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
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Firm practice management
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
A Common Peer Review Problem
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AICPA STANDARDS CLEARLY STATE procedures for confirmation of accounts receivable. Nevertheless, and despite an auditing procedure study, peer reviews continue to find that CPA firms have problems understanding the various processes. RECEIVABLE CONFIRMATIONS ARE NOT ALWAYS required if accounts receivable are immaterial, the use of confirmations would be
Marketing Clinic
ANNETTE SCHUMACHER BARR, CPA, is a technical manager in the AICPA professional standards and services division. Ms. Schumacher Barrs views, as expressed in this article, do not necessarily reflect the views of the AICPA. Official positions are determined through certain specific committee procedures, due process and deliberation. Each year, the
A Solution To Firm Retirement Problems
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MOST CPA FIRMS FACE A HUGE FINANCIAL liability to their retired and soon-to-retire partners. Few firms have developed a satisfactory solution to this problem. In most instances, the typical firm does not prefund its retirement plan because there is no current income tax deduction for doing so. THE
The Partner Alternative
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TRADITIONALLY, ALL CPAs in public accounting aspired to be partners. The partner title was the key measure of success and firms operated on an up-or-out model. TODAY, HOWEVER, HARD-to-find specialists and a new generation wanting more personal time are unable or unwilling to do what is necessary to
The Business of Barter
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BARTER IS MORE than just a fair exchange of goods and services between two businesses. It often provides both financial and marketing bonuses for both sides as well. ITS BEST TO WORK through a barter exchange network, which acts as a broker for its clients goods and services.
The ABCs Of Supervision
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ALTHOUGH TECHNICAL COMPETENCE is important, a key but neglected area of a CPAs development is supervisory skill. CPAs NEED TO LEARN HOW to communicate, organize, motivate and direct the efforts of others in their firm A LACK OF INTERPERSONAL SKILLS may be a major reason why many qualified
Measuring Success: A How-to Guide for Marketers
Partners and firm managers often underestimate the value marketing contributes to a CPA firm’s bottom line. Therefore, as a firm marketing director, it is imperative that you implement steps to track your marketing programs’ results and consider creative ways you can communicate those results to management. Not only is this
Avoid boilerplate proposals
Interim fieldwork We conduct the interim fieldwork phase before yearend. At the conclusion of this phase, we meet with the board of directors audit committee to discuss any matters of audit concern and finalize arrangements for the next phase. During this phase we perform selected audit procedures, such as A
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How to find the right CAS clients
The key to success with CAS is selecting the best clients. Tools like ideal client profiles (ICPs), buyer personas, and even artificial intelligence can help identify the businesses that best fit each CAS practice.
From The Tax Adviser
March 31, 2026
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1
March 31, 2026
Current Developments in Taxation of Individuals: Part 1
March 6, 2026
