Consulting

It takes solid strategies and steps to grow a niche business, and Gale Crosley, president of Crosley + Co., shared some of her strategies with approximately 100 participants during a pre-conference session at the Forum for Women in Accounting here.

Let’s face it: The next 15 years are going to be hard for small firms to compete and survive. The external environment and demographic facts speak clearly:* 8,000 Baby Boomers are retiring each day.

BKD said it is combining forces with the Hanke Group, allowing the Springfield, Mo.-based accounting firm to expand to Hanke's San Antonio and south Texas markets.

The Small Business Administration has created an online tax savings resource center to help small businesses understand the benefits of the economic stimulus package.

The Association of Accounting Marketing presented awards to 45 accounting firms and marketers at its annual conference.

The AICPA Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) did a remarkable job with its 2007 Top MAP Issues survey, and it was done without even changing the question that is asked each year or who was asked. It was done simply by taking a knife and cutting up the answers. The annual survey asks various practitioners in public practice: What are your top five MAP concerns?

I am constantly amazed and intrigued by what is being done via the Internet. In Practical Accountant, we report on how creative some firms are incorporating the Internet into their operations and going way beyond the proverbial virtual firm brochure. My guess is that creativity is stimulated by how others are using the Internet.

CPA firm Marcum & Kliegman is expanding from New York to New Jersey by merging with RosenfarbWinters, a specialist in forensic accounting.

The American Institute of CPAs' Private Companies Practice Section and the Texas Society of CPAs have begun their fifth annual survey of management policies at small and midsized CPA firms.

Somerset CPAs has launched a video blog on YouTube to provide businesses with advice on growth.

CPAs spend many hours studying accounting and tax rules and become very knowledgeable, with CPE insuring that they are fully conversant with any changes. In the very large firms, the training and education offered has a very interesting mix, as a good deal of it doesn’t deal with technical knowledge but on the softer skills that can actually contribute more to the success of the individual and the firm. This is readily apparent in the structured way mentoring is conducted in these larger firms. Mentors are trained, mentoring processes and procedures are established, the details of the mentoring program are communicated, and staff members participate in a prescribed manner. And why do larger firms spend so much time and money on mentoring? They see the success in the performance of those who complete the program, and are very happy with the ROI. Because of the limited resources of small firms, ROI on spending is extremely important and gets very close scrutiny. The problem is, in new areas like mentoring small firms, because of their lack of familiarity, often overspend and don’t get a good ROI. Small firms therefore need to be creative. I recently came across Mentoring Process for CPA/CAs--Third Edition, by Rex Gatto, that can be helpful in that regard. There is a roadmap to creating structured processes quickly, tools and tips for mentors, and advice for mentees on getting the most from mentoring. The book doesn’t pull any punches, such as when it is pointed out that the mentees’ best role is that of the listener, and warns mentors not to be sidetracked by the mentee who is an analyzer (overanalyzes facts), a whiner (complainer), a rejecter (not me!), a victim (poor me!) or a controller (talks too much). Equally important, the book tells mentees what they should look for when selecting a mentor. “When choosing a mentor, a mentor should be someone:

What’s the first thing to know when considering membership in a professional services firm association?It’s not just about writing a check.

“The problem is variously termed as silo thinking, silo vision, silo mentality, or the silo effect. This is evident when directors, departments, managers, teams or staff may be high performers individually, but fail to choreograph their activities to create peak performance for the organization.”

Genworth Financial Investment Services has launched a new section of its Web site dedicated to practice management.

Lynn A. Chiavaro coached one of the first college girls' basketball teams three decades ago and was inducted into the Hall of Fame for her accomplishments in the sport.

How often do you visit other accounting firms? Many firm associations, when holding a meeting in a city where a firm member is located, often arrange for the attendees to visit that firm’s office in a guided presentation. The Practical Accountant editorial staff also periodically visits accounting firms, and the payoff for us, and also ultimately for our readers, is astounding. The last firm that we visited was Weiser in New York City, and the result was the same.

Entertainment and sports accountant Mike Vaden and his Vaden Group have allied with regional accounting and business advisory firm Joseph Decosimo & Co. to form a business management practice aimed at the entertainment industry and high-net-worth individuals.

Financial planning and advisory services have helped fuel an increase in revenues at CPA firms, according to a new study by the American Institute of CPAs and Moss Adams.

SurePayroll has upgraded its online payroll service for accountants with same-day enrollment, Saturday customer support hours, and free human resources and compliance tools.

CPA firm Marcum & Kliegman has expanded into the executive search industry, launching M&K Executive Search.