2015 Summer Reading for Accountants
June 28, 2015 3:56 PM
Mladen Mitrinovic/djoronimo - Fotolia
Not-so-light reading
Most of the year, your reading is heavy technical material new standards, tax analysis and the like so no one will blame you if you aim light for your summer reading, with thrillers or romance novels or whatever kind of escapist fare suits you best.
But while youre planning your vacation, wed like to recommend the following eight books as being perfect for the summer: Light enough to take to the beach or the mountains, but with enough meat that youll be glad you have a little time off to ponder their various messages.
The Radical CPA
By Jody Padar
Padar is in the forefront of a movement to revolutionize the way accounting firms operate, and this is her manifesto, offering a model for future firms that helps them make the most of the cloud, social media and new ways of interacting with clients.
CPA Trendlines; $249.95
The FASB: The People, the Process, and the Politics (5th ed.)
By Paul B.W. Miller and Paul R. Bahnson
Given how much impact the Financial Accounting Standards Board has on accountants lives, its a little surprising that not many of them understand its inner workings. This long-awaited update to a classic text offers insight into the boards history and how it does what it does, along with trenchant observations on the political forces that have shaped its work, and strong suggestions for the path it should following the future.
Sigel Press; $20 (hard copy), $10 (e-book)
Take Your Marketing Online!
By Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
Before long, digital marketing is going to be the only kind of marketing there is, so you cant ignore it. You can ask for few better guides than Ruszcsyk, who can help you create a plan for all aspects of your firms online marketing, and then give you the tools and strategies to make it work.
AICPA; paperback -- $69, e-book -- $59 ($10 discount for institute members)
CPA Excellence
By David Griffiths
Youve probably heard someone say, What got you here wont get you where youre going recently, and the simple fact is that the skills that used to make a CPA stand out in the workplace are changing. This short book from the Indiana Society of CPAs CPA Center of Excellence is a great guide to the skills that will matter in future, and includes tools for helping your staff develop them.
The CPA Center of Excellence/Indiana CPA Society; $19.95
CPA Firm Partner Retirement/Buyout Plans
By Marc Rosenberg
Rosenbergs monographs are master classes on all the different aspects of running an accounting firm; in this most recent one, he takes on the vexed issue of retirement and buyout plans, which is a hotter topic now than ever before and one that firms are too likely to pay too little attention to.
CreateSpace; $265
Flash Foresight
By Daniel Burrus
This book came out in 2011, but its a great introduction to the Anticipatory CPA learning program that the Business Learning Institute is rolling out to help accountants learn how to move beyond their traditional focus on the past. The book will show you how to confidently and accurately parse what the future is likely to bring, and help prepare you for the program, which will show you how to make it part of your practice.
Harper Business; $18.99
Profit First
By Mike Michalowicz
Is there something fundamentally wrong with the way every small business is run? Michalowicz thinks there is, and makes a great case for rethinking the way entrepreneurs and business owners view the profitability and viability of their companies. And its chock full of good advice for you and your clients.
Obsidian Press; $24.95
The Reckoning
By Jacob Soll
This whirlwind tour of the history of accounting makes a strong case for its critical importance to the history of civilization and then extends it to make a case for accountings importance to civilizations future.
Basic Books; $21
