How to train your colleagues to respect your time

THE NYSSCPA’S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDEWINTER 2015

TRUE STORY: MEET THE TEEN WHO JUST PASSED THE CPA EXAM

THE 7 THINGS EVERY NEW MANAGER NEEDS TO KNOW

HOW TO GET THE UPPER HAND IN SALARY TALKS

ADVICE FOR STARTING YOUR VERY OWN FIRM

Charge Who’s in

?

READY TO LEAVE? DON’T QUIT YOUR JOB WITHOUT READING THIS FIRST, P. 19

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PublisherJoanne S. Barry,

CAE

Associate PublisherColleen Lutolf

Editor-in-ChiefN. Sheree Saunders

Art DirectorSara Gold

ContributorsChris Gaetano

Pei-Cen Lin, CPA, SPHR

Jason Wong

Senior Copy EditorGene Cioffi

Copy EditorChristopher Davis

Manager, NYSSCPA Next Generation Tekecha Morgan

The reader should not construe

the content included in

NextGen as accounting,

legal, or other professional advice.

If specific professional advice

or assistance is required,

the services of a competent

professional should be sought.

As always, this issue of NextGen is packed with great career strategies for getting ahead—from study hacks to help you

beat the CPA exam, to a step-by-step guide for asking your boss for a raise.

But NextGen is more than a magazine—it’s a movement. And if you’re not participating in it, you’re missing out. Consider the many events and initiatives we’ve launched in the past few months: In the fall, we held our first annual NextGen Career Fair at New York University. The event, which helped young and aspiring CPAs find job leads, drew more than 150 attendees, and featured 11 exhibitors from small and medium-sized firms. In December, we hosted a holiday party for alumni of the NYSSCPA’s Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession program, a network that is more than 3,000 strong and brimming with talent. And in

Invest in yourself

Please recycle.

TWEET: @nysscpa

EMAIL: tmorgan@nysscpa.org

January, we kicked off the New Year with a “Stress Less” networking mixer for young CPAs and attorneys that included free massages and sessions on time management—just in time for busy season.

The months ahead will be equally exciting: We’ll be unveiling our Mentor Match program, an online resource that will allow you to find mentors, track your mentoring relationships and participate in discussions. We’ll also be launching a monthly e-newsletter and holding our annual skill-boosting NextGen Conference.

So, how can you get more involved? For one thing, if you haven’t done it yet, join the NYSSCPA. Though many of our NextGen programs are open to nonmembers, Society members get discounts and first dibs in RSVPing for programs. They also get access to special members-only events and can join NextGen Committees in any of

the Society’s 15 chapters throughout the state.

If you do belong to the Society, we hope that you’ll start showing up and showing out at our events, and make use of the resources we offer. The NYSSCPA is investing in you—isn’t it time you invested in yourself?

Sincerely,

TEKECHA MORGANManager, NYSSCPA Next Generation

From top: Attendees at our COAP

Alumni Holiday Party strike a pose; our

first annual NextGen Career Fair last

October was packed, drawing more than

150 aspiring and young CPAs.

2 NEXTGEN

What’s Trending

Testing, Testing

Features UpgradeLifesavers

How to smartphone at work without annoying your boss or colleagues

No kidding! Meet the 17-year-old who just passed the CPA exam; study hacks to help you ace the test

Advice for first-time managers; what you can learn from an unconventional CPA firm owner

How to ask for a raise—and get it

The right way to leave a job; tips for training co-workers to respect your time

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*HINT: YOU’RE PROBABLY DOING IT WRONG

What’strendingNews and information for young professionals

EDITED BY N. SHEREE SAUNDERS

a smarter way to smartphone*

You eat with it, you sleep with it and a third of you—according to a survey by Cisco Systems, a tech services company—would be willing to trade a week’s worth of electricity for it: We’re talking about your cell phone, of course. But while most users swear that their iPhones and Androids help them to stay on top of work, research suggests that some not-so-smart phone habits could actually be hurting your career. Here are a few to watch out for.

4 NEXT GEN

Few things convince your coworkers that you’re annoying, and also kind of clueless, as poor cell phone etiquette. In a Harris Interactive poll of 1,070 professionals, 64 percent said they hated when colleagues had private conversations on their cells in the office’s shared spaces. Meanwhile, in another study, by researchers from the University of Southern California and Howard University, some 550 full-time working professionals were almost unanimous in their distaste for certain smartphone habits. Here are the behaviors that respondents said will get you the evil eye:

BAD HABIT NO. 4Appearing distracted during meetings

Forgoing sleep to check work emailsIf you think responding to work emails after hours will give you a head start, think again. According to two studies published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, which followed 82 upper-level managers and 161 employees in a range of fields, professionals who monitored their smartphones for business purposes after 9 p.m. were more tired and less engaged the following day on the job. Apparently, staying up until the wee hours for work not only cuts into precious sleep time but seems to affect the quality of sleep as well. While at times, working late may be worth it, researchers say that your best bet most nights is to get some sleep. To start with, designate a time each day to unplug from your phone and other gadgets, as well as a place to store them, so that you don’t check them every five minutes.

BAD HABIT NO. 3

87%

said answering a call during a business meeting

+87+

BAD HABIT NO. 1Not knowing your company’s BYOD policy

BAD HABIT NO. 2Being careless with your phone

Millennials are more likely than other professionals to use their personal gadgets and apps at the office. Data from Ericsson ConsumerLab, a communications technology specialist,

reveals that almost half of all Millennials use a private phone for work purposes, while app maker TrackVia reports that nearly 70 percent of Millennials use outside apps on the job.

The problem is, some are forgetting to consult their firms’ “bring your own device” (BYOD) and “bring your own applications” (BYOA) policies, which govern how employees can access company data using

personal gadgets. Indeed, according to TrackVia, some 60 percent of Millennials say they don’t think twice when they use personal apps instead of corporate-approved ones.

But there are risks to thumbing your nose at IT. For one, says Joel Lanz, an adjunct professor at SUNY–College at Old Westbury and a past chair of the NYSSCPA’s Technology Assurance Committee, it poses a security threat. A personal device may lack adequate security features, connect to unsecured wireless networks or be made vulnerable to malware through your own personal use. And the wrong app could have weaknesses that open the door to a cyberattack. That’s an even bigger deal if you work in an industry with stringent privacy requirements.

There may also be issues regarding custodianship. If IT, for instance, needs to take custody of the device in order to perform updates, that could leave you high and dry. So check with your manager or HR department about best practices before you get connected.

In a recent survey of 276 chief information officers and IT professionals conducted by Sungard, an IT and cloud services provider, nearly two-thirds of respondents said employees’ bad cell phone habits kept them up at night. Among their biggest fears: employees leaving mobile phones or laptops used for work in vulnerable places, giving thieves easy access to company info. In fact, 60 percent of respondents said that they would enforce stricter security policies for employees starting this year.

Quick Tip! Younger professionals are three times as likely as older professionals to think texting or emailing at a business lunch is appropriate, according to a Harris Interactive poll.

RUDE it is to be otherwise

engaged at a meeting.

READY for the next level of training

you are not!

...compared to just

20%of those aged 51–65.

66%of people under 30 gave it a thumbs up...

20%

said setting your phone out in prominent view at a business lunch

+20+30%

said excusing yourself to take a call during an informal business lunch

+3066%

said texting during an informal business lunch

+66+ 76%

said checking texts or emails during a business meeting

+76+

ARE YOU GUILTY OF THESE CRIMES?

Worried about missing client calls while

you’re off at a meeting? Set up an

outgoing voicemail message and email

autoresponse, letting people know how

long you’ll be away from your desk

and when you’ll return. It always pays

to plan ahead.

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Why do I have to change my ringtone?

“Roar” is super inspiring!

I’ll mute it—not everyone wants to hear my Katy Perry ringtone

anyway—or set it to vibrate.

Yes—how else will I take notes and

schedule appointments? Paper doesn’t sync with

my Google Docs.

Good point. How about I just focus on making eye contact,

listening and looking for opportunities to jump in with

a well-timed and well-informed response?

Ok, that’s fair. Researchers estimate that 13 percent of Millennials take notes on their smartphones anyway. Stick to those limited meeting-related uses, though, and give your

colleagues plenty of eye contact.

And don’t forget to be as discreet with your phone as possible. You might be using it for legitimate business reasons, but your colleagues won’t necessarily be able to tell. For all they

know, you might be the Pringles Cat guy. Any thoughts? *Sigh*A smartwatch may make it easier to check

updates, but if you’re glancing at it too often, you’re giving off the same crappy vibe as

someone glued to his or her phone.

Sure, but remember, a constantly flashing or vibrating phone can be just as annoying as a constantly ringing one, so just switch to airplane mode. Also, get rid of your Katy Perry ringtone.

Try to be cognizant of the kind of impression you’re making on managers and firm leaders. After all, you do want them to trust you with additional responsibilities.

So what? I’m this company’s

future; my older colleagues will retire

any day now.

Um, Yes? How else can I stay on top of emails?

Also, there’s some major Facebook drama going down, and if I don’t

respond to this comment right now, I think I will literally die. It’ll only take two

seconds, though. Oh hey, did you see this video? It’s a cat with its head

stuck in a Pringles can. Silly cat. :)

Hey, eyes on the prize! Using your phone for nonbusiness purposes during a meeting—even for two seconds—

could give the impression that you’re disrespectful, entitled or checked out.

w00t!

You’ll be running this company in no time. FAIL!

*Shudder* I get the

picture now.

I just have to make this one passive-aggressive comment to someone I haven’t seen since high school. Who doesn’t do this on their

smartphone?

Your boss, depending on age and tastes, may not share your smartphone addiction. (Even

fashion highpriestess Anna Wintour was caught using a 90s-style flip phone last fall.)

More importantly, while baby boomers are taking to smartphones in greater numbers, they still have different ideas about proper etiquette and are three times as likely as

Millennials to view texting or emailing during a meeting as inappropriate.

O RLY? Even if you’re the company’s future, you still have to navigate its present—and

you’ll need to tap into older colleagues as you advance, be it for mentoring, promotions or

on-the-job help. Bad cell phone behavior won’t earn you any fans, and that’s what you need at

this stage of the game.

Ding ding ding! You’re on the right track.

No, it’ll be too

distracting. I’ll keep it out of

sight.

...but I can still check my smartwatch,

right?

So, do you REALLY need to whip out your phone at this meeting?

6 NEXTGEN

BY JASON WONG

What we can all learn from this

17-YEAR-OLD

who just

PASSED the CPA exam

Belicia Cespedes may well be the first teen to ace the CPA exam in modern times. But her success has little do with being a child prodigy and everything to do with how she prepared.

RANDOM FACTS: THE CPA EXAM EDITION

A 17-year-old passing the CPA exam is just the latest in a string of interesting stats about the test.

You may have known at 13 that you want-ed to pursue a career in accounting one

day. But when Santa Clarita, Calif., resident Belicia Cespedes was that age, she was already on her way. The second oldest of five siblings—each of them

homeschooled—she grad-uated from high school at 14, became certified in bookkeeping at 15 and started pursuing

her bachelor’s in account-ing—while working part-time

for a CPA firm—before she was allowed to drive. Last fall, at the age of 17, she passed the CPA exam. [To put that achievement in perspective: According to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), for the past seven years, the average age of CPA exam candi-dates has been 29.] Now, with li-cense in hand, she’s considering job offers and weighing the pos-

sibility of an advanced degree. Though on the face of it, Cespedes sounds like the rare child prodigy, she’ll tell you that if she’s atypical, it’s not because she’s “more advanced or smarter.” The true trump card, she says, is her family’s philosophy about success. For one thing, while Cespedes and her siblings were allowed to work at their own pace and in a way that suited their strengths, they could only move on from a particular subject after they had mastered it. As a result, Cespedes said, they don’t back down from difficult tasks. Could her strategies work for other aspiring CPAs? We asked Cespedes about the tactics she used to beat the CPA exam and compared them to test-taking advice we got from Mitchell Franklin, CPA, Ph.D., an assistant accounting professor at Syra-cuse University. Here’s how they match up.

The exam’s rep for being one tough test

goes way back. Between 1898 and 1907, only 164 of 450 candidates passed the test, according to Michael Chatfield’s book, History of Account-ing. That’s a failure rate of 64 percent. Fortunately, some practicing ac-countants were “grandfathered” in.

According to the Journal of Accountancy, although Christine Ross became the first woman to pass the test in 1898,

the New York State Board of Regents spent more than a year debating whether or not to award her a CPA certificate. She finally got it in 1899.

According to the National Associa-tion of State Boards of Accountan-cy, Utah had the highest passing rate in 2014, with 62.3 percent of its test-takers acing the exam. Wisconsin came in second, with 58.8 percent.

It wasn’t so long ago that the exam was taken with paper and pencil. The computerized version was launched in April 2004.

NEXTGEN 7

TESTING, TESTING

Study StrategiesStudy intensely, but don’t psych yourself outTactic No. 1:

Tactic No. 2: Bounce back from failure

How she did it: Though Cespedes took test prep seriously, clocking between 12 to 14 hours of study time a day for six months, she tried not to let the thought of the exam over-whelm her. “I knew that if I took it step-by-step and did ev-erything the prep courses asked of me, I’d be OK,” she said. What’s more, she carried that positive-but-not-pressured attitude into the testing center. “The first time I sat for a sec-tion, I wasn’t really nervous, because I went in thinking of it as a practice exam,” she said. By giving herself room to “feel the test out” rather than make it an all-or-nothing game, she ended up scoring much higher than she thought she would.

What the expert says: You don’t necessarily need to lock your-self in a room for half the day to study; according to Frank-lin, what matters most is that you be consistent, setting a study schedule and sticking to it. “My rule of thumb is to set aside two to two and a half hours a day to study without distractions, in a quiet room,” he said. “If you have a sched-ule and stick with it, you’re going to make progress.” That’s even more important, he added, if, unlike Cespedes, you’ve been out of school for a while and are out of practice at studying. However, he does agree that it helps to “go into the test psychologically strong and to walk out saying, ‘I’ve done the best I can.’”

How she did it: Like most people who take the CPA exam, Ces-pedes didn’t pass all four sections the first time around, fail-ing Regulation, as well as Financial Accounting and Reporting. (The exam has a passing rate of about 50 percent per section.) But rather than let the low scores discourage her, she doubled down on the areas that tripped her up. It helps to go in with the understanding that “the first time you take the exam, you may not pass it,” she said. At the same time, if you do fail, be prepared to snatch victory from defeat, paying attention to the kinds of questions the test asks and the specific areas you need to review, she said.

What the expert says: According to Franklin, it does pay to be realistic about the pass/fail rate and to have a plan for either outcome. “You’re probably afraid that if you do fail, your co-workers or bosses are going to think less of you,” he said. “But you have to realize that only a minority passes each of the sections right away.” Like Cespedes, he suggested that test takers try to “figure out why they failed and get it right next time,” rather than focus on the failure itself.

Tactic No. 3: Get in the habit of taking practice tests

Find things to get excited about

Tactic No. 4:

How she did it: As a lifelong homeschooler, Cespedes was used to independent study, and her strategy for preparing for the CPA exam reflected that: She relied on an online program and review guide to go over practice exams, questions and lessons.

What the expert says: Whether it’s solo or group study, there’s no one way to prepare for the exam; it essentially boils down to finding a routine that suits you best. But there is a benefit to an-swering as many practice exams as you can over and over again, Franklin said. Primarily, it helps you to get familiar with the test’s format and wording, which is half the test-taking battle.

How she did it: Though Cespedes describes herself as self-mo-tivated, she said she gets an extra boost from having some sort of treat to look forward to at the end of a journey. “My family celebrates everything,” she said. For example: They organized a flash mob performance when she passed the CPA exam and a party when she got her license. “Who doesn’t like a party?” she added.

What the expert says: While partying after you pass all four sections isn’t a bad idea, there are also other ways to keep your spirits up before you pass. To get your confidence soar-ing, Franklin suggests rethinking the order in which you take exam sections, and conquer the easiest first. While some experts argue that it’s better to get the toughest parts out of the way, Franklin said that by giving yourself a high probability of passing the first leg of the race, you’ll build up your ego, see that passing is possible and want to keep going.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY N. SHEREE SAUNDERS

8 NEXTGEN

It’s been more than a year since I passed the CPA exam. Look-ing back, one thing I would change is the focus it puts on highly specialized accounting areas, like government, economics and certain parts of nonprofit accounting. Most candidates don’t really have much in the way of exposure to these areas, and CPAs are less likely to be involved in them early in their careers. Because of this, it was difficult to grasp some of the concepts and understand what was being asked. I’m not saying remove them entirely, but perhaps reduce their focus a bit.

THE CPA EXAM IS CHANGING. What does that mean for you?

LAST YEAR, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) kicked off a series of efforts to

get feedback from the accounting community about the CPA exam. The institute, which works with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and Prometric, a test adminis-tration company, to develop and score the exam, has been looking to give it a facelift, so that it better reflects current-day demands on the profession. This year, we’ll get to hear what came out of all those conversations about the tests: The institute plans to release a proposal about possible revisions in October.

The last time the CPA exam underwent major changes was in 2011. Updates, at the time, included replacing the long-form simulation questions with short task-based simulations, add-ing questions on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and concentrating written communica-tion questions in the Business En-vironment and Concepts section.

So, how might the test change now? According to the AICPA, the next generation of CPAs will need to adapt to a fast-changing, increasingly globalized business world, where critical thinking, problem solving and analytical

abilities are more important than ever. The AICPA said that certain skills are growing in demand, including knowledge of the overall business environment, the ability to identify strengths and weak-nesses in internal control process-es, the ability to conduct research using an increasingly large volume of literature and the ability to correct and properly analyze data. Changes to the CPA exam, the institute said, could address many of these emerging themes.

For now, though, we’ll have to wait and see. The AICPA plans to announce the approved updates in 2016 and begin offering the new exam in 2017.

—Chris Gaetano

THE AICPA PLANS TO REVISE THE UNIFORM CPA EXAMINATION.

WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST IT CHANGE?One of the problems I have with the CPA exam is that some of the simulation questions are esoteric to the point of having little relevance to actual practice. There should be more questions that speak to situ-ations you’re actually going to encounter in the working world.I also had issues with how the exam questions themselves were put together. You’re taking the exam, you’re already stressed out and then you get hit with this long, verbose multiple-choice question. I can agree, to a point, that it’s important to be able to sort through information and pick out what is and isn’t relevant, but at the same time, I think the wording could be more concise.

RIDDHI N. DESAI, POTSDAM, NY

DAVID OKSENHORN, MELVILLE, NY

NEXTGEN 9

BOSSWhen you’re the

If you’re like most young professionals, you’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to cross over into management—and much less time thinking about what happens once you get there. Here’s what all first-time supervisors need to know.

You worked hard, you stayed late, you impressed the higher-ups with your sound judgment and convinced your colleagues that you’re indis-pensable. And now you’ve hit

pay dirt: You just got promoted, with a couple of direct reports to prove it. That’s right: For the first time in your career, you’re officially someone’s boss.

There’s just one nagging little detail threatening your postpromotion high: Since you’ve never called the shots before, you’re not entirely sure where to start. In fact, the thought of being “Charles in Charge” and bearing the responsibility for your co-workers unsettles you just a wee bit. The good news? You’re not the first new super-visor to feel apprehensive. When the

jobs site CareerBuilder.com surveyed more than 3,900 rookie managers a few years ago, it found that some 26 percent felt underprepared for their new responsibilities.

The bad news? Your firm or company may do little to counter that sinking feeling. In the CareerBuilder survey, 58 percent said they had not received any management training.

But there are ways to get the swing of things. One of your surest bets, ex-perts say, is to ask all of the professional mentors you’ve diligently been acquiring for guidance, whether they’re in your own firm or outside the organization. In the meantime, we culled best practices from a variety of managers across the profession. Here’s what they said they’ve learned about leading a staff.

BY CHRIS GAETANO

10 NEXTGEN

People are different. They have different personalities, wants, needs, likes, dislikes, shoe sizes and music tastes. Ultimately, management is about

navigating those dif-ferences, which makes it important, Vysockyte said, to know your staff and to tailor your approach to

each individual. Some employees can take

direction on the fly, zooming into action after a quick pow-wow in the hall, while others may need to get that same information in a formal email that they can refer back to.

Your staff may also have varying lev-els of experience that affect the equa-tion. “Newer people who just started [in our firm] this year need more micromanagement, whereas with our seniors, I check in much less because they tend to be responsible and take ownership of things,” Vysockyte said.

If you want something done right, do it yourself. That’s the cry of micromanagers everywhere and, unfortunately, it all too often becomes a credo for first-time managers, too, says Louis C. Grassi, CEO and managing partner at the accounting firm Grassi & Co.

“A really common mistake new managers make is that they don’t delegate as much as they need to, don’t train as much as they need to and don’t communicate as much as they

need to,” he said. Even if you were able to do everything yourself—

and that’s a big, hypothetical if—it doesn’t mean that you should. Taking on the lion’s share of your team’s work will only lead to burnout on your part and stunted professional development for both you and your staff. Your teammates can’t learn if they’re not given the opportunity to.

“And if you are doing work that your direct re-ports could do with some guidance and training, you’re not freed up to go and grow,” said Pam Fox Rollin, author of 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role: The Manual They Didn’t Hand You When You Made VP, Director, or Manager.

Indeed, refusing to delegate, Rollins said, effec-tively amounts to “un-promoting” yourself. “You can’t delegate everything, but I see too many peo-ple err on the side of doing what they already know how to do—which was their last job,” she said.

What’s more, a refusal to delegate conveys the wrong message to your team—that you don’t think very highly of them. Ultimately, being able to dele-gate means being able to trust.

“You have to trust that [your team] will complete the work in a timely manner and that it will be good work,” said Edita Vysockyte, who has been a manager in the tax and business services division of Marcum LLP for the past year and was a supervisor for two years before that.

Tip #2 Learn the right way to correct others

Sitting down and telling team members they need to improve some aspect of their performance can be especially tough for new managers, who, not too long ago, would have found themselves on the other side of the table. But there’s no getting around it: Being able to give effective feedback is at the heart of your job now. Plus, Rollins said, you’re not doing your direct reports any favors by not having the conversa-tion. Avoiding it, she said, only means that your team members won’t get the development they need.

The trickiest part is figuring out how to deliver criticism. Do it right and you’ll have someone who understands where he made a mistake and will show marked improvement. Do it wrong, and you’ll have someone who becomes defensive, difficult to work with and—most importantly—doesn’t learn.

When someone has made a mistake that you need to call her attention to, don’t think of the sit-uation in terms of reprimands or punishments but, rather, as a teachable moment. This is how Jamie Atkinson—a supervisor at the Binghamton, N.Y., accounting firm of Davidson Fox & Company, LLP, for the past two years—handles it. In addition, she takes special care to be direct and to the point in her cri-tiques, vs. giving a long, drawn-out lecture that only

Tip #3 Shoot for tailored supervision

sucks time away from everyone’s jobs. Joel A. Cooperman, a managing partner at Citrin

Cooperman, emphasized diplomacy when correcting a direct report, noting that if you want people to have confidence in you and to show you respect, then you’ll need to respect them, too. That, he said, means being considerate even when someone is not per-forming as well as he could be.

“Saying, ‘Your work sucks,’ sends a very different message from saying, ‘You’re a really smart guy. I know this mistake happened … here’s what I suggest you do so that it doesn’t happen again,’” he said. Like Atkinson, Cooperman also felt that it was counter-productive to dwell on the problem. After he’s said his piece, he explained, he’ll tell the employee to “go out, have a nice weekend, don’t worry about this, it will be fine.”

Rollin concurred, emphasizing that “no one has to be the ‘bad guy’” in the situation. Instead, a manager should think of herself as “a bearer of truth,” convey-ing important information that team members need to know.

Tip #1 Don’t be afraid to delegate

Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and

their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and

deal with them.” –Paul Hawken, a leading environmentalist and author

“Quotables

Welch: John Abbott Photography; Sandberg: Courtesy of Lean In; Hawken: Raymond Baltar

NEXTGEN 11

““QuotablesQuotables

Tip #4

Understand that friendships can change once you switch sides

Try not to be too hard on yourself. You don’t know everything, and your co-workers don’t expect you to. Which is why you should never be afraid to ask a lot of questions, Atkinson said. It’s what helped her as a manager.

Grassi agreed. In general, he add-ed, it’s important to remember that the people around you want you to succeed—you’re a team, after all. And

there’s nothing wrong with asking team members for help.

“Ask for advice early and often,” he said. “If you feel like you’re unsure of yourself, reach out to the people above you. They’re there to help you and to help create a safe and nurturing environment for you. We’re all part of a team and, as a team, we get over the goal line together.”

Being promoted can sometimes change the social dynamics among a group of co-workers who had, until recently, been on the same level, ac-cording to Rollin. Indeed, CPA Jennifer Stone, who returned to public ac-counting after eight years of working in public schools, said she found this to be an unexpected challenge, after being promoted to senior accountant.

“[With] your colleagues, the people who were your friends, you kind of have to gain their respect and trust again,” she said. “It takes time and doesn’t happen overnight. You have to be patient. It’s a big adjustment for everyone.”

Rollin said that one tactic she has seen work for new managers is to have one-on-one conversations with all the co-workers who are going to be affected by the changing relationship—outside the office, if possible.

“Acknowledge that it feels a little awkward,” she said. At the same time, convey that you’re excited to have your co-workers on the team because “it gives you an opportunity to contribute to their development.” In addition, be sure to ask what it is your co-workers want from you as a leader, she said.

Tip #6

Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence, and making

sure that impact lasts in your absence.” –Sheryl Sandberg, CEO of Facebook

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and

become more, you are a leader.”  –John Quincy Adams, sixth U.S. president

Tip #5Relax, Relate, Release

If you’re thinking that your new position will require you to take a stiff upper lip with those who report to you, think again. When it comes to inter-acting with staff, there’s power in hospitality. “There can be a lot of value in taking a personal touch with people—it helps remind everyone that we’re all a team and we’re in this together,” said Denise Finney, a direc-

tor in the pension services group of EisnerAmper, LLP. “Please and thank you, I’ve found,

can go a long way,” she said. “I’ve been working

to apply this to my interactions with my

staff, from simply asking how their weekend was and what their holiday plans are, to occasionally taking them out for lunch, which has really helped to boost morale.”

Be thoughtful.

12 NEXTGEN

“Quotables

People get anxious when they’re not sure what it is their manager wants from them—and resentful when the manager gets mad about something they didn’t do. To avoid this, both Cooperman and Grassi stressed the importance of ensuring that the team has a clear understanding of what, specifically, it is you expect from them, both in terms of short-term individual engagements and long-term goals.

Cooperman said that, no matter the level, he always lets people know what he expects from them so that everyone knows where she stands and what needs to be done.

This requires more than just stat-ing a goal, though, and saying “get to work.” For example, Grassi pointed out that when faced with a task that requires input from everyone on the team, such as an engagement, people need to know what the end result should look like. Too often, he says, new managers don’t start with this in mind, which leads to muddled thinking and wasted time. What’s more, he said, it’s also important to articulate a strate-gy for getting to the end, to set realistic

Be clear. Be consistent. Be decisive. Be fair.

goals along the way and to follow up on a regular basis.

This speaks to another important aspect of leadership—being decisive. Grassi warned against becoming par-alyzed when a decision needs to be made. “When faced with a decision, don’t run around it—make it,” he said. “A bad decision is better than no deci-sion at all.”

And when you do make a decision, be consistent. Cooperman said that if you’re seen as a flip-flopper, people won’t have as much faith in you. They’ll get mixed messages and may be hes-itant to act on what you say because you might change your mind later. It’s a bad environment to cultivate.

Of course, he added, it doesn’t pay to be completely inflexible, noting that “there are times when I do something and sit back and say, ‘Geez, what was I thinking?’”

“But that’s part of the game,” he added. “And when that happens, you have to go and say, ‘I don’t think I did it right—here’s why I think it was wrong and here is what I should do now.’”

Tip #7

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When

you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

–Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric 

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His skills, as detailed on LinkedIn, include “SCARFING PUMPKIN” and “DISSING SATAN.”

His firm’s website promises that it will fight for CPAs “to be seen

as a rainbow-colored force to be reckoned with, yo.”

Meet Jason Blumer, head of Blumer & Associates CPAs, PC,

who does all of the work that a CPA would traditionally do, but

in none of the ways a CPA would traditionally do it.

BY JASON WONG

REBELCAUSECAUSE

When Jason Blumer took over his father’s Greenville, S.C., CPA firm in 2003, he was just 30 years old and already sick and tired of playing it straight. A wiry, bespectacled musician at heart, he had decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an accountant after dreams of rock stardom didn’t pan out. Only his stab at leading a more orthodox life—donning suits and mimick-

ing the work ethos of other firm leaders—made him miserable. So, when his dad handed over the reins, Blumer decided to put his craziest ideas about running a firm in motion. Suits and ties? Nixed. Billable hours? Banned. Timesheets? Scrapped. In the biggest change of all, Blumer decided that he didn’t need to see clients or colleagues in person to conduct business. He reinvented

the firm as a virtual company, long before it was popular. And 12 years later, his crazy ideas aren’t so crazy anymore. The AICPA estimates that as many as 10 percent of accounting firms now operate without a brick-and-mortar office, and Blumer himself will tell you that business is good. The firm—which uses a value-pricing method, in which it customizes fees based on what the

buyer finds valuable—has carved out a niche for itself, largely serving creative design agencies. What’s more, at 42, Blumer now has an even bigger audience for his tech-friendly, dress-code-free, results-only philosophy. He coaches CPAs all over the country in embracing innovation through partnerships with various state CPA organizations and via Thriveal.com, an online network

REBELWITH

A

NEXTGEN 13

14 NEXTGEN

for accountants that he started. We recently spoke with Blumer about running a virtual firm and what young and aspiring CPAs can learn from his experience.

Take us through your early years in the profession. When I got out of college and became a CPA, I went right into private accounting, which was hard for me. I’ve always been very creative and need outlets for that creativ-ity. I like to have a lot of things going on at the same time. But private accounting is very structured. Working for the same company, the same owners every month, drove me crazy.

My next job was in public accounting, which was the opposite kind of scenario—I was constantly meeting new people and being challenged to do new things. I was an audit manager in a regional South Carolina firm, working mostly with governmental and nonprofit clients. I also worked with other firm team members on tax prepara-tion, payroll preparation and accounting. At the firm, you essentially got to do anything you wanted to do for any client you could sell it to. I implemented that idea, later on, at my dad’s business. My colleagues didn’t think I should experiment and try new things—they thought I was crazy. But you can be a public accountant and a creative entrepreneur at the same time.

Did going virtual ever seem like too far-out an idea to pursue for an accounting firm?I don’t doubt a lot. I try something until it blows up, and then I don’t do it. We started to realize that we had the ability to serve clients all over the country, and I thought to myself, “I’m serving these clients, but they don’t need to see me in order for us to do business—maybe we don’t need an office.”

Going virtual has been the best thing to ever happen to me. It’s given me more freedom—for one [thing], I don’t have to manage the team, since they’re autonomous. Our firm consists of eight people, some part-time, some full-time, scattered around the country. We can meet weekly if we need to, but it’s not a requirement. The team decides together when we need to meet and for what purpose. I don’t check in on team members formally, but we do use yammer.com as an online place to talk, work through client issues and build our culture. Operating this way isn’t a strategy every firm should employ, but it was the best decision for us.

Have any of your colleagues or clients balked at the idea? It was a struggle for some of the more tradi-tional CPAs who have worked in the profes-

“You can be a public accountant and a creative entrepreneur at the same time.” –Jason Blumer

sion for a long time. If you have the mindset that there is no new way to do public accounting, then you won’t see it. It’s impor tant to surround yourself with the right people, people who will support you, push you to try new things. Experimentation and taking risks are part of running a business.

When we made the switch, we lost 20 percent of our clients. But the ones we kept are still with us, and now we’re very clear about which clients we’ll take—pri-marily design and development agency owners who see the value in paying for access to a strong financial partner. We help these clients grow their agencies through coaching and onsite consulting.

A lot of people don’t realize that the firm decides who to serve. We get who we get because we decide that they’re clients we want.

Do you think that being a virtual firm has detracted from your legitimacy in the eyes of some people?That’s a fear I thought about when I first started. “Am I legit-imate to my potential client?” is all that matters. I don’t care what anyone else thinks. But we were already being perceived as valu-able by our client base. And we’re making a lot more money than we ever have, because our value has gone up.

What were some of the challenges of switching over? We had to learn how to break down what our processes would be. For example, the processes we used for tax returns in an on-premise type of business wouldn’t necessarily work for a virtual firm. The other main challenge is that everybody gets to work at home, and some people are not suited to that. A self-driven person, someone who

does not need to be managed, is a good fit for a virtual firm, but that kind of worker is hard to find. In the beginning, I assumed team members would be the same great people in a virtual environment as they were at the office. Some were, some were not. The inability to be physically together as a team also means you have to be very intentional about building a desirable culture.

What’s a typical day like at the firm?I can’t describe one of my employee’s typical days. They do their work, and that’s all I care about. I have no idea what a typical day for our team is. I’m in meetings three to four hours a day with publications, media, software companies. I coach and consult with clients. Sometimes I travel to be on-site with a client, though that’s less often.

In your Thriveal blogs, you’ve said that taking risks is important. What risks are you taking right now?We’re working to add a new partner—that will be a huge risk. We’re also always selling new services. We create one to two new services a year. They’re built around what the client perceives as valuable, but they’re risky because they’re new.

What advice would you offer young professionals looking to venture out on their own or do something different?My advice is this: You need to run your own firm. That’s why I creat-ed the Thriveal Incubator, to help kick-start and support strong en-trepreneurs. (You can read more about it at Thriveal.com.) As we say on our site, we believe CPA firm owners are great examples of leadership and courage.

NEXTGEN 15

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BY N. SHEREE SAUNDERS

Time to ask your boss for a raise? If you freeze up at the thought of initiating salary talks, you’re not alone—for most professionals,

negotiating pay increases is one of the hardest and most dreaded workplace tasks. So hard, in fact, that some skip it altogether: According to a survey of 31,000 employees released this January by the compensation data and software provider PayScale, Inc., just 43 percent of workers said they’ve asked for a raise in their current field. Of the 57 percent who haven’t, 28 percent admitted that angling for more money made them uncomfortable, while 19

percent said they were worried about being perceived as pushy. The remain-ing respondents were lucky enough to have gotten a raise before they even needed to ask.

The survey touches on a real concern for professionals, according to Marie G. McIntyre, Ph.D., a career coach and the author of Secrets to Winning at Office Politics: How to Achieve Your Goals and Increase Your Influence at Work. Some people, she said, see being assertive about com-pensation as being akin to bragging or self-promotion. “So, they just avoid the topic and hope that, eventually, someone will take note that they’re

worth more—which, most of the time, companies don’t do.”

There may also be generational and gender differences at play. The PayScale survey found that Millennials have a particularly tough time asking for more money, as do baby boom-ers—the former due to inexperience, and the latter out of fear that they’ll lose their job to younger workers. Women, according to the survey, are also more likely than men to say they’re uncomfortable negotiating salaries—some 31 percent of females vs. 23 percent of males said they have trouble making the ask.

But you’re not doing yourself—or

your boss—any favors by staying silent. “People who feel they’re being underpaid can become resentful,” McIntyre said. And if that resentment bleeds over into your job perfor-mance, “it can actually get you into career trouble.”

The crazy part, she added, is that your boss actually expects you to go for more money. “Most managers expect people to ask for a raise or, at the [very] least, are not surprised when they do,” McIntyre said. “They’re not going to mind your asking—if you do it in the right way.”

Here are a few do’s and don’ts to help you.

Does asking your

A foolproof plan for getting a bigger payday at work

BOSSfor a

RAISEmake you feel like

THIS?A foolproof plan for getting a bigger payday at work

NEXTGEN 17

DO MAKE THE BUSINESS CASE FOR WHY YOU NEED A RAISE. “First to yourself, so that you’re confident,” McIntyre advises, “and then to the boss.” A business case means just that—business, so steer clear of any personal details the higher-ups don’t need to know about. For example: Your manager won’t care that you just bought a new car or want to make a down payment on a condo and could use the extra dough. “Companies aren’t paying you in order to make your life comfortable,” McIntyre explained. “They’re paying you based on the value of your position and your contribution to that position.” Bottom line: Limit talks to concrete achievements and any hard data that illustrate them.

DON’T GET EMOTIONAL. “If you go in thinking, ‘I’m entitled to a raise, and it’s owed to me,’ that will shine through in the way you ask for it,” McIntyre said. And the last thing you want to do is turn your bosses off by sounding arrogant and irritated. Whining is also another no-no—you’ll get labeled as a complainer. “Anything you do that conveys to the people above you that you don’t have the right attitude, temperament or judgment can affect your career,” she said. “The appropriate attitude is, ‘I’m worth it based on my contribution here.’ You have to consider two things: what your position is worth and what you’re worth in the position.”

DO TIME YOUR ASK CORRECTLY. The best time to ask for a raise, McIntyre said, is after you’ve have had some noteworthy accomplishment—for example, if you’ve exceeded a goal or solved some challenging problem. But you also have to pay attention to what’s going on around you. “If your manager is in some political hot water or having a bad day, that’s not a good time to ask for a raise,” McIntyre said. “And if business isn’t doing well, nobody is likely to get a raise. The best time to ask is when things are going [smoothly].”

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK YOUR COMPANY’S COMPENSATION POLICY. No matter what your company’s size, “it helps to understand what the increase cycle is,” McIntyre pointed out. You can get that info by talking to HR or checking the employee handbook. A lot of people wait for the employee review period to ask about pay raises, she said. “But in many companies, raises are determined before the review is given. You want to get the request in shortly before those decisions are made.” She does note, however, that if you’ve recently had a change in title or a significant increase in job responsibilities, you may be able to get a raise outside the regular cycle.

DO HAVE A PLAN B. It’s possible that if you make the ask, the answer will be “no” or “not now.” That doesn’t necessarily mean that “you’re being rejected or that it wasn’t appropriate to ask,” McIntyre said. Still, you should have a follow-up plan. For starters, ask your manager if there would be a better time to discuss the raise, say, in six months. You might also ask what it would take to get a raise and if there are criteria your manager would like to see you meet, so that the next time you sit down to talk about it, you can make sure you’ve reached whatever bar has been set.

DON’T THREATEN TO QUIT......unless you mean it. “For sure, the best way to guarantee a raise is to be someone who’s very highly valued and has another job offer,” McIntyre said. But threatening to leave without really having another offer is just an empty threat, and empty threats make you look silly. Worse, it could “look like extortion,” McIntyre warned.

DO LEAVE YOUR CO-WORKERS OUT OF IT.It’s rarely a good strategy to refer to what a colleague makes when asking for a raise. For one thing, McIntyre said, management won’t talk to you about other people’s salaries. But you also run the risk of looking immature or unsavvy.

DON’T FORGET TO SAY THANK-YOU. Usually, when a person gets a raise, it means that his manager has gone to bat for him. “It’s not just up to your manager,” McIntyre pointed out. “Most of the time, someone higher up will have to OK the request.” In that case, it wouldn’t hurt to show a little appreciation in return. This doesn’t mean you have to suck up, McIntyre said. But you can thank your manager in person or shoot her an email. She’ll appreciate your appreciation.

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Q I’ve received an offer from another firm, which I intend to accept. How can I gracefully leave my current job and stay on good terms with colleagues?

Short answer: Work hard up until the moment you walk out the door.

Long answer: It may sound strange, but if you’re an accounting professional looking to switch employers, you’ll find sound advice for making the shift in the old Girl Scouts campfire song, “Make New Friends”: “Make new friends, but keep the old,” the lyrics tell us. “One is silver, the other is gold.” For our purposes, take this to mean that even as you make plans to sail off into the sunset with a new firm or company, you shouldn’t overlook the needs of your current employer. The accounting profession is a small world, and it pays to stay on good terms with “old friends.” Indeed, everything you do, from beginning to end, is pertinent to your career and reveals a bit about your character. A proper closure is just as important as a proper introduction.

Here are some bits of advice for leaving an employer on a good note:• Don’t give less than the standard two-weeks notice. Offer your employer even more time if you’re at a

managerial or leadership level.• Work out an agreed-upon termination date.• Continue to maintain high standards, even after you’ve given notice.• Organize your work responsibilities for the smoothest transition possible. • Help with the transfer of work by passing on your knowledge (i.e., history about clients, as well as about

their staffs) to the next person, be it an intermediary filling in, a new hire who will be taking over or your own supervisor. Document knowledge and processes as necessary.

• Complete and wrap up your deliverables, as time permits.• Don’t bad mouth the firm internally or externally, particularly over social media.

Keep in touch with colleagues whom you’ve built relationships with and send thank-you notes to any who might have been influential during your career or helpful to you throughout the course of your employment.Leave a number where your employer can reach you, in case your manager or other staff have a question about the work or clients you handled. If they do call you, it’s likely to be about something simple that won’t take up much of your time. However, making yourself available in this way allows you to continue to be of value and to remain on your employer’s good side.

Smart solutions for career dilemmas

By Pei-Cen Lin

LIFESAVERS

Ask an expert

19 NEXTGEN

I’d like to share my own personal story with you in order to illustrate the benefit of leaving on good terms.

In 2009, my entire department, as well as many others in my firm, was hobbled by the financial crisis. As a result, my position was eliminated and I was laid off. I had been with the firm for a very short time—I didn’t even make it through one review cycle. I could have been upset about it, but I wasn’t. I recognized that while the words “we have to let you go” came from the mouths of my supervisors, they were merely the messengers—messengers who were also worried about their own employ-ment. I felt no anger toward the firm either; a company has to do what it has to do. It has a responsibility to its shareholders, among others.

The moral of the story? I left on good terms with my supervisors and the firm as a whole, and followed many of the steps that I’ve outlined on this page. My supervisors were so appreciative of my maturity that they became my best advocates—and re-main so to this day. Though I was laid off by the company—as opposed to choosing to resign from my position—the bottom line is the same: I gained more from leaving on good terms than I would have had I not. —P.C.L

Can we

talk?talk?

Q I’m spending so much time at the office that my personal life is suffering. How can I establish a better work–life balance?

Short answer: Train your co-workers to respect your off-hours.

Pei-Cen Lin, CPA, SPHR, is a strategic talent management and organizational develop ment professional in the human resources field. She can be reached at pei-cen.lin@nysscpa.org.

Long answer: Truth be told, we often cripple our own efforts to get a company to respect our personal lives. I know it’s a crime that I’ve also been guilty of.

For example, I once told my man-agers and colleagues that I had to leave work at 2 p.m. for a family event. But nearly an hour later, there I was, still sitting at my desk toiling away. I was trying to wrap up the last bit of work, which may sound understandable and even honorable. The only problem is this: It sent a message to my super-visors that they don’t really have to respect or honor the times when I say I need to leave early, since I don’t seem to be serious about them. You may have encountered similar situations.

So, how can you improve your balancing act? You’ll have to figure out what works for you and what you’re comfortable with, but here are a few suggestions: Get clear on what matters. Having a work–life balance sounds great, but what does that mean for you? Before you try to set boundaries at the office, take a step back and ask yourself, ‘What’s most important in life? Who are the people I must spend time with?’ Or,

to really put things in perspective, ‘What would I want people to say about me in my eulogy?’ Once you can sum up confidently what and who matters to you, take it a step further and work those people, places and things into your schedule—literally. I’ve found that in order to give important personal appointments the same weight as a business meeting, you have to block out the time for them on your calendar. For example, if it’s good for your body and soul to hit the gym, do yoga or run errands during your lunch hour, then set that time aside and block it out on your calendar. Another perk from using this tactic is that it forces you to do the necessary planning to make sure you’re able to honor your personal commitments. On days that I don’t have the flexibility to stay late for whatever reason (I need rest, am meeting friends or will be attending a professional organization’s event), I mark the calendar in advance and know that I may need to reconfigure my work-load that day or on the days leading up to it. Keep in mind, though, that if you want your schedule to be honored, you must also honor your colleagues’ schedules as well.

Disconnect during nonwork hours. Everyone needs downtime to

recharge. When you’re off the clock—whether you’re on vacation or simply home for the evening, spending time with family—don’t check and respond to work emails. By fully disconnecting during nonwork hours, you’re 1) sending the message that personal time is important, 2) clarifying what can or cannot be expected of you or your subordinates during nonwork hours and 3) making it known that you want any boundaries you set to be respected. Another bonus: You may be more alert the next day. Accord-ing to researchers from Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business who followed nearly 250 employees, when workers use their smartphones at night for business purposes, they lose out on sleep and have less energy in the office the next day. Communicate and manage expectations.Clear communication allows you to manage expectations and also to establish a reasonable timeline for deliverables. The more transparent you can be about when a task or project will or won’t be completed, the better you’ll be able to coor-dinate with your colleagues and meet your personal commitments. Advanced planning and notice always helps.

NEXTGEN 20

As a committee member, you can—

Sharpen your skills Network with the best minds in the profession Collaborate and create

Contact Nellie Gomez, Manager, Committees, at 212-719-8358 or ngomez@nysscpa.org, to learn more.

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Find out how to become involved by contacting Tekecha Morgan at tmorgan@nysscpa.org or call 212-719-8425.

Join an NYSSCPA NextGen Committee

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