Free Seven Keys CPA Executive Summary Now Available!

Download the Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management Executive Summary today.

The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management is based on research conducted over the past two years including thousands of survey responses and interviews with leading authorities. Our research identifies the best practices and common characteristics that separate the competitively successful firms from the not-so-successful. We're calling them 'The Leaders vs. The Laggards.‘

The Seven Keys are:

1. Leadership and Management
2. Technology Trends
3. Marketing and Business Development
4. Client Service and Satisfaction
5. Creating a Great Place to Work
6. Building the Learning Organization
7. Strategy Execution

For more information contact Jean Caragher, jcaragher@capstonemarketing.com or Rick Telberg, rtelberg@baystreetgroup.com.

Accountants Got Talent Contest - Deadline Sept 3!

Next Generation Consulting and Accounting Tomorrow are hosting an "Accountants Got Talent" video contest ... this is the chance for you to show your stuff! Prizes include two roundtrip tickets to Las Vegas and a free registration to the Winning Is Everything Conference and more! Log on to see some of the video submissions to date, and then post your own entry!

ACT! to Integrate with Outlook

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a complicated issue for many CPA firms. If your firm currently uses ACT! to manage its client, referral source, and prospect databases and contact management good news may be on the way. You can now integrate your Sage ACT! and Outlook contacts, plus keep your calendars in sync.

Sync your existing Sage ACT! contacts with what you keep in Outlook. It doesn’t matter where your contacts were created or changed, everything will be kept updated in both places. And, you have the option to control which contacts are synced back and forth.

Keep your busy schedule updated in both places, no matter where you add or modify activities and meetings. Sage ACT! will help you cut back on meeting conflicts with rules that handle them automatically. And, you can choose which activity types in Sage ACT! sync back to Outlook so that your Outlook calendar remains free of your Sage ACT! to-dos.

Sage is offering weekly live webcasts:

What’s New in Sage ACT! 2011
Dates: Every Wednesday
Time: 12:00 PDT / 3:00 EDT
Register

Signs of Economic Rebound? CPAs Boost Marketing Efforts in Battle for New Clients

Aiming to take advantage of new opportunities and to make up for lost time, tax and accounting firms are poised to significantly accelerate their spending on marketing and new business development this year, according to a new survey for "The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management" practice improvement program.

Some 27% of accountants surveyed say they plan to "increase significantly" their marketing activities over the next year, about twice the number who did so over the past year, Seven Keys CPA reports.

The topline results of the survey are free to the participants and detailed analyses and recommendations are scheduled to be unveiled in a one-hour webinar,

"Marketing + Biz Dev: Trends and Strategies 2010"
Thursday, August 12, 2010
1:00-2:00 p.m. Eastern
Register today!

"The survey shows a new sense of urgency and importance in new business development that had lapsed with the economic slump," said Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing, which, with Bay Street Group LLC, jointly produces the Seven Keys CPA program. "Firms are redoubling their efforts to win new clients, retain old clients and build revenue."

In addition to the 27% of accountants "significantly" ramping up marketing this year, 50% will "increase somewhat," 11% report "no change," 2% will "decrease somewhat," and another 2% will "decrease significantly" their marketing activities over the next year.

For the past year -- in addition to the 15% who said they had "increased significantly their marketing activities -- 50% said they had "somewhat" accelerated their marketing over the previous year, 28% reported no change, 4% reported " decreased somewhat," and 2% reported "decreased significantly."

"CPA firms are battling for business with both barrels," said Rick Telberg, CEO of Bay Street Group LLC. "They're showing a renewed competitiveness and confidence."