Some Seedy Advice Wisconsin

My three year-old daughter was having hamburgers for lunch the other day with my husband and asked him what kind of seeds were on top of the bun. He told her they were sesame seeds to which she replied "Oh, well we better take some home and plant them so we can grow our own hamburger buns." (She has recently been helping my dad plant his garden and my mother-in-law plant her flowers beds so she is fascinated and completely trusting in the fact that a small seed planted in the dirt and cared for returns great rewards!)

What seeds are you planting now for growth in your practice? What are the rewards you desire down the road? Are you taking the time now to cultivate and tend to those areas to yield a harvest in the future?

This issue gives you some great tips for growing several key areas of your business (consider it your own spring almanac):

• Looking to grow productivity and streamline the workflow in your practice? Then a must-read for you is the Document Management Systems product review that begins on page 8. Plus, Randy reports back on what's hot from the annual paperless conference (p.48), and Greg says it looks like we have "crossed the chasm" and reached 50 percent penetration in the move to the "paperless office" (p. 54). Where do you fall in the curve?
• How's your "Security Savvy" these days? Grow your understanding and peace of mind in this area by checking out Dave's latest advice on page 38 and reading John's tale of woe on page 44 to ensure that you don't become "Mr. Hapless." Roman also gives a detailed recap of the AICPA Top Technologies Initiatives on page 46. It's no big surprise that "Information Security" is #1 this year.
• Your small business clients trust you and look to you for advice. Help grow THEIR chances for success and YOUR relationship with them by being up to speed on the latest Small Business Accounting products (review begins on page 22) to help them manage their business. Doug also gives some words of wisdom around this area on page 40 and reminds you that consulting is a huge responsibility that should not be taken lightly.
• Staffing challenges continue to be one of the most critical issues faced by accounting firms across the nation. Isaac reminds you on page 12 that technology allows you to grow your available staff pool, and he introduces us to a great new crop of young professionals who have a refreshingly nostalgic work ethic in the "Productivity in Practice" profile on page 42 (if 26 year-old David Staub is indicative of the young professionals coming into the profession, then the future is indeed in good shape!). Plus, you don't want to miss the opportunity to nominate a young professional for our annual 40 Under 40 honor; see www.CPATechAdvisor.com/40under40 for more information (deadline for nominations is June 15).
• Remember one of the first lessons you learned in Kindergarten: It is good to share. Well Lisa gives you a lesson on how to better cultivate your sharing skills within your practice and help your clients do the same. See page 50 for ideas on "Collaboration" and "Sharing" in various areas.
• Grow and expand your horizons for new knowledge and information with the crop of webcast events we will be offering in the coming weeks (plus earn free CPE credits). See page 54 at the bottom of Greg's column for a complete listing and dates, and visit www.CPATechAdvisor.com/webcasts to register for each one. And while you're on our website, check out our free online "Document Management Product Selector" tool to help find a match for your firm. Plus, take the "Productivity Survey" to get your firm's Productivity Score to use as a benchmark for measuring future growth.

Get busy! Planting season is now if you want a rich harvest down the road.

Shari Dodgen is publisher of The CPA Technology Advisor and has been with the magazine for 12 years. She can be contacted at publisher@cpata.com.