Blog Archives
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The Pirate Party
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Thursday May 10, 2012When it comes to copyright laws in the United States, we’ve made two enormous blunders. The first was when we allowed unfettered corporate greed to change the laws to a state so ridiculous that virtually no work will ever again enter the public domain; the second was when we casually allowed the emerging Internet to respond to the first blunder by simply ignoring copyrights and declaring all content to be free when downloaded from the Internet. We may pay for these blunders by seeing the emergence of a third US political party that will not only shake up our traditional two-party system but bring a broad swath of disenfranchised citizens back to the polling booths. We’re talking Pirates here. First things first. When the... -
A Seat at the Management Table
By Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP; CIO, Boomer Consulting - Thursday May 10, 2012One myth that is far too common in CPA firms is that you must be a CPA to manage and understand the firm. This is simply not true and is costing firms a lot of time and money while reducing their ability to compete today and into the future. Requiring a CPA certificate to have a seat at the management table is holding back some of your best talent and limiting the firms potential for greater success. One party that should have a seat at the management table is your CIO, especially if you want to create the alignment between firm strategy and technology. Let’s look at five ways CIOs can provide you a strategic advantage and why they should be contributing members of your management team. CIOs bring a different perspective to the... -
Stop Talking Diversity, Start Acting
By Sandra Wiley, COO, Boomer Consulting - Thursday May 3, 2012Diversity is something that we have been commiserating about for many years as it pertains to gender, age, and race – areas that are protected under federal law. Our firm leaders often go to seminars, read articles and if we are asked, we engage in a conversation about how we wish our industry was different and how we are supportive of improved diversity in our own firm. We also focus on the similarities and differences our employees possess within our firms, and although equal opportunity laws establish anti-discrimination standards in the workplace, we also recognize that these laws fall short of providing protection for personality differences that stem from upbringing, socialization and cultural characteristics. Firm leaders can... -
Are You Ready for the Next Generation of Marketing Your Firm?
By Alan Vitberg, Owner, VitbergLLC - Monday April 30, 2012An Overview of Inbound Marketing A guest post from Alan Vitberg , Owner of VitbergLLC , a marketing agency specializing in accounting and consulting firm marketing. Today, most accounting and consulting firms spend their marketing budget on outbound marketing to reach prospects. Outbound marketing, also known as traditional marketing, targets a broad audience using print ads, trade shows, telemarketing/cold calls, direct mail/e-mail, etc. Firms push their messages outward in the hopes that it will trigger a response in the form of a contact But marketing and business development at CPA firms is on the edge a transformation taking the form of a movement away from spending on traditional marketing activities towards... -
Why Tech Patent Lawsuits Are Flying
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Sunday April 29, 2012
This week, after two years of secret negotiations and wrangling, the mega companies of Google and Oracle went to court to decide whether it is possible to patent a computer language. If the thought of this confuses you, be grateful you are not the judge or the new members of the jury. It’s the tech equivalent of me patenting the English language, and then suing this blog for $6.1 billion dollars for using or printing this column in my patented language. [Memo to my editor: my attorneys will be in touch in the morning!] [ Memo in return... "Funny joke, Dave. Our lawyers are on speed-dial. "] All of this might be just a curious phase in the life cycle of the tech industry, except that it really does affect accountants and how they... -
After Tax Season is the Best Time to go to the Drawing Board
By Brannon Poe, CPA - Wednesday April 25, 2012
Have you ever noticed how professional golfers go to the practice range right after a match? How does that help? It is interesting but they do that to work out any problems they have with their form. It is effective because everything is very fresh on their minds. As professional accountants, you should do the same. Your errors in “form” are fresh on the mind, so now is a great time to reflect on your season and make plans that you can execute prior to next tax season. Here is a great place to start: Go to http://www.poegroupadvisors.com/sample-chapter/ to read our free sample chapter titled The Client of Choice from the book, "Accountant's Flight Plan." Use the exercise to go through your client list and make some tough... -
How CPA and Consulting Firm Niche Marketing Programs Get Found & Heard
- Monday April 23, 2012
CPA Practice Advisor is pleased to present a digest of recent, popular posts authored by award winning CPA firm Marketer Alan Vitberg . These were originally posted in VitbergLLC’s blog, The Professional Services Marketing Digest. How CPA and Consulting Firm Niche Marketing Programs Get Found & Heard It takes a lot more work than just pounding a stake in the ground and declaring your intentions to serve a particular niche. It takes marketing, and an important part of that effort is how you use your website, social media, and thought leadership to become the “go to” accounting or consulting firm for a particular industry, or for a particular horizontal service. More... -
Is Your Firm like the Hunger Games?
By Sandra Wiley, COO, Boomer Consulting - Monday April 16, 2012
I have been intrigued by the storyline in the recent blockbuster book and movie “The Hunger Games” since my daughter was tasked with reading it in the summer of 2010 before she entered her freshman year at Kansas State University. The University asked each Freshman to read the book so they could all have something in common as they arrived on campus. I decided I should also read the book so that I could join her in the conversation – and I’m so glad that I did! The foundational storyline is about Panem, a totalitarian nation that is divided into districts and the Capitol. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in "The Hunger Games" – a battle to the death for the two... -
Are you Ready for BYOD?
By Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP; CIO, Boomer Consulting - Wednesday April 11, 2012
It seems that everywhere you turn someone is talking or writing about the “consumerization of IT” or BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). This trend is real and one we all need to pay attention to. It is rapidly replacing the days of the IT department selecting and requiring the type of device the organization issues and supports. Many firms are now allowing employees to purchase the smartphone or tablet of their choice and connect these devices to company data. There are certainly benefits and challenges to this trend (I plan to expand on these in an upcoming column). What I’d like to share today is some information I’ve seen, heard and gathered around this topic. My hope is that if you haven’t even considered the idea, you’ll at... -
Spring “HR Talent” Cleanup
By Sandra Wiley, COO, Boomer Consulting - Tuesday April 3, 2012During this time of year, I feel the pull to clean! My house, my car, my office and even my briefcase! I am told by a co-worker that it is a sickness, but I always seem to physically feel more energetic and productive when my cleaning frenzy is complete. This spring cleanup can also apply to the tasks that we have in relation to Talent Development within your firm. This is a great time to re-energize and spruce up the talent that you have in your firm. Let’s take a look at the areas that you can add to the spring talent cleanup checklist. Revisit Policies and Procedures as We Enter Our Hiring Upturn While the economic experts argue about whether the recession has officially ended, firms have been moving toward recovery over the...
