Art of Accounting: Happy New Year

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Here are some suggestions of ways to feel happier in 2019.

  • Take off Fridays. Work a four-day week — work some extra hours each day to “pay” for the extended weekend if necessary.

• Reduce the mortgages on your time.  Follow my three simple rules: Do It Now. Touch It Once.  Always work on your Most Important Thing first each day. DIN. TIO. MIT.

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• Reduce mandatory tax season hours for your staff.

• Increase all your fees to at least keep you even with your increased costs.

• Make sure you fully fund your retirement plan.

• Set aside at least a half day a month for an owners’ or partners’ meeting. Plan your future deliberately. Make it the future you want. Run your practice like the business it is.

• Get your personal and practice’s tax returns done without extensions.

• Tell your spouse or partner how much you appreciate them, more often.

• Catch your staff people doing something good…and then tell them.

• Give a little more to charity. You are not here alone.

• Talk less. Listen more.

• Be nicer.

These are suggestions, but as I learned to do each of them, my life, outlook and fortunes have improved. I can list a couple of dozen more items, but use this as a start.

Edward Mendlowitz, CPA, is partner at WithumSmith+Brown, PC, CPAs. He is on the Accounting Today Top 100 Influential People List. He is the author of 24 books, including “How to Review Tax Returns,” co-written with Andrew D. Mendlowitz, and “Managing Your Tax Season, Third Edition.” Ed also writes a twice-a-week blog addressing issues that clients have at www.partners-network.com along with the Pay-Less-Tax Man blog for Bottom Line. Ed is an adjunct professor in the MBA program at Fairleigh Dickinson University teaching end user applications of financial statements. Art of Accounting is a continuing series where Ed shares autobiographical experiences with tips that he hopes can be adopted by his colleagues. Ed welcomes practice management questions and can be reached at (732) 964-9329 or emendlowitz@withum.com.