________________________________________________________________ This publication copyright 2013 Bay Street Group LLC / CPA Trendlines 1

CPATrendlines SPECIAL(REPORT!

The(30:30(Training(Method(

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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!

CONTENTSABOUT!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 be, great, but merely very good?

Does that mean you should be able to 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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• 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(• Research!and!Analysis!• Strategic!Advisory!• Opportunity!Development!

With(knowZhow(and(resources:(o Experience!o Insight!o Execution

Visit!us!at!baystreetgroup.com!

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