Daniel Hood

As the final entry in our 20 Days to a Better Firm series, we thought it would be worth noting that the best workplaces know when to stop working.

Free food during tax season is by far the most common perk offered at accounting firms, but it’s probably not doing staff any favors.

Employees value regular communications from firm leadership – particularly the managing partner or chief executive – but even better is the opportunity to meet with them in the flesh.

It will come as no surprise that money is a great way to keep staff engaged – but you may be surprised by some of the ways top firms find to distribute it.

Public company audits are improving, according to Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Accountant James Schnurr -- and they need to keep on doing so.

With qualified accountants of all levels of experience hard to come by these days, some firms are starting to wonder if they should look beyond the profession for staff.

New surveys offer proof of its increasing value to firms

Many firms are quite rightly proud of the wide array of specialty services they can offer clients, and of the different client niches they serve. They should make a point of exposing their staff to as many of those as possible.

Employees and firms can’t improve without guidance and feedback – and the best firms are making sure it flows both ways as often as possible.

You can take a day off, but e-mail and mobile devices mean you’re still at the beck and call of all the people back at the office – unless the office is closed.