PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
17 Things To Do This Summer BY GEORGIA Z. PHILLIPS, CPA
When you think of summer, you probably think of warm, sunny days, golfing, hiking, fishing, vacation, and a more leisurely pace in the office. Summer can be all of these things, but more importantly for CPAs, summer brings opportunity.
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hether you are a CPA working in public accounting, private or nonprofit industry, or in higher education, summer also is a time to review, reflect, reconnect, and improve both your business and yourself. Here are 17 suggestions to help you do just that: 1. Call your clients. A leading reason clients or customers leave is lack of contact. They want to hear from you, listen to your updates and ideas, and more importantly, they want you to listen to them and help resolve issues they face. You are their trusted advisor; reach out and demonstrate the value you can bring to them. 2. Brush up on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). The more you know, the better prepared you will be to answer client questions. If you are not in public accounting, review the TCJA provisions and anticipate how to best prepare your organization for TCJA compliance in 2018. 3. Provide useful information to your clients. Communicate new accounting and tax rules, along with industry trends to your clients via seminars, email, or other delivery methods. 4. Engage in early tax planning for 2018. Granted, there are TCJA provisions for which we are awaiting regulatory guidance, but a majority of TCJA provisions are fairly straightforward. Help clients understand the TCJA’s dollar impact. They will appreciate your initiative. 5. Review organizational accounting and reporting methodologies. Address areas that need improvement. Also, make record-keeping changes now that will facilitate 2018 TCJA compliance. Help clients do the same. 6. Plan for client cyber security. Assist your clients in attaining the level of needed cyber security for the business. You can act as a facilitator between your client and outside consultants if your firm does not offer this service. 7. Conduct a cyber security audit for your company as well. Compromised data can be costly in both dollars and time for a firm, company, or organization in the event of a system breach and hacked data. 8. Review your organization’s hardware, software, and IT provider, and make needed changes. Don’t be afraid to admit that
something is not working as it should. Past expenditures are a sunk cost; instead, focus on the future. Downtime and poorly functioning equipment and software cost an organization in both lost time and lost revenue. 9. Critically review client/customer lists. Cull the lesser ones that are distracting and preventing you from providing top-notch service to your best clients/customers. 10. Review processes and procedures. Streamlining how things are done can yield time and cost savings, better client/customer service, and happier employees. 11. Obtain your continuing education over the course of the year. Don’t procrastinate until the end of the next reporting period. New knowledge will benefit you, your organization, and your clients now. 12. Hold mid-year meetings with employees. Talk about opportunities, improvement areas, etc. Set goals for remainder of year. 13. Recommend and implement needed training for your employees. Employees want to learn the technical and soft skills needed to do their jobs well. Help them do that. 14. Sponsor a company, division, team, etc. event. Events outside of the office allow everyone to interact in a more relaxed setting, learn about each other, and build camaraderie. 15. Make changes that will have a positive impact on the environment. You will be a better global citizen and earn points from your employees and customers. 16. Welcome change and the positive effects it can bring. The road to change may be filled with bumps and obstacles, but the rewards can be great. 17. Don’t forget recreation. Take time off to enjoy the things you like to do. Be an example, and encourage your employees to do the same. Remember that the word “recreation” means you get to re-create yourself in some way. Georgia Z. Phillips, CPA, is President and Shareholder of the Phillips Allderdice Consulting Group, P.C. and Partner at Focus Group Strategies. Contact her at gphillips@fgstrategies.com.
July/August 2018 | www.cocpa.org
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