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CPATrendlines SPECIAL(REPORT!
30:30
(
Training(Method
The(
(
By(Ed(Mendlowitz,(CPA!
The!CPATrendlines Practice!Doctor!
!
The!Field)Tested,!Proven,!
Time)Saving!Technique!
for!Rapid!Staff!Development!!
at!Tax!and!Accounting!Firms!
!
• What!makes!a!company!great?!
• How!can!you!attract!and!retain!
great!talent?!
• How!can!you!address!issues!of!
staffing!inequity?!!
• How!can!you!get!more!out!of!
the!employees!you!have?!
And!what!if!it!took!only!30!seconds?!!
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1
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!
!
CONTENTS
ABOUT!THIS!CPATRENDLINES!!SPECIAL!REPORT!...................................................................................................................!3!
ABOUT!THE!AUTHOR!......................................................................................................................................................................!3!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS!..................................................................................................................................................................!5!
!
IT’S!NOT!CRAZY!IF!IT!WORKS!...............................................................................................................................................!6!
DEFINING!THE!PROBLEM!..............................................................................................................................................................!8!
Delegating!..........................................................................................................................................................!8!
Hiring!....................................................................................................................................................................!8!
Type!of!person!to!hire!....................................................................................................................................!8!
TRUE!OR!FALSE?!.....................................................................................................................................................................!12!
!
THE!ED!MENDLOWITZ!30:30!TRAINING!METHOD!.................................................................................................!14!
!
THE!30:30!METHOD,!STEP!BY!STEP!...............................................................................................................................!16!
EXAMPLE!1:!A!bank!reconciliation!......................................................................................................!18!
EXAMPLE!2:!A!tax!return!..........................................................................................................................!20!
EXAMPLE!3:!A!business!valuation!.........................................................................................................!23!
TRAINING!PROGRAM,!PART!2!...........................................................................................................................................!27!
EntryLlevel!supervisors!..............................................................................................................................!27!
Getting!staff!started!....................................................................................................................................!27!
Group!training!...............................................................................................................................................!29!
Big!picture!.......................................................................................................................................................!29!
Summary!..........................................................................................................................................................!29!
!
APPENDIX!..................................................................................................................................................................................!30!
SELECTED!READINGS!...........................................................................................................................................................!31!
MANAGEMENT!TIME:!WHO’S!GOT!THE!MONKEY?!.................................................................................!31!
I)POWER!........................................................................................................................................................!33!
17!WAYS!TO!IMPROVE!PRODUCTIVITY!........................................................................................................................!35!
TEACHING!JUDGMENT!!........................................................................................................................................................!36!
!
HOW!TO!CONTACT!ED!MENDLOWITZ!......................................................................................................................................!38!
ABOUT!CPATRENDLINES!..........................................................................................................................................................!38!
MORE!PROFESSIONAL!RESOURCES!FROM!CPATRENDLINES!/!BAY!STREET!GROUP!LLC!............................................!39!
About!Bay!Street!Group!LLC!....................................................................................................................!40!
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!
About this CPATrendlines (
Special(Report(
!
In!this!CPA!Trendlines!Special!Report,!Ed!Mendlowitz,!“The!Practice!Doctor”!
at!CPA!Trendlines,!tackles!one!of!the!most!vexsome!problems!facing!tax!and!
accounting!firm!managers:!how!to!bring!new!employees!up!to!speed!and!
advance!the!skills!of!current!employees.!
!
About the author
!
Ed!Mendlowitz!is!a!partner!in!the!New!Brunswick,!N.J.,!office!
of!WithumSmith+Brown!and!has!more!than!40!years!of!
public!accounting!experience.!He!is!a!licensed!certified!
public!accountant!in!the!states!of!New!Jersey!and!New!York!
and!is!accredited!by!the!American!Institute!of!Certified!
Public!Accountants!in!business!valuation,!certified!in!
financial!forensics!and!as!a!personal!financial!specialist.!He!
also!has!the!AICPA!CITP!and!CGMA!designations.!Ed!is!
admitted!to!practice!before!the!United!States!Tax!Court!and!
has!testified!as!an!expert!witness!in!federal!and!state!court!regarding!business!
valuations.!
!
A!graduate!of!City!College!of!New!York,!Ed!earned!his!bachelor!of!business!
administration!degree.!He!is!a!member!of!the!AICPA,!the!New!Jersey!Society!of!
Certified!Public!Accountants,!and!the!New!York!State!Society!of!Certified!
Public!Accountants.!In!addition,!Ed!was!a!founding!partner!of!Mendlowitz!
Weitsen!LLP!CPAs,!which!merged!with!WS+B!in!2005.!Currently,!he!serves!on!
the!NYSSCPA!Estate!Planning!Committee,!and!was!chairman!of!the!committee!
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!
that!planned!the!NYSSCPA’s!100th!anniversary.!!
!
The!author!of!20!books,!Ed!has!also!written!hundreds!of!articles!for!business!
and!professional!journals!and!newsletters.!He!is!a!contributing!editor!to!the!
Practitioners!Publishing!Company’s!1998/1999!706/709!Deskbook,!and!current!
editions!of!Wiley’s!Handbook!on!Budgeting,!Corporate!Controller’s!Handbook!
and!the!AICPA!Management!of!an!Accounting!Practice!Handbook!and!is!on!the!
editorial!board!of!Bottom!Line/Personal!!newsletter.!Appearing!regularly!on!
television!news!programs,!Ed!has!also!been!quoted!in!many!major!
newspapers!and!periodicals!in!the!United!States.!He!is!the!recipient!of!the!
Lawler!Award!for!the!best!article!published!during!2001!in!the!Journal!of!
Accountancy.!
!
Ed!is!a!frequent!speaker!to!many!professional!and!business!groups,!including!
the!AICPA,!NJSCPA,!NYSSCPA,!American!Management!Association,!the!
National!Committee!for!Monetary!Reform,!University!of!Medicine!and!
Dentistry!in!New!Jersey!and!many!more.!For!11!years,!he!taught!courses!on!
financial!analysis,!corporate!financial!policy!and!theory,!monetary!and!fiscal!
policy!and!managerial!accounting!in!the!MBA!program!at!Fairleigh!Dickinson!
University.!!
!
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!
IT’S NOT CRAZY IF IT WORKS
!
The(following(methods(have(been(developed(over(a(business(career(that(
spans(six(decades(starting(when(I(had(a(newspaper(route(when(I(was(12.(!
!
Every!12)year)old!kid!delivering!newspapers!did!so!the!same!way!as!every!
other!12)year)old!kid!and!with!really!minimal!training.!I!became!aware!of!the!
ease!of!the!training,!the!importance!of!uniform!procedures!and!the!necessity!
of!quickly!getting!the!person!working!right!away.!!Mistakes!were!handled!as!
training!exercises!and!the!customers!had!the!paper!when!they!got!home,!I!got!
paid!(and!sometimes!with!tips)!and!the!newspaper!got!their!circulation!and!
revenue.!!All!with!12)year)old!kids!!!Those!early!experiences!and!observations!
began!my!road!to!making!training!easy!for!me!and!my!staff.!!!!!
!
Accounting!is!a!business!and!like!every!business!that!intends!to!grow!and!
succeed,!it!needs!to!employ!people!in!some!capacity!whether!it!is!to!answer!
telephones,!type!letters,!prepare!and!assemble!mailings,!make!sales,!pack!and!
ship!the!orders,!manufacture!the!products!or!perform!the!services!leading!to!
the!deliverable!professional!product.!
!
As!an!active,!practicing!CPA!aware!of!business!processes,!it!amazes!me!
continually!that!you!can!go!into!any!McDonald’s!anywhere!in!the!world!and!
get!the!exact!same!Big!Mac!that!I!could!get!in!Manhattan.!Recently,!I!was!super!
impressed!when!I!realized!that!I!always!got!the!exact!same!six)inch!tuna!
sandwich!in!every!Subway!sandwich!shop!I!went!into!throughout!the!world.!(I!
recently!had!a!Subway!tuna!sandwich!in!the!airport!in!Seoul,!South!Korea.)!
Yet,!most!accountants!I!know!regularly!complain!about!the!quality!of!the!work!
in!their!firm!among!their!various!staff!people.!
!
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!
Defining the Problem
!
To!begin,!we!need!to!establish!some!ground!rules!and!what!the!problem!and!
situation!is.!
!
Delegating
!
FACT:!Partners!and!managers!have!to!become!more!effective!and!they!
do!this!by!delegating!everything!that!can!be!delegated.!That!includes!
each!partner!effectively!delegating!to!each!other!the!things!that!each!
does!better.!
!
Hiring
!
FACT:!Who!you!hire!will!determine!how!your!firm!will!grow!and!how!
effective!you!will!be!able!to!use!your!own!time.!
!
FACT:!Just!as!important!as!hiring!is!knowing!when!to!cut!your!losses!
and!fire!that!new!“superstar”!who!just!doesn’t!get!it.!!This!can!be!harder!
than!hiring!and!not!responding!timely!could!be!more!fatal!than!making!
the!wrong!hiring!decision.!
!
Keep!in!mind!that!hiring!is!a!recruiting!and!selection!issue!that!is!an!
investment!in!the!firm’s!future,!not!a!“who!is!available”!issue.!
!
Type of person to hire
!
QUESTION:!Whom!do!you!hire?!!!
!
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TRUE OR FALSE?
One attribute of a great company
is that they have great people.
!
What if…
Does that mean…
What if you are not able to get great
people?
Does that mean you cannot be a great
company? Or that it would just be
harder?
What if you were able to get some
great people?
Does that mean you could become
almost great or somewhat great?
What if you had great people at the top
but not at the middle or bottom?
Does that mean you are great now, but
most likely won’t be great in the future?
What if you have great people but they
are underutilized?
What does that mean? I think it means
that they could not be great because
great people would not allow
themselves to be underutilized.
What if you don’t want to be, or have to Does that mean you should be able to
be, great, but merely very good?
become and achieve what you want
and be very good at it because it is not
necessary in what you do to be great?
To quote Jack Nicholson, “Maybe this
is as good as it gets.”(
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!
!
THE ED MENDLOWITZ
30:30 TRAINING METHOD
EVERYONE(you(hire(needs(training.((!
!
The!most!experienced!person!needs!training!in!your!processes,!procedures,!
and!accountability!and!oversight!requirements.!
!
The!inexperienced!need!to!be!told!everything,!including!how!to!hold!the!
pencil!(if!you!still!use!them),!turn!on!the!computer!and!back!up!files,!and!do!
their!time!sheet!and!expense!report.!
!
In!training!you!must:!
!
1. Find!ways!to!constantly!tell!the!person!you!are!training!that!they’ve!
done!a!good!job!
2. Don’t!let!them!go!home!upset,!or!with!unfinished!tasks!
3. Excite!them!
4. Give!them!smaller!(but!more!frequent)!tasks!to!do!)!it's!easier!to!review!
small!things!than!big!things!
!
This!method!works!!!It!should!be!committed!to;!followed!consistently!and!
backed!by!every!partner,!manager!and!supervisor;!and!communicated!to!your!
staff.!!It!is!easy!to!implement!and!get!started,!and!just!needs!a!commitment!to!
proceed.!!It!does!not!need!a!massive!action!plan!to!get!started.!The!benefits!
are!a!smoother!operation,!better!work,!higher!quality,!stronger!
empowerment,!efficient!actions!and!a!process!that!anyone!could!step!into!at!
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!
TRAINING PROGRAM, PART 2
(More!than!you!might!want!to!know!right!now)!
!
!
Entry-level supervisors
!
This!pertains!to!the!more!experienced!who!will!become!the!entry)level!
supervisor,!and!who!need!to!be!taught!to!supervise!and!manage.!!Usually!we!
think!they!will!know!how!to!supervise!because!they!worked!with!us!and!they!
learned!by!how!we!supervised!them.!!Not!so!!
!
Doing!and!managing!are!two!different!functions.!!Also,!they!might!not!have!
learned!correctly!from!you!–!you!are!reading!this!far!in!this!Special!Report!
because!something!is!not!working!for!you.!!Also,!you!are!the!boss!and!not!
their!peer.!!The!first)time!supervisor!will!be!managing!a!peer,!perhaps!even!
someone!slightly!higher!on!the!pay!scale,!or!someone!who!might!have!been!a!
colleague!on!the!last!job!they!worked!together!on.!!Don’t!assume!they!know!
how!to!supervise.!!In!the!words!of!Felix!Unger,!“when!you!assume,!you!make!
an!ass!of!u!and!me.”!
!
Getting staff started
!
Many!extremely!bright!people!have!trouble!getting!started.!!Once!started,!they!
work!unimpeded!toward!the!objective!at!hand.!!A!good!manager!creates!
methods!to!have!tasks,!jobs!and!projects!start!efficiently!and!propitiously.!!!
!
Firms!should!develop!internal!procedures!designed!to!get!people!started.!!An!
example!for!getting!started!can!be!seen!above!with!the!bank!reconciliation!or!
1040!return!preparation!model.!
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!
!
!
SELECTED READINGS
!
!
!
!
!
!
Management time:
Who’s got the monkey?
by!William!Oncken,!Jr.!and!Donald!L.!Wass!
!
©!1974!Harvard!Business!Review![Reprint!#74607]!
Other!references:!Managing!Management!Time!by!William!Oncken,!Jr.![1984]!
and!The!One!Minute!Manager!Meets!the!Monkey!
by!Kenneth!Blanchard,!William!Oncken,!Jr.!and!Hal!Burrows![1989]!
!
Reviewed(and(digested(by(EDWARD(MENDLOWITZ,(CPA!
!
Who!works!for!whom?!
!
If!you!are!the!boss,!shouldn’t!you!tell!those!working!for!you!what!to!do?!
!
Many!times!the!boss!spends!an!inordinate!amount!of!time!on!subordinate)
imposed!time.!!This!is!when!the!subordinate!asks!for!help,!and!the!boss!tells!
him!or!her!that!he!will!have!to!get!back!to!them.!!The!boss!usually!doesn’t!
have!the!time,!upon!demand,!to!help!them,!but!he!says!he!will!think!about!the!
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!
!
How to Contact Ed Mendlowitz
WithumSmith+Brown!!
One!Spring!Street,!4th!Floor!
New!Brunswick!NJ!08901!
!
Phone:!732.828.1614!
Email:!emendlowitz@withum.com!
!
About CPATrendlines
!
CPA(Trendlines(is!the!online!home!of!the!freshest!research!and!actionable!
intelligence!in!the!tax,!accounting!and!finance!professions.!
!
cpatrendlines.com!
!
Published!by!
Bay!Street!Group!LLC!!
PO!Box!5139!!
E.!Hampton,!N.Y.!11937!
!
baystreetgroup.com!
!
Phone:!(631)!604)1651!(U.S./Eastern!Time)!!
!
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!
More Professional Resources from
CPATrendlines / Bay Street Group LLC
!
By Ed Mendlowitz
!
•
•
Tax!Season!Opportunity!Guide!
How!to!Increase!Your!Billing!Rates!
!
By other CPATrendlines contributors
!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Professional!Services!Marketing!3.0,!by!Bruce!W.!Marcus!
How!To!Bring!in!New!Partners,!by!Marc!Rosenberg,!CPA!
CPA!Firm!Succession!Planning:!A!Perfect!Storm,!by!Marc!
Rosenberg,!CPA!
Leadership!At!Its!Strongest,!What!Successful!Managing!Partners!
Do.!By!Robert!J.!Lees,!August!J.!Aquila,!Derek!Klyhn!
How!to!Engage!Partners!in!the!Firm's!Future:!The!Secrets!Every!
Leader!Needs!to!Know,!by!August!J.!Aquila!and!Robert!J.!Lees!
Creating!the!Effective!Partnership:!Two)Volume!Package.!Vol.!1:!
Leadership!At!Its!Strongest;!Vol.!2:!How!to!Engage!Partners!in!the!
Firm's!Future!
How!to!Negotiate!a!CPA!Firm!Merger!
Rosenberg!MAP!Survey,!National!MAP!Survey!of!CPA!Firm!
Statistics!
CPA!Firm!Management!&!Governance!
The!Client!Service!Idea!Book:!Tips,!Trends,!Strategies,!Tactics!
Accounting!Marketing!101!for!Partners!
“The!Accountant’s!(Bad)!Joke!Book”!
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CPATrendlines(Special(Report(
!
•
What!Really!Makes!CPA!Firms!Profitable?!
•
Trends!in!Accounting!Firm!Marketing!Strategies!
•
Strategic!Planning!and!Goal!Setting!for!Results!
•
How!to!Operate!a!Compensation!Committee!
•
Guide!to!Planning!the!Firm!Retreat!
•
Effective!Partner!Relations!and!Communications!
•
The!Idea!Book!for!Accounting!Firm!Hiring!Managers:!Tips,!Trends,!
Strategies,!Tactics!
•
SPECIAL!REPORT:!What!Do!Clients!Really!Want?!
•
The!Idea!Book!for!Career!Planning!in!Accounting:!Tips,!Trends,!
Strategies,!Tactics!
•
Managing!the!CPA!Workload!
•
Big!Four!Performance!Analysis!
!
Go PRO
!
Join!CPATrendlines!as!PRO(Member!for!24/7!sitewide!access!to!
cpatrendlines.com,!at!GoProCPA.com.!
!
About Bay Street Group LLC
Connecting!People!and!Ideas...!Turning!Ideas!into!Growth!
Bay!Street!Group!LLC!provides!actionable!intelligence,!custom!research,!
marketing,!communications,!strategic!consulting,!publishing!and!digital!media!
for!the!professional!tax,!accounting!and!finance!community.!
Services(
With(knowZhow(and(resources:(
o Experience!
• Research!and!Analysis!
o Insight!
• Strategic!Advisory!
o Execution
• Opportunity!Development!
Visit!us!at!baystreetgroup.com!
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