CPA Trendlines Podcasts

Innovation InsightsWith Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationToday's Take-aways:Accountants were the pioneers of business use of database software with the accounting systems—the first wave of accounting technology. The second wave was the move into the cloud, and the third wave now uses AI in accounting technology.AI uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and Natural Language Procession (NLP) can be used to read documents like PDFs and Excel and extract the relevant data like lease dates into the database where they can be used for computations or searching.Because you’re starting with the source document (e.g. PDF, Excel) and extracting the data from there to then put the data into the system, you can trace data back all the way to the source document all within the same system (not just to the point where someone keyed the data into the system).The goal isn’t for the machines (AI) to do everything,, but instead to complete 70-80% of the grunt work and allow the accountant or auditor to focus on the analytics and strategic work.Small and regional firms can gain an advantage by partnering with accounting technology vendors, enabling them to innovate and incorporate technology into their services more quickly than the larger firms.

Say Goodbye to Traditional AuditInnovation InsightsWith Donny ShimamotoCPA Trendlines presents a Center for Accounting Transformation productionBecause audit work is nonlinear and highly complex, disparate workflow systems in the audit are not only an IT risk, but they're also a project nightmare. Jin Chang, the founder of Fieldguide, explained to Donny Shimamoto that the end-to-end project has many workflows that need to be templatized and automated along the project life cycle.More here

Innovation Insights, with Donny Shimamoto.CPA Trendlines presents a Center for Accounting Transformation productionInnovation Insights: Five clicks in five minutes? Sounds too good to be true – but automation can be simple and life-changing.With everyone going remote, it’s presenting auditors with new challenges. But technology can help, according to Colleen Knuff and Stefan Davis, in this interview with Donny Shimamoto.Part of Wolters Kluwer, which was recently accepted to the ASC X9 (American National Standards Institute or ANSI), the industry setting body for financial institutions, Knuff and Davis explain not only how some solutions allow real-time collaboration versus working in silos, but also how data-driven audits increase capacity and allow more profitability while reducing risk and maintaining high peer-review standards.(Recorded February 2022)More here

Jamie Lopiccolo with Steven Sacks for CPA Trendlines Lopiccolo is the owner of a small Midwest firm that has been employing a subscription-based model to invoice clients for services rendered. The approach manages expectations by the client and ensures a normalized cash flow for the firm. Additional benefits include a more strategic approach to dealing with new clients because they are getting the full picture of their business’s needs. KEY TAKEAWAYS ·      One of the goals of the subscription pricing model (aka minimum level of service agreement) is to manage client expectations while managing the firm’s cash flow. ·      CPAs can position themselves as the client’s partner for success.·      CPAs are too fixated on getting as much money as possible from clients rather than providing real value in each client interaction.·      Make sure the client onboarding process is consistent from one client to the next with certain necessary customization during the initial client meeting and CPA research.·      There will be more competition for client accounting services and advisory services and more revenue opportunities, which is why firms should reduce the amount of time allocated to administrative functions.·      The subscription model also helps to determine which clients are not profitable, potentially leading to the firing of clients.·      More strategic planning can be offered to clients so they understand and better appreciate the services they are going to get.

If we don’t change, we'll be irrelevant, says Rob Brown.The DisruptorsWith Liz Farr for CPA TrendlinesIt’s a changing world, and if we don’t change with it, we will cease to be relevant, U.K.-based accounting podcaster Rob Brown tells CPA Trendlines' Liz Farr.More here: https://cpatrendlines.com/?p=97277 A host of the Accounting Influencers podcast, Brown says what got us here won’t get us there in the fight to be relevant in our practices, with our clients and in our careers. Brown's podcasting partner is Martin Bissett, a CPA Trendlines contributor and world-renowned growth advisor to accounting firms.The last two years demonstrated that accountants can make big changes very quickly. But those changes won’t be enough to assure our continued relevance as advisors and employers.Younger business owners are using their accountants in different ways and expect more advisory services. Younger employees also have different expectations from their employers.Firms that don’t address the needs of clients and employees will have a hard time attracting either.

Featuring Ira Rosenbloom, CPA (LR), "The Merger Master," with Rick Telberg, CPA Trendlines.More here: https://cpatrendlines.com/?p=97102Take-aways: Five Steps for Maximizing Your Sale Price. The ten signs your firm is headed for the exits. The ten factors for getting the best price when you sell. Calculate your firm's valuation strategy by considering: – Your strongest niches. – The metrics for the current and potential profits. – Recurring compliance fees. – High-margin consulting billings. – New and valuable synergies with a new firm. – Inherent potential in your staffing. – Demographics of clients, partners and referral sources. – Untapped potential in loyal contacts. –  Reputation and brand recognition. –  Flexibility in timing, titles and responsibilities. CPA Trendlines PRO Members can download the slide deck, including the bonus "12-Point Checklist for Seller Readiness," and read the transcript here: https://cpatrendlines.com/?p=97102(Login required.)Not yet a PRO Member? Go PRO with one of today's best offers here: GoProCPA.com.

The accounting firm's business model isn’t broken yet, but the pyramid is crumbling.With Liz Farr for CPA TrendlinesMore here: https://cpatrendlines.com/?p=96758 Podcaster and enfant terrible Blake Oliver says the accounting firm is a pyramid scheme destined for collapse.The system is simple and simply devious: Bring in staff, work them a ton of hours, and the profits flow to the top, Blake says.But today, the model is being challenged by venture capital-backed tech startups delivering automated tax prep and bookkeeping, by CPA firms following the lead of Eisner Amper into non-CPA businesses, and by the booming growth of non-CPA startups like Acuity.Blake Oliver, CPA, is an accountant, entrepreneur, and podcaster specializing in technology. He is one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People and has been named a 40 Under 40 in the accounting profession by CPA Practice Advisor. Blake is the creator of Earmark CPE, an app that offers NASBA-approved CPE for listening to your favorite accounting and tax podcasts. He also co-hosts the Cloud Accounting Podcast, a Top 50 Business News show on the Apple charts and the most popular podcast for accountants and bookkeepers globally. He lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he likes to hike in the winter and swim in the summer.

With Liz Farr for CPA TrendlinesMore here: https://cpatrendlines.com/?p=96260 To win the staffing wars, accountants must develop a talent pipeline, practice advisor Martin Bissett tells Liz Farr in this exclusive interview. The firms winning in recruiting and retention are using a portfolio approach to nurture prospects who might be ready to join the firm at some point in the future, a world-renowned sales and marketing consultant, a long-time contributor at CPA Trendlines, and, most recently the co-host of the UK-based Accounting Influencers podcast. More Take-Aways from Martin Bissett: A growing trend in the UK is the “commercialization” of the profession, where private equity firms invest in accounting firms, especially at the mid-tier level. With a change in governance to boards and a CEO/COO/CFO/CMO structure, firms are changing from accounting practices into accounting businesses. A desired result of commercialization is that clients will be better served: more financially literate, fewer insolvencies, and more economic prosperity for all, developing young professionals into commercially minded people who create value rather than provide services. What’s never been in place at most firms is discipline around business development, marketing, and selling, which we have labeled as ‘soft skills.’ If accountants don’t have skills in selling and marketing, how can we expect our clients to regard us as trusted advisors who will help them generate more sales? If you want to win clients of a higher caliber, you need to communicate why they are better off with you than where they are now because they will have to break a loyalty barrier to leave their current accountant. Most accountants have never been taught, coached, or trained to run a commercial enterprise. Likewise, most clients have no experience with firms that offer any kind of value proposition. Then the deciding factors are how close they are, how much they are, and do you get on with them.  When you are providing a commoditized service, price is your enemy. Providing the additional value that justifies higher prices has not been part of the training or the education for accountants and is therefore not known. When you chase deadlines for a living and hire people to chase deadlines, that doesn’t allow for innovation or value creation. Instead, be willing to think about whether what you are doing is what you want to do. At what level of pain is it better to tolerate the discomfort of change so you can create something better?Martin Bissett is the author of Winning Your First Client, Passport to Partnership, Meet Your New Best Client and Business Development on a Budget Shop the Martin Bissett Practice Growth CollectionHe is the founder of The Upward Spiral Partnership Ltd., the UK-based consulting firm that specializes in the implementation of professional selling and leadership skills in the next generation of accounting professionals.And he is co-founder of AddviserPlus, a training and consulting hub for accountants and bookkeepers who are ready to go beyond commoditized compliance and technology-based services and embrace the prosperity and rewards from providing high-value advisory services, one client at a time. 

The Disruptors: Brannon PoeA Special Series with Liz Farr for CPA TrendlinesBrannon Poe is the founder of Poe Group Advisors and the creator of Accounting Practice Academy. He began facilitating successful accounting practice transitions in 2003. Today he is pioneering a consulting-based approach to transitioning accounting firms, culminating in Poe Group Advisors’ proprietary process for a “seamless “succession.”In this episode, Poe tells CPA Trendlines: Firm culture is not just a lofty concept but also a key to attracting fantastic talent.  Delegation is the cornerstone of firm culture.  Value pricing requires a mindset shift before it can be implemented. Switch off the mindset that equates time with money and shift to a focus on what’s valuable to the client. Value pricing is not just a model for better profitability but a model for better client service. Before growth can happen, several things must happen first. Focus on delivering value to the client, be intentional about the clients you serve and the kind of work you’re doing, have good relationships with clients, and you need capacity. Accountants need a more entrepreneurial mindset. Try setting up a sandbox where you can experiment. Try rolling out changes to a subset of your clients before doing it for everyone. Accountants should stop accepting the status quo. Test your assumptions. For example, does tax season have to be brutal? Some firms have proven otherwise. Firms need a better foundation of the fundamentals of business. What in accounting is never going to change? Businesspeople will always want insights, tax planning advice, and good service. Those fundamentals won’t change, but they get forgotten and don’t get practiced.  

 Geni Whitehouse shows how to shift from a focus on mere data to priceless wisdom.With Liz Farrfor CPA TrendlinesCOVID showed us that we can do more than traditional services and that we can respond to change even when we don’t have all the information, CPA Geni Whitehouse tells Liz Farr in an exclusive interview for CPA Trendlines.COVID has given the profession the opportunity to impact clients in a very real way, and clients now see accountants in a very different light, says Whitehouse long an evangelist in the profession for progressive practices and innovation.More for CPA Trendlines PRO Members here: https://cpatrendlines.com/?p=95962