Ed Mendlowitz

Never assume that the client understands or knows what you are talking about.

Hold a meeting with everyone in your firm and discuss what occurred.

Tax season ends tomorrow, and hopefully you will take off April 18, so you’ll be ready to start the rest of the year on Thursday. How will you manage this?

I’ve always loved tax season. While some of the work can be grueling and even a relief when it ends, I always miss it afterwards.

What is the right stuff to become a partner?

Ruben Cardona is one of the best accountants I know. One day Ruben came up with his A.U.D.I.T acronym for the five steps of the audit process.

The following is some of the advice I give when I train or mentor a new tax specialist:

At some point in my practice I had to ask a staff person if he would want to specialize in taxes. The first time occurred over 35 years ago when my main tax reviewer left for a position with another firm where he would be “more important than just a tax reviewer.”

If you don’t want to drop difficult clientele, try giving them priority care so they won’t pester you so much.

Every client, from the largest to smallest, pays part of your salary, so every client should be treated with respect, care and importance.

Everyone has a system for managing tax season. Some are good, some are just so-so, and some stink.

A few accountants recently called me to vent about being shorthanded and asked for suggestions on how they could get through tax season without turning down any business or dropping clients.

A technique I have become comfortable with is Managing by Wandering Around (MBWA).

Selective reading can help accountants deal with information overload when looking for ideas on how to improve their firms.

Did you ever think about your value to your clients and what they are paying you for?

Back in 2010, I wrote a book called "Power Bites," containing some concise management, leadership and lifestyle advice I give to my clients.

All of the accountants I know and interact with are nice caring people and I like them. However there is one area where I believe they are being shortsighted and neglectful.

My office moved and I am left with a dozen boxes I am going through to throw away things or shred. Since I am a compulsive saver, I feel it necessary to go through every box looking for things that need to be retained. This is creating a trip through memory lane for me. Here is some of what I found.

The tax reform legislation that Congress approved Wednesday has a number of complexities that could prove problematic for tax professionals and their clients.

“Tis the season for fee increases” is a song I hum every year in late December. This has always been a good time for me to review the year and fee structure with clients.