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This week's Bottom Line, we speak with veterinarian Dr. Deseree Brown. Dr. Brown was asked what she expects from her CPA.
"I expect my CPA to be available," said Dr. Brown. "I expect them to be accountable when I ask them questions and not to always direct me to their assistants.
"...to be able to give us estimates whenever we're about to make big purchases, to not just tell us which one they think would be the best but to actually show us on a spreadsheet which purchases can help the most at the end of the year.
"It could always be better, in my opinion. I feel like accountants, for the most part, are very numbers driven people and very detail oriented and they don't have a lot of relationship experience. I feel like if they would take a little bit of time to get to know where we live, what we do, what other kinds of accounts we have besides just our business, they would be able to make better recommendations on how we should handle certain situations."
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- Written by: CPA Magazine
Today we feature the newest IRS collection procedures from our IRS Advisor columnist, Robert E. McKenzie, J.D. (seen here).
The IRS has added two menacing collection alternatives. In addition to assigning collection duties to private collection agencies, some taxpayers could lose their right to a United States passport.
For some hard-to-collect bills, the law now requires—rather than just permits—the IRS to use private collectors when:
• The tax bill has been assigned for collection, but more than a year has passed without any interaction.
• When more than 1/3 of the statute of limitations has expired, and no IRS employee has been assigned to collect it.
The State Department can revoke, deny or limit passports most taxpayers the IRS certifies as having a seriously delinquent tax debt over $50,000.
Seriously delinquent tax debt is when a:
• Notice of federal tax lien has been filed and all administrative remedies have lapsed or been exhausted.
• Or a Levy has been issued.
For a rundown of IRS collection procedures and a related CPE course see cpamagazine.com.
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- Written by: Tom Barry, CPA
Our industry’s workforce is changing rapidly and is skewing younger than ever. Retaining this workforce requires changing our mindset and introducing innovative programs that allow for balanced lives. CPA firms must be aware that individuals have needs and wants that go beyond work. A firm that has a legacy of long hours and weekend schedules and does not allow for balance will undoubtedly have retention issues. Younger workers do not want that kind of work environment and are aware they have other choices. It is also wise to pay attention to evolving generational attitudes, as younger workers do not feel tied to a single firm. They have a different mindset on what loyalty means, and can be quick to move to another opportunity.
In order for a firm to successfully retain talented people, it needs to acknowledge that each employee is a whole person and give employees the opportunity take care of all aspects of their lives. At my firm, we allow employees opportunities for regular self-care and give them the opportunity to spend quality time with their families. Most importantly, recognizing that “family” may be different for everyone and doesn’t always look like two - three kids and a dog – it’s important to give equal weight to any relationships that provide a valuable emotional support system. To be successful, our talent needs to be in balance in all aspects of their lives for their overall wellbeing and success; firms need to incorporate a “be more” philosophy.
This philosophy pushes a firm to encourage employees to be the best they can be and enjoy life to the fullest. Why? Healthy people create a healthy firm, and a healthy firm attracts and retains the best and the brightest. Firms should consider a commitment to anytime/anywhere work, support of a flexible work environment and financial encouragement towards individual health and wellness, so that employees can live their best lives.
I have put this philosophy to work in my own life. I’m a father of four kids, and my life at home is often busier than life at the office. “Work-life balance” and “flex schedule” are two phrases that have been thrown around and are overused in the accounting profession. In concept, they are great. They provide the opportunity for me to fit more things into my day. In reality, work life balance and flex programs have just made us all busier. Finding ways to do the important things in life with intention, at both work and home, becomes something leaders must model and share to influence firm culture.
Creating New Career Paths
Another reason firms can lose employees to the competition is that career paths tend to get narrower, choking off opportunity to grow and develop. That is only true if there is a rigid system in place. Firms need to look for ways to help people customize their careers and have the goal to give people the opportunity to do more things — which they traditionally might not get the opportunity to do. In my own career, I had the opportunity to sit on the executive committee early on, which has been invaluable to my new role as managing partner. I also have headed the information technology strategy and planning for the firm for the past 10 years, which reflected one of my personal passions and turned out to be another key contributor to my future success. As a firm, we have an ongoing process to define, execute, and refresh our firm’s vision, and we encourage everyone to get involved with the firm’s long-term strategy much earlier in their careers than most firms would. This encourages buy-in and retention, as well as develops some great ideas.
Getting People Involved in Innovation
A firm that has a passion for innovation can also retain talent. Most firms that are successful find ideas to innovate not only outside but also from within the firm. One way we express that is through our Innovation Incubation Lab. Our employees submit ideas about ways the firm can start to do things in a more innovative way. There is a $5,000 prize, and ideas can be for any area, such as talent management, technology, billing, timekeeping, new service offerings or internal efficiency processes.
For example, we incorporate this idea by asking that any ideas submitted reflect one of the three central parts of our firm’s vision: 1) our success is driven by retaining the best, diverse talent; 2) we invest in our people and technology to deepen firm expertise and fuel sustainable growth; and 3) we partner with our clients locally and globally to deliver innovative solutions. The process is transparent throughout but the only caveat is that the employee submitting the idea must be willing to spend the time necessary to help bring the idea to fruition, if chosen.
We Are in This for the Long Haul
If a firm wants to retain talent, then it’s essential to view these strategies as long-term and work toward them every day. One of our core values is to grow great people. By being able to really promote and execute on a healthy work/life philosophy, any firm will allow people to break out of the traditional confines of work and expand things in their personal lives and with themselves. By far, the most important thing is to embrace a “be more” philosophy and make it a central part of how to treat each other. It has a direct correlation with retention; your firm will see lower turnover and more productive individuals in serving clients and developing other people. Allowing people to have success in life will translate to success at the firm and gives them a tangible reason to stay and grow with your firm.
Tom Barry, CPA is a partner at Green Hasson Janks, a Los Angeles accounting firm that specializes in nonprofit, food and beverage, health and wellness, and entertainment and media companies. Barry can be reached at
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- Written by: By Lucas VanDeWoestyne, CPA and CGMA
Richard Branson needs no introduction. Most people know him as, not only the founder of about a million Virgin companies, but also a guy who hates ties and loves people. A quote by him zeros in on what we believe is the quintessential component of a successful CPA firm: culture.
“The first thing to look for when searching for a great employee is somebody with a personality that fits with your company culture,” said Branson. “Most skills can be learned, but it is difficult to train people on their personality. If you can find people who are fun, friendly, caring and love helping others, you are on to a winner.”
Many people in business talk about culture, but what is it and how do you live it? What difference does it make for a company concerned about growth and profit? For Apex, culture starts (but does not end) with our leadership. The person who founded our company, Jim Chakires, believes – like Sir Richard – that success is driven by aligning everyone in the organization to the culture. The gist: If our culture reflects our values, then we will support the success of other people like our clients, colleagues and our own team.
Understanding our culture through our values and mission makes future decision-making easier and more consistent across the organization.
Of course, all this looks great on paper. So let’s look at a real life example.
A few years ago we made a list of things we wanted to improve upon within the company. It was a long list covering all aspects of operations, personnel and revenue generation. Then we asked, “How does our culture support our goals?” From there, we made our top priority growing our employees and making them happy. A year later we looked back, and we had achieved 80 percent of our goals without focusing on them like an itemized checklist.
That’s why the best accountants don’t do math. A fifth grader can add and subtract. The best CPA professionals build success on their culture and beliefs. When a firm is motivated by its values, clients inevitably win.
For example, a firm focused on lifelong learning can translate into a client paying less in taxes. How? That firm will be thorough and learn all it can about tax changes and best practices. Its accounting professionals will become experts in taxes because they are part of a learning organization. The impact of this one value can extend even further. A company (a.k.a. happy client) that reduces its tax liability has a healthier bottom line, which fuels opportunities for it to invest more in its people or a nonprofit or new technology.
Your team is an equally important argument for why culture is important. In our firm, we look at our staff as human beings, not head count or machines that churn out financial reports. Being culture-focused is a direct line to all of us being happy, productive and proud of our work.
What are the risks if we ignore culture? If an employee is not engaged or happy, they will not engage or be happy with the client, who will in turn not be happy about working with Apex. Our team would not be as efficient or effective as they can be, and they most likely will not stay long term.
The proof is in the numbers. Apex was founded in 1998, but we really began consciously and intentionally building culture in 2015. Since that time, we’ve experienced year-over-year growth with only 7.7% turnover (the average for CPA firms is 15%).
Our culture unites us. It allows us to work collaboratively, which gives way to client loyalty and satisfaction. All this adds up to achieving big goals for our clients and for our firm.
Lucas VanDeWoestyne, CPA and CGMA is the COO of Apex CPAs & Consultants, Inc.
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It's the fourth quarter of the year so it's time to talk about next year. We went to Sidney Kess, CPA, tax mastermind, to get his thoughts on how you can prepare with tax research.
"The thing you should realize, research has changed," said Sidney Kess, CPA, senior consultant of Citrin Cooperman and of counsel for Kostelanetz & Fink. "With new technology, you're not using print products anymore. And a lot of the material, you don't even have to pay for. The Joint Committee, for example, publishes a general explanation of the tax law. No sooner is bill passed, the people who wrote the law come out with a general explanation of the Joint Committee on the new tax legislation. You get all of this material for nothing.
"The part that I think is very important is no one is going to do the reading for you. The person who takes the time to master these new changes is the one who is the leader in the field."
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