Some Seedy Advice

My three year-old daughter was having hamburgers for lunch the other day with
my husband and asked him what kind of seeds were on top of the bun. He told
her they were sesame seeds to which she replied “Oh, well we better take
some home and plant them so we can grow our own hamburger buns.” (She
has recently been helping my dad plant his garden and my mother-in-law plant
her flowers beds so she is fascinated and completely trusting in the fact that
a small seed planted in the dirt and cared for returns great rewards!)

What seeds are you planting now for growth in your practice? What are the
rewards you desire down the road? Are you taking the time now to cultivate and
tend to those areas to yield a harvest in the future?

This issue gives you some great tips for growing several key areas of your
business (consider it your own spring almanac):

Looking to grow productivity and streamline the workflow in your practice?
Then a must-read for you is the Document Management Systems product review.
Plus, Randy reports back on what’s hot from the annual paperless conference,
and Greg says it looks like we have “crossed
the chasm” and reached 50 percent penetration in the move to the
“paperless office.” Where do you fall in the curve?

How’s your “Security Savvy” these days? Grow your understanding
and peace of mind in this area by checking out Dave’s
latest advice and reading John’s
tale of woe to ensure that you don’t become “Mr. Hapless.”
Roman also gives a detailed recap
of the AICPA Top Technologies Initiatives. It’s no big surprise that
“Information Security” is #1 this year.

Your small business clients trust you and look to you for advice. Help
grow THEIR chances for success and YOUR relationship with them by being up
to speed on the latest Small Business
Accounting products to help them manage their business. Doug also gives
some words of wisdom around this
area and reminds you that consulting is a huge responsibility that should
not be taken lightly.

Staffing challenges continue to be one of the most critical issues faced
by accounting firms across the nation. In his column
on remote workers, Isaac reminds you that technology allows you to grow
your available staff pool, and he introduces us to a great new crop of young
professionals who have a refreshingly nostalgic work ethic in the “Productivity
in Practice” profile (if 26 year-old David Staub is indicative of
the young professionals coming into the profession, then the future is indeed
in good shape!). Plus, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to nominate
a young professional for our annual 40 Under 40 honor; see
www.CPATechAdvisor.com/40under40
for more information (the deadline for nominations
is June 15).

Remember one of the first lessons you learned in Kindergarten: It is good
to share. Well Lisa gives you a lesson on how to better cultivate your sharing
skills within your practice and help your clients do the same. See
her column for ideas on “Collaboration” and “Sharing”
in various areas.

Grow and expand your horizons for new knowledge and information with the
crop of webcast events we will be offering in the coming weeks (plus earn
free CPE credits). Visit www.CPATechAdvisor.com/webcasts
for a complete listing and dates and to register for each one. And while you’re
on our website, check out our free online “Document
Management Product Selector” tool to help find a match for your
firm. Plus, take the “Productivity
Survey” to get your firm’s Productivity Score to use as a
benchmark for measuring future growth.

Get busy! Planting season is now if you want a rich harvest down the road.

Technology