Part II of III This is Part II of a three-part series discussing the basic components of a professional liability lawsuit brought against an accounting firm and its partners and the factors a firm’s managing partner should take into consideration before and during this type of litigation for utilizing applicable insurance coverage, maximizing effectiveness of defense and, where possible, bringing the contro ...

Part I of III This is Part I of a three-part series discussing the basic components of a professional liability lawsuit brought against an accounting firm and its partners; and the factors a firm’s managing partner should consider before and during this type of litigation for utilizing applicable insurance coverage, maximizing effectiveness of defense and, where possible, bringing the controversy to conclus ...

Add Value and Differentiate Your Business Valuation Practice In this article, Dr. Sheeler issues a personal challenge to credentialed business valuation professionals. Dr. Sheeler challenges credentialed professionals to be more introspective and become more relevant in a market where commoditization does not enable clients and end users to understand the value professionals can and should bring. Dr. Sheele ...

Upgrade Your Website to Develop a Measurable Market Advantage What strategies should professional service firms adopt to market their expertise? What impact do online leads have on the bottom line? Where should a firm place premium content? What can a firm do to minimize overt marketing? In this article, Dr. Lee Frederiksen of Hinge Marketing shares six strategies to improve your website, drive traffic, and ...

How do Sponsorships Rank as a Strategy for Business Development? How effective are sponsorships developing business leads? Sponsorships provide visibility to a captive audience and ideally convey the firm’s commitment to the cause or event. In this article, Dr. Frederiksen shares his findings on this subject, as well as discusses findings involving the pay to play sponsorships and the community sponsorship ...

Five Proven Strategies to Generate High Growth In this article, Hinge Marketing focuses on organic growth and five proven strategies for generating it. ...

Electronic Communication can be Fraught with Peril for the Unwary CPA Electronic communication can be fraught with peril for the unwary professional. CPAs who become over-reliant on this form of communication confront increased professional liability risk. This column explores some of the more common risks CPAs may encounter with electronic communication and discusses how a professional can make appropriate ...

Shift Your Investment Effort How much should a high-growth firm invest in marketing? What techniques or investments pay off more—traditional or social marketing? What should a high-growth marketing firm expect from these investments? How do results differ from firms that are not growing? How do high-growth firms differ from other firms? In this article, Dr. Frederiksen answers these and other questions. ...

Visualized Financial Statement Analysis The use of Excel and graphics, commonly referred to as data visualization, can provide a fuller or more holistic view of changes in an entity. Does the traditional audit or report that is devoid of data visualization serve the client? In this article, the author “propos[es] not a replacement for ratios…but rather that financial statement analysis should return to a mo ...

Are We Heading Towards the Next Financial Crisis? (Part I of II) In this two-part article, the author, a valuation professional and trained economist, shares his thoughts on whether we are headed towards another financial crisis. (The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, QuickRead invites its readers to respond or submit an article of their own on this important topic.) ...

Identifying the Subject Matter that You Will Speak, Write, or Talk About Finding new clients is the work nobody really wants to do. Nevertheless, it is essential for survival. Since you have to do it anyway, how can you optimize your return on effort? In this article, Dr. Frederiksen shares what the research reveals. ...

It is not Just About More “Clicks” How important is a website? In this article, Dr. Lee Frederiksen shares what his research reveals about high-performing websites; it is not about more clicks. ...

By Understanding Entrepreneurial Business Owners Better An estimated seven million baby-boomer business owners will exit their companies over the next 20 years. How can valuation advisors assist these entrepreneurs’ transition? When you are ready to exit from your own company, how can you transition most successfully for both your maximum financial outcome, as well as your personal satisfaction? In this art ...

A Meaningful New Year’s Resolution Why is compliance so important to business? What are the reasons and consequences for failing to have a compliance program? In this article, Peter J. Comodeca, Esq. with the law firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold, LLP discusses the legal reasons to comply and costs of failing to comply. ...

The Best Source of Referrals is One Not Readily Considered How can one maximize referral opportunities? What separates the most successful professional services firms from the rest? One key difference is surprisingly simple, and often overlooked: successful firms understand the process of referrals. Most firms work under long-held referral assumptions that are not effective. Most believe that winning new bu ...

Income Recognition, Deferrals, and Methods Valuation professionals that provide either consulting or tax reporting services will encounter taxpayers with unique questions regarding what income to report. This article provides CPAs and consulting professionals with an overview of what to report and why. ...

How to Tap into the Business Benefits of Diversity It's not enough to have a diverse workforce and leadership team.  Companies also need to have leaders who recognize the value of the ideas their employees share.  Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founder and CEO of the Center for Talent Innovation and Hewlett Consulting Partners LLC, discusses when a diverse company has these types of leaders, it tends to report better ...

Improve Your LinkedIn Profile to Develop a Professional Presence and Get Inquiries How much work and/or queries can one get from LinkedIn? As lawyers say, that depends. In this article, Rod Burkert answers the above question and shares some of what he preaches through the Practice Builder Academy. ...

Help Your Small-Business Clients Create a System for Record Keeping Good record-keeping preparation and planning can give clients a better handle on their overall financial position, make tax preparation easier, and create operational efficiencies throughout their businesses.  A helpful record-keeping brochure and PowerPoint presentation can help you educate your small-business clients. To download the broc ...

Offering your clients specialized services—personal financial planning, IT specialization, and fraud and forensic accounting, among others—can help set you apart in today's competitive CPA marketplace.  Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, Vice President, Firm Services & Global Alliances, American Institute of CPAs, discusses how finding your niche can help you and your clients. To read the full article in AICPA Ins ...