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Education, Illinois, Site News

Chicago Good Food Fund Grant Awardees Announced; Round Two Opens Aug 15

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Special congratulations to one of our cherished clients, Build Coffee, on being recognized by the City of Chicago as an essential part of their community, through nourishing food and a commitment to equity. Build Coffee is a coffee shop and bookstore in the Experimental Station on the South Side of Chicago. Surrounded by community-driven non-profits and civic journalism projects, Build is designed as a hub of great coffee and radical collaboration. They act as a small venue for performances, workshops, gallery shows, book groups, game nights, and more. They sell used books, local small press publications, journals, comics, art books, and zines. And they also run the Build Coffee Meal-Based Residency Program, a gallery show and residency aiming to nourish and sustain local art and artists.

News from the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP):

Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) announced the grant awardees of the first round of the Good Food Fund Grant program. Forty-one Chicago food businesses were selected to receive a grant, fully funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.  

The goals of the Good Food Fund are to increase access to culturally relevant and nourishing food on the South and West sides, increase business ownership and jobs in the food industry, create stronger and more sustainable local food economies and increase local sourcing and supply of locally grown and regionally produced foods. The Good Food Fund programs, which are part of Mayor Johnson’s Road to Recovery Plan, were designed after intensive community engagement with the Food Equity Council and seek to help expand, enhance and restore the food industry using an equity and community-based approach. The second round of the Good Food Fund Grant application will launch on August 15, 2024. 

“The Good Food Fund grant represents my commitment to equity and empowerment, ensuring every Chicagoan has access to fresh, local food,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “Congratulations to all food business grant awardees—your dedication to uplifting our communities through culinary innovation sets a remarkable example for us all.”  

To ensure an equitable grant award selection process for all, the Food Equity Council and Allies for Community Business (A4CB), in collaboration with the City, assisted in developing the criteria for the Round 1 of the grant program. The goal was to provide businesses, across the food ecosystem, in communities with inequitable food access with an opportunity to apply for and receive a grant ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Communities with inequitable access to food were determined using the Chicago Health Atlas.  

“BACP is thrilled to collaborate with A4CB and the Food Equity Council on the Good Food Fund, a program designed to address food insecurity in underserved Chicago communities by providing customized food coaching, grants and access to low-interest loans,” said BACP Acting Commissioner Ivan Capifali. “By investing in initiatives that increase access to affordable food options, such as local growers, grocery stores and small food businesses, the City can empower its residents to make healthier choices and build more resilient communities.”  

“Allies for Community Business believes that entrepreneurs from any background can start and grow businesses that create generational wealth for their families and communities,” said Brad McConnell, CEO of A4CB. “Through our partnership with the City and the Food Equity Council in administering the Good Food Fund and our joint venture partnership with ICNC at The Hatchery food incubator, we are excited to provide the grants, loans, coaching and kitchen space that entrepreneurs need to grow great businesses.” 

Good Food Fund Grant Awardees:  

  • Back of the Yards Coffee  
  • Build Coffee  
  • Carniceria La Hacienda  
  • Carolyn’s Krisps  
  • Chicago Eats Market Place  
  • Chocolat Uzma  
  • Contemporary Farmer  
  • Dope Drip  
  • Fatso Hard Kitchen  
  • Give Me Some Sugah Bakery  
  • Herban Produce  
  • Jerk Soule   
  • Jibarito’s y Mas South Side  
  • Jus Sandwiches  
  • Kabob-it  
  • Ken Tone’s Drive-in  
  • Kilwins Chocolate Fudge and Ice Cream (Hyde Park) 
  • Kombuchade  
  • La Esperanza  
  • Let’s Eat to Live  
  • Los Candiles Restaurant  
  • Margaret’s Restaurant  
  • Nary’s Grill & Pizza  
  • Nicole’s Sandwich Shop  
  • Nuevo Leon Bakery  
  • Seafood Paradise on Jeffery  
  • Shinju Sushi Japanese Restaurant  
  • Spinzer Restaurant  
  • Sputnik Coffee Company  
  • Subway (Auburn Gresham) 
  • Subway (Calumet Heights) 
  • Supermercado Martin  
  • SydPlayEat  
  • Taquizas Y Banquetes El Siete  
  • Taste Bud 1 Inc  
  • Tatas Tacos  
  • Taylormade Que  
  • The Gilty Pig  
  • The Jibarito Stop  
  • The Tonk, Honky Tonk BBQ  
  • Ware Ranch Steak House  

A second round of the Good Food Fund Grant is scheduled to launch on August 15, 2024. An informational webinar will take place on Wednesday, August 14, 2024. To register for the webinar, please visit Chicago.gov/BACPwebinars. 

To apply for the grant when it goes live on August 15, 2024, visit a4cb.org/grants. Entrepreneurs seeking grant application assistance can contact A4CB by calling 872-710-0035 or by sending an email to help@a4cb.org.  

Good Food Fund business coaching and low-interest loans are currently still available through Allies for Community Business. Interested food entrepreneurs can contact A4CB at 312-275-3000 or schedule a consultation with a Business Coach or Community Lender at a4cb.loanwell.com.  

To learn more about Chicago’s Food Equity Council, please visit: Chicago.gov/ChicagoFoodEquityCouncil. 

Questions regarding Round 1 of the Good Food Fund can be directed to Allies for Community Business at help@a4cb.org.

Education, Site News

‘Ask A CPA’ Subscription Launch Summer 2024

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Selfie of Nancy presenting "The Tax-Ready Bookkeeper" at Scaling New Heights to a large crowd.

✨ Y’all –> I did a BIG THING!

https://www.thedancingaccountant.com/ask-a-cpa-signup/

✍️ Some of you may know that I’ve been writing this award-winning blog for 10 years now. Not monetized — just a labor of love that started out as a way to store articles for myself in an easy-to-search format. But during the pandemic its popularity exploded… not just for small business owners, but for the bookkeepers and accountants that keep them going. (If you didn’t already know my biggest passion is supporting small businesses & the communities that they help thrive and keep vital and colorful, then you must be new here.)

🔢 And I realized — when I help a small business, I help ONE of the key players in keeping local economies healthy. When I help a bookkeeper, I help a multiple of small business owners. When I help many bookkeepers… you can see where this is going…

🐣 Last year I decided that I wanted to focus my efforts on helping bookkeepers and tax pros learn to collaborate, and that the best way to start would be to offer a judgement-free space for bookkeepers to ask ANY QUESTIONS THEY WANT that for whatever reason they can’t ask their clients’ tax preparers (or, if in a firm, they don’t feel comfortable asking the tax department). And thus was born…

🏫 ASK A CPA! A member community designed to provide education, support, and resources for bookkeepers to better serve their clients — by preparing tax-ready books, improving relationships and building knowledge and systems that ultimately help small business owners and their communities.

❤️ We’re starting small, intentionally, and as such we’ll be capping our founding member group at only 50 people — there are only 9 spots left as of August 10th! Get in here and help us create the community you want to see in our industry. (Or feel free to just sign up for our updates if you want to have FOMO like all the time, that’s cool, too.)

https://www.thedancingaccountant.com/ask-a-cpa-signup/

Site News

The Dancing Accountant: Mentor Of The Year!

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I’ll be honest. The past eight weeks have been a bit of a blur. Exciting, validating, fulfilling, rewarding… and overwhelming.

All amazing things — any ONE of which would have made this the most incredible summer ever!

But I wanted to highlight this particular award from Bridging the Gap, as there are some special takeaways I’d love to share. First off, BTG is absolutely my favorite conference, and I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been invited to participate on their Advisory Board for 2025. (Why is it so special? Check out my LinkedIn post on the topic.)

Secondly, I feel like this award was an outward expression of the support and sense of community that I’ve been blessed to experience over the past many years — I’m so incredibly grateful to all who nominated me, especially the amazingly encouraging Melissa Miller Furgeson, who apparently rounded up many of the incredible members of my ‘Ask A CPA’ subscription, as well as the ‘Bookkeeping Buds’. And special gratitude to the team at BTG who voted, especially our beautiful and talented emcees Al-Nesha Jones & Nayo Carter-Gray, and our host, Randy Crabtree, for insisting that I belonged up there.

Bonus points: due to the space-theme of the BTG gala, I got to accept it while wearing a Jetsons dress.

Education, Site News, Tips

How Bookkeepers & Accountants Can Overcome Imposter Syndrome

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Recently, I had the pleasure of joining Adam Lean of The CFO Project on his podcast, “Escaping the Accountant’s Trap,” to discuss imposter syndrome — what it really means, how to know if you have it (or are simply learning something new), and practical tips for overcoming those feelings of being a fraud.

I also share my perspective on why imposter syndrome disproportionately affects women and minorities, the difference between self-doubt and truly being an imposter, and how education and experience are key to building real confidence.

The inspiration for the episode came when I heard Adam speak on Veronica Wasek’s 5-Minute Bookkeeper Facebook group (a must-follow if you’re a bookkeeper, in my opinion). He has so much valuable knowledge to share, but I felt like the delivery was oriented toward tax professionals and other accountants, rather than her main audience. In my experience, bookkeepers looking to offer CFO advisory services are in a very different position than accountants moving into a new realm, especially marginalized groups like women and minorities, and so I reached out to suggest we work together to talk about the topic of imposter syndrome — and what we can do to push past sentiments of self-doubt, when in fact what we’re doing is building on our existing foundations of knowledge and exploring new perspectives.

Studies show that 70% of people experience “imposter syndrome” at some point… defined as a fear that you’re inadequate or incompetent — despite evidence to the contrary. Dr. Valerie Young has a great book on why capable people experience it. From my research with psychologists and therapists, I’ve learned that medically, something only becomes a “syndrome” if it’s seriously impeding your life, paralyzing you so that you can’t do things you would otherwise excel at or enjoy — so my first goal in spreading the word on this topic is: please don’t feel like there’s something wrong with you if you’re feeling self-doubt. This isn’t a “syndrome”… in fact, this is natural, especially for women — this is an understandable, genuine reaction to being condescended to our whole lives.

As for being able to tell the difference, think of it this way: Any new task by definition puts you in a position where you don’t know how to do your job. Having more background makes it so the percentage of your job you don’t know how to do is smaller. But climbing that learning curve is always part of the experience — and that is what makes us feel exposed or fraudulent. Education, testing, and experience are the three best solutions to this – they help you learn what you need to know, and they also build confidence.

This was not a paid partnership — I gave my time freely to record and promote this episode because it’s simply an important topic to me, and I want to give it more space in the airwaves so that bookkeepers know they’re not alone in their doubt, and yet they are uniquely positioned to branch into advisory services.

Even though it’s only 30 minutes long, I managed to drop some of my favorite resources, such as John Garrett‘s “What’s Your And?” podcast; my memberships in accounting communities such as Jason Staats‘ Realize and Cindy Schroeder‘s Bookkeeping Buds; free bookkeeping communities such as Kate Johnson‘s Bookkeeping Side Hustle and Veronica Wasek‘s 5-Minute Bookkeeper; and of course Paul Hamann‘s RC Reports, my essential tool for calculating reasonable compensation. I also shout-out colleagues Hope Brown, the Tax-Minded Bookkeeper, and Mariette Martinez of Master Your Books. And of course I had to highlight my upcoming talk at Joe Woodard and Heather Satterley‘s Scaling New Heights on “The Tax-Ready Bookkeeper”!

We covered a lot of ground in this episode — here’s a breakdown:
0:00–4:00 Introductions
5:37 What is imposter syndrome? How do I know if I have imposter syndrome?
11:52 Why bookkeepers are uniquely positioned to advise business owners doing CFO services!
16:42 CPA asks “I’m afraid that my lack of real-world business experience will hold me back. What are your thoughts?”

I hope you get something helpful from our conversation! It’s essential that we share our questions, doubts, struggles and challenges in order to discover that we’re not alone, and to provide support for our colleagues, ultimately affecting the mental health of the whole industry, and assisting small businesses in their important community-building work. (Another passion project of mine — come see me present the panel “Vulnerability as a Strength” at Bridging the Gap this July!)

If this or any other posts on the website were useful to you, and your financial situation permits it, please consider contributing to my tip jar. Ths allows me to continue to provide free accounting resources to small businesses who do not have the funds available to hire a CPA.

Site News

The Dancing Accountant Named Top 100 ProAdvisor 2024 By Insightful Accountant

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I am truly honored and delighted to make the Insightful Accountant Top 100 ProAdvisor list two years in a row!

Insightful Accountant identifies and recognizes the Top 100 QuickBooks ProAdvisors across the globe each year in its annual award program, formally recognizing recipients at the Scaling New Heights Accounting Technology conference, to be held June 16-19, 2024 in Orlando.

QuickBooks ProAdvisors are first nominated, and then go through a lengthy vetting process, before eventually opening up to a public vote. Applicants for this prestigious award are ranked based on their performance across various categories, measuring everything from QuickBooks knowledge and continuing education, to utilizing the best tools and partner apps within the QuickBooks ecosystem. Real-world experience with clients is a requirement. Winners have said the Top 100 recognition by peers and their industry has opened doors and provided inspiration and new perspectives, and I agree; I have no way of knowing for sure, but I imagine this recognition made a difference when I was selected to speak at Scaling New Heights for my first time.

I would love to express sincere appreciation to Gary DeHart, Murph, and the entire Insightful Accountant team for their hard work evaluating the nominees — it’s quite special to receive an award from a publication that has been a trusted go-to resource for so long: especially this year, having been invited to be a member of their inaugural advisory board.

Special thanks to all those who voted, in particular my esteemed colleagues and valued clients. It’s extremely exciting to share space with luminaries in the Intuit QuickBooks world such as Lynda Artesani, Carla Caldwell, Sharrin Fuller, Matthew Fulton, Caleb Jenkins, Alicia Katz Pollock, Michelle Long, Kim Noh, and Veronica Wasek.

But this year is even more special than the last, for another important reason. If you’re a regular reader, you know how enthusiastic I am about one of my professional organizations in particular: Bookkeeping Buds. Well, this year, every single one of the amazing women in this group that was nominated for the Top 100 received a place in either the main tier or the “Top 25 Up-n-Coming” award. This really says something about the community that Cindy Schroeder has built. We support each other — and something that I see in common with all our Top 100 and 25 Up-n-Comers is that every one of them focuses on helping others. I feel like that’s a huge part of what Buds is about and it feels great to be recognized for it! As Cindy often points out, we are truly stronger together… though technically in competition, we realize that when we support each other unabashedly, the rising tide we create lifts all boats. Special shout-outs to this group: Melissa Miller Furgeson, Kelsey Elliott, Wendy Kelley, Deb Kilsheimer, Questian Telka, and Hope Brown. You continuously inspire me to rise to your example of sisterhood.

Looking forward to the formal announcement at Scaling New Heights. If you see me there, please come on up and introduce yourself!

From the 2023 Insightful Accountant Top 100 Awards Ceremony.

If this or any other posts on the website were useful to you, and your financial situation permits it, please consider contributing to my tip jar. Ths allows me to continue to provide free accounting resources to small businesses who do not have the funds available to hire a CPA.

Site News

Vote For The Dancing Accountant In the 2024 Top 100 ProAdvisor Awards!

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So very pleased to announce that Nancy been nominated once again for Insightful Accountant’s prestigious “Top 100 ProAdvisors Award”! It’s her fifth time being nominated, and after last year’s win, we’re hoping to make it a two-fer.

One small challenge this year is that due to an administrative snafu, the name “Nancy McClelland” shows as the very last one on the list, rather than in alphabetical order. We have the utmost confidence that you can figure it out anyway — and just scroll to the end to check the box.

If you find this blog of value, please consider voting as a way to show your appreciation and support. It has been quite a labor of love these past 10 years!

QuickBooks ProAdvisors are first nominated, and then go through a lengthy vetting process, before eventually opening up to a public vote. Applicants for this prestigious award are ranked based on their performance across various categories, measuring everything from QuickBooks knowledge and continuing education, to utilizing the best tools and partner apps within the QuickBooks ecosystem. Real-world experience with clients is a requirement. For Nancy, winning last year opened up doors to additional speaking opportunities and interviews, as well as gave her the opportunity to collaborate with other awardees.

Recipients will be formally recognized at the Scaling New Heights Accounting Technology conference, to be held June 16-19, 2024 in Orlando — at which Nancy will be presenting a session called “The Tax-Ready Bookkeeper”! (Registering with this link will get you $50 off your registration, by the way.)

Voting for the Top 100 closes April 2 at midnight, so please do us the honor of popping in there as soon as possible. Awards like these drive traffic to the blog and lead to more speaking engagements; this educational component of our company’s mission is something about which Nancy is extremely passionate, and it feels meaningful and satisfying.

The voting form requests a bunch of info (it’s not a spammy organization), but you can enter N/A for some of the items (except state, zip & country) if you prefer. Although they ask about your title and number of employees in your firm, you do not need to be a business owner to participate in voting. Just complete those fields with “Owner” and “1”. Voting closes April 2, at 11:59 pm Pacific.

Thank you so very much for your support! Please vote!

Education, Site News

The Dancing Accountant To Join Insightful Accountant Inaugural Advisory Panel

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Thanks so much to Insightful Accountant — a leader in news and education for our industry — for inviting me to join a truly exceptional group of colleagues on the inaugural advisory panel.

“The primary purpose of the panel is to help us stay in touch with the audience we serve and to continue to provide the content you want. The panel members will also be instrumental in helping us shape the future of Insightful Accountant by identifying areas of improvement, new opportunities and being a collective sounding board for us as we explore what is next for our business.“

I’m looking forward to getting to know some new friends and reconnecting with old ones… and most importantly, helping shape a future for Insightful Accountant that addresses the needs of our industry. It’s through these connections that we can truly understand and address the evolving needs of accountants, bookkeepers, tax preparers, advisors, apps and vendors, and of course — the small businesses that we serve.

Read more about the rockstars on this year’s panel here!

And if you’re a member of our community, please reach out and let me know what you find valuable about the content, education, and opportunities Insightful Accountant affords you, as well as what you’d like to see improve.

If this or any other posts on the website were useful to you, and your financial situation permits it, please consider contributing to my tip jar. Ths allows me to continue to provide free accounting resources to small businesses who do not have the funds available to hire a CPA.

Education, Site News, Tips

The Dancing Accountant on Canopy’s “Practice Success Podcast”

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It always feels a bit surreal to watch yourself being interviewed, but KC Brothers and Gaynor Hardy (Meilke) did such an incredible job with this piece — which Canopy recently released in their “Practice Success Podcast” — that I actually found myself revisiting some important points I hadn’t thought about in a while.

It’s not fluff! They asked real questions about issues affecting our industry: we delved into branding your passions, company culture and how we strive to make our firm more human, what that has to do with artificial intelligence — AND the attention we need to give language and training in a world where AI is an integral part of our worklife.

Three Main Themes, as outlined by the producers: 

  1. Integrating passions and work: The importance of integrating passion and personal interests into professional work, as seen through Nancy McClelland’s incorporation of dancing into her accounting career.
  2. Creating your own brand: Creating a unique brand and identity in the accounting industry, exemplified by The Dancing Accountant firm helps to build relationships with clients and leave a memorable impression.
  3. Benefits & Challenges of AI: The benefits and challenges of incorporating AI and automation in accounting ensure a balance between technological advancements and human skills. This includes improving efficiency and the need for ongoing evaluation and training within a firm. 

And I’m going to add that we talked a lot about company culture and work-life balance as well. We fit a lot into 20 minutes.

It was a great conversation and I hope these themes resonate with you and add value to your day! Find the full episode here, where you can choose your favorite podcast platform: https://ow.ly/vwYQ50QrRRf.

Side note: I don’t think of myself as a “name dropper” — but I do love to share props with the people and tools that make a difference in my life. To that end, this episode (recorded at Joe Woodard & Heather Satterley‘s Scaling New Heights conference) is chock-full of mentors and colleagues such as John Garrett, Misty Megia, Douglas Sleeter, Hector Garcia CPA & Mark Corum‘s RightTool, Blake Oliver, CPA and Questian Telka, EA. If this podcast introduces you to any of these fabulous mentors and colleagues, then I’ll consider it a major win. You can thank me later.

Education, Site News, Tips

The Confluence of Bookkeeping, Tax & Advisory: How to Thrive in the New Accounting Landscape (12/6 @ 3:30 pm ET)

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Insightful Accountant is hosting their last Future Forward virtual conference of the year on December 5-6, and I’m delighted to be presenting an exciting topic that resonates with the theme of Niches, Trends, and Predictions for 2024.

I love this particular webinar series, as it’s a fabulous opportunity to connect with peers, get the latest industry updates, and explore best practices, new tech, and other developments in accounting. They do a nice job of speaking both to bookkeepers and tax professionals, as well as tech-related and accounting-adjacent firms. This round will comprise 2 days, 9 speakers, and 11 topics as we share our knowledge, strategies and tactics. If you’re focused on launching, transforming, or growing your business — this is for you. Plus, it’s free if you attend live ($25 fee for the recording, which is totally worth it, as they’re able to subsidize the education without your having to sit through vendor commercial plugs).

My session will be held on Day 2 December 6th at 3:30 pm Eastern, and is called “The Confluence of Bookkeeping, Tax, and Advisory: How to Thrive in the New Accounting Landscape“. It was written with two groups in mind — bookkeepers and tax preparers, both running their own practices — who are getting all sorts of pressure to expand into advisory services. It’s about the trend toward co-firming and other ways to work together in order to serve the clients better, add value/charge more, and develop professional relationships that will bring you more business.

I recently attended QuickBooks Connect, and it got me all riled up (again) about the confluence we’re seeing between CPA firms moving into Client Accounting & Advisory Services (CAAS) and bookkeeping firms moving into advisory services… two previously distinct worlds starting to converge. I feel like the bookkeeping and accounting practices are often dancing technology circles around tax firms — and yet CPAs still look down on them as if they were data entry robots.

It’s time to start communicating with each other!

Bookkeepers –> learn how to “speak tax” with CPAs. Own your spot at the table.

CPAs/EAs –> bookkeepers are your friends! They have the personal relationships and tech know-how that you lack!

Let’s talk about co-firming as one of the accounting trends of 2024.

1. Discover how the scope at CPA and bookkeeping firms is starting to overlap and converge, and why that’s a good thing for you and your clients.

2. Identify the potential challenges and opportunities that this new accounting landscape brings, and how to turn them to your advantage.

3. Apply strategies and techniques to partner across or within firms, to update your accounting practice and stay ahead of the curve.

Join Insightful Accountant and me at Future Forward on December 6th as we talk about what this landscape can look like.

The Confluence of Bookkeeping, Tax, and Advisory: How to Thrive in the New Accounting Landscape – Future Forward December 5-6 2023 by Insightful Accountant (heysummit.com)

But it’s not just me! There’s an amazing lineup of speakers and sessions:

Day 1 – Dec 5

  • Checking in with QuickBooks Checking + Envelopes with Alicia Katz Pollock with Royalwise Solutions, Inc.
  • Strategies For Niching Success with Kellie Parks from Calmwaters Cloud Accounting
  • Niche to an Ideal Client Roster with Debra Kilsheimer from Profit Creator
  • Firm of the Future: Unlocking the Power of the Vertical Niche with Gregg Bossen – Creator/President of QuickBooks® Made Easy™

Day 2 – Dec 6

  • 5 Strategies to Maximize Firm Success Through Onboarding Mastery and Strategic Outsourcing with Vanessa Vasquez from QuickBooks en Espanol
  • Automate Tax Season with AI with Christine Gervais from Epiphany Group
  • Grow Your Practice with Highly Profitable Reporting for Multi-Entity Clients with Charles Nagel from Qvinci and William Murphy from Insightful Accountant
  • The Confluence of Bookkeeping, Tax, and Advisory: How to Thrive in the New Accounting Landscape with Nancy McClelland from the Dancing Accountant

The live event is free, the recordings will be made available for a nominal fee. Just click on this link to sign up.

See you there!

Cooperatives, Education, Site News, Tips

Nancy McClelland Featured on Accounting Insiders Podcast

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Check out the podcast on Insightful Accountant’s YouTube channel.

I met the charming and intelligent Christine Gervais earlier this year, having shared an article of hers from Tax Practice News to my LinkedIn feed with my own perspectives. We immediately connected and met via zoom to get to know each other better, compare notes on our practices, and discuss ways in which we might collaborate. (Side note: TPN picked up an important article of mine shortly afterwards due to Christine’s recommendation.)

What an honor that some months later, I was named one of Insightful Accountant’s Top 100 ProAdvisors of the Year and accepted the award at the annual Scaling New Heights conference. I had recommended the jam-packed educational event to Christine, and to my delight, she attended and we met in-person. What neither of us expected was that she ended up being the interviewer in my Top 100 spot with Insightful Accountant, as Tax Practice News is a sister publication.

The question posed was, “if you could start your own practice over again, what would you do differently?” As anyone who has been in the industry — or run their own business — for a while knows, we are constantly making mistakes and learning from them. The goal is not to make the same one twice. So it’s natural to have regrets. But sharing those stories can be immensely helpful to others in the space — whether it’s younger entrepreneurs wondering which next steps to take, or colleagues who feel isolated because they think they’re the only ones who don’t have it all figured out yet.

We had a lovely chat — she’s very easygoing and conversational — and covered the following topics, among others:

  • Hiring your first employee
  • Traits in an ideal team member – intelligence, written skills, ability to learn, detail-oriented, team-player, caring attitude, enthusiasm
  • Interviewing with an eye toward building team culture
  • How teams can collaborate
  • Networking with colleagues
  • Trusting your team and clients to support each other
  • Importance of joining a professional organization and attending conferences
  • Standardizing systems and establishing workflows
  • Teaching accountants and bookkeepers what they need to know to specialize and establish a niche
  • How to find your professional community
  • Identifying and improving processes

I also give a shout-out to a few favorite resources, such as Keeper, AICPA Town Hall series, NATP’s tax education, NSAC and Co-op Professionals Guild, and of course, Bookkeeping Buds.

So check it out! And as always, please give us a like and a comment if you enjoyed it — really does mean so much to us and is very helpful in continuing to reach our audience.

If this or any other posts on the website were useful to you, and your financial situation permits it, please consider contributing to my tip jar. Ths allows me to continue to provide free accounting resources to small businesses who do not have the funds available to hire a CPA.