Three accountants walk into a bar, and each order a beer. They raise their glasses and make a toast: “Here’s to 59!” After downing their beers, they order another round and make the same toast: “Here’s to 59!” Finally, the barman asks the accountants what the significance of the toast is.
“Well,” said one of them, “we put a 1,000-piece jigsaw Puzzle together in just 59 days!”
“And that’s a big deal?” asked the barman.
“You bet,” said the accountant, “the box said 4 to 8 YEARS!!!”
An accountant has been trying for some time to collect a bill for $1000 from a client. Finally, the client comes into the office and hands the accountant a fat envelope.
“You don’t mind being paid in cash, do you?” asks the client.
“Not at all,” says the accountant.
After the client leaves the office, the accountant immediately opens the envelope, only to discover that the client has overpaid by several hundred dollars. He is then forced with an ethical dilemma:
“Do I tell my partner?”
An architect, an artist and an accountant were discussing whether it was more fun to spend time with your wife or your mistress.
The architect said, “I enjoy time with my wife, building a solid foundation for the future.”
The artist said, “I enjoy time with my mistress, because of the passion and mystery.”
The accountant said, “I like both.”
“Both?”
The accountant explained . . . “If you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other woman, so you can go to the office and get some work done.”
According to the ADP National Employment Report, private sector employment increased by 170,000 from December to January. Small business (1-49 employees), which is the majority of 2020 members , had the largest gain with 95,000 new jobs added. Based on the 3-month average, it would seem that the labor market is improving, which is obviously a positive sign for the economy. What’s happening in your client’s businesses? Are they hiring?
I’m certainly seeing this in the firms I visit with – and it’s not just the seasonal increase. We had a slight reprieve of the people problem in the last couple of years, however good people are still be hard to find.
At 2020 we’re often asked to keep an ear out for a good 5+ year CPA, but unfortunately they’re like unicorns, very difficult if impossible to find. The good ones are very well looked after. However, due to life happening, sometimes the good ones do leave, and too often they’re lost forever; but that doesn’t have to be the case. Firms need to work harder to stay in contact with all former employees (the good ones anyway). Here are some tips:
When it comes to finding the ‘unicorns’ you need to be connected, not to recruiters, but your peers.
The final option for the capacity issue is something I’ve felt very strongly about for a long time – outsource it. If you can’t find qualified people in your area, you may have no other choice. Whether you outsource to Utah or India, you have the opportunity to tap into a highly qualified pool of labor, and often for a significantly lower fee. One 2020 member has a great outsourcing operation where his office is in the Boston area and he outsource to West Virginia. It can be done.
I really like the Speak and Write blog.
Granted I used to work with Barry, but their blog offers quick and easy tips to improve your communication skills.
A recent blog post focused on the importance of the first sentence. We only have one chance to make a first impression and unfortunately accountants often opt for the safe (and bland) introduction.
Have a read of Andrew Moore’s post and think about your own writing style. Can you put his tips into action? (Oh and these tips translate when you’re speaking with people or giving a presentation).
I recently had a chance to review your work and what I found shocked me.
Of course, I don’t know you from Adam, but did I get your attention? Are you curious to know what shocked me?
An opening line that draws in your readers is the best way to generate interest in your writing. In journalism, it’s called the lead, and it’s the most important sentence of the story. A lead grabs your readers, plays on their curiosity, and motivates them to read further.
John McPhee, a prominent author and journalist, wrote in a recent edition of The Wall Street Journal that “A lead is a promise. It promises that the piece of writing is going to be like this. If it is not going to be so, don’t use the lead. A lead is good not because it dances, fires cannons or whistles like a train, but because it is absolute to what follows.”
The logic of a lead applies to business and technical writing, too. A manager swamped by data sheets and engineering proposals is likely to be drawn in by the one with the most engaging opening sentence.
Given the importance of its task, the opening sentence can be difficult to craft. If it’s too dry, too clever, or too cute, your reader might move on.
What’s the key to writing an effective opening sentence? The answer is elusive, as different types may work better in different situations, and different writers will tackle the same problem with different approaches. But for starters, here are five tips:
Below is an example of a lackluster first sentence from an actual product data sheet. (The company name has been changed to protect the guilty!)
“Acme Security’s XX Series provides maximum protection against even the most malicious Internet security threats while reducing the complexity of security management.”
Pretty bland, right? Did you start spacing out halfway through it?
What if we re-wrote it by starting with a bold but believable assertion?
“The Internet is awash in malicious security threats. But Acme Security’s XX Series has tightened the noose around those threats while simplifying security management.”
How about this one from another data sheet?
“The sluggish economy has forced midsized semiconductor and component manufacturers to take a hard look at costs.”
Not bad. It’s short, strong, and clear. If I were a midsized manufacturer of semiconductors, I’d be interested in reading further.
The premise is simple: Time is a limited resource. In a world where your target audience is continually bombarded with emails, reports, and various other documents, readers have only minutes to scan these items as they move across their desk. To engage people for any longer, you have to snap them to attention. And you do this by crafting a well-written opening sentence.
City boy, Kenny, moved to the country and bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day the farmer drove up and said, “Sorry son, but I have some bad news. The donkey died.”
Kenny replied, “Well then, just give me my money back.”
The farmer said, “Can’t do that. I went and spent it already.”
Kenny said, “OK then, at least give me the donkey.”
The farmer asked, “What are you going to do with him?”
Kenny replied, “I’m going to raffle him off.”
Farmer exclaimed, “You can’t raffle off a dead donkey!”
Kenny replied, “Sure I can. Watch me. I just won’t tell anybody he is dead.”
A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, “What happened with that dead donkey?”
Kenny said, “I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at $2 apiece and made a profit of $898.”
Farmer asked, “Didn’t anyone complain?”
Kenny replied, “Just the guy who won. So I gave him his money back.”
Kenny grew up and eventually became a partner in a large international accounting firm. Allegedly.
Welcome to the 2020 Group blog Million Dollar CPA, I'm Chris Frederiksen. In addition to being a practicing CPA, I (and the 2020 consultants) also consult with hundreds of firms every year. The objective of this blog is to bring the world's best practices directly to you to help you identify new revenue streams, become more efficient, make more money and have more fun!
visit www.2020groupUSA.com
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