Summer 2009 Special Report: It's Time to Get Down to Business
In this two part article series Steve Erickson discusses the most pressing issues for managers and partners in the business of public accounting. Click here to read Part One, click here to read Part Two.
Recession Report: What Should You Expect? (pdf)
In this April 2009 issue of Accounting Office Management & Administration Report from the IOMA Steve Erickson and other CPA Consultants disucss how the recession is affecting CPA firms so far and what you can expect this Spring.
Lack Of Clear, Concise Direction And Communication Can
Lead To Unnecessary Attrition In Today’s CPA Firms (pdf)
This article from the March 2007 issue of Inside Public Accounting, Steve Erickson discusses how with a little more communication and setting of expectations, you can win the talent war.
We Need True Auditor Independence: Escrow the Fees! (pdf)
Given the significant number of audit failures in recent years and now the meltdown of the financial industry in the United States the issue of auditor independence, audit fees and audit quality needs to be addressed.
10
Ways to Recruit & Retain Valuable Employees
Does your firm have a consistent hiring message and formalized
training program for new hires? CPA and consultant Steve Erickson developed 10 tips to help your firm achieve your hiring and retention goals.
Trust Me On This One (pdf)
Does your firm accurately represent the core value statements you claim to uphold? We don’t need to be “telling” our clients about trust and integrity, we need to be “practicing” with integrity and letting our clients judge our trustworthiness which immediately makes me think of core values.
Increase the
Value of Your Firm!
Are you building the value of
your practice? Are you making the money you would like to make
today and when the time comes for your transition or succession
will your partners or others be willing buyers? When owners focus
on the five areas of my Value Improvement Model™ they make
more money now and capture greater value in the future.
Partner Unity
is Essential for Success!
Having your partners on the same page is imperative to your
firm's bottom line. Making sure that energy and attitude is
positive is imperative to your internal AND external value.
Post Enron Strategic
Planning
It often takes a major crisis to effect significant change.
Unfortunately, that is where the accounting profession finds
itself now.
Accounting
Careers: Substantial Change, Not Sizzle, Required to Attract
Recruits
There is a lack of new CPAs coming up the pipe to fill our
shoes. Why? Because they see the stress and imbalance in so
many of our lives, and are not interested. There's a core change
in the way we work that needs to happen if we're going to sustain
this industry.
Trust Within the CPA
Profession
Even the smallest of issues can have a noticeable effect on
your firm. Building trust - inside and outside the firm - is
more important now than ever before.
Improve
Results with Reverse Mentoring
What's "Reverse Mentoring"?
Glad you asked. It's an effective and extremely powerful
way to unite your teams and management. Steve Erickson has
helped many firms create stellar results through this unique
and thoughtful practice.
The Question for
CPA Firms: Hire Right or Hire Right Now?
There is a big difference between hiring and hiring right.
Steve can help you create criteria that fit with your existing
and evolving culture, so that your hires are a match for the
long term, with a better chance at the results you seek.
Don't
Turn Your Employees Into Victims (AccountingWEB
free membership required to view)
Put Me in Coach by
Victoria M. Zunitch
Usually rendered one-to-one, coaching is a hybrid
professional and personal service that lies midway on a spectrum
that stretches from management consulting to psychotherapy.
Do
You Really Need More Experienced People? (pdf)
Changing
a CPA firm’s structure will improve client
service by using personnel more appropriately and efficiently.
Diversity
is Good for Business (pdf)
Many companies and firms are discovering that staff from different
ethnic backgrounds bring valuable perspectives to the table
and are effective in working with a wide spectrum of customers
and clients.
Losses,
Woes at Parmalat Keep Growing (pdf)
Parmalat-related losses have cost U.S. financial institutions
more than $1.2 billion and are likely to climb, but investors
might never know the true cost of the Italian dairy giant's
collapse, say accounting experts who have reviewed recent regulatory
filings.
Starved
of Personal Time (pdf)
In the US, lack of personal time is the biggest downside of
a career in public accounting, according to a survey of CPAs
at public accounting firms conducted by nationally recognized
consultant Mr. Steve Erickson.
Auditor's
Actions Shed Light on Westar Plane Use (pdf)
John Lathrop took dozens of business flights aboard airplanes
owned by Western Resources Inc., including
once flying to a football game with CEO David Wittig.
Bucks
Firm Notified It is In Default Amid Dispute Over Quarterly (pdf)
A Bucks County medical-equipment leasing firm said yesterday
that it had been notified it was in default on
a bond agreement as a dispute with its outside auditor snowballs.
