We talk about businesses being teams, but it’s rare that I meet an owner of a CPA business who really trusts every member of his or her “team” to do what they should do, all the time, whether the “boss” is in the office or not.

Sports teams can’t work that way. When the members of any athletic team are focusing on their individual tasks, they have to trust that their teammates will do their jobs, too. If the pitcher is busy supervising the outfielders, he can’t do his job. In order to be able to focus on your job as leadership, then, you need to have staff you trust.

You want staff that you feel confident interacting with your clients if you are going to create a successful CPA practice. So they have to be top notch, both technically and from a customer service standpoint. I will often receive comments from my clients about how wonderful my staff is and in this article, I will impart to you a few of my strategies that have worked well in my CPA practice when it comes to staff recruiting and retaining.

1) The first one is to design an ad that clearly articulates the type of team member that will best fit your organization. In this ad, describe the character and attitude of the person. The important thing to keep in mind is to hire for attitude and train for skills. When I meet with a candidate, I follow a list of questions I’ve created that gives me visibility into their personality and their way of thinking. I talk to a lot of CPAs and I find that they haven’t prepared adequately to do the interview so they are flying by the seats of their pants during the interview. You want to be so prepared that you are not fumbling for questions; instead you are engaging the prospective candidate to understand their attitude.

2) Hire slow, fire fast. I have been guilty of breaking this rule more times than I am proud to admit but its good advice that I came across a number of years back. Most business owners fire slow.

They think it will get better. I read one study that said that the average firings take somewhere between 6 and 18 months after the business owner knew the employee was performing poorly, consistently non-compliant and negatively affecting others. A lot of harm is done in this period of time due to not firing the poor performing employee faster.

Along the lines of my advice to CPA practitioners to fire fast, I encourage them to hire slow. Have a second person interview the candidate. Don’t rush the hiring process. Check references by asking probing questions and LISTEN. CPAs can be poor listeners.

3) The other one is; don’t expect what you don’t inspect. Have weekly meetings to go over work duties and assignments. I have systematized my office where I now work three days per week. On one of the days that I come in, I spend half a day for staff meetings and go over administrative matters. I meet with my CPA and my Senior Manager to make sure the work is being produced within the pre-established standards.

Also, and this is important, keep your eyes and ears open when are there. Listen to the way your staff members talk to clients. I also like “mystery shopping.” What that means is you have someone call the office pretending to be a prospective client. Hear how this person is being handled. I can guarantee you that you will not be happy with the way they are handled. It’s your job to identify what needs to improve and to provide the necessary training.

4) Celebrate small victories. Reward staff for being on your team and helping you to take your practice to the next level. When the staff goes the extra mile, I will publicly praise them….sometimes send them something to their home like a fruit basket. We celebrate birthdays, and we have two parties every year, one after tax season and one during the holiday time. You want to have fun and I see that running a successful CPA practice is a team effort to give the client the “ultimate” experience.

Follow the strategies I have identified in the article and you will see your CPA practice attaining new levels.

An essential step toward success in your CPA practice is to have a clear vision. CPA practitioners need to be dreamers to become successful. They should have the ability to dream big and envision in their mind the desired end result. The end result is some time in the future. It could be 3 years, 5 years, 10 years down the road.

You begin to develop your vision by asking yourself some crucial questions:

?What is the big picture for your practice? Think of your practice as a product. What does the end product look like at some point in the future? Do you want to create a CPA practice with gross billings of $200,000, $500,000, $1 million or several million dollars?

? What is your desired net profit?

? Would you like to operate from one location or several?

? How many employees will you have?

? What services will you be provide?

? How many days/hours would you like to work (during tax season, in the off season)?

? How much time in the week will you spend towards marketing your CPA firm?

Having a clear vision of what your practice will look like in the future helps you to make it a reality. If you have employees or plan to hire employees, having a clearly articulated vision helps everyone to have a common purpose and be on the same page.

To understand what a vision statement looks like, consider a hypothetical vision statement for a firm like your own.

Vision Statement of The ABC & Company, CPAs

Five years from now, by June 30, 2014, The ABC & Company, CPAs will be a professional organization deeply committed to helping families and businesses attain their financial goals.

The ABC & Company, CPAs will be a full accounting, tax planning and preparation and financial services company catering to 2 niche markets: small businesses with revenues up to $10 million and individuals and families.

Annual revenues will be $2,250,000 and a net profit of $787,500 (35%), after all salaries.

The ABC & Company, CPAs will have 1 office with 14 team members – 12 full time professionals and 3 seasonal employees.

The USP or unique characteristics of the ABC & Company, CPAs is that it will be a “one-stop” shop for accounting, tax and financial services. Our services delivery will be predictable, personalized, and friendly with the intention of making it an enjoyable and memorable experience for the client. We will be people-centered and will strive constantly for high levels of employee and client satisfaction. Every aspect of the business will be standardized and tightly controlled to be able to consistently deliver a high level of service. Our office will be a lively, clean and fun place to be. All our services will be delivered in our office, or via phone, mail, fax or the Internet.

The ABC & Company, CPAs will grow at the rate of 20 percent from effective CPA firm marketing techniques such as cross selling of our own services, through client referrals, referrals from other professionals, seminars / presentations, direct mail and our presence on the Internet. By June 30, 20014, the ABC Company, CPAs will be well positioned to attract prospective buyers, employees, lenders and clients. If the CPA practice were to be sold, it would sell for 2 times the gross revenues.

The ABC & Company, CPAs will recruit and train high energy, self-motivated individuals who will help the organization achieve its vision. Only individuals with a strong desire to grow professionally and personally and who constantly strive to bring out the best in themselves and others around them will be hired and retained.

If you are serious about transforming your practice into a successful CPA practice, you must develop and commit your vision to paper.

Are you an entrepreneur beginning some new venture? Or are you, perhaps, the owner of an existing business that needs to find a new CPA? Finding the right accountant can be easier if you employ the following five tips:

Determine Whether You’ll Outsource Your Bookkeeping

Some businesses like to do their bookkeeping in-house using an accounting program like QuickBooks. Other businesses like to assign the work to an outside service or to their accountant.

Either approach can work well, but before you choose a CPA, think about whether you want an accountant who also provides bookkeeping services. Some do. Some don’t.

Often, by the way, CPAs that provide business bookkeeping services describe themselves as “comprehensive accounting firms.”

Consider Your Need for an Industry Specialist

Many, perhaps even most, small businesses use a generalist accountant. But if you’re in an industry with its own unique tax laws or special regulatory issues, you may want to look for an accountant who specializes in your industry.

A specialist, by the way, will probably cost you more money. And you may not like (for good reason) the idea of your accountant also working with your competitors. But if you truly need specialized industry expertise, you may want to go this route.

An industry specialist may be able to offer suggestions about industry-specific tax planning strategies, discuss industry-specific accounting solutions, and refer you to other industry specialists at banks, law firms, and consulting firms.

Forecast Your Future Requirements for Accounting Services

Basically all small business CPA firms offer tax preparation and tax planning services for businesses and their owners. And most of these firms also provide consulting services to their business clients–especially in the area of selecting, installing and operating accounting software.

Your small business, however, may need additional services such as compiled, reviewed or audited financial statements. Accordingly, you want to think about any additional services you may need a year or two down the road.

Note that you don’t need to get too carried away with this sort of fortune-telling. Don’t worry about what services you may need ten or twenty years from now. Both your firm and your accounting firm will have changed significantly by then. Do, however, think about the services you’ll likely to need over the next two to three years. Switching CPAs every five or ten years is fine. Switching CPAs every year or two is too much work–and makes you look to CPA firms like a flakey client.

Budget Your Accounting Fees Upfront

CPAs structure their practices in a variety of ways. Some CPAs charge their clients very modest fees. Other CPAs charge their clients rather large fees.

Accordingly, you want to make sure your budget synchronizes with your accounting firm’s billing practices.

Two quick comments are in order about billing practices, though. First, CPAs that charge low fees of necessity do not spend much time on any individual client’s tax return or question. Understand, therefore, that Wal-Mart-like fees mean you’re buying only small slices of the professional’s time. (In many low-cost practices, non-CPA employees do much of the work and the CPA only checks the work product at the very end–a bit like your dentist operates.)

Second, CPAs that charge high fees should be able to provide you with a markedly higher level of expertise and or service. You definitely should get what you’re paying for…

Choose a Level of Personalized Service

A final point: If you want truly personal service from your CPA, look for an accounting firm that’s either a sole proprietorship or a small partnership. In either of these cases, you’re likely to regularly work with the owner or an owner year after year.

If you don’t care about personal service, you can work with any size firm. Accordingly, you should consider working with a less personal large firm. Personnel within a large firm tend to charge more often. But a big CPA firm delivers a big advantage to some small businesses. Big CPA firms can offer your business just about any accounting service you would ever need.