2013 Summer Reading for Accountants

Memoir

Accounting Changes: Chronicles of Convergence, Crisis, and Complexity in Financial Reporting

By Robert Herz

AICPA

While prominent politicians and business figures often are expected to produce memoirs, it’s not common practice for important players in accounting to do so. A dip in former Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Robert Herz’s book may make you wish that it was. He’s had a fascinating career, and is clearly a thoughtful guy, with a serious vision for the future of financial reporting.

Business

Wallet Share: Grow Your Practice without Adding Clients

By Lee Eisenstaedt and Tom Siders

L. Harris Partners

The “3x3x3” model laid out in Wallet Share is deceptively simple: Go through your client base and make sure that you’re selling each one three service, that you have three contacts at each one, and that they have three contacts at your firm. Properly implemented, it can unlock a tremendous source of new business, while cementing your long-term client relationships.

Inspirational

Leadership at its Strongest: What Successful Managing Partners Do

By Robert J. Lees, August J. Aquila and Derek Klyhn

Bay Street Group

Leadership at its Strongest creates a guide to being a successful managing partner by distilling the experience of 150 actual managing partners. It identifies and focuses on the four essential traits shared by great leaders: providing a compelling direction and strategy; engaging partners in the effort and gaining commitment; initiating activities that support their strategy; and setting a personal example.

Travelogues

Leading Firms: How Great Professional Service Firms Succeed & How Your Firm Can Too

By David C. Kuhlman

SelectBooks

Many of the books that cross our desks about building successful companies are fairly generic: Be nimble. Value your people. Encourage innovation. Avoid doing stupid things. And so on. This one, on the other hand, actually includes specific advice that's actually relevant to actual professional service firms. Well worth a look for any partners who want to take their firm to the next level.

True Crime

Faces of Fraud: Cases and Lessons from a Life Fighting Fraudsters

by Martin BiegelmanWiley

Look, it doesn't matter if you read Faces of Fraud because you want to stop them or because you want your face in a future edition—the fact is that it's a fascinating anecdotal look at frauds, cons, swindles and scams of all sizes and types. If nothing else, it'll make sure that you never, ever trust anyone else again.

Autobiography

The Sid Kess Approach: 60 Years of Best Practices in Tax, Education, Careers and Life

By Sid Kess (as told to James Carberry)

AICPA

Sid Kess has been synonymous with tax education for many years, but this book is not about tax: It's really about Sid, and the lessons he has to teach outside of tax. Part tribute, part leadership primer and part inspirational text, it ultimately offers a pathway for personal and professional satisfaction.

Remedial Reading

CPA Firm Succession Planning: A Perfect Storm

By Marc Rosenberg

The Rosenberg Associates

This was on last year’s reading list, too—but you probably still don’t have a succession plan, do you? Read this comprehensive look at why it matters, the challenges firms face, and how to build and develop staff to support your exit strategy.

Doorstops

The Affordable Care Act

Congress and the Administration

You don’t really want to read this—among other things, it would take all summer, and you'd have to read all other laws that it refers to—but you want to read something on it from your research provider of choice, because come fall, your business clients are going to flood you with questions on it … .