Deeper Weekend 2013

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CPA firm

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Greg Kyte 2I recently had an Oprah-quality million-dollar idea.

 

And this million-dollar idea is way better than my Johnny Jump Up Multi-Room Integrated Track System1 idea. The JJUMRITS might’ve made someone a million bucks, but it also might’ve been extremely unsafe for babies which – turns out – is horrible for PR. And for babies.

 

I also had a million-dollar idea for a biometric attendance-taker machine for high schools and junior highs3. That idea is like a million dollars of lunch money in a nerd’s pocket, just waiting for someone to punch it out of its zip-lock sandwich bag4 and into someone’s bank account. Read more
Category:
CPA firm, Innovation
Comments:
2

Greg Kyte 2How do you take a service offering that can be easily commoditized and transform it into a highly sought-after experience that customers will pay a premium for?

Great question.

You can read about how to do it in Joe Pine and James Gilmore’s book The Experience Economy, you can listen to Episode 19 of the THRIVEcast, or you can expose yourself directly to the experience economy by visiting your local CrossFit Gym.

This month I recorded a video blog where I worked out with the CrossFit fanatics to see what they’re doing right, and to try to glean some lessons that we can apply to our CPA firms. Read more

Category:
Community, CPA firm
Comments:
5

700_0661Good customers demonstrate certain behaviors as they work with your company. I’ll list some of the behaviors of our great customers. I call them Investment Behaviors because they demonstrate behaviors from customers who are invested in your firm.

1. Invested customers tell you how you can improve, with a caveat that they still love you. This is common. We ask our customers to pay us to deliver super value to them. I think we pull that off… most of the time. And when we don’t, our customers typically let us know: “Hey, you guys know I love you and that you are awesome, but you need to step it up here.” We improve because they tell us specifically how to improve.

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Category:
CPA firm, Marketing and Branding
Comments:
3

REFM -  Adrian Photo Square - CATOBThe Firm of the Future. What does the future look like? And how does one ready their firm to flourish in it? Lately, the future seems to be arriving faster than it used to, and these questions have increasingly grown in significance. Many of you also recognize The Firm of the Future as the title of the landmark book by Ronald Baker and Paul Dunn, where they lay out an argument and a plan for professional firms that shifts focus intensely to identifying and pricing for value. Another highly recommended title and a companion volume: Implementing Value Pricing.

Like many Thrivealists, I am fascinated by the concept of the firm of the future – it’s so core to who we are, and runs as a common thread through our Manifesto. The more I thought about it though, the more I came to think that “the firm of the future” was somewhat of a misnomer. I had a chance to actually chat about it once with Ron Baker, and he readily agreed. He wasn’t fully comfortable with the term, but he hadn’t found one he liked better just yet. More recently you’ll often find him, and other members of the VeraSage think-tank, using the phrase “timeless firms,” which I find much more apt. Read more

Category:
CPA firm, Leadership
Comments:
2

I want to praise the AICPA in their recent attempt to innovate within our profession.  How do I define ‘innovation’ in terms of what they are doing?  Simply, this: they are reviewing how we have always done things as a profession and considering, due to technologies and the common behaviors of our customers, that maybe we should change our professional behavior, and thus our standards.  Kudos and I agree!

I’m speaking of the AICPA’s most recent Exposure Draft on changes to some SSARS (Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services) where they are considering making the preparation of financial statements an non-attest service.  Basically, they are proposing making ‘preparing financial statements’ separate from attest services like Compilations, Reviews and Audits.  Currently, every time we prepare financial statements, it is really considered a Compilation service, even though our customers may not intend us to Compile financials, may not want to pay for it, and do not actually need it.  As CPAs, our professional hands are tied when our customers need financial reporting.  We have to say, “I’m sorry, that quick financial statement you need will cost you.  I have to prepare a Compilation even though you don’t want one.”

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Category:
CPA firm, Innovation
Comments:
15