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LEARNING RESOURCES

Human Intelligence Series
based in Atlanta. “For the rest, extensions are a very
real possibility.” This three-part self-study online series will help you
develop the skills that make you uniquely human
The firm employs about three dozen people,
and position you to take advantage of the new
with a specialty in construction clients. opportunities that await.
Originally, Smith Adcock used engagement
letters to deliver the “early filing or extensions” CPE SELF-STUDY
message. But after realizing many clients didn’t
read the letters that carefully, they tried something
new: stickers. Each client annually receives paper Human Intelligence Series 3 — Happiness at
organizers emblazoned with gold stickers that Work
explain the March 1 deadline for on-time filing. This three-part webcast series will focus on three
“That gold sticker drives behavior. We see so key skills that have a positive effect on your
many returns flood the office in the 10 days before motivation so that you and your team can achieve
your full potential.
that deadline,” Chandler said.
But when clients miss that deadline, it’s not a WEBCAST
problem: They can always extend their tax returns,
For more information or to make a purchase, go to aicpa.org/cpe-learning
and half the firm’s returns are completed after the
or call the Institute at 888-777-7077.
standard April date.
Of course, putting a client on extension does not
eliminate all work. The tax must be paid, and the from increasing, the firm keeps a sharp focus on how
application for an automatic extension still must be time is used.
completed by the original deadline. And the firm “We’re giving our team feedback about how much
often must ease the client’s anxieties about delaying time they spent on a particular project, versus how
the rest of the filing. much time we expected them to spend,” Roche said.
“Part of it is expectations; part of it is making The goal is not to punish employees but to iden-
sure that clients feel like they’re not being ignored,” tify problems.
Chandler said. For example, a staffer might be spending too
“Even though you’re putting them on extension, much time in the weeds. “Don’t let yourself get
if they have questions or they have concerns and lost on something when someone could help you
they call or email, you respond to their calls or course-correct,” Roche, as team leader, encourages
emails.” employees. She tries to teach the difference between
“good learning” and wasted time.
IMPROVING EFFICIENCY TO BEAT Conversely, a deviation from the schedule also can
‘BUSY CULTURE’ reflect a bad assumption in management’s planning.
Firms also are changing how they manage employ- To fix that, firms like Lance CPA Group are using
ees through the busy season. Working long hours software such as Excel and Karbon, a practice man-
may feel productive, but some leaders are realizing agement software, to make more accurate schedules.
that the same work can be done in less time. “We’re literally planning what returns we’re doing
“It’s about making sure that everybody’s on each day and who’s doing it,” Lance said. The
working smarter, not harder. There is a point of firm uses time-tracking data from its tax preparation
diminishing returns,” said Erin Roche, CPA, software, along with other internal metrics, to predict
CGMA, a tax planning and business strategy how long each return will take. Lance’s tax man-
expert and a shareholder at Elliott CPA Group, a ager works out a plan months in advance, allowing
small firm based in Santa Rosa, Calif., that recently the firm to set individual schedules and assess its
merged with BPM LLP, a large firm based in overall capacity.
San Francisco. “We don’t feel like we have to take on every
Roche continued: “When you’re asking client,” Lance said. “We know what we need to do
somebody to work 16 hours a day, things tend to in each of our departments, and we kind of plan
get sloppy.” against that.”
Just before the merger, the firm aimed to have
employees work no more than 55 hours per week SHARING THE LOAD
during the busy season, because more hours don’t Some employees are more willing — or more able —
seem to increase productivity. To keep that number to take on heavy busy-season loads.

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