Vol. 25 I No. 9 I September 2011

IS THE SPREADSHEET DEAD? p.22
Don’t write that obituary yet — the original “killer app”
isn’t expiring; it’s just evolving in new directions
THE FAMILY OFFICE p.20
Wealthy clients need more than just financial
planning — should you be offering it to them?

accountingtoday.com

KILLER VARS p.10
Three strategies that differentiate the most
successful resellers of accounting software

Sink or swim

Starting your own practice requires clear focus, and lots and lots of sales calls

The rite of fall

Looming year-end accelerates tax planning strategies

BY BILL CARLINO

BY DANIELLE LEE

CPAs striking out on their own should, like any successful entrepreneur, start with a vision.

Aspiring sole practitioners must imagine the type and caliber of clients they wish to serve. They must invest in the resources that will attract and retain this roster. And then they must adjust expectations — beginning with revenue.

The Top 100 mosT influenTial people in accounTing Our annual list of the thought leaders and change-makers who are shaping the future of the profession — begins on page 37

With a brief three months re maining in 2011 and a high degree of uncertainty surrounding any major tax changes, practitioners have begun stepping up the annual rite of year-end planning strategies for both their individual and business clients.

“There is no cash flow until that first client,” said Lou Fuoco,

See SwIm on 58

Though strategies and client situations may differ, tax experts strive to reduce client tax liabilities both for the current and following year, and therefore avoid unpleasant — and often expensive — surprises via tax underpayments.

You’re only as good as your firm’s network

Joining an association or network can bring you best practices, identity and greater reach

BY DANIELLE LEE

We asked a number of veteran tax practitioners to weigh in with their top year-end planning strategies, as well as to highlight what they felt were among the most

The biggest draw to joining a firm network or association is the other member firms and the expertise and geographical reach that they can provide.

Stephens North America.

ciation PKF North America. “It’s the highest intangible and most difficult to sell ... but the biggest thing to get out [of an association or network] is engagement with each other. We look at ourselves to create that value.”

GLOBAL SCALE

See tax tIpS on 60

When considering membership, firms should “take a look at what their strategic plan is going forward, and if the results [they want] are in need of greater resources,” advised Steven Sacks, executive director of CPA association Moore

The greatest of these resources is an exchange of best practices, according to a recent survey global association BKR International took of its members, who ranked that benefit at the top of the list.

“The highest-value item we provide is networking with other members,” agreed Terry Snyder, president and chief executive of accounting and consulting asso-

This value is best contained within practice groups, which associations like BKR and PKF offer for more specialized engagements to help “support [members] in niches and develop new niches,” explained Snyder. These specialties encompass everything from technology and human resources to tax and manufacturing.

When not looking within the association or network, firms are looking outward and internationally, according to Howard Rosen, chairman of BKR International’s Americas Region, who cited BKR members as ranking that global reach as the second-most important benefit in the above-men-tioned survey.

At PKF, groups connect over an online listserv, where answers to questions are “at their fingertips,” while Moore Stephens hosts group dialogues on online discussion boards.

“The world keeps getting smaller,” Rosen elaborated. “For small or medium-sized firms, they might have an overseas operation, or one 15 states away. You have someone you know or met at a conference or in a practice group that you feel comfortable with asking for assistance with that client.”