It's not Just the Numbers

Post thanksgiving, pre tax season is an interesting time in an accounting firm. For most providers it’s considered peak selling time, or alternatively the last chance to close a deal before tax season. For practitioners many think it’s their last chance to get new systems and tools implemented.

We’ve recently received a number of emails from listeners trying to fast track their software selections asking for our recommendations. But unfortunately it’s not that easy and our responses always begin with “it depends”. It depends on what your trying to build. And this takes us back to our first ever episodes - what are you trying to do in your firm? What services do you want to provide? What types of clients do you want to work with?

Given where we are in the year - instead of trying to implement something new - spend that time focusing on what why you want to do post tax season. Start the planning process now by identifying what you don’t want to do anymore. Write it down somewhere, add to it, and leave it. Then attack it in May. Your team will thank you for it.

We’re here to help in any way we can. Get in touch via LinkedIn.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH

Previously we have teased the Little Black Dress (LBD) concept - if you haven't checked out that episode (13) go ahead and have a listen as it'll help you to get the most out of this episode.

Penny uses the LBD to help practitioners understand a tech stack. The term tech stack hadn't even come into the accounting vernacular, but the LBD analogy had everyone in the room nodding along - well 50% of the room anyway😂😂.

We discuss the importance of having a standard technology set to not only help you scale, but also help you deliver a consistent client experience. After all it's this client experience that will drive referrals into your business. Hopefully listening to the episode you'll breathe a sigh of relief as you learn that you don't need to become an expert in every expense tracking app or KPI reporting to make a meaningful recommendation to your clients.

Enjoy the episode and if you'd like help working through this or any other aspects of your business transformation, drop us a line via LinkedIn.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH

While we love discussing all things firm development with just the two of us, it's always enjoyable to welcome guests to the podcast especially when they're clients of ours and are putting into practice a lot of what we talk about in the podcast.

Rachael Siegel, CPA is the founder of Go Figure Accounting, and she joins us today to share her experiences since going it alone and starting her own firm just 4 years ago. We discuss her approach to her team and her clients as well as how considers the staff at MoneyPenny an extension of her team. Rachel is an advanced certified ProfitFirst Professional and having implemented the methodology in her own business, feels for the first time her clients understand what she does for them.

Rachel is a terrific example of pursuing your business with intention and purpose and what you can achieve by setting goals with your team and empowering them to execute. She's growing both the top and bottom lines of her business and having a ball doing it.

Enjoy the episode and if you'd like help working through this or any other aspects of your business transformation, drop us a line via LinkedIn.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH

Lucky episode 13!

In this episode we introduce listeners to your newest team member - your tech stack. Your technology should be working for you and should be doing the work of a few FTEs whether it comes to workflow, document management or data processing.

We break the tech stack down into the back of house - apps for your firm - and the front of house - apps that you and your clients use to facilitate the flow of data. Penny suggests focusing on your back of house first which will then allow your to deliver a quality front of house experience to your clients.

The Little Black Dress is Penny's analogy for your front of house tech stack. You can wear it for any occasion and can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. Your standardized tech stack will do 80% of the work for 80% of your clients. You don't need to be an expert in every G/L, every expense processing system and every payroll system, choose one and specialize.

Tech is a big topic and in this episode we barely touch on what to look for in an app - we'll dig further into in the next episode.

Be sure to check out the book that gave us the inspiration for this podcast: Strategy and the Fat Smoker. Buy it on Amazon.

If you'd like outside help on this process or have questions about anything discussed in this episode, please do get in touch.

If your app provider and would like to better understand how we work with technology companies feel free to reach out.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH

One of the biggest mistakes we see in accounting firms is the team members not working on the appropriate tasks. Most often it's the partners doing the technician's work such as data entry, but it's also the technician's (and the partners) doing the administrative work. This means your team members aren't working on those tasks where they bring the most value.

Another challenge we have seen in the industry is the lack of a quality supervisory and managerial level in a lot of firms. That's not to say the managers aren't great accountants, it's that supervisor and manager skills are different to an accountant's typical skillset and few firms take the time to develop these skills in their team members.

We chat about how Penny structures her team to deliver her back office support (BOS) services. Simplistically we break the work into 3 categories, the preparation, the supervision, and the client relationship - although you could (and should) add a fourth administrative category. Once you've done that ask the question in what category are you spending most of of your time - go on, have a look at the time sheets! And now work out how to fix it - with technology, with people, or with outsourcing.

If you'd like help working through this or any other aspects of your business transformation, drop us a line via LinkedIn.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH

No surprises but clients are a critical part of your business. But too often firm owners try to adapt their business plan to their clients instead of the other way round. We've both seen too many firms attempts at change being derailed by (Pain in the Ass) clients. It's important to recognise that you can't be everything to everyone, so focus on the clients you enjoy - they listen to you, they like new ideas, they're willing to try new things and most importantly they value your input. These are the clients that are going to set you up for success in the future.

So what do you do with the folks that don't fit into this segment? Some consultants will tell you to fire the bottom 20% of clients, others will suggest sell that bunch of clients. And we're not here to tell you what to do, but at the very least you need to recognise that not all clients will suit your business, and rather than try to force square pegs into round holes, make sure you service them appropriately. The time you spend trying to get the laggard clients onto new services, new technology and new pricing is time not spent on those clients that want these services, technology and are willing to pay for it.

Spend some time on your client selection criteria. If you're struggling to define your ideal client, get your team involved. Being on the front lines, they'll definitely have insights into the characteristics of your best clients.

And please get in touch if we can help you with your client selection criteria or anything else discussed in this episode.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH

No, we're not talking Star Wars in this episode. Instead we're talking about a common trap many practitioners fall into when they're thinking about their next hire. Too often the default next hire is another technician, another accountant or another bookkeeper. In other words trying to clone yourself. If that's the case, you're likely thinking about this wrong. Instead of hiring another you, what about hiring someone to take on more of the administrative and client service functions - take those duties off your plate, and off your accounting team's plate. Allow them focus on what they do best. Your accountants shouldn't be chasing clients for information, they shouldn't be answering app questions, that's the job of your next hire.

Apparently there's a shortage of accountants, and this article suggests changing the exam requirements. We think the changes need to happen in the small and medium sized public accounting offices around the country. Think about their workspace, the technology they use and the tasks and responsibilities you assign them. We see plenty of 'young' accountants in public accounting, but the firms they work in (or maybe started themselves) are vastly different to the traditional firm.

As you grow your firm, don't try to clone yourself, and don't try to do it the same as last year. Think about the functions and hire for those functions - don't try to spread these tasks across your specialist technicians. They'll get jack of it quickly and leave your firm, and probably public accounting.

If you have questions about anything discussed in this episode, please do get in touch with us via LinkedIn.

Be sure to check out the book that gave us the inspiration for this podcast: Strategy and the Fat Smoker. Buy it on Amazon.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH

Today we dig deeper into defining "Advisory Services". Building on Penny's four quadrants from episode 6 we discuss the AICPA definition outlined in this article. Ultimately it comes down to defining the deliverable so that the clients understands the benefits of that deliverable. Rather than hiding behind 'reporting' it's important to make it tangible for the client. Likewise technology is not the differentiator, or where the value is, instead it's facilitator. Ultimately it's about helping your clients better understand the numbers of their business. So jump in and get going, your clients will love you for it.

If you have questions about anything discussed in this episode, please do get in touch with us via LinkedIn.

Be sure to check out the book that gave us the inspiration for this podcast: Strategy and the Fat Smoker. Buy it on Amazon.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH

Without a clear vision, and your constant leadership your team can sometimes get led astray buy other team members with their own agenda. As the the business owner you can't delegate this leadership responsibility. If it's not constant and consistent, someone will fill this void for you.

Penny shared an email she received this week from a client with an internal saboteur. Unfortunately the owner lost a couple of longstanding employees because of them, and now faced potentially losing clients if they were to fire that employee. The business owner got themselves into this pickle because they had allowed the employees (or rather employee) to take control of the business. Unfortunately this scenario is all too common in accounting firms and so we spend the rest of the episode discussing strategies on how to overcome these employee-led firms. Be ready for some collateral damage in terms of other staff members or clients leaving if you don't take responsibility for leading your business.

If you have questions about anything discussed in this episode, please do get in touch with us via LinkedIn.

Be sure to check out the book that gave us the inspiration for this podcast: Strategy and the Fat Smoker. Buy it on Amazon.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH

We have our first guests! We also have our first major technical difficulties.

We’re delighted to be joined on the show by Brian Lang and Mike Chawner, two CPAs out of Austin Texas who are former colleagues and former business partners. They share with us their journey from starting their firm together through to later dissolving the partnership and going their separate ways.

As Brian and Mike will attest both have learned a lot, have been able to gain clarity on what it is that they want out of their business and importantly, have remained friends and continue to refer business to each other when they know it’s a good fit.

We did have technical difficulties and lost one of the feeds half way through (unbeknown to us at the time) so we’ll need to get the guys back on to finish where they left off. Despite this, there are some great insight from the Brian and Mike that we didn’t want you to miss out.

You’ll also hear from Jovie the Jack Russell who is not doing well with a bunch of deliveries during the episode.

If you'd like outside help on this process or have questions about anything discussed in this episode, please do get in touch.

Penny Breslin - LinkedIn | @PennyB57

Damien Greathead - LinkedIn | @Damien_GH