Monthly Archives: March 2012

Today’s Top Marketing Ideas for CPAs

Posted on by
Reply

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk of bbr marketing has a tremendous amount of marketing ideas for accountants.

How’s business? “The marketplace these days looks pretty good. We’re talking with more people than we would have anticipated for this time of year,” says Atlanta-based Buol Ruszczyk.” One of the key reasons for successful partnerships with firms? Establishing ROI metrics from the outset.

First and foremost, Bonnie recommends on starting the process from a strategic point of view. “30,000 foot view of the web site and the overall strategy of the firm are key components,” Bonnie insists.

People make assumptions, whether it’s fair or not. One common one is that if a firm has a lousy web site, potential clients often question if the firm is up-to-date on tax law. “Many firms still have old left-behind web sites, but those who saw them in the past as glorified brochures are now smartly seeing the potential of the sites, embracing them as business development tools, incorporating Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and more,” comments Bonnie.

Bonnie is excited about her new blog, Marketing Ideas for CPAs. Says Bonnie about the blog, “It’s a fun way to share the information we’re reading and also to comment on the trends in the profession. We’re even doing more ghost writing of blogs for firms now.” Spend ten minutes on it and I guarantee you that you will come away with several ideas and questions pertaining to your firm’s marketing initiatives and game plan.

*****
iShade’s BulletIn. Keep it open on your computer every day.
http://www.ishade.com/bulletin.php

Accountants Still Matter, Right?

Posted on by
Reply

We’re all constantly learning. For example, early this morning while reading The Wall Street Journal, I was informed that the name of the Quaker Oats man is “Larry.” Who knew?

One guy we can all learn from (not “Larry”) is Ron Baker. The following Q&A from the founder of the VeraSage Institute, explains why the industry is on the verge of becoming irrelevant.

Question: What is the biggest risk to the accounting profession?
Answer: People are not going to like this, but I see the biggest risk to the accounting profession as irrelevancy. They’re high-priced bookkeepers and unless they move away from the idea that they’re historians with bad memories, who can only report on the past, who can only report on lagging indicators (they’re in trouble). You go into a lot of these firms and they’re doing very low-level work and then they sit around and complain and moan that it’s a commodity. Well, sure. It’s low-value stuff, and if that’s all you’re doing, then you’re going to be stuck with government regulation revenue, and I see that as the biggest threat to our profession. I actually question whether CPAs are a profession anymore. We don’t have self-regulation. We don’t have autonomy. We’re ruled by peek-a-boo, we’re ruled by state boards of accountancies in a lot of states that are a majority regulated by non-CPAs. That’s not the definition of a profession. A profession stands for something. I don’t know what the CPA profession stands for anymore.

Q: You’ve mentioned that another big problem is a monopoly among auditors.
A: I don’t think we should have a monopoly. I think we should open it up. I think insurance companies, banks, other people should come in and be able to do test work. If an investor wants to buy financial statement insurance, Lloyd’s of London is completely capable of doing that. And they could probably do a better job than the auditors because, let’s face it, actuaries price risk. Auditors just charge by the hour for their audit, which isn’t a test service. It’s an insurance product to some extent, and they’re not pricing it based on risk, so you get problems like Enron and Tyco, and all the others.

Q: So what do you think of auditor term limits?
A: I think term-limiting the auditors is the wrong question. We’re not dealing with the 900-pound elephant in the room. This kind of goes back to irrelevancy. How can an auditor be independent if they’re paid by the people they’re auditing? And, so, when economists look at this, they just laugh. There’s no independence there. The system, the incentive system is set up wrong. What we should do is open it up: Let the stock markets hire the auditors and pay the auditors for their listed companies, and then we’ll get some true independence. And maybe the stock exchanges would hire Lloyd’s of London or an insurance company, or somebody else, or maybe it would be the Big Four. But they would have control over it because they’re the ones who can best capitalize on the information in the audit reports.

(Q&A conducted with Chip Cutter, Content Editor at LinkedIn)

*****
See iShade on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShmZKbkMgXQ

Be Different, Accounting Firm Marketers

Posted on by
Reply

I haven’t used the Yellow Pages, a.k.a., the “phone book,” in many, many years. When they are delivered to the house, I toss them straight into the Rumpke recycling bin. With all of this information online, there’s simply no need for these weighty publications. I don’t even want to think about the extreme waste of paper, which will then cause me to get back on my Great Pacific Garbage Patch soapbox–and that’s not good for anyone.

What boggles my mind is that there’s still a huge amount of advertising dollars invested in phone books. It’s reported that last year, phone books took in 7.6 percent of U.S. advertising dollars. That’s a helluva lot of money.

Is your accounting firm spending advertising funds in the phone book? If so, why? Really, I want to know.

“I can’t drive past a Chili’s or an Olive Garden and not boil with rage.”
–Anthony Bourdain

*****
See iShade on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShmZKbkMgXQ

Do You Think It’s Time to Abolish the Internal Revenue Service?

Posted on by
Reply

Given your experience as an accountant, do you think it’s time to dismantle the Internal Revenue Service? Do you have any ideas on how to improve tax accountability and collection—or should we just leave it alone?

If you are a member of iShade, you can participate in the discussion group here:
http://www.ishade.com/group/230/thread/3107/view

Or, reply to this post below.

What do YOU think?

*****
iShade’s BulletIn. Keep it open on your computer every day.
http://www.ishade.com/bulletin.php

Getting Some Press Coverage These Days?

Posted on by
Reply

Has your accounting firm been featured on local TV business programs? Are you consistently getting press in your local newspaper’s business section or in the weekly business journal? If not, a little effort in doing so can go a long way.

Check out this video on iShade, originally seen on “All About Business.” Click on the photo of the czar below to view the short video. No, the czar isn’t in the video, which is highly disappointing to all of us.

*****
Read iShade’s BulletIn every day. Keep it open on your computer or mobile device!
http://www.ishade.com/bulletin.php

Forget Spiderman, We Have The Centsables!

Posted on by
Reply

Haven’t heard of The Centsables? This cast of financial cartoon characters helps kids acquire real-life money management skills, promoting financial literacy wherever they go.

Does your firm provide any financial management outreach programs to children? It’s a great way to give back to the community!

*****
Read iShade’s BulletIn every day. Keep it open on your computer or mobile device!
http://www.ishade.com/bulletin.php

Time to Add Key Players to Your Roster?

Posted on by
Reply

“The need for high-level lateral talent is increasing,” stated Geremy Cepin, an executive search and career growth consultant with Koltin Consulting Group, in a recent discussion. “There are tremendous opportunities to grow firms right now, especially in bringing on talent in estate matters, international expertise and specific niches.”

Not the typical talent recruiter, Cepin educates firms on the differences between recruiting firms and search firms–and what level of commitment and urgency they need. His specialty is recruiting growth leaders.

Here are two key items from the conversation that you may want to ponder as they relate to your respective firm and situation:

“If you want to retain people, know their name.”

“People aren’t going to join a firm if there’s the perception that there is something wrong with it.”

*****
iShade’s BulletIn. Keep it open on your computer every day.
http://www.ishade.com/bulletin.php

Browser Bananas With IE9

Posted on by
Reply

I recently tried to download Internet Explorer 9, or “IE9″ for those of you who are hip to the scene (I don’t really know what “scene” that is). Attempts were made more than once, but it would never work. I even consulted an I.T. friend this weekend who, after evaluating the situation, came up with the conclusion that my computer is rejecting it for no good reason.
User error certainly came to mind before I got my I.T. friend involved. However, as sure as Aretha Franklin is able to correctly spell “respect” in a spelling bee competition, Mr. I.T. Friend was positive that there was no logical dang reason for IE9 not to work on my machine (then he started cursing Microsoft, weaving a tapestry of obscenities in two languages).

The age of the computer is not an issue; nor is there anything unusual about the setup or capabilities of my Sony laptop. Heck, I run IE8 (the least of the four browsers that I have loaded, I must admit). I was excited about trying out IE9, but it looks like it wasn’t meant to be, on my computer anyway.

Please take this two-second poll:


Is Your Light Bulb On?

Posted on by
Reply

While reading one evening this week, a recent GE Capital advertisement caught my eye. I know, you’re thinking, “Golly, that Curator sure is a wild guy!” Back to the GE Capital print ad, the company is promoting a competitive advantage by tying its business financing options to other businesses under the General Electric umbrella. A “help to make your business more competitive” statement is the driver, telling the prospective customer they can build a new restaurant, factory or dental office more efficiently, saving money by engaging GE engineers.

Think about this a moment…

1) They’re selling loans for buildings and new construction, which is what they want (instead of the less-desirable working capital loans, for example).
2) GE is setting the stage for cross-selling into other divisions of the company.
3) The company is making a clear distinction between themselves and banks.

Take those three principles and apply them to your accounting firm…

1) Promote the kind of service that you want to sell.
2) Are you cross-selling? Can you do it better?
3) Positioning.

Are you the “GE” in your market?

*****
iShade’s BulletIn. Keep it open on your computer every day.
http://www.ishade.com/bulletin.php

Looking Back Through the Andersen Window

Posted on by
Reply

Wow…it’s been 10 years?  I recall being out the evening of April 15, 2002 and conversing with a large group of Arthur Andersen tax personnel who’d been given termination notices that afternoon as things unraveled. They were well beyond control of their senses…but I reckon it didn’t matter much to them at that moment in time.  I felt very badly for them.

I often wonder if the Bush administration could have called off the Federal prosecutors–or at least urged restraint–and allowed Andersen an opportunity to recover. The charges and motions came so swift and furious they never got that chance. Assuming the President could have intervened, either by order or through the Justice Department, why didn’t he?  Why did 84,980 innocent employees have to pay that kind of price for the 20 or so who were tainted by Enron?

I think it’s one of the great business tragedies of the last decade.

*****
Read iShade’s BulletIn every day. Keep it open on your computer or mobile device!
http://www.ishade.com/bulletin.php