Archive for March, 2012

« Older Entries

Post-Merger Issues

March 30th, 2012

Chris recently co-authored with Joel Sinkin of Transition Advisors, an article for the Journal of Accountancy Bridging Compensation Gaps in a Merger. You can read the full article here.

I’d like to share their insights in other post-merger issues, namely prerequisites or “perks”.

Partners usually go into a merger assuming they will enjoy the same perks they did before, but this isn’t always the case. It’s important to document what will happen with perks. Here are a few perks that merging firms should consider, define and resolved to every one’s satisfaction:

    1. Payment for CPE (how many hours, travel restrictions, etc.)
    2. Payment for travel to clients
    3. Payment for entertainment expenses
    4. Size and location of personal offices
    5. Secretarial support
    6. Furniture and furnishings
    7. Time-sheet, billing and collection assistance
    8. Staff assignments
    9. Parking
    10. Office hours
    11. Working late arrangements
    12. Evening meals in tax season

Yes, some would seem trivial and minor in detail. But it’s better to make sure every one is on the same page before documents are signed and the merger is made - a de-merger can take more time than the actual merger.

 

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Mergers & Acquisitions

Tags:

Great Tip for Invoices and Improving Collections

March 30th, 2012

Dave Kirk, of Transworld Systems, was our guest presenter at yesterday’s webinar Improving Your Firm’s Cash Flow. He gave us a number of great tips on how to improve collections. One tip that I hadn’t thought of was getting rid of the 30, 60 and 90 day boxes on your invoices. I thought these were helpful to remind clients that payments had been outstanding longer than the payment terms. Dave pointed out the clients perspective: I’m only in the 30 day box, I still have the 60 and 90 day boxes to reach before they start getting angry. While your payment terms might be 10 days, the boxes give the impression that your terms are 90 days. I thought it was a very good point, and a welcome reminder that we often have to stop and take a look at things from our client’s point of view.

More tips from the webinar in future blog posts. Stay tuned.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Management

Tags:

Take Advice from the Experts: Six Tips for Social Media Success

March 29th, 2012

Got this great email from MarketingProfs about social media and I thought it worthwhile sharing.

Even the very best marketers can use a little advice—and new ideas—every now and then. With that in mind, six of our favorite social media marketers share their secrets to social success:

• Start with the Right Strategy

“Align with the goals of your department. That’s a good starting place. In most cases your department strategy should also align to a larger corporate strategy. We don’t want a communication strategy that is at odds with our service strategy.” (Shannon Paul, Blue Cross Blue Shield)

• Know Your Objectives

“Tie your social media activities to existing objectives, such as increasing online sales, driving web traffic or boosting attendance at your next webinar or offline event. Set a reasonable target, see what happens and use it as a benchmark for future campaigns.” (David B. Thomas, Radian6)

• Deliver Relevant Content

“Deliver the right content, at the right time, in the right channel to the right customer (or partner). Relevant content happens as a result of listening, thought leadership, Google insights, and community sentiment.” (Michael Brito, Edelman Digital)

• Develop Meaningful Relationships

“Use social media as a platform for developing relationships. Show your thought leadership by answering questions on LinkedIn and Quora—it could lead to new contacts and leads.” (Shashi Bellamkonda, Network Solutions)

• Integrate into Your Marketing Mix

“Don’t leave opportunities on the table; explore how you can extend your marketing effort by integrating social elements into your PR, events and customer support activities.” (Jane Price, Marketing Consultant)

• Measure What Matters

“Distill social media measurement down to core metrics that your company is already measuring that have history behind them. When you show what social media is or isn’t delivering there is a conversation that can take place.” (Nichole Kelly, Full Frontal ROI)

If you’re looking for good ideas on how to be an effective marketer, take a look at www.marketingprofs.com and sign up for their newsletter to get great tips and tools.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking

Tags:

Named in the Top 50 Accounting Blogs

March 28th, 2012

I’m delighted to announce we were named in the Top 50 Accounting Blogs by the website www.MastersinAccounting.info. This was based on recommendations from other accounting blogs. So thank you! You should check out the other 49 blogs they have named as there are some great resources there from consultants and practitioners. Let’s make sure we share the best practices and drive our profession into the future.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Announcements

Tax Season Joke of the Week

March 26th, 2012

A young accountant dies. He immediately goes to heaven and appears at the Pearly Gates to be interviewed by Peter.

Peter: “How old are you?”

The accountant: “33”

Peter: “That’s impossible!”

The accountant: “Why?”

Peter: “I have reviewed your time sheets – by my reckoning you must be at least 100!”

 

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Humor

Tags:

Yes! We’re marketing (Yes! even in tax season)

March 22nd, 2012

I’ve said it before: Tax season is the perfect time for marketing.

Marketing for new clients this time of year is incredibly effective. Why? The deadline is looming which is creating some fear in the buyer’s mind and because marketing is the farthest thing from every other CPA’s mind.

I’m always surprised by a prospective clients reaction when we answer the phone and to talk to them politely. Some candid comments include:

  • You’re the first CPA I’ve been able to get through to.
  • You’re the first CPA to call me back.
  • Wow – You are taking on clients, still.

I’m also surprised by a CPA’s reaction to the idea of marketing now. The 2 most common responses (and my responses) go something like this:

  • If they’ve left it this late, then they’re probably disorganized and potentially late payers.
    • That’s why you must have a client selection criteria AND a billing policy or fixed price agreement in place to screen the riff raff. We’re looking for the busy professionals who are willing to pay to get it done on time.
  • I’m barely able to get my current clients completed in time let alone new business.
    • We can always make room for a well priced return. We agree on fees and payment terms up front. This is also a capacity issue and new technology and the possibility of outsourcing needs to be looked at over the summer.

If you want to grow, you need to market, and this is the perfect time to be marketing. This is the post card we’re about to send out:

If you would like the artwork please email info@2020groupUSA.com and we’ll get the files over to you.

This is the 4th and final piece we’re sending to our list of new home owners in the area. If this is your first marketing piece to your list, don’t expect great results, but I’m sure it’ll quickly pay for itself. Contact Barry Weiner at www.homeown.org for lists of new homeowners in your area. Notice we also through Yelp in there. We have some great reviews on Yelp, so thought we may as well leverage that free resource.

If you have some capacity, get marketing, there’s still time, and you never know who you might just pick up.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Marketing, Member Resources

Tags:

The Fallacy of Multitasking

March 21st, 2012

Thank you to www.speakandwrite.com for bringing the HBR blog post The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time to my attention. Multitasking was a buzz word for a long time and certainly in the accounting world during tax season, accountants are managing multiple tasks at any one time. The article suggests that switching between activities without completely focusing on one increases the project time by as much as 25%.

That can’t be good for work schedules, budgeting or client satisfaction. But before we talk about remedies let’s also face the root cause of why accountants are multitasking and having a negative impact on productivity. One challenge accountants face is poorly trained clients. That is, clients bring in their information incomplete, yet accountants start the project. Accountants need to be disciplined in not beginning a client project until they have all of the information. They need systems in place to review the client work papers early in the process and let clients know what is missing. Compare these 2 firms:

  • One firm we work with has systems in place that scans the information the day it arrives and within 24 hours the client is made aware of any missing documents AND that work will not start until they have the missing information.
  • Another firm (for whom we did a Client Satisfaction Survey) however receives client information towards the end of January and February, but typically doesn’t start the engagement until March. They then make the client aware of missing documents in the middle of March.

What do you think is the level of client satisfaction in both of these firms? Which firm do you think comes in on budget? The lesson here is that you need systems!

The HBR post offers a number of tips for both managers and individuals and its certainly worth checking out. I think the best tip is:

Do the most important thing first in the morning, preferably without interruption, for 60 to 90 minutes, with a clear start and stop time.

This tip is certainly not new – Stephen Covey (and a whole host of other authors) called it “First Things First” in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

I think another tip not mentioned in the blog post is to plan your day. Start the day with a plan.

  • What needs to be achieved today?
  • What deadlines are looming?
  • What calls do I need to make?

And then tick them off as you do them. I also like to finish the day with a plan.

  • What needs to be done tomorrow?
  • What meetings are coming up that I need to prepare for?
  • Are there any changing priorities?

Some people keep paper lists, some create tasks in Outlook or their practice management software and some use the sticky-notes download which is an electronic version of post-it notes.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed it’s time to take a step back and look at all the projects on your plate. Could some be delegated? Those that can’t need to be prioritized and a plan created to tackle them. And as the article suggests, tackling them one-by-one might be the most productive way of doing it.

Read the full article at http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2012/03/the-magic-of-doing-one-thing-a.html

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Client Management, Management

Tags:

Tax Season Joke of the Week

March 19th, 2012

Two accounting partners were so busy in their practice that they only had time to wave ‘hi’ to each other as they passed on their way to their respective offices. At one point they decided to schedule lunch together to catch each other up on their latest and greatest work.

As they both sat down and unfurled their menus, one of the partners suddenly jumped up and said, “I have to leave immediately!”

The other partner looked him in the eye and said, “Whatever for?”

“I left the safe open back in the office!”

The other partner shrugged and looked back at his menu. “What are you worried about? We’re both here.”

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Humor

Tags:

Ever wondered what’s in an iPad?

March 17th, 2012

I’m sure some of our readers do, most probably couldn’t care. US based Luke Soules of iFixit flew to my homeland to get his hands on the newest iPad 26 hours sooner than his fellow americans (thanks to the international dateline). Unfortunately the iPad in its finished form didn’t last long, as Soules painstakingly disassembled it.

See the pics and read the full article at http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPad-3-4G-Teardown/8277/1

I could think of better things to spend $2,500 dollars on ($1,500 for flights to Australia + $1,000 ish for the iPad), could you?

So, what do you think? Will you be buying the latest iPad or upgrading your old one? I have an iPad 2 and I love it, it has changed my life, but don’t think it’s due to be replaced

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Interesting, Technology

Tags:

Get Serious About Your Collections – Free Webinar

March 15th, 2012

What: Free Webinar – How to Improve Your Cash Flow

When: Wednesday 28, 2012 11.00 am -12.00 pm (PST)

Presented by Transworld Systems

Unless you’ve moved to automated billing, collections continue to rank highly in terms of accountant’s headaches. I know it’s tax season, but based on the feedback of 2020 members, firms need to address this issue and get systems in place now, not once you get through tax season. The value of your service decreases with time, as does the likelihood of collecting the full amount, so the sooner you collect, the less headaches you’ll have and the more time you’ll have for more important activities.

The webinar covers:

  • Best Practices
  • 10 Rules to Improve Collections
  • Collecting Money and the Law
  • Overview of Transworld Services – Accelerator, Profit Recovery & Collections

The Accelerator program is pretty neat. For less than $15 you can automate the collections process for accounts 30-60 days past due. These accounts will receive 2 letters and 2 automated phone calls reminding them to pay. And most importantly your clients pay you, not Transworld Systems.

REGISTER NOW

Please note: This webinar will not be recorded and is ineligible for CPE.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

No comments »

Posted in Announcements, Seminars

Tags: