Kazim Qasim, Tax Advisor

Clients (and accountants) are human whether we like it or not. And as we know, humans make mistakes. Identifying and fixing financial mistakes is a large part of the effort expended by clients and accountants. An analysis of these efforts make up the crux of this article.

According to the AICPA’s Journal of Accountancy, clients can face various financial and business predicaments: over-extension, employee problems, customer losses, and even bankruptcy. They also may lack proper management training, and they may procrastinate or overreact when problems surface. That’s when they call their CPAs in a panic. Sadly, clients may see their fortunes diminish if they do not take a more proactive approach to managing their personal or business finances. Read More

Practice Ignition is designed to assist accountants manage their engagement letters, client payments and raise invoices. For you as a business owner, another major advantage of the software is also the ability to process your tax engagements (in addition to your normal engagements). There are three key benefits to this:

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Having worked with nonprofits for many years, I am awaiting some creative soul to create a new religion called “Taxology”. A person may seek something that is timeless, certain, and powerfully controls one’s destiny. Something that takes from the rich and provides for the masses sustenance (tax credits) and occasional joy (tax refunds). A book (Internal Revenue Code) that dramatically impacts people’s lives and elders (accountants, attorneys, EAs) continually study and interpret the laws and philosophy within it. Not everyone agrees with the precepts but most comply because they do do not want the wrath of a higher authority (the Internal Revenue Service) bestowed upon them. The book and its thousands of pages have been written by wise sages (Congress) to guide and fulfill our challenged lives. Read More

When most people think of accountants, bookkeepers, CPAs, they think of them as numbers-people.

Wrong. If you own or are employed by an accounting firm, especially a CPA firm – you are in the PEOPLE business. It’s all about you, your peers, your employees and your clients.

I read a lot of Tom Peters’ stuff. I read his books, his blogs, even his slide presentations. Peters’ has been saying it for a long, long time:

It’s always about relationships. Always was. Always will be. Only connect.

Connect with others!

In his book, The Little BIG Things, Peters tells a story about General Dwight D. Eisenhower and how he did the impossible. No, not the D-Day landing per se. It was keeping the Yanks and the Brits from annihilating each other long enough to hit the beach and get on with the real job at hand.

Turns out Eisenhower, most keep professional observers agree, had a secret, which he in fact understood:

“Allied commands depend on mutual confidence; this confidence is gained, above all, through the development of friendships.”

That’s Eisenhower’s Success Tip #1 – Aggressively make friends.

In my consulting work with CPA firm partners, I find that when they “skip” their regularly scheduled partner meetings, rarely eat lunch together, never go out for coffee or a beer, “things” begin to go down hill. Suspicion and distrust slowly creeps into the relationship. That’s why I think the most important part of a partner retreat is simply time away from the office (and families) to just talk, debate, discuss, confront, agree, renew optimism, be openly honest with each other and mix in some laughter.

“A passive approach to professional growth will leave you by the wayside.”

Tom Peters