USA: 2010 Resolutions for Your Firm

With the new year just beginning, let’s discuss some 2010 resolutions you may wish to consider for you and your firm.

Pay More Attention to Your Family
Spend more quality time with your best clients, and show them you care. Add more value to your services by providing solutions to their biggest problems. Your best clients should be delighted clients, not just satisfied clients. Try being innovative and different in your approach to client service. Doing it the same old way breeds mediocrity.

Lose Weight
If unproductive partners and staff are weighing the firm down, consider shedding those extra pounds now or right after the tax season. Make tough decisions for the firm’s long-term financial health and longevity.

Eat Healthier
Market for quality not quantity. Develop and implement criteria for new client acceptance that includes minimum realization rates, size and quality. Focus your time and energy on increasing the bottom line, not just adding new business. Bigger is not necessarily better. Develop a target marketing approach to attracting new quality clients rather than the “shotgun” approach. 

Exercise More
Develop and implement a Career Development Program including appropriate training at all levels. Make sure your succession plan includes training for future partners in the soft skills areas, especially practice development and marketing. Teach them that marketing is a contact sport. Developing your future partners and leaders is a marathon, not a sprint.

Plan for your Future—Don’t be in Denial
Sit back and take stock of the present and plan both financially and strategically for your firm’s future. Don’t run the firm day-to-day but rather run the practice like a business with a long-term succession plan. In your firm, practice what you preach to your clients. Develop a plan to achieve your goals and objectives for 2010 and review them monthly.

Be a Positive Role Model and Leader
Actions not words are more of a key factor in partner and staff relations. Don’t underestimate the importance of partner personalities,  communications, and leadership in attracting and retaining quality professional and administrative staff. Learn to understand and motivate your staff. Partners need to be better leaders during these critical times.

New Year resolutions are meaningless unless you take action to achieve your goals and objectives. Execute the right “game plan” to insure future success and score more often in the Red Zone. Your partners and staff will be happier and more successful in 2010 if you  pay more attention to your number one client, your firm.

Maximizing the Value of CPA Firms

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joe@accountantsadvisory.com

2010-03-04