CPA FAQs – How Do I Find Time to Upgrade My Skills?

With advancing technology poised to automate many of the data-driven tasks, it has never been more important for CPAs to remain relevant in this ever-changing and complex world.

At an individual level, CPAs must take charge of their careers and ensure that they have the skills that will take them to the next level to keep their businesses or clients future-ready.

But given their busy schedules, it is very tough for CPAs to find time to develop their skills. They invest extra hours at work, leaving very little or no personal time for learning and development. In fact, the burn and churn culture fails to sufficiently offer a proper work-life balance.

Luckily, we’ve chalked out a few easy ways for you to manage time and upgrade your skills in a busy schedule. Yes it works, even during those challenging tax seasons!

• Time Tracking & Blocking

Try making use of automatic and manual time trackers to track your productivity and know how you spend your day. Ideally, it is best to organize time around projects rather than tasks to help you better prioritize and schedule your tasks. You may also consider using distraction blocking apps like Offtime, Moment, and Freedom to eliminate potential distractions.

A powerful time-management strategy is to dedicate specific time “blocks” for certain tasks. Also known as time-blocking, it is preferred by many to stay productive and focused without distraction during hectic schedules. You can schedule short increment blocks of time where each time block is assigned with a specific task of activity to increase your productivity. You can use time block in combination with the Pomodoro technique which recommends that you work for 25 minutes and take a 5 minute break to do something completely different. Yet another way is to use a calendar app for organizing blocks, allowing you even more control of your time and productivity.

• Peer Networking & Self Study

The adage, “It’s not what you know. It’s who you know” might just be true for CPAs. For accounting professionals, attending conferences and seminars helps to stay on top of the field, earn CPE credits, and peer networking. Usually, such conferences and seminars include sessions where subject matter experts offer cutting edge education to help the firm operate with greater levels of efficiency.

In addition, a quick way to start skill development at an affordable price is with Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs). You can learn whenever and however you want through popular platforms like Coursera, Edx, or the AICPA CPE self-study course to improve your skils.

• Outsourcing

Balancing your critical operational accounting services such as bookkeeping, managing client and taking time off to skill-up can be challenging. It can often detract your focus on upgrading your skill. Outsourcing addresses this challenge and alleviates the pressure to find time to focus on developing your career and skills without distraction. Therefore, enrolling in a flexible CPA partnership program, wherein the outsourced bookkeeping and accounting firm operate as an extension to your firm, not only gives you a lot of time to improve your skills but also saves you money.

Choose our CPA Partner Program today!

Effective time management for CPAs means more money and more time to upgrade your skills to grow your business. At Analytix Solutions, our CPA partner programs assist your firm with the entire accounting process and allows you time to focus on your professional growth.

Next Steps

• Visit Analytix to learn how we can partner with your firm to help you develop your skills and career.
• Mail sales@analytix.com or call us at 781.503.9002 for a demo session now.
• Read more about the latest industry trends on our blog.
• Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for additional opportunities to engage.

Written by

Analytix Editorial Team