Transforming: Tales of Business Evolution

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.

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

It's the holidays, that special time of the year when children wish for their dream gift and CPAs pray that the looming busy season won't be another nightmare.

Rabecca Eunis, CPA, knows the feeling. As a new accountant working for her father’s firm, Eunis learned to dread and despise tax season. The mad, miserable dash to Tax Day was so stressful that Eunis launched her own practice vowing that her team wouldn’t suffer the way she did. Fun, she believed, should be a key part of busy season.

Eunis put her new approach into practice, and it paid off for both her and, eventually, her father. How did she make busy season less stressful and more fun? And how did that benefit her father as well as her firm? Eunis explains all 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.

Things you will learn in this podcast

• Avoidable practices that make busy season harder than it needs to be
• Ways to preserve as much family and free time as possible for team members
• Tips for injecting fun into the most taxing time of the year
• What bowling in the dark is and how it applied to busy season
• The impacts of these policies on staff productivity and firm growth.

Reference mentioned

• PCPS busy season fun calendar

What’s happening inside you? Most of us are only aware of what’s happening on the surface. Through meditation, you can better connect to your body and mind. The understanding that results from this exploration can inform the experience you create for others, making you more receptive, calm and accepting. Your work and your personal life will both benefit.

On this episode of the Small Firm Philosophy podcast, you’ll hear a clip from the AICPA’s November 18th Town Hall series featuring the AICPA’s Lisa Simpson, VP of Firm Services, Carl Peterson, VP of Small firms, Bill Pirolli, AICPA Chair and CPA.com’s CEO Erik Asgeirsson. This panel of experts discuss client acceptance and continuation decisions small firms can make before busy season.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Surviving Tax Season Checklist
• Client continuance evaluation tool
• Client acceptance evaluation tool
• Client termination practitioner checklist and notification letter

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.

Register for the next AICPA Town Hall series. Note: If your podcast app does not hyperlink to resources, visit https://aicpasmallfirm.libsyn.com to access show notes with direct links.