Participants:
- Brittany Malidore, Co-Founder, Ledgerly Consulting
- Dr. Jackie Meyer, CPA, CCTA, President, TaxPlanIQ
- Matthew McComb, CPA, President, McComb & Company
Post-webinar Q&A:
Here is a closer look, with answers included, into the great questions from our Great Accounting Debate webinar.
Q: How can you best make use of a non-CPA in your practice?
Jackie's Answer: Non-CPAs can be very valuable in an accounting practice, bringing skills like bookkeeping, client communication, data entry, and process management. The key is to carefully assign tasks that play to their strengths while leaving more complex advisory and compliance work to the CPAs. This is true for project managers and COOs as well.
Matthew's Answer: There are many talented people who do not have a CPA who possess other skills that can enhance an accounting firm. For example, in the areas of technology or business development. Firms need people who can help navigate the implementation of AI and need high-level people to help navigate running a successful and growing business.
Q: Any recommendations for a calendar/scheduling tool?
Jackie's Answer: Any of Calendly, Apptoto, or Hubspot are great options. Just pick one - you won't go wrong
Matthew's Answer: We use Bookings within Office 365, but there are many tools out there like Calendly. You just need to vet a few to see what works best in your process.
Q: How do you recommend communicating to clients the switch from time-based billing to fixed costs?
Jackie's Answer: Transparency is key. We explain that fixed pricing provides more predictability and allows us to focus on value-added services rather than tracking billable hours. We walk clients through the new pricing structure and emphasize how it benefits them. It's also important to move not just toward fixed fee, but value pricing using the ROI method.
Matthew's Answer: Right now, is a good time to start to have the conversation with clients to make a switch to start the year. You can review the years' worth of services and how much you charged for those services to have a starting amount. I would then list those services out by frequency (Monthly, Quarterly, Etc...) with a fixed monthly fee that adds up to the previous year's amount charged with a slight increase. As part of the conversation let the clients know that by billing this way you are able to focus on providing an exceptional product rather than the amount of time worked on the client. Not worrying about tracking time will allow you to be a partner in growing their business.
Q: Do you worry about security with remote work?
Jackie's Answer: We follow the same protocols for most of our SaaS tools now as if in the office, with appropriate network and virus protection. We also have the ability to remote wipe computers if needed.
Matthew's Answer: We make sure our employees are educated on the latest threat trends and that their computers are always up to date on their security software. We also require MFA with the software we use.
Q: Do you have a "true up" with a fixed fee and if so, is it annually?
Jackie's Answer: In a way, yes - we have staff track their time spent on client work, then monthly we make sure it isn't going way over budget compared to our value pricing. Then annually we adjust the client's pricing or package if needed.
Matthew's Answer: We do an annual review of services and increase fees accordingly with a renewal of those services. We do not true up the previous year's services. When putting your initial proposal together you want to make sure you are capturing your normal services along with anticipated services. If there are services outside that initial proposal you need to communicate that with the client and bill for those services accordingly. In my initial proposal I always factor in a little bump in the fees to help with scope creep.
Q: Do you pay less for remote since expenses are lower by not having to commute?
Jackie's Answer: It doesn't necessarily equate to more competitive pricing, but it does reduce our operating expenses immensely, allowing us to get margins closer to the ideal 40%+.
Matthew's Answer: We do not pay less for remote workers. We pay market rates for all staff. We do require our staff to be on a hybrid schedule if they want to advance roles in our company.
Q: How do we bridge the gap between bookkeeping and accounting skills and roles?
Jackie's Answer: We need to continue to work with the AICPA and governing organizations to clarify these roles and niche down certifications
Matthew's Answer: We encourage our staff to pursue relevant certifications like a CPA or EA if they want to advance quicker. Training for the next level of employment is also crucial. It is important to remember that some staff are happy in their current roles and not necessarily looking to advance. Communication and transparency are vital in navigating staff and making sure you have the right people in the right seats.
Q: Could you elaborate on the statement "we are not doing double entry accounting anymore"?
Jackie's Answer: What we mean by that is that many of the traditional double-entry accounting practices are becoming automated or obsolete. With the rise of cloud accounting software and AI-powered tools, much of the manual data entry and reconciliation work is handled automatically. This allows us to focus less on the mechanics of accounting and more on providing strategic advisory services to clients.
Matthew's Answer: With today's software and tools, we are not doing double entry accounting. We need to get over the need of entering debits and credits as part of our bookkeeping process and focus on using the tools available to us that automate transactions. The books are essentially being done automatically through automation. This is great as it always us to serve more clients with less staff and provide more higher-level services, ultimately creating more revenue.
Q: I would love to know more about how Jackie has adapted EOS to staff that performs recurring tasks.
Jackie's Answer: I've adapted EOS to our recurring client work. EOS just puts standardization around things that need to get done, which we don't tend to do otherwise, like weekly management meetings - but in the most efficient way possible. This allows us to address real open issues and work through anything we need to as a team.
Q: Why would a client need tax compliance, if they can just prepare the tax return themselves? same w/ bookkeeping? self-service. So then accountants just become advisory only?
Jackie's Answer: The accountant doesn't become just an advisor, they also become the reviewer of compliance work. We still provide that advisory role to adjust things as needed for the client.
Matthew's Answer: Accountants should focus on their advisory roles more, but this does not eliminate the need for compliance and review work. Clients may have tools available to them to do these services themselves, but without proper setup and use of those tools we are never going to get clean books or tax returns that are self-prepared. Thus comes the need of the experts.
Q: Why need advisory services? if I can just give the advice? Isn't that what taxplaniq does? automated advisory?
Jackie's Answer: While automated advisory tools like TaxPlanIQ can provide valuable insights, there's still significant value in having a human accounting professional who can interpret those insights, provide context, and work collaboratively with clients to implement recommendations. We see our advisory role as helping clients understand the "why" behind the numbers and guiding them toward the best strategic decisions for their business.
Matthew's Answer: Giving advice is a lot more nuanced than just giving a desired outcome and letting the client run with it. When there is nuance, clients will always look for an expert to help achieve a specific outcome through ongoing guidance.
Q: If fewer and fewer people are entering accounting. then how will you hire new people if you are focused on a certain geographic location?
Jackie's Answer: This is a great question and a challenge we're actively addressing. As the talent pool shrinks, we're expanding our recruiting efforts beyond our local market and embracing more remote/hybrid work arrangements. We're also investing heavily in training and development programs to upskill junior talent. And we're being very strategic about the types of roles we hire for, focusing on versatile, tech-savvy professionals who can wear multiple hats.
Matthew's Answer: With the shrinking accounting workforce out there, you will need to be flexible in the type of talent you are recruiting. There may be more hiring remote workers or more hiring and training talent that does not necessarily have an accounting background. Also, remember this also works in your favor less accountants out there mean more work available. This allows us to charge premiums and be more diligent about the clients we are working with.
Q: Do you plan to use the calculator for all engagements? or just some?
Jackie's Answer: The ROI calculator is used for any engagement where financial gains or savings can be found. Then we apply the CURB framework - considering complexity, urgency, risk, and intangible benefits - to estimate an ROI of 200%+. Connect with me on LinkedIn for more updates
Q: With so many tools out there saying that they are AI, it's overwhelming for most small firm owners. What 1-2 tools should a firm look at first when testing the AI waters, and why?
Jackie's Answer: Personally, I use a lot of the large language models, but if I were to start again, I'd use Perplexity as it has the best sources in my opinion.
Matthew's Answer: First and foremost, you should all be using large language models like chat GPT. This tool helps you research, helps you draft or respond to emails, summarize articles and other sources, and much more. The software we already work with is coming out with AI features. I would not be afraid to try those features out.
Q: What is the best route in your opinion to learn how to offer CFO services?
Jackie's Answer: There are a few good options to develop CFO-level skills: 1) The key is to continuously expand your technical expertise while also developing strong business acumen and client relationship skills. There are some great programs out there for developing CFO-level services, like The CFO Project with Adam Lean. I'd recommend checking that out.
Matthew's Answer: My guess is that you already have the skills to offer these services. You just have to sit down and create a service package that includes these services. For example, add a quarterly meeting to review the financial statements and answer any other questions your clients may have.
Q: How to create a healthy work culture if it’s fully remote and only ever see your coworkers via Zoom?
Jackie's Answer: Fostering a healthy remote work culture takes intentionality, but it's very doable. Some keys for us include:
- Frequent team video calls and virtual social events to maintain personal connections
- Collaborative project management tools that keep everyone aligned and engaged
- Clear communication policies and regular 1-on-1 check-ins
- Emphasis on work-life balance, flexible schedules, and mental health support
- Opportunities for remote team-building, like virtual happy hours or online games
- Celebrating successes and milestones as a distributed group The goal is to recreate the camaraderie and community of an in-person office, just adapted for the remote environment.
Matthew's Answer: I think this is a very difficult task to do. We are humans and as such the best relationships are built through personal in person connections. If you have fully remote workers, I would try to plan in-person get togethers at least annually. This will help build the trust and relationships needed to have a healthy work culture.
