I have been in the accounting business since 1975, and over the years I had received fliers from Sterling Management several times. Whenever one would come through, I would think that the program looked interesting and maybe I would check them out some other time. Last year was that time.

Last year was a very difficult tax season. It was a record year for me; I had plenty of business, there was plenty of money flowing around, but I didn't seem to have control over the practice. I didn't have the right staff and didn't have the right procedures in place. It was very frustrating.

By the time April came around, I had had enough. I could not go through another tax season like that again. This time when I received a flier from Sterling, I decided to call them and at least get the details. Those details looked good so I signed up to do the program.

My wife went down to Glendale with me for the training, which was very helpful. It allowed her to meet my consultant and get a taste of the training that I was doing. As I went through the training, it started to make a lot of sense. I could see how it applied in different areas of my practice.

The best part of it for me was that I had a mental shift on how the practice should be run. I am a very routine-oriented type of person, yet I didn't have a routine procedure established for managing my own business. Yes, I could get work in the door and back out to the clients, but overall there just wasn't any long-term direction to the practice that I was satisfied with. We were just operating on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis.

Through the program I learned to start taking care of my business the way I was taking care of my clients' businesses. Rather than thinking that I had to spend every moment servicing clients, I saw that it was essential for me to also take some time out to sit down and plan, to talk to my staff, and give them guidance, goals, instruction, and incentives.

The strategic plan my consultant created was a recipe for success.

One change is that I now have a plan to set aside cash reserves. Like other accountants, I have the proverbial line of credit that I would max out around the end of summer. Then during tax season, when the cash flow was better, I would pay it off only to build it back up the following summer. Now I have a procedure in place to set aside cash reserves, something I never had before. I have a plan for debt reduction, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Another benefit from the program is that it's gotten me to start managing my staff rather than letting them run my schedule. Although I had people supposedly working for me as support staff, it appeared that they were controlling my day; I wasn't controlling theirs. Now I am back in control. I don't automatically take every phone call immediately as it comes in. If I am in the middle of a project which requires my undivided attention, I am free to complete it without distraction, and then return phone calls or deal with staff on my schedule, not theirs.

Last year was a record year for me, but this year, the tax season was substantially better. At the end of April, my collections were up 41% and I did it without working seven days a week as I usually did. In fact, no one was working seven days a week as they had in the past.

When I spoke to my Sterling consultant, shortly after the tax season ended, I told her things are going great and I can't wait for the next season. In 31 years I don't think I have ever said this before, but it's true. I still work a lot of hours, but I don't have a problem with that. I like what I do. What changed was that there wasn't the same intensity, the same stress, as in previous years. My staff worked fewer hours but I was able to pay them more money. 

The increased income is great, but the biggest improvement is that I am happier. The program has changed my outlook about coming to work. Before, I would have to force myself to come in, but now I look forward to it. With less stress in the office, I no longer snap at people, which makes life better for my wife and my kids too.

David Harris, CPA