Practice Tips
These practice tips are regularly updated. Use them to challenge current thinking and strive for excellence within your firm.
| Capital | Have your co-ownership agreements prepared by a legal practitioner. | |
| Establish clear performance standards for all co-owners. | ||
| Agree on an acceptable percentage of firm assets that may be externally financed. | ||
| Planning | Hold annual planning 'advances' for 2 days. | |
| Six months after planning "advances" hold a one-day review. | ||
| Break large long-term goals down into smaller milestones. | ||
| Management | Appoint a practice administrator or manager, part time if appropriate. | |
| Ensure proprieters do not undertake adminstrative work, but concentrate on client contact and firm representative activities that only they can do. | ||
| Marketing | Have documents that will demonstrate your expertise available for download on your website. | |
| Have a list of services available from your firm and ensure it is incorporated into engagement letters, printed and framed in reception, include as standard footer on documents etc. | ||
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Production |
Obtain (free or purchase) standard workpapers and use them. | |
| Ask team members : is there anything we could do to help make you more productive and efficient? Then if possible meet that need. | ||
| Sales | Create and use clever scripts that describe what your firm does - what problems they solve? | |
| Never undertake new work for a client or work for a new client unless a fee is agreed in advance. | ||
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People |
Ensure formal communication (including listening) skills training for all personnel. | |
| Constantly provide feedback to people - applying the One Minute Manager principles of One Minute Praising (in public), One Minute Reprimands (in private). | ||
| Technology | Use external IT consultants who have experience in the various packages used by accounting firms and who already have a number of accounting firm clients. | |
| Maintain an IT wish list, add to and review it from time to time, maybe at firm planning days. | ||
| IP | Consider what specialist expertise is held inside your firm - document and promote this. | |
| Hold "creativity days" where staff and partners work to develop new processes, research specific industries, create product information sheets for specialist work. |
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