Time to Stop! Bad Habits that CPA Firms should Break

There is need to realize that beginning on something is not the only means of moving forward; stopping is equally helpful. Stopping an outdated approach or bad habit will free up space, mental energy or other resources in order to embark on something new or even to do what is most effective. While trends in ‘Accounting today’ advices one to start doing new things such as moving to the cloud, getting into social media or specializing your tax practice, there are also things that one needs to stop doing. These include:

i) Thinking that all clients are good

Regardless of how good it feels to cash their cheques, some clients are better of not being served because they are bad. There are some clients who are not only unpleasant but abusive and these are better off firing.

ii) Expecting that everything be carried out by a CPA

There is need to recognize other areas of expertise. It is time for firms to begin thinking of reaching beyond their CPAs. For instance, enrolled agents and tax attorneys are able to do taxation work. Moreover, depending on the size of the CPA firm, it is sensible to relieve CPA partners of burdens that can better off be accomplished by HR experts, technological experts or professional administrators.

iii) Concentrating on billable hours

Today, there are better ways of measuring productivity. In most cases, technology enables you to carry out work in as little time as possible. Clients will find value in the short time that you will spend advising them as compared to the hours you bill for services that they think the computer can do.

iv) Checking if workers are at their desks

For the longest time now, managers gauge the productivity of an employee as the time spent at their desk and the time taken in viewing an activity. However, today, the mobility revolution means that the right measurement of dedication and mobility is not whether a particular employee was spotted at the desk but how much work that employee indeed carried out.