March 2022
In this episode, Jamie Nau, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO; Jody Grunden, our CEO and Co-founder; Greg Wallis, our Virtual CFO discusses how important it is to run your business like you are ready to sell. They discuss different scenarios, tips and things you need to consider to run your business operations smoothly.
March 2022
In this episode, Jamie Nau, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO sits down with our COO and Co-founder, Adam Hale and the President of Precision Business Strategies, Larry D. West III to talk about a new platform called Clubhouse. We also talk about how Larry was able to narrow down on a niche and how understanding his audience helped in growing brand awareness and becoming a thought leader in this untapped social media platform.
March 2022
In this episode, Tom Wadelton, our host and Summit CPA Group's virtual CFO along with Dave Danic, our Director of Tax; sit down with Randy Crabtree, co-founder and partner of Tri-Merit Specialty Tax Professionals to talk about Employee Retention Credit (ERC). As a specialist in this area, Randy shares the nitty gritty of this credit and how your business can qualify.
March 2022
Stephen Pope, Founder of SGP Labs, joins us again to discuss best practices around marketing your firm. He’ll show you how to develop a simple marketing strategy to help you attract the clients you want to work with. You’ll learn how to capture the attention of your target audience and build trust with them using video, online marketing and social media. He’ll also cover how to repurpose your content so you can be more efficient with your time and efforts.
February 2022
At Summit CPA, we’re a proponent of creating and implementing effective marketing strategies to increase your client count and, ultimately, your bottom line. Our recommendation comes from firsthand experience, as we have seen a substantial amount of success in intentionally marketing specific services to a niche audience. With that said, marketing is a key component to attracting your target clientele to your firm, but developing an efficient and effective process to convert the leads you receive is just as important.
February 2022
In this episode, Jamie Nau, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO; Jody Grunden, our CEO and Co-founder; Courtney DeRonde, Managing Partner and Director of Business Development of TDT CPAs and Advisors, a boutique advisory and accounting firm for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. They help overwhelmed, successful leaders understand and maximize financial information so they can achieve better results and move their organization to the next level. TDT is awarded as a Forbes 2021 Best Accounting Firm. Today, we will discuss the similarities and differences of TDT CPAs and Advisors and Summit CPA Group. We will highlight the different strategies the firms use in helping their clients achieve success.
February 2022
Employees who are new to the work-from-home lifestyle may currently be dealing with some challenging aspects of the transition. Meanwhile, there are probably many company leaders who are unsure as to whether having their staff work remotely will help or hurt their business Having a distributed working model define our business operations means that all of our employees work from home, and we interact with our clients virtually.
February 2022
In this special episode, Jamie Nau, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO does a throwback to 2021 to discover the best performing podcasts from last year that will give us and idea of how 2022 will look like for us in this show. Sharing how we will use this information to navigate the upcoming podcasts that interest you. Also, in case you missed these top 10 episodes it's a chance for you to tune in and get yourself in the know.
February 2022
AuditMiner is an online B2B SaaS tool that streamlines the employee benefit plan audit. In today's episode, Kim Moore, Summit CPA's Director of Auditing will be our host together with Karen Hill, Summit CPA Group's 401(k) Senior Auditor to interview our guest Kelly Mann, Co-Founder of AuditMiner to discuss how this tool benefits CPA firms conducting 401(k) audits.
February 2022
In the first quarter of 2020, we published an episode and talked all about client onboarding. We wondered what has changed at Summit CPA since? And thought why not circle back on this topic to discover the lessons we've learned. Today, Jamie Nau, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO; Adam Hale, our COO and Co-founder; Lydia Rapp, our Project Manager takes a step back to look at how far we've come in terms of onboarding clients and deep dive into the fundamentals of having a reliable process in place.
February 2022
In this episode, Jamie Nau, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO sits down with our COO and Co-founder, Adam Hale and our People Operations Strategist, Josh Jeans to talk about a one of our core values - curiosity. We will discuss about the importance of curiosity in developing a team of constant learners and how it can impact hiring, employee productivity, and day-to-day operations.
February 2022
The Great Resignation has greatly impacted the hiring environment and presented employers with new challenges in 2022. Join Josh Jeans, People Operations Strategist at Summit CPA Group, in this webinar to learn how to handle these challenges. As we face what is now an “employee market” where potential employees have the advantage, Josh will explain why accounting firms must expand beyond the traditional ways of recruiting and why your interview process should include “soft recruiting”. You’ll learn how to round out the skill set of your team by hiring for culture and competence, seeking out critical thinkers, and the generational considerations to make when evaluating candidates.
January 2022
In this episode, we sit down with our host Tom Wadelton and Summit CPA Group's virtual CFO, our Director of Tax, Dave Danic, Jennifer Bolton and Maggie Crowley, Senior Tax Manager Consultant and Senior R&D Tax Credit Consultant respectively from Leyton to discuss about R&D Tax Credit and how Summit CPA Group partnered and with Leyton to assist and help serve our clients better in this aspect.
January 2022
Andrew Tucker from Practice Executive, one our Virtual CFO Playbook Course participants started his Virtual CFO practice from scratch and grew his clientele using the Summit CPA framework. In this episode, we sit down with our host and Director for Accounting/Virtual CFO, Jamie Nau and our CEO and Co-founder, Jody Grunden to discuss how he started, how we utilized his learnings and what challenges he faced and what helped him achieve his goals in a very short span of time.
January 2022
In this episode, we sit down with our virtual CFO and host Tom Wadelton and Dave Danic, our Director of Tax to discuss about the BackDoor Roth IRA. Discussing what it is all about, how it can help companies and their tax filing, and carefully outlining the implications when utilized.
January 2022
We've discussed SAS 136 very briefly in the past, but this audit season we share what this would mean for 401(k) plan sponsors and auditors. In this episode, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO, Jamie Nau together with Kim Moore Summit CPA's Director of Auditing and 401(k) Senior Auditor, Karen Hill revisit and dive deeper into the new Statement on Audit Standards 136.
January 2022
In this special episode, Jamie Nau, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO does a throwback to 2021 to discover the best performing podcasts from last year that will give us and idea of how 2022 will look like for us in this show. Sharing how we will use this information to navigate the upcoming podcasts that interest you. Also, in case you missed these top 10 episodes it's a chance for you to tune in and get yourself in the know.
January 2022
Throughout the pandemic, employers have seen a sharp rise in employees leaving their positions. Therefore, it’s imperative that you, as a business leader, learn how to navigate these changes by updating your approach to hiring and retention to ensure that you attract and keep employees who will help you achieve your business goals.
January 2022
In this episode, Jamie Nau, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO sits down with our COO and Co-founder, Adam Hale and our People Operations Strategist, Josh Jeans to talk about a one of our core values - curiosity. We will discuss about the importance of curiosity in developing a team of constant learners and how it can impact hiring, employee productivity, and day-to-day operations.
January 2022
Want to shift your accounting practice away from compliance work and into advisory services? In this webinar, you will learn what it means to be an advisor, what profit-focused accounting means, and how to successfully deliver it to clients as a Virtual CFO. We will walk through how to get started with Virtual CFO service offerings and how to actually deliver the services. You will discover the strategies and techniques necessary to scale your firm and make it more profitable.
January 2022
Retirement planning can be a stress-inducing mystery for both plan participants and sponsors. For plan sponsors, a well-designed 401(k) plan can serve as an excellent incentive to both attract and retain top talent for the long term. Regardless of which side of the 401(k) plan you’re on (sponsor or individual participant), you can fine-tune your approach with a better understanding of how a 401(k) plan functions and the best way to maximize your retirement planning through the performance of your 401(k) plan account.
December 2021
Coming from different conferences around the state our host and Director of Accounting, Jamie Nau together with our founders, Jody Grunden and Adam Hale bring about a hot topic that's been making a lot of buzz in the industry. In this episode, they share what they learned and from experience and give sound advice for remote first companies. Highlighting three important foundations that make Summit CPA Group a successful remote workplace — People, Processes, and Tools.
December 2021
With "The Great Resignation" becoming a popular term in mainstream media, Summit CPA Group continues to find ways and initiatives to combat this global phenomenon. In our search, we stumbled upon the Managing Partner of Accord Group Belguim, Co-founder of Valpeo and Author of the book "Disruption@Work", Fabiaan Van Vrekhem, to talk about Organization Reinvention.
In this episode, we define Organization Reinvention and discuss what it takes to reinvent your company and how understanding this concept can help your company with hiring and people management.
December 2021
In this special holiday episode, our host and Summit CPA's Director of Accounting/Virtual CFO, Jamie Nau together with Kim Moore Summit CPA's Director of Auditing and 401(k) Senior Auditor, Karen Hill are coming just in time for the holidays - (whichever one you celebrate) with twelve (12) gifts for you! They give the popular "12 Days of Christmas" a creative spin by giving you twelve (12) things you should think about and prepare for your 401(k) plan going into 2022.
December 2021
As the work environment continues to evolve rapidly, it’s essential that you keep up with the times if you wish to cultivate and maintain a successful business bolstered by a top-notch staff. So how you can adapt? Here are 4 ways you can start building a successful flexible and engaged workplace.
December 2021
Coming from different conferences around the state our host and Director of Accounting, Jamie Nau together with our founders, Jody Grunden and Adam Hale bring about a hot topic that's been making a lot of buzz in the industry. In this episode, they share what they learned and from experience and give sound advice for remote first companies. Highlighting three important foundations that make Summit CPA Group a successful remote workplace — People, Processes, and Tools.
December 2021
Have you heard or read about the recently passed and proposed tax bills? In this podcast, we sit down with our host Tom Wadelton and Dave Danic, our Director of Tax to discuss about the new Infrastructure Law and the Build Back Better bill (BBB). Diving deeper into the facets it may impact taxes from the perspective of business owners and individuals.
December 2021
In this webinar, Lydia Rapp, Account and Project Manager at Summit CPA Group, will provide tools to build or refine an existing new client onboarding process. We’ll cover how to effectively educate your client and your team on critical information quickly, integrate communications, set and maintain project and relationship expectations, and how to adapt without scope creep.
November 2021
Today, we sit down with Jake Grimm, our Director for Technology and Martin Zych, CEO & Co-founder of Jirav to discover how cloud-based forecasting solutions like Jirav can help maximize your potential as a firm. Jirav's ultimate goal is to help companies realize their growth through solutions made accessible to companies of all sizes.
November 2021
With "The Great Resignation" becoming a popular term in mainstream media, Summit CPA Group continues to find ways and initiatives to combat this global phenomenon. In our search, we stumbled upon the Managing Partner of Accord Group Belguim, Co-founder of Valpeo and Author of the book "Disruption@Work", Fabiaan Van Vrekhem, to talk about Organization Reinvention.
In this episode, we define Organization Reinvention and discuss what it takes to reinvent your company and how understanding this concept can help your company with hiring and people management.
November 2021
A sequel to "The Great Resignation". We will be diving deeper into this global phenomenon, and sharing experiences and management strategies to help your firm retain talent. In this episode with Jody Grunden, Zach Montroy, our People, Team and Organizational Strategist and Josh Jeans our People Operations Strategist, we will address this phenomenon and discuss more about the employee retention and rewards.
November 2021
An effective, aligned team can make or break a business. Most of the time, business owners recognize this truth and understand the importance of a group of people coming together to work toward a common goal. What separates the average business owner from an extraordinary one is simple: a leadership team that values the importance of building community and culture around the company’s core vision will level up sooner than one that doesn’t.
November 2021
What is the global phenomenon called "The Great Resignation"? What is happening in the current labor force that is affecting companies in various industries? In this episode with Jody Grunden and our People Operations Strategist, Josh Jeans we will address this phenomenon and lay out practical steps a company can consider to take this employee retention and hiring challenge head-on.
November 2021
If you are the named plan trustee(s) or plan administrator(s) for your company’s 401(k) plan, you are a fiduciary to the plan and, therefore, responsible for anything that happens to it. Here are steps you can take as a plan fiduciary to avoid security breaches that can result in the theft of plan assets.
November 2021
What is the global phenomenon called "The Great Resignation"? What is happening in the current labor force that is affecting companies in various industries? In this episode with Jody Grunden and our People Operations Strategist, Josh Jeans we will address this phenomenon and lay out practical steps a company can consider to take this employee retention and hiring challenge head-on.
November 2021
Now more than ever, client accounting services (CAS) firms can play a strategic role in their clients’ business. While many firms look to scale their practices to provide higher value advisory services such as controllership and CFO services, many factors including a clear roadmap, productization, lack of time, resources, skill set, and technology preclude them from doing so. In this webinar, we discuss practical steps on how to launch a successful financial planning and analysis service within your CAS practice using Gartner’s Financial Analytics Maturity Model (descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive analytics) as a framework for moving up the advisory value chain.
November 2021
Jacob Oberlander, founder of Oberlander & Co. invested in his business by taking our online course, The Virtual CFO Playbook: How to Land $60K/year Clients and Provide a Killer Client Experience. Read about the lessons Jacob learned that have shaped his approach to offering advisory services to potential and current clients.
November 2021
Octavia Conner, founder of Say Yes to Profits invested in her business by taking our online course, The Virtual CFO Playbook: How to Land $60K/year Clients and Provide a Killer Client Experience. Read about the lessons Octavia learned during her time taking the course that continue to be instrumental to her firm’s success.
October 2021
Last week Summit CPA Group spent a great time together in Las Vegas for their All Team Retreat experience, and now it seems just about right to discuss an important item that many CPAs and CPA firm owners ask..."Can I deduct this?". In this podcast, we sit down with our host Tom Wadelton and Dave Danic, our Director of Tax to discuss about meals and entertainment deductions.
October 2021
Instead of charging by the hour or by project, why not charge based on value? In this episode we sit down with Adam Hale, Jody Grunden and Geraldine Carter, founder of She Thinks Big Coaching to discuss how CPA firms and CPAs can use their existing skills and expertise to provide valuable services at a premium rate and how this approach will help them earn more money while building their brand and business.
October 2021
Today, we sit down with Jake Grimm, our Director for Technology and Martin Zych, CEO & Co-founder of Jirav to discover how cloud-based forecasting solutions like Jirav can help maximize your potential as a firm. Jirav's ultimate goal is to help companies realize their growth through solutions made accessible to companies of all sizes.
October 2021
Think TikTok is just for teenagers and all about dancing? Think again. Professionals (even accountants) are using TikTok to increase their leads and grow their businesses. In this panel-style you will lear about the benefits of TikTok as a legitimate marketing platform for your firm, how to find your own style and plan out your video content, and gain an understanding of tactical strategies for growing your following on TikTok and, ultimately, your business leads.
October 2021
In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kimberly Moore to talk about a timely issue since it is close to the time for open enrollment and annual enrollment for employees. We will share strategies old and new that can influence your employees enroll into your 401(k) Plan while highlighting the importance of communication in bridging the gap between the company and its employees to discuss about 401(k) Plans.
October 2021
In this episode we sit down with Adam Hale, Jody Grunden and Geraldine Carter, founder of She Thinks Big Coaching to learn about the intriguing story behind Geraldine's discovery and to deep dive into how changing your mindset, using simple solutions and implement these new strategies can help your firm scale.
October 2021
As more companies transition to a permanent remote work model, many accounting business leaders and employees wonder what they can do to make their work from home experience positive and productive. As your team begins working from home on a full-time basis, here are a few helpful suggestions regarding selecting and using technology that will enhance your remote work experience.
September 2021
A sequel to "The Great Resignation". We will be diving deeper into this global phenomenon, and sharing experiences and management strategies to help your firm retain talent. In this episode with Jody Grunden, Zach Montroy, our People, Team and Organizational Strategist and Josh Jeans our People Operations Strategist, we will address this phenomenon and discuss more about the employee retention and rewards.
September 2021
In this episode we are sitting down with Jody Grunden and Carl Smith, owner of the Bureau of Digital to talk about a constantly growing and evolving trend in building your audience - community management. Digging deeper into how the Bureau of Digital started their community, what you need to know if you're interested to build, grow, and manage a highly engaged community.
September 2021
Production metrics are an excellent way to look at the overall operations of your creative agency. They can help you identify where there’s room for improvement. These metrics also help you pinpoint exactly where you should be looking within your operations so that you can identify and execute solutions accordingly. By consistently evaluating your operations through these metrics, you can also track your progress as your agency and ensure that you remain on track toward achieving your goals.
September 2021
What is the global phenomenon called "The Great Resignation"? What is happening in the current labor force that is affecting companies in various industries? In this episode with Jody Grunden and our People Operations Strategist, Josh Jeans we will address this phenomenon and lay out practical steps a company can consider to take this employee retention and hiring challenge head-on.
September 2021
As the world continues to adapt to life during a global pandemic, many businesses have shifted to offering products and services online. Virtual CFO services thread together client accounting, advisory work, and virtual engagement. It contains an advisory component that allows you to provide the client with advice that they can use to remain sustainable and grow their business.While offering Virtual CFO services is a decision that will ultimately reap a CPA firm’s business, we must recognize the hesitancy around pulling the trigger.
September 2021
Are you spending money in marketing but aren't seeing the results you are expecting? In this episode we sit down with Adam Hale and Stephen Pope, CEO/Founder of SGPLabs to talk about content creation, video marketing and new marketing channel that work.
September 2021
It is no secret that employees are happier and more productive when they are in control of their schedules. Some people work better early in the morning; some later in the day. People with school-aged children might need to run out in the afternoon to pick up the kids from school. Some people like to work out in the middle of the workday. All of these things are important for employees to be fully present when they are working.
September 2021
Unlike any other audit, 401(k) Plan audits are their own unique specialization that are very technical, and the rules that govern them are always changing. As a 401(k) Plan Administrator you need to make sure you're staying compliant with the current regulations and that you get the value of what you pay for according to your business needs.
September 2021
Have you ever felt out of your element when it comes to marketing your firm? Are you unsure where to focus your marketing efforts? Marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In this webinar Kelly Schuknecht, Director of Marketing at Summit CPA Group, teaches you how to develop a simple marketing plan with practical actionable steps any accountant can take to market their firm to success.
September 2021
Instead of charging by the hour or by project, why not charge based on value? In this episode we sit down with Summit's founders Adam Hale and Jody Grunden, and Geraldine Carter, founder of She Thinks Big Coaching to discuss how digital agencies can use their existing skills and expertise to provide valuable services for small businesses at a premium rate and how this approach will help them earn more money while building their brand and business.
September 2021
As a service-based company, meetings are an integral part of doing business. This fact is especially true when you consider that the client has all the answers that you, the service provider, needs to move forward with your work. Throughout the years at Summit CPA, we have tried many different approaches to client meetings and have narrowed down a few ways in which to prepare for them adequately. Here are a few best practices to keep mind when preparing for your next client meeting.
August 2021
Are you a thought leader? Or do you aspire to be one in your chosen field, but don't know where to start? In this episode we sit down with Adam Hale and Bill Sherman, COO and Thought Leadership Practice Lead of Thought Leadership Leverage to talk about how thought leadership gives an organization a competitive advantage and the important steps you need to take to become one.
August 2021
Since the launch of Summit CPA in 2002, we have experimented with different billing models to help generate sustainable sources of income. We eventually landed on developing recurring revenue streams to increase our firm’s financial stability. Here are a few reasons why you should consider creating or investing more in the development of recurring revenue streams as you continue to grow your business.
August 2021
There are many ways to bill clients. But predictability is the key to developing and maintaining recurring revenue streams. As long as your clients know when they're going to be charged and how much they'll end up paying, you can develop a billing method that generates income and won't adversely affect your client retention rate. Businesses can take advantage of the recurring revenue model in many ways.
August 2021
Are you a thought leader? Or do you aspire to be one in your chosen field, but don't know where to start? In this episode we sit down with Adam Hale and Bill Sherman, COO and Thought Leadership Practice Lead of Thought Leadership Leverage to talk about how thought leadership gives an organization a competitive advantage and the important steps you need to take to become one.
August 2021
In part 2, we are recording live from Las Vegas at the CFO Retreat. In this episode we deep dive about the importance of team retreats, costs and benefits, and why you should start organizing team retreats for your company as well.
August 2021
Knowing the right questions to ask can make a really big difference for you when you are looking for a 401(k) Audit service provider. In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore and Karen Hill to discuss all you need to know and consider when selecting your 401(k) provider.
August 2021
In this episode we are sitting down with Jody Grunden and Carl Smith, owner of the Bureau of Digital to talk about a constantly growing and evolving trend in building your audience - community management. Digging deeper into how the Bureau of Digital started their community, what you need to know if you're interested to build, grow, and manage a highly engaged community.
August 2021
Improving your utilization and average bill rates begins with effective forecasting. Therefore, you should consistently review any differences between your initial forecast and your current rates, then make modifications based on your findings. We also recommend keeping in mind that evaluating these rates should be an educational experience, as they will provide you with a deeper understanding of how your team is currently functioning. These insights can help you make the necessary changes that will allow your business to run more efficiently, thereby increasing your profitability.
July 2021
If there's one thing everybody looks forward to in a remote company, it's definitely the company retreat. An event where everyone is able to enjoy, hang out and talk about work, life, and random things in-person and not through virtual meeting rooms. These events are important for our company's culture and we know how such can ultimately contribute to a high-performing virtual team. In this episode, we sit down with Jody Grunden, Zach Montroy, and Lillian Hocevar our team members who made such an unforgettable company retreat possible.
July 2021
Production metrics are an excellent way to look at the overall operations of your creative agency. They can help you identify where there’s room for improvement. These metrics also help you pinpoint exactly where you should be looking within your operations so that you can identify and execute solutions accordingly. By consistently evaluating your operations through these metrics, you can also track your progress as your agency and ensure that you remain on track toward achieving your goals.
July 2021
Live from our VCFO retreat in Las Vegas, we sit down with Jody Grunden, Adam Hale, Zach Montroy, and Lillian Hocevar our team members who make our unforgettable company retreats possible.
July 2021
The SECURE Act, which was just passed in December 2019 and is now law, has some great benefits for companies that are looking to become 401(k) plan providers. More specifically, the law seeks to help out smaller companies that could not offer 401(k) plans to eligible participants due to the costs associated with being a plan provider.
One of the provisions in the Act addresses this issue by allowing companies to come together to share the cost burden of providing 401(k) plans to eligible employees. Read to learn more about the ways in which you can become a part of a shared 401(k) plan.
July 2021
Today, we sit down with Adam Hale and Andrew Hunzicker, Founder and partner of Dope CFO. He is a Subject Matter Expert for the AICPA on Cannabis Accounting. In this episode, we sit down to learn more about the Cannabis Industry, what we need to know and understanding the opportunity available for CPA Firms.
July 2021
If there's one thing everybody looks forward to in a remote company, it's definitely the company retreat. An event where everyone is able to enjoy, hang out and talk about work, life, and random things in-person, not through virtual meeting rooms. These events are important for our company's culture and we know how such can ultimately contribute to a high-performing virtual team. In this episode, we sit down with Jody Grunden, Zach Montroy, and Lillian Hocevar our team members who made such an unforgettable company retreat possible.
July 2021
We're taking a little breather from the heavy topics such as cyber security and legal implications. In this episode we are sitting down with our Director of Auditing Kim Moore, and with Chasity Price and Lauren Van Wyngarden, 401K Audit team members, to talk about their experience working and interning at Summit CPA Group.
July 2021
In light of the pandemic, cash flow is at the forefront of many business owners' minds. Fortunately, companies that elect to hire a firm to manage their cash flow often find that they experience better cash flow visibility and, therefore, have less anxiety around their company's financial health. As a distributed accounting firm, we believe the following steps can help grow your CPA firm by bringing on clients looking for cash flow management services specifically:
July 2021
In today’s episode we are joined by our CEO and Co-founder, Jody Grunden and our Director of Tax, Dave Danic to talk about the tax lessons we learned this season. Although, there is always something to learn every tax season, this year was especially impactful. We will be having an in-depth discussion about challenges the team faced internally and solutions that helped overcome them.
June 2021
We are joined by Jody Grunden and one of our clients, Tiffany Farriss of Palantir. Today we will talk about the challenges Palantir has faced and diving deep into this to understand how they reshaped the company by recognizing their problem and creating solutions to address it. In line with that, Tiffany shares how having a virtual CFO has impacted the growth of her business.
June 2021
As technology continues to evolve, businesses should make cyber security a priority. Our tools and processes become smarter as technology improves but so does the attempts of hackers. This poses a big threat to the sensitive information that businesses currently have in their possession. Today, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore for a deep dive about cyber security, and the ways in which 401k plan administrators can protect their clients from cyber threats.
June 2021
In today’s episode we are again joined by Jody Grunden and David Jenyns, author of SYSTEMology to continue our discussion about processes and systems and its importance in the success and growth of a business. Here in Part 2 we will have a deep dive about how his book helps business owners create time, reduce errors, and scale profits.
June 2021
The key to executing a successful sales and marketing process includes identifying who your target customer is. By identifying your desired clientele, you’re then able to create an effective marketing strategy. While these steps may seem very “Marketing 101”, at Summit CPA, we’ve come to fully realize the value in taking the sales and marketing process a step further by identifying our niche as a firm. This step means that we cater to companies operating within a specific industry.
June 2021
We are joined by Jody Grunden and Dev Basu of Powered by Search to talk about important steps a company needs to take to develop a growth marketing strategy. Diving deep into the fastest way to quickly grow your business through marketing strategies focusing on your audience and pricing.
June 2021
During a team retreat, you have the opportunity to build and strengthen interpersonal relationships, which ultimately bolsters your working relationships and facilitates company growth. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions on how to plan and host the next retreat for your staff that is both productive and memorable.
May 2021
In today’s episode we are joined by Jody Grunden and David Jenyns, author of SYSTEMology to discuss why processes and systems play an important role in the success and growth of a business. We will learn more about what David does and how his book helps business owners create time, reduce errors, and scale profits.
May 2021
The 2020 recession was difficult for everyone. We lament the tragic loss of life and loss of livelihoods created by the global pandemic. You and your business have survived up to this point. Although we’re heading into 2021 with some glimmer of a better economy, we’re not out of the woods quite yet. Analyze your financial operation and shore up any weak spots to reduce your risks.
May 2021
We are joined by Jody Grunden and one of our clients, Tiffany Farriss of Palantir. Today we will talk about the challenges Palantir has faced and diving deep into this to understand how they reshaped the company by recognizing their problem and creating solutions to address it. In line with that, Tiffany shares how having a virtual CFO has impacted the growth of her business.
May 2021
Establishing and maintaining an effective remote working strategy requires just that: strategy. If you go in blind, expect to have trouble. Conversely, if you create a plan for your technology and working environments, you’ll start wondering why you didn’t adopt remote work sooner.
May 2021
At Summit CPA, we’ve found Jetpack Workflow to be an incredible workflow software resource when it comes to documenting the process for the marketing team within our Virtual CFO Firm. For us, Jetpack Workflow has helped tremendously in keeping our marketing team aligned and working seamlessly together.
May 2021
Today, we sit down with Adam Hale and Octavia Conner, Founder and Virtual CFO at Say Yes To Profits to get to know her and her business better. Talking about what inspired her and what changes she made to build and scale her business.
May 2021
The Secure Act was passed in 2019, and while we discussed about this a year ago to enlighten our listeners about its impact to their businesses there is a revised version that is expected to pass this year a lot are talking about this to gain clarity of its implications. Today, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore to talk about the Secure Act 2.0 and the key provisions that 401k Plan Administrators need to know about this legislation.
May 2021
How you approach your onboarding process can make or break your relationship with a client. If the process goes well, chances are your working relationship will continue to be a positive experience. However, if it does not, you could set yourself for issues down the road. At Summit CPA, we have spent the past few years fine-tuning our onboarding process for new clients. In an effort to share some of the insights we have acquired over the years through trial and error, here are the ways in which you can adjust your approach to your onboarding process to make it as effective and successful as possible.
April 2021
In this webinar, we’re going to break down how to think through, plan and execute a strategic video marketing plan for your firm. We’ll start by talking through how to leverage your time, money and effort to get the best result. Including how to select what type of video you might produce. How to record it, some basic equipment to purchase, how to produce it, and then making sure people ACTUALLY see it. We need potential clients to walk away with those “aha” moments, and saying, “WOW, I’m glad I saw this,” so that they share it with their network!
April 2021
In today’s episode we are again joined by Jody Grunden and David Jenyns, author of SYSTEMology to continue our discussion about processes and systems and its importance in the success and growth of a business. Here in Part 2 we will have a deep dive about how his book helps business owners create time, reduce errors, and scale profits.
April 2021
Today, we are joined by Adam Hale and Frank Cottle, Founder and CEO of Alliance Virtual Offices to talk about how CPA firms could build a workplace that is flexible, engaged and successful in the new normal landscape.
April 2021
Overhead expenses can seem like a series of very indistinct line items on your financial statement as they often include indirect costs associated with your business’s operations. These expenses can range from software subscriptions and postage, to lease payments and utility fees. Because these costs can easily hide in plain sight amongst more substantial expenses, such as employee salaries, it’s important to identify what expenses should be factored into your overhead.
April 2021
In today’s episode we are joined by Jody Grunden and David Jenyns, author of SYSTEMology to discuss why processes and systems play an important role in the success and growth of a business. We will learn more about what David does and how his book helps business owners create time, reduce errors, and scale profits.
April 2020
Today, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore to talk about record keepers and third party administrators. This episode gives light to one of the most common questions we get from our clients — "What should I consider when I plan to hire/switch service providers?", we will take a deep dive in to this and discuss all you need to know and consider as a 401k Plan administrator.
April 2021
Consistently evaluating your onboarding process is essential if you’re interested in setting up new employees for success. This fact is why, at Summit CPA, we invest time and energy into continuously developing an onboarding process that puts our new employees in the best possible position to succeed at our firm. Read more to learn about the three steps we use in our onboarding processes that you can put into place to improve your onboarding process today.
April 2021
Today, we are joined by Jacob Oberlander, Owner and Principal of Oberlander & Co. and Tom Wadelton CFO and Controller of Summit CPA Group to talk about how the VCFO Playbook Course helped them grow and scale their VCFO services. Sharing important takeaways, the process in which Oberlander & Co. has applied them, and the impact it has made to their business.
March 2021
Hiring a reliable, adept team is crucial to the success of a firm, which is why establishing an equally robust hiring process is imperative. Your hiring process significantly impacts the type of talent you attract to your organization, as well as the time and resources it takes to hire a candidate. With that said, the effort you put into the hiring process should be strategic.
March 2021
We are joined by Jody Grunden and Tom Beck, Executive Director of SoDA today talk about the current state of the industry. Amidst these unprecedented times businesses continue to thrive while some take it day by day to survive. Let's take a deep dive into the industry insights from SoDa and take advantage of this knowledge to create strategies that will work for your business.
March 2021
There’s almost no getting around one of the biggest truths in business: You need money to make money. Sure, you’ll hear plenty of inspirational stories about tech companies starting in garages. But once you dig through the details, there’s almost always capital coming from somewhere. Most small businesses struggle to grow without an infusion of capital. Until you start generating high revenue that you can use to scale, your capital will likely need to come from small-business loans.
March 2021
David Cristello of Jetpack Workflow joins the team from Summit CPA Group to discuss how you can create a scalable, profitable 7 & 8 figure accounting firm using Jetpack Workflow. Gain a better understanding of how to standardize your processes so you can have confidence that nothing will slip through the cracks. Learn how to delegate and easily keep track of deadlines so you can see how your team is doing without getting lost in the weeds.
March 2021
Summit CPA Group uses CashFlowTool to provide weekly and monthly cash flow management and forecasting support for small businesses across the US. Hear from our CEO and Co-founder Jody Grunden, on why Summit CPA Group needed an automatic solution and selected CashFlowTool.
March 2021
Today, we are joined by Jake Grimm, Director of Technology and Jody Grunden to talk about choosing vendors and suppliers. Choosing partners to help you run your business is fundamental to the success of your company. How do you know which vendor would be the best fit for your company? Well, in this episode we will talk about the search, filtering and the elimination process that guided us in choosing them to help us at Summit CPA Group and also we will be sharing those we currently work with, who rightfully received our stamp of approval.
March 2021
Today, we sit down with Adam Hale and David Bergstein, the Chief Innovation Officer of Bergstein CPA. He is an author, blogger, speaker, educator, and advisor to CPA Firms who is dedicated in helping accounting firms grow their Client Accounting & Advisory Services practices. He calls himself "A Millennial Trapped in a Baby Boomer's Body" in this episode we will understand why so and also, why he passionately believes moving to the cloud and adapting quickly to technological changes are important for accounting professionals and CPA firms.
March 2020
This topic may not sound as fun as our other episodes but this one is relevant and important for you and your company - lawsuits. Lawsuits are a lot of work, they take time, cost you money and are a lot of stress. Today, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore to talk about lawsuits as it relates to the 401k plan. This episode will help you as a 401k plan sponsor to avoid lawsuits, and tell you where to look, and what to watch out for.
March 2021
We are joined by Adam Hale, and Pete Potsos, Strategic Account Manager & Client Accounting Services Strategic Advisor at Bill.com to talk about how businesses use Bill.com to simplify payments and how its features have impacted our processes and how it has made a positive change in our workflow at Summit CPA Group. Gone are the days when you had to look at two or more places to get things done. Bill.com enables you to pay, get paid, and manage your payments process from one place.
March 2021
A profit-sharing plan is a group incentive plan that includes all employees in an organization. It focuses on overall business unit profit (or a similar bottom-line financial goal). Profit-sharing is one of the most effective ways of motivating employees to work to the full extent of their capabilities and achieve more significant results. One of the main reasons profit-sharing plans are essential is that they bring in a sense of ownership across all department levels within a company. This is why we recommend all of our clients have one in place.
March 2021
We are joined by Adam Hale, and Pete Potsos, Strategic Account Manager & Client Accounting Services Strategic Advisor at Bill.com to talk about how businesses use Bill.com to simplify payments and how its features have impacted our processes and how it has made a positive change in our workflow at Summit CPA Group. Gone are the days when you had to look at two or more places to get things done. Bill.com enables you to pay, get paid, and manage your payments process from one place.
February 2020
Choosing vendors to help you run your business is fundamental to the success of your company. But how do you know which vendor would be the best fit for your company? In this episode we are joined by Summit CPA Group's Director of Technology, Jake Grimm and CEO Jody Grunden, to talk about choosing the right vendors and suppliers for your business. Listen in as Jake and Jody talk about the search, the filtering and the elimination process that guided Summit CPA Group in choosing the right vendors for our firm. We also share more about the partners we currently work with that rightfully received our stamp of approval.
February 2021
As an accounting firm that works with digital marketing agencies, we are well aware of the different factors and actions that can contribute to these agencies reducing the amount of taxes they owe. Whether the client is a cash basis taxpayer who is paying on the revenue they’ve received or an accrual basis taxpayer who is paying on the revenue they’ve earned, there are several ways they can go about lowering the amount of taxes owed.
February 2021
How confident are you in the financial health of your company? Having a solid understanding of your finances can make a huge difference for small business owners. While your business grows, there are a few metrics you need to understand and review on a regular basis.
February 2021
In today’s episode we are joined by Kelly Schuknecht, Director of Marketing and Stephen Pope, founder of SGP Labs to discuss the importance of incorporating videos in your marketing strategy. He talks about how videos can help you grow and scale your business and help you reach your target audience better.
February 2021
The Modern CPA Success Show (Episode 34): “One of the partners there was sharing that their firm no longer has an overdraft thanks to using our payment plans” - Bruce Coombes Today, we are sitting down with Bruce Coombes and Richard Formoe from QuickFee to explain how you can use their products to get paid faster. QuickFee provides quick and hassle-free payment options for your clients to help you can increase sales, build better client relationships, and improve cash flow.
February 2020
In today’s episode we are joined by Kelly Schuknecht, Director of Marketing and Stephen Pope, founder of SGP Labs to discuss the importance of incorporating videos in your marketing strategy. He talks about how videos can help you grow and scale your business and help you reach your target audience better.
February 2021
A lot of business owners wonder how much cash they should have on hand at any given time. While how much cash you should keep on hand will vary based on several factors but there is a general amount that most businesses should shoot for. There are several factors that might sway our recommendations for cash on hand one way or the other.
February 2021
How streamlined is your sales process? Are you spending hours or even days putting together proposals and not closing deals? In this webinar, PandaDoc’s William Hadeler will be joining the Summit CPA team to discuss the sales process. You’ll learn how a simple automation tool can help save you time, improve your professional presence, and close more deals. Learn all about PandaDoc’s robust features, and hear from the team at Summit CPA Group about their first-hand experience with this tool and the impact it has had on the company’s sales.
February 2020
Today, we are sitting down with Bruce Coombes and Richard Formoe from QuickFee to explain how you can use their products to get paid faster. QuickFee provides quick and hassle-free payment options for your clients to help you can increase sales, build better client relationships, and improve cash flow.
January 2021
While we understand that hiring a Virtual CFO firm may not be right for every business, if it does fit your business’s needs, it can often cost less and provide more expertise than a traditional in-house accounting department. As an experienced Virtual CFO firm, we know how to help weigh the pros and cons of this decision. The following are three things to considering when deciding to hire an in-house CFO, or Virtual CFO firm:
January 2021
A growing selection of user-friendly data visualization tools that can improve the quality of your data storytelling, as well as dramatically boost the effectiveness and serviceability of those stories have emerged. Recently we sat down with Justin Hatch, CEO of Reach Reporting, and discussed some of the best ways CPA firms can up their CFO game with data visualization tools.
January 2021
It's very easy to dive into delivering services and solutions to clients while overlooking the fact that your vision and work process may not align with your client's needs and expectations. Therefore, establishing expectations before delving into deliverables and projects is a great way to ensure your firm begins a new business relationship on the right foot. Discussed below are a few ways in which you can share your expectations with new clients during the onboarding process to help make your budding working relationship a positive experience for everyone involved.
January 2021
We often talk about forecasting through the lens of a service-based business (i.e., digital agencies) because this happens to be the model we work with the most. The revenue of these companies is recurring and allows us to easily look into their future based on their current load and what’s in their pipeline. For project-based companies, there are a couple of driving factors that need to be considered.
January 2021
Do you hate networking and outbound sales? Want to generate inbound leads with people reaching out to work with you? Leverage your knowledge and expertise to drive business growth through thought leadership and content marketing. We will walk you through how to stand out and build a trusted brand. You will discover the strategy and techniques necessary to efficiently distribute content that creates awareness, expands your reach online, and generates demand for your services.
January 2021
In this episode we are joined by Rick Telberg from CPA Trendlines to talk about the shift towards virtual CFO services. The VCFO space is getting bigger, especially with the increase in online teams in 2020. This is such an interesting time, because businesses are required to change to adapt to the current landscape, and accountants are no exception to this. Listen to learn about the future of the CPA space and the virtual CFO. The finer details of this episode:
January 2021
As shifts in work flexibility and remote work options across professions being to deploy, accountants are starting to take notice of the need to obtain a fulfilling work-life balance. While it continues to be encouraging to see signs of accounting firms offering a range of work/life balance solutions for employees, there are ways that you can you address the healthy relationship between your professional and personal life on your own.
December 2020
One of the key changes the company we selected made to our hiring process was the incorporation of assessments that help determine a candidate’s soft skills. The various tests introduced to our hiring process and how they’ve contributed to our company’s success at hiring qualified candidates who work well with our current staff members and our clients are discussed below.
December 2020
We are joined by Jody and Adam to talk to one of our clients. Casey Cobb of Ricochet Group has an amazing backstory, and Summit CPA was able to help Casey Cobb manage his business through incredibly challenging times. We talk about Casey’s story, how he found the blue ocean strategy in growing his business, and the value we were able to bring him with our virtual CFO services.
December 2020
Want to shift your accounting practice away from compliance work and into advisory services? In this recorded webinar, you will learn what it means to be an advisor, what profit-focused accounting means, and how to successfully deliver it to clients as a Virtual CFO. We will walk through how to get started with Virtual CFO service offerings and how to actually deliver the services. You will discover the strategies and techniques necessary to scale your firm and make it more profitable.
December 2020
We are joined by Jody and Adam to talk to one of our clients. Casey Cobb of Ricochet Group has an amazing backstory, and Summit CPA was able to help Casey Cobb manage his business through incredibly challenging times. We talk about Casey’s story, how he found the blue ocean strategy in growing his business, and the value we were able to bring him with our virtual CFO services.
December 2020
A virtual audit offers distinct advantages over a traditional audit, including reducing the physical burden on office space, more easily distributing the audit workload, and making it possible to complete your audit from anywhere. Director of Auditing, Kim Moore discusses the 4 Key Differences Between a Traditional and Virtual 401(k) Audit.
December 2020
Want to shift your accounting practice away from compliance work and into advisory services? In this recorded webinar, you will learn what it means to be an advisor, what profit-focused accounting means, and how to successfully deliver it to clients as a Virtual CFO. We will walk through how to get started with Virtual CFO service offerings and how to actually deliver the services. You will discover the strategies and techniques necessary to scale your firm and make it more profitable.
December 2020
This is our third time bringing in Tom Barrett, who has been working with Summit CPA for years. We are talking about meetings today. Our meetings at Summit CPA have changed and evolved over the years. Anyone who has been involved with a company would know just how difficult it is to have effective meetings. As a CFO, our job is to run good meetings and advise our clients to do the same. Listen to this episode to learn what your company can do to structure strong and effective meetings.
November 2020
Strong leadership is at the core of any successful business. That much is known by many business owners and entrepreneurs. But when it comes to implementing an efficient system capable of growing your business, there are several key things to consider. Here are five things to keep in mind when it comes to taking your business to the next level with the help of a Virtual CFO:
November 2020
Today, we are joined by Zach Montroy of Navigate the Journey and Lillian Hocevar of Traveluxe Official to talk about company retreats. We reflect on Summit CPA’s recent retreat, what we got out of it, and lessons we learned that will help you organize your next company retreat.
November 2020
Are you a CPA wanting to strike out on your own and start a virtual CPA firm like Summit CPA Group? Maybe you’re working for someone else and you’re ready to take a leap into the world of entrepreneurship. Or maybe you’ve already got your own independent accounting business going on and you’re considering taking it to the next level by providing services virtually. If you want to start your own CPA firm, particularly a Virtual CPA firm or a Virtual CFO firm like Summit CPA Group here three tips for you.
November 2020
Discover the power of forecasting for helping your clients increase their profits and make better decisions. Forecasting is an extremely valuable service that Virtual CFOs can provide for their clients. It helps business owners make better decisions for their business and increase their profits. In this webinar, you’ll learn why forecasting should be the cornerstone of your delivery, how to build the forecast, and how to present the forecast to clients. We’ll also cover our recommended forecasting tools.
October 2020
Today, we are joined by Zach Montroy of Navigate the Journey and Lillian Hocevar of Traveluxe Official to talk about company retreats. We reflect on Summit CPA’s recent retreat, what we got out of it, and lessons we learned that will help you organize your next company retreat.
November 2020
We are joined by Jody Grunden and Dave Danic by special request. One of the most common questions we get from our clients is the R&D tax credits. This credit exists to incentivize American companies to create USA jobs. In this episode, we are talking about what that means and what you need to do in order to qualify for it.
November 2020
In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore and David Ramirez from For Us All. We talk about current trends related to 401k plans during COVID-19 and the economic decline and things you can do in your business to respond within your 401k plan. We also talk about advice for employees and what you can do as an employer to support your employees on their 401k plan.
October 2020
We decided to bring back Tom Barrett from Navitage the Journey. We are joined by Adam Hale to talk about employees. In this episode, we move beyond the basic job description to talk about the essence of the roles that your employees will be filling. Getting the right people into your company, and having them in the right roles is a cornerstone to running a successful business. Listen for Tom’s insight and tips on organization charts, hiring, and aligning your people with your company’s core values.
October 2020
Your most important asset is your people. The place where you are investing most is your people. Are you stewarding your best investment well? To build a high-performance accounting team, you need to be intentional in the hiring, training, and performance process. In this recorded webinar, CPAs will learn how to be strategic with hiring, recruiting for soft skills in addition to technical skills, and achieving an engaged team culture.
October 2020
We decided to bring back Tom Barrett from Navitage the Journey. We are joined by Adam Hale to talk about employees. In this episode, we move beyond the basic job description to talk about the essence of the roles that your employees will be filling. Getting the right people into your company, and having them in the right roles is a cornerstone to running a successful business. Listen for Tom’s insight and tips on organization charts, hiring, and aligning your people with your company’s core values.
October 2020
In this episode, Jamie Nau and Jody Grunden sit down with one of our clients, Greg Bear from Bear Group. Greg has seen some major growth, and we think it’s important for you to hear about it. Bear Group is a successful web design company, and we will be discussing their process of hiring a CFO and how it helped them to uplevel their business.
October 2020
Forecasting is one of the cardinal rules of finance. Without it, even the strongest company can be ill-prepared for the future. Sure, it’s impossible to accurately predict what will happen in the next day, week, month or year. The team at Summit CPA uses a three step process for any dynamic forecast.
October 2020
In this episode, Jamie Nau and Jody Grunden sit down to chat with one of our clients, Greg Bear from Bear Group. Greg has seen some major growth, and we think it’s important for you to hear about it. Bear Group is a successful web design company, and we will be discussing their process of hiring a CFO and how it helped them to uplevel their business.
October 2020
Every CPA firm reaches a point where it needs to find creative ways to change for the times. In today’s market, productive growth often means adopting new technologies that enhance not only the efficiency of your work but the very character of your business. Your CPA firm may not need to dive right into untested technological waters. But technology can help you expand your services by making it much easier to work remotely with your clients and your team, automate essential tasks and enhance digital security for all stakeholders.
October 2020
Today, we are joined by Dan Kaelus. He hosts a podcast called Small Business Matters, and he is the CEO of two companies. We are going to talk about different lending options for small businesses. We always talk about banking relationships with our clients and we stress the importance of having a relationship with your bank. Today we talk about how you can create a lending relationship to help your business grow.
October 2020
As a virtual accounting firm operating under a distributed model since 2013, we, at Summit CPA, have experienced the transition from conducting business in a physical office environment to having our team entirely remote in a virtual office setting. With that said, we have some advice for business leaders regarding the steps they should consider taking if they would like to offer their employees the option of working from home indefinitely. Fortunately, these steps are simple and easy to execute.
October 2020
In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, the Summit CPA audit director, to talk about fines and penalties that are associated with 401k plans. We get a lot of questions about this topic at Summit CPA, and it’s extremely important information to have, especially as we get close to the 5500 deadline. Listen to learn about how you can ensure your business is following all of the rules and regulations with its 401k plan.
September 2020
We know a lot of companies are moving to a distributed model, so we wanted to give some more insight to how the Summit CPA team works remotely. Today, we are talking to two of our employees, Angie Douglas and Mikala Paige, who have unique remote working situations. Listen to learn about how our Summit CPA team lives the remote lifestyle, and tips for anyone who wants to live this lifestyle themselves.
September 2020
We know a lot of companies are moving to a distributed model, so we wanted to give some more insight to how the Summit CPA team works remotely. Today, we are talking to two of our employees, Angie Douglas and Mikala Paige, who have unique remote working situations. Listen to learn about how our Summit CPA team lives the remote lifestyle, and tips for anyone who wants to live this lifestyle themselves.
September 2020
Today, we are sitting down with Michael Frost from Heritage to talk about integrating a family practice into your VCFO firm, and how those two things can work together. Heritage Family Offices is a law firm, wealth management firm, CPA firm, and insurance company all under one roof. In this episode, we are discussing how family offices work behind the scenes and how you can integrate CFO services into this business model.
September 2020
In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, the Summit CPA audit director, to talk about auto-enrollment. Auto-enrollment is when you require your employees to enter the 401k plan once they meet certain requirements. They don’t have to do anything in order to be enrolled. It happens automatically unless they take steps to decline enrollment. Listen to learn about how and why you would implement this into your company’s 401k plan.
September 2020
Today, we are sitting down with Tom Barrett from Navigate the Journey to talk about the EOS system, and how you can use it to achieve the vision for your business. EOS is a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools that have helped thousands of entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses. In this episode, we are discussing what EOS can do for your organization and how you can implement it into your business.
September 2020
How to Manage a 35-person Remote Team Without Client Work Falling Through the Cracks (interview with Jamie Nau) / How do you maintain the quality levels that got you where you are and keep all of your clients happy? On this week’s Growing Your Firm podcast, we’re speaking with Jamie Nau. He’s the virtual CFO and director of accounting at Summit CPA Group. In this interview, we’re going to break down how he handles a 30-person remote team. Take a listen and see if you agree with his management style.
August 2020
Today, we are sitting down with Tom Barrett from Navigate the Journey to talk about the EOS system and how you can use it to achieve the vision for your business. EOS is a complete set of simple concepts and practical tools that have helped thousands of entrepreneurs get what they want from their businesses. In this episode, we are discussing what EOS can do for your organization and how you can implement it into your business.
August 2020
There is a lot that goes into running a business, and small businesses can benefit greatly from delegating their extra admin tasks. But it can be difficult to let go of some of the work, so today we are sitting down with Emily Morgan of Delegate Solutions. We have been working with this company for a couple of years, and it has made a huge difference to have someone take care of our admin tasks. Delegate Solutions focuses on helping entrepreneurs create more time and leverage in their day, so that is what we are talking about on the show today.
August 2020
In this recorded webinar, CPAs will learn how to deliver profit focused accounting (cash, production metrics, financial metrics, and pipeline metrics), and what to cover in weekly and/or monthly client meetings.
August 2020
There is a lot that goes into running a business, and small businesses can benefit greatly from delegating their extra admin tasks. But it can be difficult to let go of some of the work, so today we are sitting down with Emily Morgan of Delegate Solutions. We have been working with this company for a couple of years, and it has made a huge difference to have someone take care of our admin tasks. Delegate Solutions focuses on helping entrepreneurs create more time and leverage in their day, so that is what we are talking about on the show today.
August 2020
As we’ve grown over the years, working through unsuccessful sales tactics has led us to bigger and better ideas. We’ve learned several ways in which to sell our services successfully. CEO Jody Grunden, offers a few sales tips that Summit CPA Group believes can bolster your sales, whether you’re operating a brick and mortar or a remote CPA firm.
August 2020
Your team can successfully foster a work environment that lends itself to creative thought, innovation, and, ultimately, larger profit margins, when they achieve the right balance. At Summit CPA, we know this to be true. We’ve been operating as a completely virtual firm for several years while maintaining a high performance team that works together to deliver services that aid client growth.
August 2020
We are starting a new trend on the podcast, where we sit down with some of our clients to talk about their experiences with CFOs and their business knowledge. Today, we are sitting down with Matt Westgate, CEO, and co-founder of Lullabot. Matt was one of our first CFO clients, so we are going to talk about his experience. We also speak about his experience working with a distributed team in his business.
August 2020
While working to standardize your firm's operations, focusing on standardizing your meetings can be particularly beneficial. At our firm, we’ve found that standardizing our meetings has been an effective way of bolstering client engagement and improving staff efficiency when it comes to client work. Summit CPA Group's CEO Jody Grunden, shares a few tips to take into consideration as you craft procedures that will guide your planning and execution of productive client meetings.
August 2020
We are starting a new trend on the podcast, where we sit down with some of our clients to talk about their experiences with CFOs and their business knowledge. Today, we are sitting down with Matt Westgate, CEO, and co-founder of Lullabot. Matt was one of our first CFO clients, so we are going to talk about his experience. We also speak about his experience working with a distributed team in his business
July 2020
Imagine starting the business using your personal line of credit, having employees that make more than you and then one day it takes off. The decisions made to offer unique services in a specific industry actually help you stand out and grow your business. You may hear it often to focus on a niche, but does it really pay off, for Jody it did, and he’ll share how and why. Building a large accounting firm offering quality services that bring value to the client is something he’s been doing for years. Listen in and hear how this can apply to your business.
July 2020
In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, the Summit CPA audit director, to talk about the Form 5500. The Form 5500 is going to be due soon. It’s a tax form that provides information to the IRS and the Department of Labor about your 401k plan. Listen to learn everything you need to know about the procedures and requirements of filing it.
July 2020
In this episode, we are joined by Kristen Reinking to talk about the meetings you should be having to keep up with your finances. There are three main meetings that every organization should be having regardless of their size. Listen to learn about each of these meetings and how they can be used to keep your agency’s finances on track.
July 2020
Hear from our leaders at Summit CPA Group and the Finagraph CashFlowTool team on how to go from couch to cash flow expert in no time. You'll learn the tried and proven way to start your cash flow service now. And... now more than ever, it's time to start a cash flow service because your clients desperately need you!
July 2020
Today, we are sitting down with Jamie Nau, Adam Hale, and Justin Hatch from Reach Reporting to talk about dashboarding and financial statements. Reach Reporting is a company that creates visually appealing financial statements. Signing up for Reach Reporting one of the most valuable changes we have made at Summit CPA, so we are talking about our new processes use this tool.
July 2020
In this episode, we are joined by Jamie Nau, and Jody Grunden to talk about some of the biggest issues we see as CFOs. Listen to hear about the main things we help our clients with and the main things you need to be considering as you run your agency.
July 2020
In this recorded webinar session, CPAs will learn how to enhance their product delivery by using data visualization tools, how to analyze and prepare data, and how to find the right tool to fit their needs.
July 2020
Before switching to Finagraph, we were using a spreadsheet to track cash flow. Finagraph is a tool that helps businesses manage cash flow and collect accounting data. Today, we are sitting down with Justin Pulgrano from Fingraph to talk about how to measure cash flow and why you should use a tool such as Finagraph rather than keeping your data in excel.
June 2020
During a turbulent time, managing a team of people can test even the most adept leaders. The situation can become even more challenging as you transition from working in a traditional office setting to having your entire team work from home. Summit CPA Group's People, Team and Organizational Strategist, Zach Montroy, shares a few recommendations to help manage your team through this crisis.
June 2020
In this episode, we are joined by Jamie Nau, Nicole Carlton, and Jody Grunden to go into detail on gross profit. The gross profit is the revenue you produce minus the cost of goods sold. It’s important to split out the different types of revenue line items so you can focus your conversation and get important information about the health of your business. Listen to find out how to use your gross profit metric to make strategic decisions about your agency.
June 2020
The first weeks after hiring a new employee are extremely busy and important to their success in the future with the company, which is why we are sitting down with Zack Montroy, Jody Grunden, and Adam Hale, COO at Summit CPA to talk about the process of onboarding a new employee. Listen to learn about what the first 90 days look like after a new hire.
June 2020
In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, the Summit CPA audit director, to talk about how COVID-19 is affecting 401(k) audits. You wouldn’t think that the pandemic would have much of an effect on your audit. However, many CPA firms are overwhelmed right now just trying to support the basic business of their clients who are facing a variety of challenging situations. As a result, 401(k) audits are falling low on the priority list.
June 2020
In this episode, we are joined by Jamie Nau and Jody Grunden to talk about how to measure and improve your average bill rate. The average bill rate is your total revenue divided by your number of billable hours. This is important because it’s important to be aware of how much money you are actually collecting for the hours you are working. This information gives you the insight you need to make big decisions about your company.
June 2020
Hiring the wrong person can be expensive. This is especially true when you are a service-based business. Hiring is something that Summit CPA struggled with in the past because we didn’t have the proper tools and methods to determine which potential employees would actually fit into the company. We want to help you learn from our mistakes, and we want to share the lessons we have picked up as we build our team. In this episode, we are joined by Zach Montroy, our People, Team & Organizational Strategist, and Adam Hale to talk about hiring assessments we use at Summit CPA.
June 2020
Learn why now is the best time to build a cash flow service for your customers. Hear how Summit built a world-class cash flow service offering and why their customers find it indispensable. Learn how Summit wins more customers and achieves higher customer engagement with their tried and true model. Learn the best practices for using CashFlowTool to launch and optimize your service offering.
June 2020
In this episode, Jody Grunden, the CEO and Co-Founder of Summit CPA shares his tips on successfully working remotely as a pioneer in the virtual CFO space, and also what well-run companies do differently from a financial perspective within a crisis.
June 2020
In this episode, we are joined by Jamie Nau and Jody Grunden to talk about some of the changes in the loan forgiveness laws. We recorded this episode on May 27th, and it’s possible that things could change rather quickly. But we still wanted to record this episode, because you should be keeping up with these changes as they come out. We will likely have more episodes coming out on this topic, helping you keep up on all of this information in real-time.
May 2020
Over the past couple of weeks, a lot of businesses have gotten money from the PPP loans, so we want to make sure that you are as informed as possible about how the loan forgiveness works. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden and Adam Hale to talk about PPP loan forgiveness and how to get the most forgiven. Listen to learn about how you can use this loan to help your business get through the COVID-19 crisis.
May 2020
Many CPAs want to head in this direction of advisory and break away from hourly-based billing, but find it difficult. Jody Grunden of Summit CPA Group shares his business experience having implemented advisory at his firm and then scaling it.
May 2020
Hiring the wrong person is expensive. This is especially true when you are a service-based business. Hiring is something that Summit CPA struggled with in the past, because we didn’t have the proper tools and methods to determine which potential employees would actually fit into the company. We want to help you learn from our mistakes, and we want to share the lessons we have picked up as we build our team. In this episode, we are joined by Zach from our HR department and Adam Hale to talk about hiring assessments we use at Summit CPA.
May 2020
Last month we talked about the most common findings in 401k audits. In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, the Summit CPA audit director, to continue the conversation. Even if you don’t need an audit, this episode will help you to be aware of anything you need to know if you provide a 401k plan for your employees.
May 2020
We all have our own knowledge and experience, but it’s important to also learn from other people’s ideas, which is why we are sitting down with Jody Grunden and Adam Hale, COO at Summit CPA to talk about the best books you can read to become a better CFO. Listen to learn about our favorite books and how they have inspired us as professionals.
May 2020
What Are The Best Digital Tools For Remote Accounting and Operations Teams? Procurify asked forward-thinking CFOs and CPAs to share the remote working tools they’re using to keep their teams connected, productive, and engaged.
May 2020
Over the past couple of weeks, a lot of businesses have gotten money from the PPP loans, so we want to make sure that you are as informed as possible about how the loan forgiveness works. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden and Adam Hale to talk about PPP loan forgiveness and how to get the most forgiven. Listen to learn about how you can use this loan to help your business get through the COVID-19 crisis.
April 2020
In this episode, we are sitting down with a special guest, David Cristello, founder and CEO of JetPack Workflow and Adam Hale, the COO at Summit CPA to talk about JetPack Workflow, a project management tool designed for recurring client management. At Summit CPA, we have found JetPack Workflow to be an extremely valuable tool to create workflows that maintain consistency and quality as we grow our business. Listen to learn about how JetPack Workflow can benefit your CPA firm and the best approach to getting started.
April 2020
We are recording this in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, but the discussion we have today will help your business whether you are struggling from the COVID-19 crisis or just going through a difficult time in general. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden to talk about using a forecast to get your business through a rough patch. Listen to learn about the main areas to focus on in a forecast, and how to get to the 15% net income model.
April 2020
In our last episode, we talked about how to navigate your clients through difficult times due to the COVID-19 crisis. This week we want to go more in-depth with tools and resources available to you to help your clients through this pandemic. Today, we are sitting down with Adam Hale, COO at Summit CPA to talk about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) versus the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and what we are doing for our clients right now. Listen to learn about how you can support yourself and your clients during this crisis.
April 2020
On today's episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden of Summit CPA, a virtual CFO service, to talk about how you should prepare your business for a recession and operating your business during a market downturn.
April 2020
This is part one of a two part series on the types of errors that happen during 401k audits. In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, the Summit CPA audit director, to talk about compensation and contribution errors. Even if you don’t need an audit, this episode will help you to be aware of anything you need to know if you provide a 401k plan for your employees.
April 2020
We have touched on the topic of forecasting before in this show, so this week we want to talk specifically about how a forecast can be used to help your firm grow. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden and Tom Waddleton to talk about using a forecast to hit your firm’s growth goals. Listen to learn about the “Four Levers of Growth” that you will need to cover in your firm’s growth plan.
March 2020
As a completely virtual firm, Summit CPA Group operates within a distributed model, which means that our entire team regularly works from home. After working remotely for several years, we have come to understand the ins and outs of working from home. These insights include being knowledgeable of employee “must-haves” and logistics that aid in our productivity and success as a firm. Summit CPA Groups's Zach Montroy, highlights a few of the best practices we’ve come up with to help enhance your experience working from home, and making this transition as smooth as possible.
March 2020
At the time of recording this episode, we are in the middle of COVID-19, so we thought it would be a great time to talk about tools you can use to help your clients through difficult times with Adam Hale, the COO at Summit CPA. Even if you are listening to this at a later date, there are still some great tools you can use to help clients who are going through rough patches in their business. Listen to learn about how to support your clients and keep their businesses afloat through financial strain.
March 2020
We are in the middle of tax season, and we are sure many of you have a lot of questions about how to lower your tax bills, what laws you need to be aware of, and how your specific business model should prepare your taxes. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden and Dave Danic to talk about how to prepare taxes for your creative firm! Listen to learn the main things you will need to keep in mind during the upcoming tax season.
March 2020
We created this special episode because the coronavirus has forced a lot of companies to move towards a virtual team. At Summit CPA, we have been virtual since 2013. We have a lot of experience building and scaling a company with an entire staff working from home, so we want to share what we have learned along the way. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden and Adam Hale to talk about best practices for running a distributed company and working remotely. Hopefully, your company will find this helpful if you are being forced into a distributed model due to the current pandemic.
March 2020
We created this special episode because the coronavirus has forced a lot of companies to move towards a virtual team. At Summit CPA, we have been virtual since 2013. We have a lot of experience building and scaling a company with an entire staff working from home, so we want to share what we have learned along the way. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden and Adam Hale to talk about best practices for running a distributed company and working remotely. Hopefully, your company will find this helpful if you are being forced into a distributed model due to the current pandemic.
March 2020
How do you safeguard the financial stability of your company in uncertain times? In this guest post, Jody Grunden, Co-Founder and CEO of Summit CPA Group, shares strategies on sound decision-making, communication and financial planning.
March 2020
Clients will come to you for a specific reason, and they are looking to get a specific result from working with you. That’s why the onboarding process is so important. It sets the tone for the relationship and clarifies the expectations of both parties. Today we are sitting down with Adam Hale, the COO at Summit CPA to talk first impressions and onboarding new clients. At Summit CPA, this is something we revisit about every 6 months, so this podcast is full of information about things we have tried, things that have gone well, and what we have learned.
March 2020
As Americans are closing themselves off more during this time of uncertainty and we dive deeper into the digital age, we suggest that you give the possibility of leading an all-virtual team some serious thought.
March 2020
In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, the Summit CPA audit director to discuss a new audit standard that will be approved for the upcoming year. SAS (Statement on Audit Standards) number 136 makes some changes to the audit opinion letter that gets issued to you by the auditor. Most auditors are already complying with these new regulations, but if you don’t do a lot of audits, there may be some changes that you need to make. So in this episode, we will go through everything you need to know as a plan sponsor once this new standard is implemented.
March 2020
Setting up and running meetings with your clients can be one of the more intimidating parts of your Virtual CFO services. It can be hard to know how to set yourself up for success or even to know what to talk about when you have meetings with your clients. Today we are sitting down with Adam Hale, the COO at Summit CPA to talk about how to set up structures and systems for high-value meetings. These in-person experiences you create with your clients are a huge part of offering high-quality services and maintaining client relationships. Tune in to learn how to master this part of your business.
February 2020
We are continuing our conversation about cash flow. We want to teach small businesses to do the same thing that large organizations do when managing money. It’s important to forecast your cash flow, so you can set expectations for what is possible in your business in the short-term future. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden to talk about best practices for making sure you always have enough money in the bank to cover your expenses and have a financially healthy business. Listen to learn about how to predict and adapt to your business finances.
March 2020
As Americans are closing themselves off more during this time of uncertainty and we dive deeper into the digital age, we suggest that you give the possibility of leading an all-virtual team some serious thought.
February 2020
CPA firms are often location-based, so Summit has to approach marketing on a bigger scale than what is normal in our industry, because we are a virtual firm, and we work with clients all over the country. Today we are sitting down with Kelly Schuknecht, Director of Marketing at Summit CPA and Adam Hale to talk about how Summit CPA markets itself to a national market. Marketing isn’t a priority for a lot of CPA firms, but if you want your business to grow and reach an audience beyond your local area, you can learn from the practices that Summit CPA uses.
February 2020
At the end of December, the SECURE Act was passed and went into law. There are some parts of it that are not in effect yet, but this is definitely something you need to know about if you are an employer that offers a 401k plan (or if you are considering it). In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, the Summit CPA audit director to discuss what you need to know about the SECURE Act as a 401k plan sponsor.
February 2020
At Summit CPA, we bill our clients through a weekly, subscription-based payment plan. After our early days of chasing unpaid invoices and dealing with clients who didn’t want to call us because they were afraid of the bill, we decided to move to a method of payment that is unique compared to other accounting firms. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden to discuss the possible recurring revenue streams for digital agencies, and why it’s so valuable. Listen to learn about a stress-free way to set up and collect payments from your clients for your digital agency.
February 2020
Summit CPA Group's Jody Grunden and Audrey Giannini spoke at the Bureau of Digital's 2020 Owner Summit on how to prepare your business for a recession. Learn how to strengthen your company’s financial health, weather the storm, and position yourself for prosperity and growth in any economic climate.
February 2020
Being a Virtual CFO is about being creative and flexible, but if you want to scale anything or delegate your work to staff, creating a process is absolutely essential, so we are sitting down with Adam Hale to talk about how to build a process for your Virtual CFO services. When we are working with our clients, we usually allow things to flow to fit the client’s needs, but everything we do behind the scenes is backed by processes and systems. In this episode, we talk about how Summit CPA balances the need for creativity and flexibility with clients; and the need to standardize for the purpose of scaling.
January 2020
We have heard the word recession in 2019 more than we have over previous years. A recession is a retraction in the economy, and it is a normal part of the economic cycle. It’s common to worry about recessions because the most recent one was the longest in history lasting 18 months. Recessions typically don’t last as long. In this episode, we are joined by Jody Grunden to discuss the ins and outs of preparing your business for a recession. Listen to learn everything you need to know about getting your business through a recession.
January 2020
Taxes are a natural fit with any kind of CPA services you provide, so we are sitting down with David Danic, the Director of Tax at Summit CPA, and Adam Hale to talk about how to integrate tax services in with Virtual CFO services. Many firms believe that taxes are the way that you get CFO clients, but we do it differently at Summit CPA. In this episode, we talk about how Summit CPA builds tax services into our Virtual CFO services in a way that supports the services that we already provide for our clients instead of leading with them.
January 2020
A lot of companies out there do budgeting, but not many companies do forecasting. But budgets can often be too static, and they don’t take into account unexpected factors that could impact your ability to stay on track. In this episode, Jody Grunden, Jamie Nau, and Adam Hale discuss the importance of forecasting and how to implement it into your business. Listen to learn about how forecasting can be used to map out and reach your long-term business goals.
January 2020
One of the first questions you probably have about a 401k audit is “how much is this going to cost?” In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, the Summit CPA audit director to talk about the pricing you can expect in a 401k audit and what you can expect from the pricing process.
January 2020
You can’t do great work if you don’t have great clients, so we are sitting down with Adam Hale, one of the owners of Summit CPA to talk about the essential parts of the sales process. The sales process is about laying the foundation for long-term relationships that you can build on for years to come. In this episode, we talk about how Summit CPA structures its sales process to determine and meet the needs of our clients, so we can bring them value for the long haul.
January 2020
So, how do you handle your agency clients who consistently pay late? Enforcing a payment policy can be tough as an agency owner. You don’t want to lose the client or the revenue, but you can’t work for free either. Chronically late-paying clients know this on some level, even if they’re being obstinate. Here are five simple steps for training clients to pay on time, leading to increased profitability in your agency:
January 2020
When it comes to setting sales goals, it’s important that every department of your business is on the same page. So how do you know if the work coming down the pipeline is going to be enough? Or too much? In this episode, Summit CPA CEO Jody Grunden joins Jamie Nau to discuss measuring pipeline analytics to set sales goals, and to make sure that your sales team is on the same page as those who are fulfilling the services. Listen to learn about the most important pipeline metrics and how to calculate them.
January 2020
How is your pipeline? Do you have enough business in your pipeline to sustain both your current and future cash position? Even if your business is doing great, you could be headed for trouble if you don’t have a big enough pipeline. Understanding and improving your pipeline metric is crucial to the future success of your business.
December 2019
How much money should you be making if you work at a digital agency? No matter how big or small your business, the percentage of revenue you are earning should be about the same. In this episode, Summit CPA CEO Jody Grunden joins Jamie Nau to break down a basic income statement and explain the importance of each section. Listen to learn about where your revenue should be going to run a healthy business and how you can increase your profit margins.
December 2019
In this episode, host Hugh Duffy talks with Jody Grunden, CEO of Summit CPA, all about how he built his virtual CFO firm from the ground up – and all the decisions involved in that endeavor. From flat fee billing, to setting up staff members to work virtually to how marketing plays an important role, tune in to hear Jody’s compelling story of growth and profitability.
December 2019
Jake Grimm, Summit CPA Director of Technology, and COO Adam Hale join Jamie Nau after having attended the Live 360 IT conference in Orlando to talk about what they learned and what they're going to be bringing back to the firm. It’s important to attend conferences that are relevant to your industry or relevant to different aspects of running your business. This conference was not specific to CPA firms specifically, but it was relevant in the technology necessary for managing our team. Making conferences like this a priority for your business will be an important way to stay up to date on the latest tech or other industry standards.
December 2019
A 401k plan is a benefit you are offering to your employees, so it probably isn’t obvious how to prepare for an audit and what to expect from the process. In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kyle Tanaka to talk about the process you can expect the auditing firm to follow and how you can best work with your auditors through every stage.
December 2019
Hiring the wrong person can be detrimental to an organization. Therefore, business owners must have a tight process for bringing in the right people. In this episode, Hiring HR Guru Zach Montroy and Summit CPA COO Adam Hale join Jamie Nau for a chat about hiring the right way and critical questions you must ask during the process.
December 2019
According to HubSpot, the average close rate in the finance industry is 19%. Our close rate over the last three years has been 30% or higher. How do we do it? By removing barriers. We want to make it as easy as possible for a prospect to choose us over any other option. We want them to know that they can trust us and be comfortable with us. Here are a few of the barriers that potential leads may have and the approach we take with each of them:
December 2019
Knowing your effective rate is critical for understanding profitability. If you get it right, your chances of success improve dramatically. If you get it wrong, it could mean you’re closing the doors. In this episode, Summit CPA CEO Jody Grunden joins Jamie Nau to break down production metrics. Listen and learn precisely how service businesses and creative agencies can determine if they’re running a profitable operation.
November 2019
Despite what many people believe about distributed teams, they can be both efficient and scalable. There are nuances that one must take into account, such as technology and having a dedicated workspace, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with CEO Jody Grunden and COO, Adam Hale, for a chat about how Summit CPA developed into a distributed team, the technology they use, and why the model continues to work.
November 2019
We’ve all heard the age-old adage “cash is king.” But exactly how much cash does your business need to survive? In this episode, Audrey Giannini, a Virtual CFO with Summit CPA, and Jody Grunden, Summit CPA CEO, join Jamie Nau to break down key metrics and how much cash you should have in the bank.
November 2019
Your budget may be static, but your forecast should be dynamic. If your business is growing (or you want it to be), you don’t want to create a budget at the beginning of the year and then stick to that all year despite the changes that are happening with your sales and revenue throughout the year. That’s why you need a forecast which should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis.
November 2019
Despite what many people believe about distributed teams, they can be both efficient and scalable. There are nuances that one must take into account, such as technology and having a dedicated workspace, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with CEO Jody Grunden and COO, Adam Hale, for a chat about how Summit CPA developed into a distributed team, the technology they use, and why the model continues to work.
November 2019
Many business owners are seeking help and clarity when it comes to the audit process. While they may not know where to start, they know it’s time to get started in seeking out auditing professionals who can help. In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with Kim Moore, director of auditing at Summit CPA, to shed some much-needed light on how the auditing process works and what you need to know to stay compliant.
October 2019
In this episode, Michelle Lesifko joins Jamie Nau and Summit CPA CEO Jody Grunden to share what a virtual CPA firm does and how it differs from traditional accounting firms. You’ll also get insights into how Summit CPA uses forecasting and cash flow to help businesses meet their goals and when founders should consider getting help.
October 2019
At Summit CPA, we’ve found Jetpack Workflow to be a tremendous workflow software resource when it comes to documenting the process for the accounting teams within our Virtual CFO Firm. Jetpack Workflow is an accounting practice workflow management software built for accountants, CPA Firms, & Bookkeepers. We use it to document everything we do.
October 2019
For over 17 years, Summit CPA Group has worked with companies all over the U.S. to help them improve their businesses. Here is where it all began and how they are assisting other firms to do the same. In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with CEO Jody Grunden and COO, Adam Hale, for a chat about the humble beginnings of Summit CPA and how it became one of the first distributed virtual CFO firms in North America.
October 2019
It’s no surprise that remote work is becoming more and more popular. As an employer, the question that inevitably comes up is “Will remote workers save me money?” Short answer, it depends. As Dave Danic of Summit CPA Group says, “They can, but you end up investing differently (and sometimes more) to build a stronger culture and to foster team productivity and happiness.” In terms of talent and flexibility, there are several advantages to a distributed or remote team.
October 2019
As a CFO, you’re probably very familiar with the popular accounting software programs that are out there and the metrics they provide. Typically, those metrics can offer helpful ratios, but in order to deliver a higher level of value to your company, you want to focus on the metrics you have the ability to influence, particularly when it comes to the financial health of the company. If you want to become a better CFO, use the following metrics to help tell a story. Where is the company now and where is it going? What is our current cash position, future cash position, and pipeline?
October 2019
Personal development is one of THE most important things that you need to make time for as a CEO. When you are growing your company and spending time developing the leaders within your company, you need to be a solid foundation. And that foundation comes from personal development.
October 2019
In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with CEO, Jody Grunden, and COO, Adam Hale to share why they’re passionate about working with creative agencies. You’ll also hear the way Summit CPA works with agencies to help founders and critical stakeholders gain a clearer understanding of where they’d like to be.
September 2019
For over 17 years, Summit CPA Group has worked with creative agencies all over the U.S. to help them improve their businesses, and this is the story of how and where it all started. In this episode, Jamie Nau sits down with CEO, Jody Grunden, and COO, Adam Hale for a deep into the backstory of Summit CPA and how it became one of the first distributed virtual CFO firms in North America.
October 2019
As more and more firms explore life without a brick-and-mortar office and move into client accounting services, Jody Grunden of Summit CPAs describes how his firm found success as a pioneer of outsourced CFO services with an entirely virtual model.
September 2019
The 401(k) audit deadline is quickly approaching. If you’re a company with 100 or more employees, it’s time to kick your auditing into high gear to ensure you’ll make the deadline. In this episode, Jamie Nau chats with Kim Moore, director of auditing, and CEO Jody Grunden to discuss the audit process at Summit CPA and what companies can do to prepare for the upcoming audit deadline.
September 2019
In this Entrepreneur webinar, learn what data do you need and what metrics you need to track for long-term and short-term success with Summit CPA's Jody Grunden, Sandy Heit, owner of Heit CPA & Associates, and Brittney Castro of Financially Wise Women.
September 2019
How many accounting firms do you know that do value-based pricing, or embrace being a distributed company? Adam Hale, partner and COO of Summit CPA, the premier CPA for digital agencies enlightens host Ivan Stegic on how his progressive firm is changing the way people think about accounting.
September 2019
Meetings are a great way for people to connect with one another, and they can be extremely productive…when led effectively. Our leadership team meets weekly and also annually, and we have an annual all-team retreat.
September 2019
In this Entrepreneur webinar, learn key ways and tools to help maximize the flow of money into your business with Summit CPA's Jody Grunden and Brittney Castro of Financially Wise Women.
August 2019
In a recent podcast interview, Marcel Petitpas of Parakeeto asked Summit CPA CEO and Co-Founder Jody Grunden, gave just a handful of metrics that company owners should be tracking, what would those be.
July 2019
As a distributed company, we at Summit CPA fully understand the accounting, bookkeeping, cash flow management, and business tax nuances that come with being distributed. We love using forecasting and metrics to help our clients overcome these challenges through our own experience and expertise.
July 2019
A brief clip of Jody Grunden at the 2019 Accounting & Finance Show in New York explaining how Summit CPA is now picking up two to four clients a month. "They want forecasting and the ability to make informed decisions."
June 2019
If you want to grow your accounting firm, it’s important to evaluate the effectiveness of your process on a regular basis. You want to be aware of what’s working well and what’s not. You also want to continually be improving upon your services over time. Here’s how we do it at Summit CPA Group. Maybe these ideas will work for you too.
May 2019
Ultimately, transparency builds trust and prevents people from telling themselves a story that isn’t true. When you have a transparent organization, it’s easy for people to ask questions and gain the clarity they need. Being transparent has helped us build a team that can trust one another, and when employees feel trusted, they are happier, more confident, and perform at a higher level. It’s a win-win for everyone!
May 2019
When it comes to making BIG decisions, many business owners fall short by relying on a gut feeling or hunch. In this episode, Jody Grunden, the Co-Founder of Summit CPA group, reveals four key metrics service-based businesses should be using to make more informed decisions.
May 2019
Imagine a world where you know who’s working on what, how much is coming in and how much you need to close. Where your nights and weekends are your own, and you don’t keep losing money because you’re awful at pricing or can’t seem to hone in on problems to fix them.
Rob Harr, Vice President of Sparkbox, lives in that world, alongside Jody Grunden, Managing Member of Summit CPA Group and Summit CPA’s clients. Over the years, Rob and Jody have tamed the dark arts of forecasting, putting their unique spin on things and also combining forces to help digital shops, large and small.
March 2019
As remote work becomes more commonplace, the right tools are needed to ensure that company culture is preserved among employees, wherever they are seated. Forbes Councils members Dr. Timothy J. Giardino and Jody Grunden share their thoughts on maintaining culture as companies become distributed.
March 2019
We take hiring seriously! We believe that hiring the right people is one of the biggest keys to success for any business. Changing the way we advertise open positions and our application system has resulted in us receiving a tremendously higher number of resumes than we did before. Last year we received over 2,000 resumes, a large percentage of which were from highly qualified candidates. Because we are no longer restricted to our physical location when it comes to hiring, we have the benefit of being able to pick the best of the best, regardless of their location.
January 2019
Some business owners may think they can save the company all of that money by going remote, but I personally believe that’s a terrible idea. While it’s true that a distributed company doesn’t have the same costs that come with having a physical space, the very nature of a remote work environment results in a completely different and unique set of needs that should be considered in the company’s annual budget.
January 2019
Before Summit CPA became a distributed company, we were a traditional brick-and-mortar firm. We made the decision to transition to a distributed company because we didn’t want to be limited to our physical location. We wanted to be able to serve clients and hire staff regardless of their location. We learned a lot during that transition, and we believe that effectively managing a remote team comes down to three key areas: People, Technology and Process.
January 2019
Jody Grunden, CEO and Co-founder of Summit CPA Group, sees five common mistakes digital shops and agencies make when it comes to cash flow. Whether you’re a one-person shop or have dozens or even hundreds of employees, the same rules apply. Let’s take a look at each mistake, with Jody as our guide, and walk through some tools and strategies to help you overcome them. The goal is to stretch every dollar, so you have access to your money when you need it.
November 2018
In this episode, we chat with Jody Grunden about the most important metrics every agency should track to maximize their profitability. Tune in to find out what to focus on and what benchmarks to aim for to make sure you never run out of cash or miss payroll.
August 2018
The tax code is written to reward R&D efforts by U.S. businesses paying U.S.-based employees (or contractors). The hardest part of claiming the credit is determining whether or not you have an activity that qualifies under the Code Section 41. Summit CPA Group recommends evaluating your efforts against four criteria.
May 2018
Did you miss our live evolution to advisory show, don't worry, check out what you missed. In part II we look at the solutions you need to leverage to the gig economy and unlock unlimited growth potential. In this episode learn from Adam Hale of Summit CPA group how to leverage their resources to provide the best virtual CFO services to your clients. If Summit has already mastered the process of VCFO services, why start from scratch, go gig and leverage their knowledge.
November 2017
A Virtual CFO’s Playbook to help Digital Companies Create a Financial Roadmap to Success, Jody Grunden helps startup founders and company owners dive deep into the financial side of the business. His personable style makes it easy for readers to understand and apply the concepts to their own company, regardless of their current comfort level with the finances.
September 2017
A CPA firm isn't the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to innovative, distributed team, but that's exactly the case with Jody Grunden from Summit CPA. They took a simple idea of helping businesses with their finances to growing into a virtual CFO company that services all types of companies around the country. Did I mention that one of their core values is humor? If you have a remote team or are interested in things like core values and people, you don't want to miss this episode.
May 2016
As a distributed company, we at Summit CPA fully understand the accounting, bookkeeping, cash flow management, and business tax nuances that come with being distributed. We love using forecasting and metrics to help our clients overcome these challenges through our own experience and expertise.
May 2016
Summit CPA founder Jody Grunden joins Jeff Robbins to talk about the financial and tax implications of remote work, transforming his brick-and-mortar employees to a distributed workforce, and a big huge fish tank.
October 2016
Jody Grunden is the managing member of Summit CPA Group. Jody focuses his attentions primarily on Virtual CFO Services. Jody meets with business owners on a weekly basis to assist them with Cash Flow Management, Forecasting, Budgeting, Debt Restructuring, Cost Accounting, and Cutting Edge Tax Planning. Jody takes great pride in helping business owner strive in all economic conditions. He strongly believes that a well run company will excel in both a good and bad economy. Jody began developing his extensive background in accounting and tax by bringing together his experiences in both corporate and public accounting.
September 2019
In this Entrepreneur webinar, learn what data do you need and what metrics you need to track for long-term and short-term success with Summit CPA's Jody Grunden, Sandy Heit, owner of Heit CPA & Associates, and Brittney Castro of Financially Wise Women.
This guide will help you: