Commitments
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
11M ago
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” – Paul J. Meyer If a client has to continually contact your firm to ask if their tax return is ready yet, something is wrong. If you casually say, “Your return should be done in two weeks,” never forget that the client believes you. You should be the one contacting them to explain. Don’t leave it to admin to make excuses. The best plan is to give them a date knowing you can get it done sooner, and then surprise them. I imagine this rarely happens in these days o ..read more
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New Website
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
11M ago
“Every moment is a fresh beginning.” – T.S. Eliot Just a short note this Friday to let you know that this blog will be appearing on a new website. Have a great weekend ..read more
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I Love My Work
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
1y ago
Do you love your work? I have observed that most CPAs and people who work in CPA firms love their work. See if this quote from Tim Cook, Apple CEO, applies to you: “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. I learned that’s a total crock. You’ll work harder than you ever thought possible, but the tools will feel light in your hands.” – Tim Cook I loved my work when I was in a CPA firm, and I love my work now as a CPA firm management consultant and advisor. To me, it is enjoyable, even fun, and fulfilling. I hope you feel the same ..read more
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Are Your Clients Bullies?
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
1y ago
“If the outside is changing faster than inside your org, you are dying.” – Jack Welch I have observed that CPAs let themselves be bullied by some of their clients. Not all CPAs, but many CPAs. Clients make unreasonable demands. Clients do not respond to our requests. Clients don’t pay you on time or at all. Clients believe you should go above and beyond for no additional fees. Clients are rude to your administrative team members. Clients are not ready when you have clearly communicated the engagement start date. I’m sure you can add more. These situations often result from a lack of communic ..read more
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It’s Boring
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
1y ago
“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” – David Bowie The work is boring for a new college graduate entering a CPA firm. That statement came from a good article by Gary Bolinger, past CEO of the Indiana CPA Society. I agree with his comment that the work is boring because partners tell young professionals what to do but often don’t take the time to explain why they are doing it. Bolinger notes: The work is boring The profession needs to get serious about minority recruitment The business model is broken Partners need to share the wealth Bolinger’s article ..read more
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Four Kinds of Change-Making Energy
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
1y ago
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” -Albert Einstein. Many years ago, I met Rebecca Ryan and got to know her. Lucky me! She is described as a human sparkplug, and she is. I still keep in touch with her and read her newsletter. She is doing meaningful work. Rebecca allowed me to share this message from her recent newsletter. It is about change-making energy. I have found that CPAs change very slowly. I hope this message from Rebecca inspires you to take action! Changemakers notice things. And then they take action, e.g., “This is broken; I will fix it.” Small-scale cha ..read more
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It’s Over
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
1y ago
“Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energy moving forward together towards an answer.” – Denis Waitley It’s over. I’m talking about tax season, although in a public accounting firm, “it’s” never over. If you are a successful, profitable, growing CPA firm, you are busy all the time. You never get over it. You just get past it, always moving forward. But, hopefully, the significantly longer hours will subside for a while. When you have your firm’s After Tax Season Debrief – the session where you talk about what went well and what didn’t, some call it th ..read more
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Action vs. Inaction
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
1y ago
“I always say complacency is the kiss of death.” – Shari Redstone The quote above once again reminds me of one of the challenges I see for many CPA firms. Times have been very good for CPAs (meaning profitability) in the last few years. And, honestly, progressive firms have been very profitable for MANY years. Thus, partners become very complacent. At a partner retreat, a few items were identified as something to “fix” in the coming year. The leaders intend to address the issue(s), but nothing happens. Another year goes by, and another retreat happens, and once again, the partners leave the r ..read more
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Send It Back
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
1y ago
“Mistakes grow your brain.” – Jo Boaler You have been rushing through tax season, doing all you can to get the clients served accurately and quickly. This means that you probably do what so many experienced CPAs do. They review the work, fix any mistakes and send it forward to the next step in the process (usually to admin and out the door). The result is that the preparer, Joe Newperson, doesn’t know what he has done wrong and, thus, keeps making the same mistake over and over. Fixing their mistakes (with input from the reviewer) is how new people learn and progress. I have observed that this ..read more
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Technology, The Interrupter
Rita Keller - Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders
by rkeller
1y ago
“I have so much I want to do. I hate wasting time.” – Stephen Hawking It has finally arrived. The last Friday of tax season. Here’s a Friday Flashback post about how we might be abusing technology. I hope you have next Friday off ..read more
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