CPA Success

The next generation to dominate the workplace

The next generation to dominate the workplace will be Generation Flux and they will have a new set of skills.

And the good news is Generation Fluxers can be any age, according to Fast Company editor Robert Safian, writing in the must-read February edition and lead article, Generation Flux (photo source: Fast Company).

He introduces the concept in "from the Editor":

"In our hypernetworked, mobile, global world, the rules and plans of yesterday are increasingly under pressure; the enterprises and individuals that will thrive will be those willing to adapt and iterate, in a disciplined, unsentimental way...Generation Flux is a term that describes all of this -- the chaotic business era that we have moved into -- as well as the people who are poised to thrive in this environment."

Fast Company has no doubt that people and organizations can and will thrive in this new environment. 

But how?

The most important skill for this chaotic future is quite simply the ability to acquire new skills, according to Safian. Our own research as part of the CPA Horizons Project led us to the same conclusion. 

We saw it as a future-minded and flexible mindset combined with boundary-crossing "network leadership," because change can come from anywhere, anytime. We even had a group of young professionals describe the leadership model of the future in a MACPA whitepaper titled, "What got you here won't get you there."

According to these young professionals, the future is one in which CPAs:

• are proactive, flexible, adaptive and collaborative by nature;
• have regained the trust of their clients and the public at large
• have successfully bridged the profession’s “leadership gap” by focusing on succession planning,
• personal growth, and generational cooperation
• have created the profession’s premier global industry standards and best practices
• have redefined the profession through work / life integration, collaboration, and a team-first approach; and;
• have earned a reputation as technological innovators.

To achieve this vision of the future, they will need to focus on these six key strategies:

1. Professional unity
2. Work / life integration
3. The evolving nature of leadership and new leadership models
4. Proactive, goal-focused planning
5. Networked collaboration
6. Embracing and adopting new technologies 

Sounds a lot like Generation Flux, doesn't it?

Then there are these core competencies to succeed in the future from the CPA Horizons 2025 project:

1. Communications skills
2. Leadership skills
3. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
4. Anticipating and serving evolving needs
5. Synthesizing intelligence to insight
6. Integration and collaboration

These are different skills that the CPA has traditionally held, yet they are the key to surviving and thriving in a rapidly changing and complex world. What are the skills you think will be most important in the future and how do you plan to get them?

Applications are being accepted for MACPA's next Leadership Academy class on May 7-9 in Timonium, Md. Get details and an application here.

Looking for these future-focused skills? Try the Business Learning Institute. 

• New MACPA white paper outlines future CPA leaders' vision for the industry
• Next-generation CPA Leaders chime in on the future
• What's over the horizon for CPAs?

Is your CPE life changing?

If not, it should be!

That was one of the tweets made during our BLI Thought Leader Symposium held last Friday at the CPA Center in Towson, Md. (Pictured are BLI's Top Guns Ryan, Perry, Padar, Dean, Pisano, Magee, Margaritis, Birnbach, Elder, McDaniel, Park, Alrichs, Sheridan, Hood, Conderacci).

Are you kidding? Life changing CPE? How?

The answer is simple: BLI. 

BLI is short for the Business Learning Institute, a center that facilitates the development and sharing of competencies and strategic knowledge required for leadership in today’s rapidly changing business environment. BLI delivers competency-based curriculum, courses, content and community to enhance learning and grow intellectual capital for organizational and executive leadership. See our story in a short clip here or read more about us in our glossary here.

BLI was formed in 1999 as a subsidiary of the MACPA to provide the high level success skills need by CPAs and businesses to compete in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. Last year BLI ran almost 600 customized on-site programs across the US, including 21 state CPA societies.

BLI partners with the best of the best to work with the best of the best. Pictured above is a recent meeting of BLI's instructors at our first thought leader symposium. The meeting started with yours truly playing Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone," reflecting our "Top Gun" instructors. You can follow this meeting on our Storify page and on our blog post, "Top Guns" featured at BLI Live in Towson, Md.

Listen to testimonials from young professionals who attended the AICPA's Leadership Academy in 2009.

• Check out the Twitter stream from our "Top Gun" session.
• Check out our blog here.

So the next time you are thinking about CPE or training for your firm or organization, make it life changing by contacting BLI and asking for one of our Top Gun instructors.

View our course catalog of customizable programs that can be delivered on-site at your organization or firm. For information, contact Pam Devine at Pam@bizlearning.net.

The health-and-wealth gap is disappearing

Common sense tells us there's a correlation between wealth and health, but to actually be shown that correlation is pretty amazing.

That's what Hans Rosling does for us in this eye-popping video. Rosling, a professor of international health at Karolinska Institute, offers visually animated data to show how the health- and wealth-related disparities between nations have narrowed over time. The stunning thing is this: The entire world is becoming healthier and wealthier, though at different rates.

"Despite enormous disparities today, we have seen 200 years of remarkable progress," Rosling says. "That huge historical gap between the west and the rest is now closing. We have become an entirely new converging world, and I see a clear trend into the future. With aid, trade, technology and peace, it's fully possible that everyone can make it to the healthy-wealthy corner.

Our thanks to Jason Blumer for blowing our minds with this yummy piece of eye candy. Watch the video in its entirety here.

Turning generational issues into opportunities

So how are all of those generations getting along these days?

Experts say some of the chasms that divide the matures, the boomers, the Gen Xers and the millennials are being bridged, albeit slowly. Still, there's enough concern floating around that CPAs in Maryland and across the nation have cited generational issues as one of the top trends facing the profession today.

We know the characteristics that the divide the generations; we've been talking about generational issues for so long, we know them by heart.

What we don't know is what to do about them.

Cam Marston has a few ideas, though.

Cam is president of Generational Insights, a best-selling author, a frequent speaker on the conference circuit, and a pretty smart guy when it comes to workplace demographics. In a recent phone interview, he said there's plenty that each generation can do to build harmony in the office.

Millennials
We've all heard the stereotypes: They're impetuous, shortsighted, demanding, unreasonable. Accurate or not, Marston said the oldest millennials are showing signs of putting some of those stereotypes to rest, and that's a good thing.

"Any predictable positive behavior they can exhibit in the workplace -- anything that benefits the company, the customer or client -- will find a welcome audience from their employers," he said.

Communication is a particularly huge challenge -- and opportunity -- for millennials.

"One of great challenges for matures and boomers is to find a millennial who can communicate clearly, verbally, interpersonally, with their employers, their teams, and most importantly with their clients," he said. "(Millennials) will find themselves in leadership positions if they do that, and they will find their peers lining up behind them (in support)."

Boomers
Marston said they cling to "tribal knowledge" -- all the stuff they know that can't be printed or learned in a book. Boomers need to focus on transitioning this wisdom to the next generations. The first step, said Marston, is mentoring.

"(Boomers) need to begin mentoring the next generations -- not focusing on skills but rather on knowledge and wisdom," he said. "They need to be thinking of the legacy of their practice, and that will be gained through mentoring."

Gen Xers
I had dinner the other night with a friend who complained that we Gen Xers are largely being ignored. Marston said it's easy to see why: At only 45 million members, the relatively tiny Generation X is sandwiched between 80 million boomers and 85 million millennials. Marston said it's time for Gen Xers to make some noise.

"Gen Xers will create their success by becoming interpreters between the generations on either side of them," he said. "They need to be focused on getting out of their office and making eye contact with both the boomers and millennials. Boomers and millennials love interaction with other people, while Xers tend to be loners; their bias is to not engage the people in their workplace. Generation X's success in the workplace will depend on how well they engage these two massive generations on either side of them."

Marston had lots more to say about the opportunities facing each generation -- and about why CPAs might want to think about a marketing plan that's focused on generation-specific messages. Pretty interesting stuff -- and given the results of the CPA Horizons 2025 work, it's hugely relevant, too. Listen to my interview with Marston in its entirety.

• Subscribe to our podcast here, or search for "CPA Spotlight" in iTunes.

Want to learn more?
These Business Learning Institute programs offer terrific insights into the generational dilemma:

• Are Generational Differences Helping or Hindering Your Team?
• Leadership and Generations: What Are They Thinking? (also available as a four-hour webcast)
• Leadership and Retaining Talent: How the Generational Shift is Changing Leadership
• Managing Multiple Generations: Next Steps and New Surprises (also available as a keynote)
• The New Workforce: New Data, New Ideas, Aging Baby Boomers
• Sharing Skills Between Generations

How to choose a major: Step 1 -- pick accounting. QED.

With the economy still sputtering and the job market as competitive as ever, students are looking for every edge they can get.

Here's tip No. 1: Major in accounting.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the accounting field should see employment growth of 22 percent by 2018.

Couple that with data from Sageworks that shows accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services now make up the fourth most profitable industry for private companies, with a pre-tax profit margin of 13.61 percent.

Long story short: If you want a job in a profitable industry, study to become a CPA.

But where should you study?

If it can't be at one of Maryland's fine accounting schools, you might want to check out the 2011 edition of Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination, shared by Maryland's State Board of Public Accontancy at its October 2011 meeting.

The publication is based on testing information collected during calendar year 2010. Among first-time candidates without an advanced degree, the schools with the top CPA exam pass rates were:

1. Wake Forest
2. The University of Virginia
3. The University of Wisconsin (Madison)
4. Cornell
5. Trinity
6. The University of Missouri (Columbia)
7. Kansas State
8. Western Washington
9. Texas Christian University
10. Notre Dame

Among first-time candidates with an advanced degree, the schools with the top pass rates were:

1. James Madison
2. Brigham Young
3. The University of Georgia
4. The University of Kentucky
5. New York University
6. Baylor
7. The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
8. The University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
9. The University of Wisconsin (Madison)
10. State University of New York at Buffalo

In the interest of full transparency, that final entry is my beloved alma mater. Go, Bulls!

So there you have it: A blueprint for what to study and some options for where to study it.

Regardless of the school, though, all signs indicate that an accounting education and CPA license are starting points to future success.

Leaders don't guess. They turn insights into action.

I vote that we ban all economic forecasts and surveys from now until the end of time. Ban 'em like asbestos.

Why? Read 'em and weap. Or laugh.

• "Survey Shows Hiring Plans Rising for Accountants, Other Professionals"
• "Little Hiring Growth Planned for 2012"
• "A Double Dip? CFOs Are Divided"
• "CPAs' Economic Outlook Drops in Third Quarter"
• "CFOs Feel Cautiously Optimistic"
• "CFO Optimism Plummets"

Got that? The economy stinks. But not really. And we're hiring! Maybe! And optimism abounds! Except for those pessimists over there. And blah, blah, blah.

Here's a prediction you can take the bank: Guessing isn't going to solve any of our problems.

And neither is blaming the other guy, by the way. Want to know how many jobs have been created by political one-upmanship? None. Zero. Zip.

What we need are politicians who are willing to work across party lines to solve the big problems of the day. What we're getting is pure political hatred, and that accomplishes nothing.

Where are our leaders?

I sat in on the MACPA's three-day Leadership Academy recently, and I was blown away by what I saw. A room full of 40 of the profession's best and brightest -- young CPAs who want to make a difference, who worked together to draft a vision for the profession going forward. In three days, 40 people from incredibly diverse backgrounds agreed unanimously on six bold initiatives that can reshape the profession.

Three days, one bold vision.

You're telling me Congress can't do the same thing? I'm telling you they need to.

Let's stop guessing and hating, people. Let's start working together.

The MACPA's Tom Hood defines today's leadership as "the ability to gain insights and the aptitude to turn them into action."

But you can't gain insights from within. The paradox is this: Insights come the outside. In this "new normal" of constant complexity, no one person has all of the answers. "We" are definitely smarter than "me."

The sooner our elected officials figure that out, the quicker our economy will turn around.

Then, maybe we can start taking those predictions seriously.

Stress? It's a state of mind.

Stressed? Anxious? Burned out?

You're not alone. The more complex our world becomes, the more stressed we get. Throw the words "debt ceiling" and "Congress" into the mix and we're absolutely bouncing off the walls.

Thankfully, says Peg Neuhauser, there are some things we can do to relieve the pressure.

A management consultant and president of PCN Associates, Neuhauser offered a tweet-friendly session during a recent conference that was jammed with bullet-point tips on avoiding burnout.

"But Bill," you're saying, "we've heard this stuff a million times before. Why do we need to hear it again?"

The answer: Because we're still stressed. Let's pay attention this time and try to actually do some of this stuff.

In no particular order, here are Neuhauser's tips for avoiding burnout:

• Lighten up and laugh.
• Laugh more than you whine.
• Smile a lot.
• Keep things in perspective. Are you dead? No? Then things aren't so bad.
• Don't try to control what can't be controlled.
• Don't look back. Don't dwell on what's already been done.
• Think of yourself as a sprinter, not a marathoner. Take short breaks every 90 to 120 minutes.
• Change your thoughts and you'll change your mood -- and, as a result, your stress levels. Visualize positive outcomes.
• You have three options when dealing with toxic people: 1) Eliminate them from your life. 2) Limit your contact with them. 3) Confront them. But don't let them dictate your mood.
• And don't forget to ask: "Am I a toxic person?" If the answer is yes, cut it out.

Neuhauser's point is this: We are in control of our moods, reactions and responses. It's all about choices. We can choose to be pleasant and ease our stress levels, or we can choose to be miserable and make things worse.

"Be the change you want to see in the world," Mahatma Gandhi once said. Let's make the world pleasant by being pleasant.

What are your favorite burnout-avoidance tips?

Tapping Your Talent Pipeline for Competitive Advantage

"

"Today, a competitive edge is thin and temporary; the edge quickly becomes the margin. The ability to define the edge, and the ultimate competitive advantage, is found in the smarts, heart and ingenuity of your people - that's your powerhouse. Tap that, train it, focus it and mobilize it; now you've engaged a network and inspired a sustainable shift."

- Gretchen Pisano & Tom Hood - co-developers of the i2a: Inisghts to Action Strategic Thinking System

I am fascinated by the continuing conversation about managing the millennial generation (Gen-Y, Net Gen) and the reluctance by many in management to recognize this as a major opportunity instead of a problem to deal with. 

In yesterday's WSJ (Page B4) was an interview with PWC Chairman Dennis Nally titled, PWC Chairman Aims to Keep Millennials Happy (Thanks to Brent Johnson for pointing this out) where he lays out PWCs "people strategy" as a firm-wide CEO driven strategy. I think he almost gets it right when he says, "How you manage that sort of talent and how you deal with their (millennials) expectations is very different from what's been done in the past".

This is true for all of your generations in the workplace, although I agree that the millennials are the most different.

He goes onto say, "This millennial generation is not just looking for a job,...they're looking for skill development, they're looking for mobility, they're looking for opportunities to acquire different skills..."

What type of skills are most important?

Having the right technical skills is a given, the skills that count, according to Nally, are having the right "softer skills" (I can hear my BLI team screaming) in terms of being able to work collaboratively, teaming, communication, and working with a diverse (global) team.

Yet most CPA firms spend more on cell phones than "soft skill" development, according to the AICPA's Mark Koziel. Is it time to rethink this?

We summarize these skills into three main competencies:

1. Strategic (and critical) thinking (flexible and future-minded thinking)
2. Strengths-based leadership (being self-aware in the moment and able to know and apply your strengths and those of others)
3. Network leadership - being able to collaborate and work across boundaries in your organization and beyond

And that is exactly what we teach in our upcoming Leadership Academy in Maryland on September 18-20 at our Towson CPA Center. Also available customized for your firm or company, check out prior testimonials and more information here.

The "new normal" is requiring us all to rethink how we deal with our most important asset, our people. Yet even history supports a major ROI from investing in training and developing your people. Engage them properly and you will get that extra discretionary effort that separates the great from the good. That's tapping your talent pipeline!

As we started this out - "Your people - that's your powerhouse. Tap that, train it, focus it and mobilize it; now you've engaged a network and inspired a sustainable shift."

 

MAP survey proves opportunities abound for firms

Congratulations, CPA firms. You're dodging the economic darts better than most folks these days.

You did a great job of managing expenses and keeping costs down during the recession. Your revenues were down a bit, but your net income per partner remained steady. In short, the generally accepted adage is proving true: You were the last ones into the recession, and you were among the first ones out.

That's Mark Koziel's take, anyway. Mark is director of specialized communities and PCPS/ firm practice management at the AICPA, and he's been crunching the numbers from the 2010 National Management of an Accounting Practice (or MAP) Survey. He found a little bit of everything for CPA firms:

Opportunities: The recession and subsequent regulations have turned corporate America into a minefield. Firms can help businesses cross that field unscathed. "Regulation and tax complexity is ever growing," Koziel said. "Being able to make sense of that complexity for clients is a huge opportunity for firms."

Challenges: At the same time, firms are businesses too, and they're dealing with many of the same complexities their clients are facing. They kept their expenses in check, but according to Koziel, the real challenge is finding a way to reinvest those savings back into the firm to spur growth.

The future: As time goes on, firms will be bombarded with ever-increasing change and complexity, especially on the technology front. "Firms need to stand up and recognize the technology changes that are taking place," Koziel said. "Even if they don't want to play in that space today, it's going to come very quickly." And that circles back to opportunities: Keeping up with these changes not only helps firms, but positions them to help their clients as well.

I spoke with Mark about some of these issues during the 2011 Maryland CPA Summit in Baltimore. Listen to our conversation in its entirety.

• Get details on the MAP survey.
• View MAP survey results for Maryland firms.

It's a great time to study accounting. Here's why.

Talk about your win-win scenario.

A record number of accounting grads are jumping feet-first into a job market that finds nearly three-quarters of the largest accounting firms planning to hire more folks than last year. That's according to the AICPA's "Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits" report for 2011.

There's one potential sticking point, though:

"The report shows record numbers of accounting students and graduates," the AICPA reports, "but also hints at a potential challenge for the profession: Demand for new talent eventually could outpace supply."

Whoa ... anyone else get that funny déjà vu feeling besides me? Weren't we were dealing with major supply issues not long ago, too? Then came Enron, and a funny thing happened: CPAs became sexy. Everyone wanted to study accounting, and enrollments soared.

In the wake of a pretty nasty recession and the reforms that have come in its wake, will lightning strike twice? Time will tell.

In the meantime, there are things accounting students can do to make themselves irresistible to potential employers. Most of them involve building their business development skills. In this Journal of Accountancy article, Mark Koziel says students and young CPAs would be smart to focus on public speaking, recruiting, financial literacy efforts, volunteerism and internal training.

"Business development is a difficult thing to teach, and it’s unrealistic to expect the skills to come naturally to many CPAs," Koziel writes. "By having leaders set expectations for them upfront, younger team members will quickly realize that business development is a necessary part of their professional growth."

And graduates, if you're looking for a place to further your career, you could do worse than the mid-Atlantic region. Baltimore and Washington both made Kiplinger's list of "10 Great Cities for College Grads." Here's what Kiplinger had to say.

About Baltimore: "Charm City weathered the recession with low foreclosure rates, and income growth remains strong. Downtown Baltimore is in the midst of several multimillion-dollar development projects. It ranks higher than Austin, Denver and Atlanta in per capita income for downtown residents. And as many music fans know, few cities can match Baltimore for its innovative, eclectic art and music scene."

About Washington: "By 2012, Uncle Sam will make another 25,000 hires in the region -- paying more, on average, than the private sector. As in other large cities, well-paying jobs come with higher rents and living costs. But recent grads can look to eclectic neighborhoods like Adams-Morgan and Columbia Heights for cheaper rent. An abundance of free museums, concerts and other entertainment also lessens the cost-of-living sting."

So you're an accounting grad in the mid-Atlantic? That's pure gold, friend.

Are you a new CPA?
Join us for the MACPA's annual New CPA Swearing-In Ceremony, slated for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 2 at the BWI Hilton. It's a tradition you won't want to miss. Get details and register here.