![]() Write-up work includes recording transactions in books of original entry (called journals), transferring amounts from the journals to a ledger (called posting), reconciliation of bank statements, monthly adjustments, financial statement preparation, and filing of sales and payroll tax reports. The services rendered will fall into one or more of the following areas:Īccounting and Most small firms do some accounting and write-up work. The sole practitioner, limited by the lack of accounting personnel within his or her own firm, can render services only for small- and medium-sized business entities. Participation in community activities is necessary to establish contact with bankers, attorneys, and other professional people who work within the community. Marketing skills include dressing appropriately, the ability to sell oneself and one's talents, and some involvement in community activities. Last, but not least, marketing skills is necessary to help the practice grow. It requires organization and planning to develop and use the talents of the employees most efficiently. Unless the sole practitioner has a one-person office, he or she will have employees to supervise. The sole practitioner must use his or her own judgment in making decisions and must be willing to accept the responsibility for these decisions. In working with clients, members of the community, and others, the accountant needs such highly developed communication skills.įrom a management viewpoint, the accountant must be able to handle responsibility. Equally important are oral and written communication skills. The accountant should be mathematically inclined and possess the ability to think logically in solving clients' problems. Technical skills include being knowledgeable in (1) accounting practices and procedures, (2) taxation, (3) management consulting activities, and (4) computers. They tailor their practices to suit their personalities, family responsibilities, health, and life-styles. They provide high-quality personal services to their clients. They are individualists who function alone because they choose to do so. Sole practitioners are like family physicians. The sole practitioner should enjoy working with people and have the self-confidence necessary to handle the wide variety of tasks encountered. A nice personality coupled with a certain amount of aggressiveness is needed in serving the client's needs. Patience is needed to deal with the many problems that arise. Information divulged by the client is confidential, and the accountant must treat it as such. The accountant, both CPA and PA, must abide by a code of professional ethics. High on the list of personal qualifications is integrity. The successful sole practitioner needs certain personal qualifications, technical skills, management skills, and marketing skills. This figure did not include the number of sole practitioners who were not members of AICPA. In 1996, AICPA reported 26,830 sole practitioners in public practice. It is difficult to estimate how many accountants are sole practitioners. The sole practitioner's chances for having a successful practice are greater if he or she is a certified public accountant. Some sole practitioners are certified public accountants (CPAs) and some are public accountants (PAs). The sole practitioner will not be able to compete effectively with specialist in larger firms for audits. Some engage primarily in write-up work (bookkeeping) using computerized systems, others have primarily a tax practice, and still others may provide a mix of services. ![]() Sole practitioners also vary as to the type of practice. ![]() Their areas of specialization vary from concentrating on certain related businesses to handling a wide variety of clients. Their clients vary from small- to medium-sized businesses and from service to retailing companies. Sole practitioners, as a whole, are not a homogeneous group. Often the practice is a closely held family business. Other office personnel could include a secretary, a typist, and bookkeepers. The sole practitioner is owner of the business. The accountant, as a sole practitioner, operates with no professional staff other than himself or herself.
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