Marketing

Detroit-area accounting firm Maddox Ungar Silberstein PLLC is expanding from its Bingham Farms office and opening an office in Ann Arbor.

Accounting firm Goldstein, Karlewicz & Goldstein has joined AGN International, an association of independent CPA, accounting and consulting firms.

Accounting firm Bush, Ramlow & Shore is joining Firm Foundation, a recently established association for CPA firms that have approximately 10 to 30 full-time employees.

Workstream introduced an on-demand compensation-planning system, Workstream Compensation Professional, aimed at midsized companies.

Accounting firm Armanino McKenna LLP has formed a division that will act as a media-consulting firm under the leadership of a former newspaper publisher.

RSM McGladrey has introduced Firm Foundation, an association and program for small CPA firms that gives them tools and training in areas such as practice management and marketing.Firms with approximately 10 to 30 full-time employees can join the association. Members get access to technical tools for tax and auditing, as well as assistance in succession planning, recruiting, people management, profitability, growth, human resources and technology.

I first came across the term a number of years ago when consultants stressed to me the importance of identifying where a business was in its life cycle. These consultants believed businesses and industries have a life cycle, and the key is identifying where the business is at that time. In the case of a business, its life cycle includes progressive identifiable stages, such as the “seed,” start-up, growth, established, etc.

Thinking about expanding your services to encompass financial planning? Ask yourself this: Are you entering into the business for the right reasons?"I think the first thing a CPA should consider is the why. Why do they want to be in the business?" asked Bob Palmer, president of Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Southfield, Mich. "I think the proper answer is because [CPAs] are being asked by their clients for help in this area. They think they have a unique perspective because of the intimate relationship they've developed, the knowledge of the history of the individuals and their businesses."

Now that summer is here, tax preparers have time for trial runs of different software to see if there's a program that might be a better fit for their practices.Vendors, meanwhile, see this time as an opportunity to get a head start on the next filing season by offering special discounts and promotional pricing.

I have always found regional accounting firms fascinating. Just take three recent developments regarding the regional firm of Virchow, Krause & Company. One was that Wells Fargo Insurance Services of Minnesota, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, acquired Virchow, Krause & Company's Twin Cities employee benefits operations, including the head of the employee benefits practice in Minneapolis and his team. It is a good example of how regional firms view these very specialized practice areas. The acquire them and spin them off reminding me of many businesses that view the acquisition and the selling of a portion of their business as a regular means for increasing profitability.

Last year, I wrote a column entitled, “Do You Have a Chief Knowledge Officer?” (webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=14079) aimed at encouraging smaller accounting firms to think about applying knowledge management concepts in their firm operations. One example I gave was an accounting firm that had different individuals responsible for certain subject matter and practice areas so they could inform other firm members by e-mail alerts of important developments.

“Thought leadership, it’s a marketing term,” was the comment.

CPA2Biz, the marketing and services portal of the American Institute of CPAs, has unveiled its next-generation Web site, a revamp that includes enhanced content organization and navigation tools, as well as a less clutter and easier search capabilities. The new design is the culmination of a two-year redesign effort, according to CPA2Biz president and chief executive Erik Asgeirsson.

Executive-level CPAs in business and industry are confident in the future of their own companies, but much less so in the prospects for the U.S. economy, according to a recent survey. While two thirds of the C-suite CPAs responding to the American Institute of CPAs' Spring 2007 Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey expected their businesses to expand in the next 12 months, less than half have a favorable view of the economy. "Despite reservations about the U.S. economy, companies continue to have a healthy outlook on their own businesses with the next 12 months, and anticipate continued stability in terms of revenue and hiring expectations," said John Morrow, the AICPA's vice president for members in business, industry and government. Most of the surveyed CPAs, however, noted that they expect increases in revenues, not profits, which will be held down by employee costs and a limited ability to raise prices. Fully 95 percent of respondents noted that employee and benefit costs are a challenge, and staff-related issues -- including finding and retaining qualified staff -- accounted for four of the top five challenges faced by organizations. The survey, which represents the views of over 1,350 AICPA members in a wide range of industries, is available online at the institute's Financial Management Center Web site.

For some, going global means eating a hamburger one night, sushi the next, a gyro sandwich the third, followed by curried chicken, and then Chilean sea bass. “Going global” or “going international” means something entirely different for firms. It might mean hiring a more diverse staff to appeal to a more diverse potential client base. For others, it might mean foreign outsourcing, or joining an international firm association to develop working relationships with firms in foreign countries. To some, it might mean hiring accountants from overseas to fill staff vacancies. And let’s not forget the need to understand international accounting standards as the move to convergence gains strength. There are, especially in regional firms, exchanges of staff where staff from one firm work in the offices of a firm in another country for a number of months. One firm association rotates its annual international meeting among its seven international regions to ensure a continuing diverse international flavor. I just read an online article in USA Today about the fact that more MBA candidates are going abroad for their degree. The reasons given were that it normally takes one year rather than two, the future MBAers like international travel, it helps their career if they might want to eventually work in that country, and there is contact with MBA candidates from many other countries. What is interesting to watch in many firms is that there is an increased comfort level with going international, similar to what you experience when you eat unfamiliar food from different cultures. Think also about the fact that the youngest generation is growing up in the “Age of Globalization,” and using the Internet to easily plan foreign travel and interact, communicate, and maintain contact with those in other countries. Ultimately, they are forming and building at a very early age an international network that will serve them very well in their future personal, employment, and professional endeavors.

Veteran accounting marketer Sally Glick, currently chief marketing officer and director of marketing consulting services at Livingston, N.J.-based Sobel & Co. LLC, was inducted into the Association for Accounting Marketing Hall of Fame. Her induction came at the group's 18th annual AAM Summit, here. The award honors the recipient's dedication to and promotion of the accounting marketing profession. After working several years at a local firm in the Chicago area, she became marketing director at Pencor LLC, a company providing professional service firms with niche marketing materials and programs. She then went on to become director of marketing services at firm association Polaris International. She also served as marketing director at regional CPA firm, J.H. Cohn. In 2003, she was honored as Accounting Marketer of the Year.

Yep, it's that time of the year again! CPA Wealth Provider is calling for nominations for its Fifth Annual Financial Planning Awards in any of the following categories: CPA/Financial Planning Firms, Broker/Dealers, and Financial Planning Software Vendors.Winners are those firms or companies that have taken the lead through innovation, efficiency, initiative, or growth in the financial planning area.

Small businesses, those companies with less than 50 employees, increased their payrolls by 58,000 in May, according to the Small Business Report from payroll provider ADP. Highlights from the May report show that the service-providing sector added 61,000 jobs in May, while there was a loss of 3,000 in the goods-producing sector for a net gain of 58,000. Additional charts on monthly job growth and job levels, along with historical data, are available at http://www.smallbusinessreport.adp.com. ADP said its June report would be released July 5.

A business valuation standard that has been incubating for the past five years within the American Institute of CPAs is ready to hatch early next year, and when it does, it could force those who perform business valuations to pay attention to yet another set of guidelines.

With Friday marking the official start of the hurricane season, the Internal Revenue Service is encouraging taxpayers to safeguard their records. Taking simple steps now can ensure that both individuals and businesses have protected financial and tax records in case of a hurricane, or other disaster.