CPAs Helping CPAs - a practice saving program

Many of APCPA's members are sole practitioners or partners in small firms. What would happen to your firm if you were unable to function for several weeks or more, especially if those several weeks fell during tax season?

Whatever the disaster that might happen, be it a health problem, incarceration or being stranded on a tropical island by an airline strike, wouldn't it be nice to have someone willing to step in and "save" your practice for your return? Or, if you aren't going to be able to return, to help keep things together long enough to get your practice sold. We currently think the viability of a CPA practice is probably four to six weeks during tax season... after that, clients would have been forced to find their own replacements and very little might be left to sell.

APCPA is trying to establish a matching program where you meet and find someone with a practice similar to yours. We intend to have periodic meetings to attempt to put like minded practitioners in contact with each others. Once you find someone you are comfortable with, you then enter into an agreement whereby you mutually agree to lead a team of backup providers for each other. You visit each other's offices and find out where to find the files, which programs are used, get a general feel for the layout of the office. Should the program then ever need to be put into effect, APCPA would put out a call for a team of CPA's to assist... each doing a couple of tax returns or half a dozen extensions... all under the direction of the person you have selected to help out. The practicality of this is that few of us could take on a second tax practice during tax season…but most of us could give a few hours to help out a fellow member so that they had a practice to which to come back.

This process also involves doing a little documentation about how your office functions so that whoever comes in has some idea where to start to find out what needs to be done. APCPA has designed some forms to help you start this process.

The executive director is maintaining a list of people who would like to be matched. A list of people willing to purchase practices is also being maintained. Should you wish to have the written information and forms about the program, contact the executive director at exdir@apcpaonline.org or to discuss the program contact helping@apcpaonline.org.