Managers Play It Smart in Tight Labor Market It’s harder than ever to find and retain good employees, so managers have been using every resource at their disposal to maintain the quality and strength of their workforce. Two surveys indicated managers relied more and more on recruiting firms, executive assistants
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TOPICS
Firm practice management
The CPA As E-Consultant
FEBRUARY 2000 VOLUME 189, NUMBER 2 Editorial Staff Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Colleen Katz Executive Editor Barbara J. Shildneck Managing Editor Elizabeth Uva Senior Editors Katharine W. Coveleski Peter D. Fleming John von Brachel Michael Hayes Emily S. Plishner Stanley Zarowin Senior News Editor Robert Tie Associate News Editor Mavis C.
International Associations
There are more than 130 associations of accounting firms, 30 of which are international. However, fewer than 1,000 U.S. firms belong to some kind of accounting association. David Albrecht, professor of accounting, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. he world is our horizon! How can we—a midsize accounting firm
Stopping the Brain Drain
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SMALL CPA FIRMS ARE FEELING THE PINCH from a shortage of qualified staff. It is important for firms to do what they can to keep the best and brightest employees from leaving. FIRMS CAN ASK STAFF WHAT THEIR SALARIES should be and work with them on an annual
About the Publisher
July 1999 Vol. 188 No. 1 Highlights Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Colleen Katz ExecutiveEditor Barbara J. Shildneck Managing Editor Elizabeth Uva Senior Editors Katharine W. Coveleski Peter D. Fleming John von Brachel Michael Hayes Emily S. Plishner Stanley Zarowin Senior News Editor Robert Tie Associate News Editor Mavis C. Allen Assistant
Winning Over Mrs. Fisher
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE CONSOLIDATION OF CPA FIRMS has taken the profession by storm. American Express, the first to start acquiring CPA firms, has since been joined by Century Business Services and HRB Business Services, formerly H&R Block Inc. TOGETHER, THE THREE CONSOLIDATORS have purchased just under 90 CPA firms. Other
Just Say No to Costly Clients
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SEPARATING BAD CLIENTS FROM YOUR FIRM is not as easy as picking up the phone and telling them they must find a new CPA. First, you must clarify your firm’s long-term goals. Second, you must decide which clients will be most profitable as your firm prepares to meet
Make Your Firm A Household Name
(ILLUSTRATION BY: KELLEY GRAPHICS) The CPA designation already sets you apart from other service professionals, but it alone will not position your firm ahead of other firms and the many new full-service companies, such as American Express and HRB, that invest millions of dollars each year in marketing and brand
CPA Firms: Future Alliances
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPA FIRMS ARE CHANGING: They will become more dependent on each other—fueling growth and service opportunities in the coming decade. THE FIRMS WILL SHARE CLIENTS with other firms, creating informal cooperative networks. Further, industry CPAs will outsource more work to this network, which will adapt itself to the
150 Hours: A Look Back
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MOST STATES HAVE ADOPTED THE 150-HOUR requirement. But as the new rules take effect, firms may notice unintended effects on recruitment and other firm management issues. FLORIDA WAS THE FIRST STATE TO ADOPT the 150-hour rule and consequently makes a good case study for other states. MANY STUDENTS
Solo, But Not Alone
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MANY SOLO CPAs ARE CONSIDERING some very important questions: Will sole proprietor practices operate as part of special group or affiliated entities? Must solo CPAs merge to survive? WHAT CPAs WILL BE DOING TO MAKE a living in the year 2009 will be quite different from what they
Ace Your Presentations
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IF YOU PREPARE BEFORE YOU PRESENT, you are more likely to have an influence on your audience. Make sure you know your audiences needs and concerns. Find out what motivates them and how they make decisions. Know the purpose of your presentation and integrate it with what you
Make Your Meetings Count
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EVERY BUSINESS PERSON KNOWS WHAT IT feels like to waste time at a poorly run meeting. Luckily, modern technologies, such as e-mail, may eventually reduce the number of face-to-face confabs and save time for employees. WHEN YOU CALL A MEETING, BE SURE TO have a clear idea of
For CPAs having trouble finding what they need on the Internet, one search engine company has hired a CPA to do the looking for them.
The Miner Accountant C onventional Internet search engines are nothing if not complete. Type in accounting and you might get anywhere from 10,000 to 3 million possible Web sites, often in no discernible order. It would be great to have an assistantparticularly another CPA who knows what you’re looking forto
Plug-in to CPE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ONLINE CPE—STILL IN ITS INFANCY— is available to CPAs wherever they are at any time. It saves time and money, especially for CPAs who may have to travel far to attend conventional seminars. BECAUSE VENDORS CAN REACH A HUGE AUDIENCE, they may be encouraged to offer classes in
Practice Management
No Surprises in 1999 MAP Poll Finding, hiring and retaining quality staff topped the list of practice management concerns in a recent poll conducted by the AICPA management of an accounting practice (MAP) committee. It was the third year in a row that firm managers ranked staffing as their number
Be a Go-To Person
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HAVING A GREAT DEAL OF KNOWLEDGE and experience in a niche is helpful, but being the industry champion (a “go-to” person) has a greater impact in the marketplace. A go-to person is perceived as one of the most knowledgeable experts in the field DO ENOUGH RESEARCH BEFORE you
Stay Out of Court
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES to litigation that can be used to settle disputes and help reduce the number of times a CPA must appear in court. These alternatives collectively are known as alternative dispute resolution (ADR). TECHNIQUES THAT FALL UNDER the ADR umbrella include mediation, arbitration and hybrid methods
Doing Well By Doing Good
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ONE CALIFORNIA FIRM DEVELOPED a program—$KiddAccounts—to teach elementary school children the basic concepts of budgeting. Steve Miksis, a CPA and manager, tailored the program to the young audience, using ideas they could easily understand. Taking an interactive approach and using Budgetbuck, a large cartoon version of a dollar
Proposed revisions to SSAEs to allow for direct reporting.
Revamped SSAEs Practitioners add new services, such as CPA WebTrust, to their roster of services. Clients ask their CPAs to provide assurance on information beyond the traditional financial statements. These increasingly popular engagements fall under the statements on standards for attestation engagements. Realizing that the standards have to keep up
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