By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 24, 2026 | 39-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer A CPA firm is ready for tax season when it has tested—not merely assigned—the people, workflows, review capacity, client-intake process, technology, security controls, and backup coverage
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Accounting Workforce Development Archives - Page 10 of 13 - SkillAbility
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 24, 2026 | 37-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer A bookkeeping quality control checklist should help accounting firms catch incomplete source data, duplicate or missing transactions, unsupported classifications, unreconciled balances, cutoff errors, payroll and tax-liability
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 23, 2026 | 31-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer Month-end close training for staff accountants should teach employees to produce complete, supported, accurate, timely, and explainable financial information—not merely finish a checklist before the deadline.
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 23, 2026 | 28-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer A CPA firm manager one-on-one should not be a private status meeting. Workflow systems should show what is due, late, waiting, and blocked before the conversation
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 23, 2026 | 29-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer A senior accountant onboarding plan should validate the experienced hire’s actual capabilities quickly, teach the firm’s standards and systems without forcing the person through entry-level repetition,
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 22, 2026 | 30-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer Tax research training for junior accountants should teach staff to define the issue and facts, locate current and applicable authority, evaluate how strongly each source supports
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 22, 2026 | 26-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer A CPA firm performance review should evaluate four separate things: the results an employee delivered, the capabilities the person can demonstrate consistently, the quality of professional
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 22, 2026 | 24-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer An accounting firm mentoring program should help employees interpret experience, develop professional judgment, navigate career decisions, build relationships, and prepare for greater responsibility—without making the mentor
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 21, 2026 | 23-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer A tax manager development program should build three connected capabilities: reviewing returns and risk, coaching people so quality improves before the next review, and leading clients
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 21, 2026 | 20-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer Accounting onboarding KPIs should show whether a new hire is producing more useful work, with fewer avoidable corrections and less manager rescue, while progressing toward clearly
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