Best Practices January 2009

Recession Strategies:

Don’t let client problems distract you from the firm itself, and don’t stay busy for the sake of staying busy. If a service is unprofitable, discontinue it or find the right skills (through hiring or training) to make it profitable. Click here for more details (January CPA Leadership Report: “Do You Have a Sense of Urgency?”)
Small businesses are dependent on their CPAs to help them deal with a wide range of problems such as helping them anticipate the effects of, and prepare for, a decline in sales (including help with cost reduction). Click here for more details (January CPA Leadership Report: “Are You Providing These Services for Your Clients?”)

Clients:

No client is perfect. Propose based on what they commit to but invoice them for what they actually do or don’t do. Don’t whine because they aren’t perfect. Just implement a system that accommodates that imperfection without penalizing your firm or creating animosity with your client(s). You might want to try Client Service Agreements. Click here for more details (January CPA Leadership Report: “Too Much Griping About Clients”)

Succession Planning:

Make sure the firm is not leaving too much voting power in the hands of the wrong people. Large voting blocks should be held by your best leaders. But often, without some thoughtful reallocation process, weaker partners will end up with these large voting blocks. Click here for more details (January CPA Leadership Report: “Continuing the Practice”)

January 2009