Working as One: Overcome Your Firm’s Biggest Challenges
From prospecting to collections, the business of running an accounting firm seemingly never ends. But most of us didn’t pursue a career in public accounting so we could end up pulling our hair out trying to manage our own business—we did to be CPAs! Even if you chose to sidestep the yoke of business management and joined an existing firm, when you promote and enter a managerial role you’ll find yourself running a business within a larger business. That means prospecting new clients, often through a competitive bidding process, and pricing their projects attractively to win the contract while still making money for your firm. You have to find a way to delegate and get things done through other people. This involves scheduling and tracking work. You must expect the unexpected regarding complications and delays while still delivering on deadlines. You must also collect payment from the client. Consistently do it right and your chances of becoming a partner improve. Doing it badly brings its own set of problems.
Whether you’re a small business owner yourself, or have wound up running a small business within a larger one, winning, completing and delivering projects involves a range of issues that must be addressed. Thanks to advances in technology that have been brought to the accounting field, several challenges have technology based solutions. These same time and optimize the use of resources. Other issues require good judgment and people skills.