey of 2,722 CPA firms revealed strong growth during the past two-year period but less progress in succession planning and professional training. According to the 2008 National Management of Accounting Practice survey, 75% of responding firms experienced growth ranging from 1% to 19% from May 2006 through June 2008.
New Statement on Quality Control Standards Effective as of Jan. 1
Statement on Quality Control Standards (SQCS) no. 7, A Firm’s System of Quality Control, applies as of Jan. 1, 2009, to a CPA firm’s system of quality control for its accounting and auditing practice. The statement describes elements of quality control and other matters essential to the effective design and
The Firm of the Future
To a large extent, your company is being managed right now by a small coterie of long-departed theorists and practitioners who invented the rules and conventions of “modern” management back in the early years of the 20th century. Management is out of date. Like the combustion engine, it’s a technology
Managing Intellectual Property
It would be inexcusable for a company to have no idea of the value of its inventory or plant and equipment. But, in fact, many companies know neither the full extent of intellectual (intangible) properties they own nor what they are worth. Many specific responsibilities for
A Global Standard for Professional Ethics
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Standard setting organizations in more than 100 countries have adopted the International Federation of Accountants’ (IFAC) Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, while others are in the process of converging with the code. The code applies to professionals in public practice, business, academia and government. The IFAC code’s
“Success in Two” for the CPA Exam
At LarsonAllen LLP, our goal is to get employees started on the exam within one year of their full-time hire date, and then to pass the exam by their second anniversary with the firm – hence the name of the program “Success in Two.” Here’s how we do it: If
Weather the Storm During a Recession
While it may be impossible to recession-proof your clients’ businesses, BDO Consulting, which provides restructuring and risk advisory services as a business line of BDO Seidman LLP, provides these tips in the event of an economic downturn: n Take fast and decisive action—quickly determine core administrative and operational needs and
Recruiting (and Retaining) the Next Generation Accountant: One University’s Experience
What attracts students to accounting? Is it the appeal of social and forensic accounting in a post-Enron world? Is it the allure of big money? Or is it simply supply and demand? When it comes to attracting students to the accounting profession, faculty in university accounting departments face pressures from
Found: Client Evaluation Template
The article, “Letting Go: Evaluating and Firing Clients” (Jan. 08, page 54), was well written and exactly on point for my firm. I am the sole owner of a two-office, 23-person firm. In late 2006, my business partner unexpectedly passed away. During 2007 we had some expected—and some unexpected—changes
Fee Management Tips
Properly pricing your services should be a high priority. Follow these best practices for setting and managing fees. P Know the costs of providing services. Determine direct costs, allocated overhead and targeted firm profits for each client. Divide the fees collected (or collectible) by the time charges to get your
Capture and Share Firm Expertise
BUSINESS TIPSIn a recent CCH survey, accounting firms associated several benefits with having formal knowledge management programs, such as an increase in efficiency (76%), productivity (63%) and revenue (62%) and an improvement in client service (69%). These firms were also more likely to follow other management best practices, including: Using
Untying the Knot: Planning for a De-Merger
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A merger process should include planning for a de-merger and establishing a sound agreement if a de-merger subsequently becomes necessary. De-merger agreements define how to treat specific issues if a de-merger has to take place. Items to consider addressing in a de-merger agreement include: Protecting
Ideas That Really Work to Recruit and Retain Staff
Does your firm have a consistent hiring message and formalized training program for new hires? CPA and consultant Steve Erickson developed 10 tips to help firms in achieving their hiring and retention goals. Increase focus and efforts. Make recruiting a year-round focus, engaging both partners and employees in the process.
Avoiding the Commitment Dip
Firms use thousands of dollars and work hours to make change initiatives a success—and then the bottom falls out. Or in this case, employee commitment to the change drops off, and all signs point to failure. Richard Lepsinger, a human resources consultant and co-author of Flexible Leadership: Creating Value by
Delivering Difficult Messages
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY No one relishes an uncomfortable conversation. When the best interests of a company, firm, individual or the public are threatened, it’s important to “be a leader” and take on the task. A three-stage process can be relied on to broach any uncomfortable conversation: (1)
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
AI risks CPAs should know
Are you ready for the AI revolution in accounting? This JofA Technology Q&A article explores the top risks CPAs face—from hallucinations to deepfakes—and ways to mitigate them.
From The Tax Adviser
January 31, 2026
Trust distributions in kind and the Sec. 643(e)(3) election
January 31, 2026
Effects of the OBBBA on higher education
December 31, 2025
