25. Is accounting behind the times?
Yes. I started my accounting career over 20 years ago in audit and tax, at the time, accountants starting at...
Read More24. What do you learn from failure?
A smart person learns a lot from failure, the alternative is bad. There is no point in blaming others when...
Read More23. What accounting software should I learn?
None. There is a concept that I learned in graduate school that provided a lot of insight into how information...
Read More22. How can you be a practical accountant?
The number of articles on short and long-term thinking is painful. For me, individually you need to have a vision...
Read More21. How is leadership changing in a company?
The role of the CEO has evolved dramatically over the years. Once upon a time, if there was a problem...
Read More20. Why I left public accounting?
I was lucky when I entered the profession, it was the last year whereas a 4-year accounting degree meant that...
Read More19. Billable Time – Is it difficult to bill 8 hours a day?
Yes and yes. I always struggled with this and keeping my attention can be difficult. I primarily work for myself...
Read More18. Leases – How does the accounting work or doesn’t it work?
Depending on your age you may remember Enron, the company that was masterful at hiding significant off-balance sheet liabilities. Bad...
Read More17. Excel – How important is it?
I think it is very important, however, its significance is decreasing each day. I have always enjoyed a good spreadsheet. ...
Read More16. Payroll – Do I need to learn this?
Yes. It has been my experience that employees that are the worst at math can do payroll calculations. It is...
Read More15. Cradle to grave – How to help a client?
Objectives of a company change over time, their needs and wants evolve as the business changes from small to medium...
Read More14. Do you make your bed each morning?
Simple question that I think bears a lot of importance. I do make my bed each morning and require my...
Read More13. Accounting information – What do I communicate?
Everything in small articulate little digestible pieces. I received advice in the middle of my career whereas she told me...
Read More12. Client relationships – How do you manage them?
The relationship with a client has to be supported by trust coupled with mutual respect. Accounting touches on several aspects...
Read More11. Timely information – How important is time?
Execution on a timely basis can be the difference between a good and a bad accountant. A good accountant can...
Read More10. Future Opportunities – Where do they exist?
In public accounting, you are exposed to numerous type of companies, big – medium – small. It is a natural...
Read More9. Reconciling cash – How important is this function?
Very likely when you work on your first compliance engagement in public accounting, cash is your area to audit. Reconciling...
Read More8. Doing the right thing 100% of the time?
It has been my experience that accountants frequently come with an altruistic ego that results in a confidence of being...
Read More7. Accountants + Entrepreneurs = similar and different characters
Frequently, accountants work for entrepreneurs in their career (founders need tax, finance and accounting advice). In some respects, it can...
Read More6. Appreciation of accounting and finance.
I have been selling into finance and accounting for my entire professional career. This deck is a must read by a...
Read More5. Personal brand – What does it mean?
It means everything to everyone. What do you do after or before you have a coffee meeting? You look them...
Read More4. You are an accountant, several business owners are millionaires, you are not. How do you communicate?
Simple answer is you communicate the same way as you would anyone else. Money is a funny thing and defined...
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