Small Firm Philosophy

Launching an advisory firm after 20 years in public accounting requires courage, confidence and commitment. It also helps to get some business coaching and to focus on changing customer needs.

Those are some of the lessons Zack Ryan, CPA, shares in this episode of the Small Firm Philosophy podcast. The founder of Value Forward Advisory explains how meeting regularly with business owners on a fixed-fee basis has relieved workload congestion and produced much improved revenue and profit per client.

Resources from this episode

• Starting Your CPA Practice – Planning Checklist
• “On Your Own! How to Start Your Own CPA Firm (note: links to Amazon.com)
• Client acceptance evaluation tool

To learn more about Ryan, connect with him on LinkedIn. This episode is brought to you by the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS), the home of small firms. To learn more about PCPS, check out our membership information or sign up for a free web tour.

Note: If your podcast app does not hyperlink to resources, visit https://aicpasmallfirm.libsyn.com to access show notes with direct links.

Ghosts, goblins and ghouls aren't the only scary things to watch out for this Halloween season. Hackers and criminal organizations are up to their old tricks -- and some new ones -- in their tireless efforts to breach your cyberdefenses and treat themselves to your computer networks and data.

So what kinds of spooky schemes are haunting CPA firms? And what can practitioners do to protect themselves and their clients? The Small Firm Philosophy podcast addressed those questions with Sarah Ference, CPA, a risk control director at CNA, the underwriter of the AICPA's professional liability insurance program.

Ference advises firms of all sizes on how they can manage their professional liability risk. In this episode, she identifies two cyberthreats being seen more often in accounting firm cyber-insurance claims and discusses ways firms can lower their risk of being victimized.

The Small Firm Philosophy podcast is produced by the AICPA's Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS). PCPS members can see an edited transript at https://www.aicpa.org/news/article/q-and-a-2-cyberattacks-cpa-firms-should-fear.

This episode of SFP provides information, rather than advice or opinion. It is accurate to the best of the author’s knowledge as of the publish date. This article should not be viewed as a substitute for recommendations of a retained professional. Such consultation is recommended in applying this material in any particular factual situations. Examples are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to establish any standards of care, serve as legal advice, intended to constitute a contract, or acknowledge any given factual situation is covered under any CNA insurance policy. The relevant insurance policy provides actual terms, coverages, amounts, conditions, and exclusions for an insured.

The CPA’s guide to technology (and tech gifts)

There are few, if any, people in the accounting space who know more about technology than Inspector Gadget.

No, not the cartoon character with the go-go arms from the 1980s. The man wearing the trench coat in this case is David Cieslak, CPA.CITP, CGMA, executive vice president and chief cloud officer for RKL eSolutions and a popular speaker whose Inspector Gadget keynote session has been a highlight of accounting conferences for many years.

If you want to be clued in to what’s going on with technology, both in accounting and with consumer products, Cieslak is the man to talk to. So that’s what we do in the latest episode of the Small Firm Philosophy podcast, produced in partnership with the Journal of Accountancy podcast

Topics covered in the conversation include:

• The three steps accounting firms can take to make the most of their technology spending.
• Why CPAs should not wait too long to update their laptops and desktops
• What true cloud is and what to look for in cloud-based applications
• What tech products could be great holiday gifts for CPAs to give or receive.

SFP episode referenced

• “The payoffs of RPA for one accounting firm”

Products mentioned

• CPE through podcasts: Earmark, lumiQ
• Apple IPad Pro
• Apple Watch, Apple Watch Ultra,
• Samsung Galaxy Watch5
• Google Pixel Watch
• Amazon Echo

This episode is brought to you by the AICPA’s Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS), the home of small firms. To learn more about PCPS, email [email protected] and schedule a free webtour.

Note: If your podcast app does not hyperlink to resources, visit https://aicpasmallfirm.libsyn.com to access show notes with direct links.

Nicole Davis isn't your typical CPA firm owner. She has five children, owns three businesses and has crafted a presence on social media including an account with more than 12,000 followers on X, formerly known as Twitter. She also never worked in public accounting before launching her firm, Butler Davis Tax & Accounting.

How has Davis done all of this and what has she learned along the way? She shares her story in this episode of the Small Firm Philosophy podcast, produced by the AICPA's Private Companies Practice Section in partnership with the Journal of Accountancy podcast.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Why Davis changed her firm's business model after the first year
• How she uses video to communicate with clients and staff
• How she shifted her firm away from taxes to accounting bookkeeping and advisory services
• How price increases helped her firm right-size its client base
• How she uses social media to connect with her peers and also land clients

This episode of the Small Firm Philosophy podcast features an interview with Chet Buchman, CPA, CGMA, managing partner of Kansas-based accounting firm Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk and Loyd, LLC (SJHL). In this discussion, Buchman describes his firm’s multi-year journey to offering more advisory services, including the big mistake they made at the beginning and what they learned from it. He also explains SJHL’s strategy for reducing busy season hours for staff and partners.

SFP is produced by AICPA & CIMA’s firm services team, aka the Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS). PCPS manager Erin Hartman, CPA, conducted the interview. This episode is part of an ongoing content series on accounting firm business model transformation that PCPS is leading for AICPA & CIMA.

For more on the series, check out the Transforming Your Business Model landing page. To learn more about Chet Buchman and his firm, go to the SJHL website.