Do bookkeepers have more to offer?

August 30, 2019 / 43:40/E108

We're joined by entrepreneur/accounting professional Meghan Blair-Valero for our weekly accounting and bookkeeping news update. There’s a lot of ground to cover, including Intuit’s latest earnings release, which includes a 33-percent increase in QBO subscribers, and how a new event is addressing the lack of diversity at accounting conferences. We also explore the benefits of help desk software for accounting firms, what the UPS accountant layoffs mean, and why Uber struggles to account for over $6 billion. Then, we discuss the seven reasons why Matt Paff dumped MYOB, why tax preparers are so hesitant to raise their rates, and why, if you’re a bookkeeper, the CPA is not your client. All this, some great reviews from our listeners, and more!

Show Notes

00:22 – Can you charge premium fees if you call yourself a bookkeeper?
01:11 – What are the odds that David will escape federal grand jury duty and get to attend Accountex 2019?
02:56 – Meghan shares the inspiration behind the Inclusion Without Assimilation - Encouraging Diversity and Inclusion within the Accounting, Finance and Fintech world event, featuring some of The Cloud Accounting Podcast’s former guests – Jina Etienne, and Nayo Carter-Gray
07:57 – The reviews are in! David and Blake run down some more reviews of the show from iTunes and Podchaser
10:37 – Intuit’s ecosystem, and revenue continue to grow, according to their latest earnings report | Intuit
13:20 – Well, they do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery .. QuickBooks’ latest addition, employee benefits options, looks a lot like Gusto’s product offering | Intuit QuickBooks
15:07 – The Xero-OnPay partnership - in search of a bountiful harvest from the ag industry | Xero Blog
15:32 – In light of Expensify’s recent CPE-credit offering, Blake explains why this might be a no-brainer when it comes to increasing engagement | Business Wire
18:07 – Cash – more than $6 billion of it - is still king in some of Uber’s global locations | MarketWatch
21:31 – Strategic move or smokescreen? UPS eliminates 60+ accounting jobs in Texas | The Dallas Morning News
24:13 – Tax preparers who don’t raise their rates are leaving a load of money on the table | Accounting Today
26:15 -- Meghan talks about changing the scope of services along with raising rates, and why bookkeepers are typically the first to try out new strategies, like perpetual accounting | CPA Practice Advisor
27:55 – 34.3 billion reasons the IRS needs a bigger budget | Indiana University
29:07 -- Why Matt Paff (another former CAP guest) is showing MYOB the door | LinkedIn
30:53 – In the aftermath of last week’s WeWork discussion, a listener, Amy Walker, CPA, shared how she’s witnessed coworking spaces, like WeWork, evolve into more of an enterprise solution
32:55 – A Work-from-Anywhere strategy benefits both companies and their employees | Harvard Business Review
34:43 – Can help desk software help accounting firms help their customers? | Future Firm
37:19 If you’re not into more software, Blake, David, and Meghan share some other strategies for tackling customer service
39:00 – Bookkeepers, who’s really your client? Why there’s more value-add when books are done for the business, not just the tax return | AccountingWEB

Connect with Meghan Blair-Valero

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FoggedInbooks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghan-blair-valero-6825b11b/

Get in Touch

Thanks for listening and for the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and, if you like what you hear, please do us a favor and write a review on iTunes, or Podchaser. Interested in sponsoring the Cloud Accounting Podcast? For details, read the prospectus.