It’s Going to be Good: Building Your Accounting Firm – Détails, épisodes et analyse

We're taking Q4 off from recording new episodes! So, let's unpack what planning + taking this (or any) break actually looks like:

• Where would one of us, Anna as a CEO and Jill as a COO, even start with planning our out-of-office time?
  • TIP: What do you know that no one else knows?
• What does it look like to trust our team while one (or the both) of us is out on that well-deserved break? 
• Can we give ourselves grace for the things that we didn't get to? (We're all only human, after all!)

Taking a break gets its own episode because, at the end of the day, if you aren't able to step away -- do you own the business, or does it own you?

We'll back with more episodes in a few short months so that Anna can focus on the launch of AccrewU's first course, Accounting Fundamentals, and Jill can really be present in the preciousness that is maternity leave! 

In the meantime, we hope you get inspired to take a break and look at trees (or lakes, or beaches, or puppies, or whatever your jam is) instead of spreadsheets!

Ready to learn more about the AccrewU course, Accounting Fundamentals?
Or, are you ready to invest in yourself by taking the course? Enroll today! 

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How can you create a culture where people do their work, do it well, and do it on time? 

In this episode, we dive into setting high expectations! High expectations go beyond just telling people what to do; they create a culture of accountability, excellence, and purpose. 

As a firm owner, you set the tone for your team; what you permit, you promote. If you’re not holding yourself to high standards, how can you expect your employees to do the same? When leaders consistently demonstrate the behaviors they want to see—like aiming for excellence, being transparent about mistakes, and holding themselves accountable—it fosters a work environment where everyone knows what’s expected and feels motivated to deliver their best.

Setting high expectations is about helping your team to grow and find meaning in their work. 

• When employees understand what excellence looks like and feel supported in reaching it, they are more likely to take ownership of their responsibilities, meet deadlines, and contribute to a culture of success. 
• On the other hand, if standards are low or unclear, it can lead to disengagement, lack of motivation, and a feeling that the work doesn't matter. 

Your commitment to setting and maintaining high expectations—starting with yourself—is key to building a motivated, dedicated team that thrives on excellence and drives your business forward.

Ready to learn more about the AccrewU course, Accounting Fundamentals?
Or, are you ready to invest in yourself by taking the course? Enroll today! 

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What does it look like to be an Ideal Team Player? We all bring different strengths and skills to an organization, but how can you build a team that works in alignment AND complements each other? 

Patrick Lencioni at The Table Group built a tool that helps you evaluate where you fall on the Venn diagram of Humble + Hungry + Smart.

We define "humility" a bit differently: It's not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less (C.S. Lewis). It's not just about avoiding pride or arrogance; it's also not about being self-deprecating or having a lack of confidence. 

"Hungry" is about being eager to work hard and strive for excellence... within the context of healthy boundaries. It's not really about being a workaholic or working so hard to get credit for the effort you put in. 

"Smart" is more about being emotionally intelligent and attuned to the thoughts and feelings of others than it is about being intellectually smart. 

Join us for part 1 of 2 episodes where Anna and Jill discuss The Ideal Team Player, how the tool is leveraged at Accrew, what it looks like in action, and how it's affected the way they work with team members and clients alike!

Links mentioned in this episode
Link to The Ideal Team Player (by Patrick Lencioni and The Table Group)

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It's so easy to silo information or for you or your team to intentionally or unintentionally gatekeep information about systems, tools, or even clients.

So how do you democratize information, so you've got access to the things your team knows, even and especially when they're on vacation or no longer work with your company?

Sharing information across team members and across time is essential to running an effective business. So where do you start?! It starts with creating rhythms and systems for not just storing data, but also maintaining and sharing it. And it requires that everyone on the team is responsible for making this happen.   

Listen in as Jill and Anna talk about how they've build systems to store and regularly maintain information, so everyone knows where to get answers and clients experience minimal friction when changes occur. 

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Most companies know it's good to do training and development. But how can you actually build a culture around continuous growth, where your team is empowered to upskill?

You have to understand and believe in the actual benefits before you decide to integrate training & development into your organization. It won't appear to affect your bottom line in a direct way, but it has ancillary benefits that absolutely do affect the bottom line; namely in retaining high-quality employees who are loyal to the organization, because growth becomes a real option for them. 

When building a culture around learning and development, it starts with a clear goal. From there, you can outline specific guardrails for what does (and doesn't) count, integrate systems of accountability, and create a culture of generosity with the learning that encourages others to share what they've gained and expands that knowledge beyond just the one individual who completed the training.

It continues to grow and become a real part of the culture when your leaders continually model what it looks like to learn and grow regularly, sharing how they're making incremental progress in their own development.

Join Anna and Jill as they sit down to get into the nitty-gritty of what works (and doesn't) when it creating a learning culture at work!

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It's so easy to assume that we must solve the problems that come up in business. Whether it's because you are a technician turned business owner and actually are the most expert person on your team or because you've trained your team to come to you with problems, at a certain point, you being the sole problem-solver becomes unsustainable.

It's much harder in the short term to equip and empower others to come to you with solutions instead of problems. But this is what it looks like to build a healthy and sustainable firm.

The benefits of equipping more problem-solvers in your organization are massive! You get to watch employees grow, you solve tougher, more challenging problems - so you grow, and you get to use your valuable time more effectively.

You just have to get out of your own way.

Join us as Jill and Anna discuss the benefits and the challenges of approaching leadership from a different perspective, allowing other people the opportunity to learn and grow and yes, even sometimes make mistakes.  

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Effective client relationships always start with effective communication. From the way we approach sales to how we're going to work together ongoing all the way to ending services, working with clients should feel collaborative.

And for it to be a true partnership, we need to be on the same team!

That starts in the sales process - we should be looking for a win-win solution, whether or not that means we end up working together. The goal is to ensure we're a good fit on both sides. 

Once we've both agreed that working together will be mutually beneficial, we move into onboarding, which requires us to set clear, reasonable expectations at the door.

Then, when we're working together ongoing, we should all be on the same page about what is our part vs. the client's part in achieving our shared goals. And along the way, we'll still need to iron out the details! That's what partnering looks like.   

And even when it's time to call it, that should be as positive as it can be, and when possible, collaborative! Whether we're celebrating a client selling their business, retiring, or just outgrowing our services, because they're ready to hire an internal accounting team, we want to show up as humans who care. And even when it becomes obvious that we're not meeting each others' needs, on either side, we can still show up in a way that doesn't put us at odds with each other. 

Listen in as Anna and Jill talk about what it should take to set clients up for success and work together with clients in a way that makes an ongoing partnership sustainable and positive.

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Whether it's saying "yes" to more than we should or shifting our priorities to make something "work," it's so easy to act in a way that makes other people like us. But when we don't have a clear North Star, we prioritize making the person in front of us happy, and usually end up letting others and ourselves down.

Michael Scott from The Office is the prime example of this! He's consistently swayed by the opinions of others. The pursuit of pleasing others tends to make us feel selfless, when it's really about making ourselves feel good, avoiding the immediate conflict, or prioritizing our own temporary comfort for the long term benefit of our future selves and others.

When we clarify our values and hierarchy of priorities, we're able to solidify what's truly important and in what order, leading to better decision-making, not just for ourselves but also for others.

Listen in as Jill and Anna discuss what it looks and feels like to unlearn the habit of acting out of a desire to be liked and, instead pursuing consistency of character that builds trust and respect, with clients, team members, peers, and even family & friends.

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When we get to the point where we're overworked, becoming too essential or handling too many problems, it's really appealing to throw a person at the work or at the problem. But how often does that actually work? 

So, if delegation through abdication doesn't work, it can feel like the alternative is that you must do everything yourself in order for it to be done right. And that is unsustainable.

In the short-term, it is absolutely harder to build process, train and equip others, create clear expectations and provide feedback. Equipping and expecting people to show up is fire prevention rather than fire fighting. This results in equipping more firefighters, which means you will stop being the only person who can solve a problem.

Join us as Anna and Jill talk about their journeys in learning to empower others and make themselves less essential in the day-to-day.
 

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January, and busy season in general, can make us feel like we just need to survive. We know it will always be more, but what if it was possible to set ourselves up well for a full, but truly sustainable busy season?

When busy season feels like it's happening to us, we like to focus on what we can actually do to make it work.

From pacing the work to setting clear expectations with clients; working ahead to prioritizing taking breaks; providing clarity to clients about what to expect and when to planning time for the inevitably unexpected stuff - there is always something we can do!

There's no guarantee it'll be perfect, but we aim at consistent improvement. Listen in as Jill and Anna talk about what they do to plan ahead for the busiest time of year and how they balance what can and can't be controlled. 
 

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