By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 16, 2026 | 21-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer An accounting firm cross-training plan reduces key-person risk by identifying the responsibilities the firm cannot allow to stop, assigning qualified backups, transferring the required process and
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By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: July 2026 | 14-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer To reduce review notes in accounting, do not lower review standards. Build staff who submit more review-ready work. Too many review notes are not just a quality-control
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 12-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer To develop accounting staff without relying on shadowing: (1) define role-specific capability — a bookkeeper, tax preparer, senior, and manager need different pathways, not generic training; (2) stop
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | SkillAbility for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 12-minute read TL;DR — The Short Answer AI now does the entry-level accounting work — document collection, data extraction, reconciliations, draft returns — that once trained new accountants. 70% of U.S. firms already use AI
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 14-minute read The Short Answer (TL;DR) Most “skill development” spending at accounting firms doesn’t develop skills — it accumulates certificates. The platform market sorts into three tiers that firm owners routinely confuse: credential platforms (CPE
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 13-minute read The Short Answer (TL;DR) Most new accounting hires take 60–90 days to reach independent productivity — not because they’re slow or under-qualified, but because the firm’s onboarding leaves them to absorb the job
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 13-minute read The Short Answer (TL;DR) The manager bottleneck is the hidden constraint on most CPA firm growth: your most capable people — the managers and senior accountants who should be reviewing work, developing staff,
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