Growing Your Firm | Strategies For Accountants, Cpa's, Bookkeepers , And Tax Professionals

Sarah Johnson Dobek's Profile Thank you for wanting to learn more about me! I am passionate about helping accounting firms, state CPA societies and vendors to the accounting profession grow. Through my experience as a former accounting firm marketing and hr director as well as through my role as an advisor to CPA firm leaders, I have learned that for firms to grow they have to do two things well- bring in new business while retaining current business AND they must retain the right talent. I am lucky enough to be in a position to help accounting firms do just this.  I help our clients achieve their growth goals through a few key areas: Marketing that drives growth I work with local and regional firms around the country to help them develop and implement their roadmap to growth- a plan that aligns their growth goals with practical strategies to spur and maintain their growth.  Social Media  I help accounting firm use social media effectively and help them understand the value social media can

Sandi Smith Leyva, CPA, CMA, MBA, and founder of Accountant’s Accelerator, has helped thousands of accountants earn more, work less, and serve their clients better through her innovative coaching and training services. Sandi was named one of the Top 25 Thought Leaders for 2014 by CPA Practice Advisor, one of the 2013 “Ones to Watch” of Accounting Today’s “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting” and was a 2013 Community Choice Honoree of the Small Business Influencer Awards held by Small Business Trends. She won a 2013 Stevie Award for “Maverick of the Year,” and her work has also been noted by CBS News, PBS, Dallas Morning News, San Jose Mercury News, Accounting Today, Journal of Accountancy, Today’s CPA, and The Practical Accountant. She is a regular contributor to CPA Trendlines.

From Mike Michalowicz's Linkedin:  I am the author of 'Profit First', 'The Pumpkin Plan' and 'The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur'. BusinessWeek called Toilet Paper Entrepreneur a business cult classic. My books have been translated into 10 languages. I am also the founder of Profit First Professionals. The Profit First Professional organization is designed to support accountants, bookkeepers and other financial professionals to substantially differentiate themselves in the market - so they can dictate a premium for their services and attract more clients. How do we do it? By introducing a significant service differentiator - the tools and techniques to maximize the profitability of your clients. If you own a bookkeeping or accounting business, and you want to distinguish yourself from your competitors... consider applying to be a Profit First Professional. I am a co-founder of Provendus Group, a business growth consultancy. I have founded, built and sold two technology service based companies. My second c

Jeff Borschowa is the founder of Business Evolution Consulting Inc.  He is an author, educator, and curator of all things related to accounting efficiency and technology.  Jeff first joined the accounting world in 1991 and has spent the bulk of his career working with and advising small to medium-sized enterprises.  Jeff has experience working in all sizes of accounting firms, from sole proprietorship to international firm.  The focus in Jeff’s career has been to find new and better ways to integrate innovation and technology to enhance the customer experience and improve efficiency in the accounting process. Jeff’s journey has been unique in that he has met some very innovative accountants and mentors in his career. Jeff has been very fortunate to be in a position to learn from them, compare their ideas, and to truly choose the best of the best. Jeff would like nothing more than to free bookkeepers and accountants from the stress created by high volume commodity work, allowing them the freedom to pursue w

About Me! Jody Padar, CPA, has emerged as a “feeling leader.” That is, a leader driven by a passion to foster real change in the accounting profession. Jody represents the next generation of accounting professionals and is in the vanguard of the new movement of “digital CPAs.” She has joined with other future-thinking leaders and vendors to spread the word and educate the profession on its natural evolution into the digital age. Embracing the Cloud, social media, and other highly advanced technologies and practices, Jody is out to alter the way CPAs think about firm culture and serving their clients via speaking engagements, podcasts, published articles, and 'screaming it from the rooftop'. A true change agent, Jody continues to initiate conversations and encourage open collaboration between the profession and vendors in order to support the movement toward a newer, better, and more innovative CPA firm culture. Jody earned her BBA from Saint Mary’s College and MST from Northern Illinois University. Jod

Chad is a partner at LiveCA LIVECA LLP is a 13 person firm committed to providing a progressive approach to accounting with a focus on entrepreneurs and technology professionals. Our concept is to allow greater accessibility to information and advice by connecting clients online directly to a chartered accountant from the comfort of your home or office.  With the wide range of online tools available in today’s marketplace, our goal is to help clients shift their accounting towards an online platform - reducing the need to search through piles of paper documents and spending more time on value-added work. Our team designs customized digital workflows and are familiar with a large number of applications that can help solve many issues experienced by entrepreneurs (timely financial advice, cash flow forecasting, systems integrations, etc).  We work completely online with no desktop systems in a paperless environment. Practicing what we preach is really important to us.  Whether you are setting o

Randy Johnston is a nationally recognized educator, consultant, and writer with over 30 years experience in Strategic Technology Planning, Accounting Software Selection, Paperless, Systems and Network Integration, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning, Business Development and Management, Process Engineering and outsourced managed services. In this interview, we help CPA Firm owners, accounting professioanls, and bookkeepers navigate the technological jungle of finding the right software for your firm or practice. 

LIVECA is committed to providing a progressive approach to accounting with a focus on forward thinking entrepreneurs. The concept is to allow greater accessibility to information and advice by connecting clients online directly to a chartered accountant from the comfort of your home or office. With the wide range of online tools available in today’s marketplace, our goal is to help clients shift their accounting towards a digital platform - reducing the need to search through piles of paper documents and spending more time on value-added work. Whether you are setting out with a new idea or an already established entrepreneur, we would love to speak to you about your business. Check us out at www.liveca.ca. Or, just email me at josh@liveca.ca to schedule a free online consultation at your convenience. LiveCA provides a comprehensive range of accounting services from a qualified chartered accountant for small and medium sized businesses. Specialties: Corporate Taxation, Self-Employed Indi

Ed Kless joined Sage in July of 2003 and is currently the senior director of partner development and strategy. He develops and delivers curriculum for Sage business partners on the art and practice of small business consulting including the Sage Consulting Academy, Business Strategy and Customer Experience Workshops. He also serves as the liaison to the Sage Leadership Association. Prior to joining Sage, Ed worked with Tipping Point Advisors, an organization dedicated to the growth and development of software implementation partners. In 1996, he co-founded Third Wave Business Systems, a Microsoft Dynamics GP partner that grew to 20 team members and $5 million in revenue. At Third Wave, Ed developed the implementation methodology and led the CRM and ERP consulting teams. Ed is a frequent contributor to industry publications, including the Journal of Accountancy, Harvard Business Review and HR.com, and has spoken at many conferences worldwide on project management, pricing, and knowledge workers. He is also

If you really want to talk shop, Kirk brings over 15 years of experience developing FileMaker databases and web applications as well as systems integration. As the principal of MightyData, Kirk heads an elite team of FileMaker Certified Developers and Authorized Trainers. He is a renowned speaker at the FileMaker Developer Conference and PauseOnError un-conference. Anyone who knows Kirk realizes that to become the Visionary of Value means walking the walk and talking the talk. To that end, Kirk is a Practicing Fellow at the VeraSage Institute and a proud graduate of EntreLeadership. He is also the Founder and Host of The Art of Value Podcast   

Adrian G. Simmons is a CPA innovating ways to put money in its place. His first debit was made in the classrooms of Loyola University Maryland, where he completed his studies in 2000, and then launched out as an auditor with KPMG Baltimore. He was relieved to have passed the CPA exam in one sitting so he could avoid more studying, but was surprised to learn that it came with an Elijah Watts Sells Silver medal. In 2002, he left KPMG to join his father in public practice, and began the work of serving small businesses, individuals, and non-profits. Since that time, the practice has grown to now four individuals, and the team works together to help customers become financially strong, so that they can focus on what truly matters in life. Adrian likes tech, uses a fountain pen, prefers dark over milk chocolate, and is happy to say he recently survived a half-marathon. His faith is very important to him, and he teaches Sunday school at his local parish. He also likes the out-of-doors, always keeping an eye out fo

Angie serves as President of The Rainmaker Companies and previously served as the Director of Consulting for The Rainmaker Companies for several years.  Consistently named by Accounting Today Magazine as “one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting” and listed as a 40 Under 40 in the Accounting Industry by CPA Practice Advisor, Grissom is a frequent presenter at national conferences, Angie is renowned for her influence in and passion for the industry. She brings all this to her role at The Rainmaker Companies, striving to share her proven knowledge and know-how to transform the lives of clients through consulting, coaching, training and developing accountability within accounting firms. Prior to joining Rainmaker, Angie worked in organizational management, sales and human resources. She has served as the Vice President of the American Society of Women Accountants Music City chapter, and an active member of the CPACA Alliance for accounting industry consultants, the National Speaker’s Associa

Mission: “To, once and for all, bury the billable hour and timesheet in the professions” Ronald J. Baker started his CPA career in 1984 with KPMG’s Private Business Advisory Services in San Francisco. Today, he is the founder of VeraSage Institute—the leading think tank dedicated to educating professionals internationally—and a radio talk-show host on the www.VoiceAmerica.com show: The Soul of Enterprise: Business in the Knowledge Economy. As a frequent speaker, writer, and educator, his work takes him around the world. He has been an instructor with the California CPA Education Foundation since 1995 and has authored fifteen courses for them, including: You Are What You Charge For: Success in Today’s Emerging Experience Economy (with Daniel Morris); Alternatives to the Federal Income Tax; Trashing the Timesheet: A Declaration of Independence; Everyday Economics; Everyday Ethics: Doing Well by Doing Good; The Best Business Books You Should Read; Pricing on Purpose: Creating and Capturing Value; Measure What

This week we’re excited to have Mark Wickersham Why the 70% capacity milestone was destroying Mark’s profitability Why working on your practice is (more) important than working in it (systems, strategy, and the team) Why the billable hour was trapping Mark’s growth His approach to creating systems inside of his accounting firm His #1 mistake (he was too cheap!) How to create a new client pipeline His model for creating and implementing value based pricing And much more…

Just because our jobs are boring doesn't mean our CPE has to be. Greg Kyte - who was included in Accounting Today's list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the Accounting Profession - combines his expertise as a CPA with his 12 years of experience as a stand up comedian to turn CPE on its head. He's created a unique and entertaining CPE experience that does not compromise on content. It's NASBA certified, it feels like a comedy club, and the information sticks to your brain. 

As the Editor-in-Chief of Sift Media U.S., Caleb direct the the content of two sites, AccountingWEB and Going Concern. After spending nearly six years as a CPA, he was given the opportunity to be the founding editor of Going Concern, a website that broke all the rules for covering the accounting profession.

A 10+-year veteran of the tax and accounting industry -- with a focus on Internet Marketing and Direct Response media, Nate Hagerty has established a reputation for straight-talk and results on behalf of members and concierge clients, and has become a widely-followed and respected marketing voice to the industry. His company, TaxProMarketer was established in May of 2007 (then known as BuildaHerd Marketing) in response to increased demand for real-world relationship-building and profit-producing tools and strategy for use in the legal, tax and accounting industry. Currently, TaxProMarketer staff serves clients primarily in the tax & accounting world, but in a variety of other service professional industries (lawyers, financial professionals) all across the United States and Canada who use their services to build relationships with their prospects & existing clients, as well as grow the value of their business (for immediate cashflow and future sale-ability) by utilizing these tools. In 2003, Mr. Ha

A 10+-year veteran of the tax and accounting industry -- with a focus on Internet Marketing and Direct Response media, Nate Hagerty has established a reputation for straight-talk and results on behalf of members and concierge clients, and has become a widely-followed and respected marketing voice to the industry. His company, TaxProMarketer was established in May of 2007 (then known as BuildaHerd Marketing) in response to increased demand for real-world relationship-building and profit-producing tools and strategy for use in the legal, tax and accounting industry. Currently, TaxProMarketer staff serves clients primarily in the tax & accounting world, but in a variety of other service professional industries (lawyers, financial professionals) all across the United States and Canada who use their services to build relationships with their prospects & existing clients, as well as grow the value of their business (for immediate cashflow and future sale-ability) by utilizing these tools. In 2003, Mr. Ha

Jason has been coaching creative individuals since 2008 and seeking to help them chart their future more clearly. People have quit jobs, created companies, hired people, fired people, fought fear and made a lot more money under his coaching counsel. Jason has had his own coach since 2005, which has changed his life and the trajectory of his firm’s growth forever. Jason follows a particular study of coaching called Neuroleadership. Neuroleadership is the scientific study of the brain, and how this relates to the fields of leadership development, management training, change management, consulting, and coaching. Jason is a member of the NeuroLeadership Institute: http://www.neuroleadership.org   Show Keywords: Bookkeeping Bookkeeper Accountant Tax CPA Firm Management Growth Management

Jason has been coaching creative individuals since 2008 and seeking to help them chart their future more clearly. People have quit jobs, created companies, hired people, fired people, fought fear and made a lot more money under his coaching counsel. Jason has had his own coach since 2005, which has changed his life and the trajectory of his firm’s growth forever. Jason follows a particular study of coaching called Neuroleadership. Neuroleadership is the scientific study of the brain, and how this relates to the fields of leadership development, management training, change management, consulting, and coaching. Jason is a member of the NeuroLeadership Institute: http://www.neuroleadership.org   Show Keywords: Bookkeeping Bookkeeper Accountant Tax CPA Firm Management Growth Management