Knowledge Base: Who is Covered Under My Professional Liability Policy?

If you are starting a new firm or buying Professional Liability Insurance for the first time,  you might be asking yourself: “Who is covered under my policy?”. Well, Protexure is here to help with all of your questions and concerns. As part of our new series of blog posts called “Knowledge Base”, we aim to answer frequently asked questions regarding Professional Liability Policies in detail. We want you to be well-equipped when evaluating different carriers in the future.

What is an “Insured”?

Under a Professional Liability Insurance Policy, the definition of an “Insured” can include a number of different people and entities. First, the name of your firm is an Insured. This typically refers to the legal name of your firm. If you practice under multiple names, make sure to report the other names on your application. The name of the firm is typically referred to as a “Name Insured”. Next, employees of the firm are defined as Insureds under the Professional Liability Policy. This includes but is not limited to principals, partners, officers, members, or other employees of the Names Insured. Another feature to look for in a Professional Liability Insurance Policy is the inclusion of contract employees working for the firm as Insured parties. During tax season, for example, your firm may hire temporary workers to compensate for a significantly increased workload. Coverage is available for the work they do on behalf of your firm, though it is often different from carrier to carrier.

Also included in the definition of an Insured is the estate, heirs, administrators, or legal representatives of either the names or the people noted above (partners, officers, members, etc.) in the event of death, incapacity, bankruptcy, or insolvency. Going along with this idea, another entity that is potentially covered in your policy is called a “Predecessor in Business”. It is typically defined as another entity whose financial assets and liabilities become owned by the Name Insured. An example would be a merger/acquisition of another firm into your practice. We will go over predecessors in more detail in a future post!

We hope this post helps answer questions you may have about your policy! If you are a small CPA Firm, we would love to provide you with a quick, free, and competitive quote for your firm’s Professional Liability Insurance. Give us a call at (888) 803-9898 or visit our website at Protexure.com. For the latest news in Accounting today, be sure to check out our Facebook and Twitter pages, and of course: our WordPress Blog!

Protexure Tips: Cloud Computing for CPA Firms

Cloud technology has exploded into the “next big thing” for businesses and households alike. But what is Cloud Computing exactly? Cloud Computing, at its core, allows you to access information from anywhere, on any authorized device without a physical server. However, with recent software innovations, Cloud Computing capabilities have expanded exponentially in the past two years. Here are some ways Cloud Computing can help your Accounting firm:

1. Reduced Overhead due to lower IT costs

Cloud systems are generally less expensive to maintain than a traditional physical database or server. Though there are significant implementation costs, the money saved through low maintenance costs (more often that not) covers the initial investment.

2. Increased accessibility for employees

Cloud Computing can be configured to allow employees to access documents, whether they are in the office or remotely (from home or on the go). Employees can also collaborate easier when not in the same location by contributing to the same document in the Cloud.

3. Larger focus on Accounting Services

For a Smaller Firm, this might be the primary reason for upgrading to a Cloud. Many external Cloud Computing Providers offer customizable services in their software such as billable hours and accounting procedure tracking, management services, and payroll systems. Companies such as OfficeTime (www.OfficeTime.net) have been very popular with CPA Firms for this reason.

Though Cloud Computing has many benefits, the most frequently cited drawback to implementing a Cloud system has to do with security. If your firm chooses to implement a Cloud Computing infrastructure, make sure to choose a provider that places an emphasis on their security, and, if it is within your budget, make sure they guarantee that your information can be recovered in the case of a disaster. For more on how to choose the right provider, refer to this informational study by GeoTrust: Choosing a Cloud Provider with Confidence.

At Protexure Accountants, we provide our clients with the utmost professionalism and competitive policy rates that are among the best in the industry. Our policies are tailored towards the needs of smaller Accounting firms. This allows us to provide a more personal form of customer service along with a policy that satisfies the specific needs of a small firm. Our online application process is streamlined and simplified. We allow you to spend more time running your business, and not filling out paperwork. For a quick, free quote, visit our website at www.Protexure.com or give us a call at (888) 803-9898. Also, be sure to “Like” our Facebook page and Follow us on Twitter @ProtexureACCTS to stay up to date with the latest news regarding Professional Liability Insurance for Accountants!

Bringing in the Best: Recruiting Tips for Small CPA Firms

As a Managing Partner or a Human Resources professional for a Small CPA Firm, hiring new staff can be stressful. With budgetary constraints, limited resources, and Big Firm Competition, there are plenty of factors working against you. We at Protexure Accountants specialize in creating Professional Liability Policies for Small CPA Firms and we consider ourselves advocates of our clients. We are here to help! One thing to keep in mind is that many Accounting students and CPA Exam Takers have the goal of getting a job in a Big Four Accounting Firm. The key to recruiting these students is to focus on the advantages your Small Firm can offer over these big firms:

1. Work Environment

Small CPA Firms can offer a more personal, friendly environment than a Large CPA Firm. With everyone typically on a first-name basis, lifelong friendships and connections are created. This is especially beneficial to a candidate seeking their first job as a CPA. The relatively more relaxed work environment promotes learning on the job without the extreme pressure experienced at a larger CPA Firm. Also, there will be opportunity to talk face-to-face with a client, building interpersonal skills that are of the utmost importance later in any young professional’s career.

2. Diversity of Work

As any Small Firm CPA knows, there are a variety of client-related tasks to perform on a daily basis in a Small Firm. For a young CPA, the exposure to all different types of tasks will help them grow as a professional. This can be used as a key selling point at the beginning of the interview process for a recruiter.

3. Work/Life Balance

Depending on your firm’s individual Work/Life Balance policies, the employee is given more freedom in a Small Firm versus in a Large Firm. If your firm offers flexible scheduling during non-peak seasons or flextime/work from home programs, be sure to mention it to prospective employees from the get go.

As a Small Firm, it is extremely important to get out and recruit. Attending local university career fairs and expos is a start, but to differentiate your firm from the others, you may consider contacting the Accounting Department/Business School and ask to sponsor an event at the university. Also, building relationships with Professors in the Accounting department can be vital to finding the right “fit” for your vacant position because of the knowledge they possess about the student’s work ethic day in and day out. Employing these strategies could lead to the discovery of someone who can help your firm get to the next level of success. We at Protexure Accountants wish you the best of luck!

At Protexure Accountants, we provide our clients with the utmost professionalism and competitive policy rates that are among the best in the industry. Our policies are tailored towards the needs of smaller Accounting firms. This allows us to provide a more personal form of customer service along with a policy that satisfies the specific needs of a small firm. Our online application process is streamlined and simplified. We allow you to spend more time running your business, and not filling out paperwork. For a quick, free quote, visit our website at www.Protexure.com or give us a call at (888) 803-9898. Also, be sure to “Like” our Facebook page and Follow us on Twitter @ProtexureACCTS to stay up to date with the latest news regarding Professional Liability Insurance for Accountants!

Protexure Tips: How to Turn Your Firm into a Social Media Success Story

Even at a small CPA firm, marketing is vital. It is what attracts new customers and also what retains existing ones. You have plenty of information to send to your clients, and Protexure Accountants is here to help you expand your reach by offering you some tips for using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn within your marketing strategy.

Facebook

With over 120 million active users and counting, Facebook is the largest social network in the world. With so many potential clients registered on the site, it is vital for your Small Firm to start your social media success story on Facebook. Some of the perks that it offers include Facebook Insights, Reply Options, and the ability to “Like” other businesses.

Facebook Insights provide real-time data about who is looking at your page, how many people look at your posts, and how many people “Like” your page. This is quality information that your business can use in order to narrow your focus onto your target market. The best part is that Facebook allows this information to be exported into an Excel file, where you can examine each “Insight” (Total Likes Received, Total Reach, etc.) and use some basic statistical analysis to find out just how well your page is doing. Your Total Reach is what you must keep the closest eye on. This is how many people see what you post per day (that is, all the “Friends” of the people who “Liked” your page). Try to maximize this number by consistently posting content and linking your page to your other social media pages.

Reply Options and the ability to “Like” other businesses are two of the most underutilized tools in the Business side of Facebook, but the companies that employ these tools set themselves apart from others that do not. Reply Options allow you to have conversations with people that interact with your page. For example, if someone comments on a recent post asking a quick question, such as how long you have been established as a CPA firm, you can directly reply to their comment and answer their question. Then, a notification will be sent to the commenter indicating that their comment has been replied to. Not only is the personal attention to the commenter something that might make them want to do business with you, it is shown publicly so that everyone who sees that post will see the personal reply. It is a brand new feature to Business Pages, so take advantage of it before your competition does! The ability to “Like” other businesses can boost the popularity of your page. When you “Like” another Business Page, that page will list you in their “Recent Likes” section. There is no downside to liking a lot of pages, and businesses usually return the favor.

Twitter

Twitter is unique in that it only allows you to send quick, 140 character messages to your followers per post. This can be a daunting task for someone unfamiliar with how Twitter works, but once you get the hang of it, Twitter can be used as a great marketing tool. The primary thing to remember when using Twitter is that the character limit is only a guideline. You CAN use more than the allotted 140 characters to get your point across. This can be done by using shortlinks. There are several websites that allow you to tweet a message that is longer than 140 characters, the only downside is that the entire message does not come up on the Twitter feeds of your followers. There will be a shortlink to the full message, so the key is to make the first sentence of your tweet attractive to your target market. Other suggestions we have for using Twitter is to link it to your Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media network pages. This will allow your users to interact with your other pages and increase the number of tweets posted, which indicates that you are making an effort to keep your clients informed about what’s going on inside and outside your Small Firm.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a highly underutilized social media platform, especially for Businesses. There are many personal accounts on LinkedIn, but it is seldom that you find a well-done, well-thought-out LinkedIn page for a small business. Since so many professionals are registered on LinkedIn, it could be a key component to your online marketing strategy going forward. A few tips for using LinkedIn to promote your small business are as follows:

• Take advantage of LinkedIn’s Paid Advertisements- LinkedIn offers companies the opportunity to pay for Ads that display on the right side of their website. They are tailored to attract people that you specify as your target market
• Post Events and Create Groups- Posting events is a great way to attract new clients, and creating groups are a way to build loyalty with clients.
• Recommendations- What’s the best way to get recommendations? Give recommendations. Businesses all want recommendations on LinkedIn in order to build brand equity. Give recommendations and most businesses will return the favor.

This is a lot of information to take in all at once, but we believe that becoming a Social Media Success is a gradual process for a Small Business, and especially a Small CPA Firm. There are not going to be 1,000 likes the first day you create your page, but eventually the work you put in to building and promoting the page will pay off. As always, we at Protexure Accountants are here to help! We wish you luck on your social media endeavors.

At Protexure Accountants, we provide our clients with the utmost professionalism and competitive policy rates that are among the best in the industry. Our policies are tailored towards the needs of smaller Accounting firms. This allows us to provide a more personal form of customer service along with a policy that satisfies the specific needs of a small firm. Our online application process is streamlined and simplified. We allow you to spend more time running your business, and not filling out paperwork. For a quick, free quote, visit our website at www.Protexure.com or give us a call at (888) 803-9898. Also, be sure to “Like” our Facebook page and Follow us on Twitter @ProtexureACCTS to stay up to date with the latest news regarding Professional Liability Insurance for Accountants!

Surviving the Times: Ways to Boost Your Small Firm’s Revenue

During these tough economic times, the entire Accounting profession has taken a big hit in terms of revenue and profitability. Though the Big Four firms were hurt but not crippled, smaller firms took a much larger hit. Here at Protexure Accountants, we are advocates for the small firm, and we want to see you succeed. Here are some tips to boost revenue, taken from the well-respected blog at AccountingWeb:

1. Narrow your focus from a do-it-all accounting firm to one that has expertise in a particular industry or in a certain type of service.

2. Keep up with industry trends, regulatory issues, and pending legislation that could impact your niche-market.

3. Develop consulting skills to point out ways a client’s company can boost profits or develop new business.

4. Become an expert in areas that require accounting expertise, such as business valuations, dispute resolution services, and litigation support.

5. Become an expert in forensic accounting to detect fraud, investigate financial losses, and develop internal accounting controls.

(Credit: AccountingWEB)

In summary, these five strategies can help differentiate your small firm from your competition. Finding a niche and becoming an expert in everything that the niche market requires is a key step in building revenue for your small firm. Then, incorporating consulting services along with the services already performed by your firm can boost revenue even more. Possessing this degree of expertise can lead to higher profitability, along with a plethora of new customers through client referrals.

At Protexure Accountants, we provide our clients with the utmost professionalism and competitive policy rates that are among the best in the industry. Our policies are tailored towards the needs of smaller Accounting firms. This allows us to provide a more personal form of customer service along with a policy that satisfies the specific needs of a small firm. Our online application process is streamlined and simplified. We allow you to spend more time running your business, and not filling out paperwork. For a quick, free quote, visit our website at www.Protexure.com or give us a call at (888) 803-9898. Also, be sure to “Like” our Facebook page and Follow us on Twitter @ProtexureACCTS to stay up to date with the latest news regarding Professional Liability Insurance for Accountants!

Protexure’s Keys to Success: The Five Skills CPAs Need Now

In today’s business world, success in the Accounting profession requires key skills that go beyond the technical and financial skills that the profession demands. Thomas Hood III, CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and author of the MACPA blog, along with members of the AICPA, came up with “Five Critical Competencies for the Future” that CPAs should work on after technical and financial mastery are achieved. The Five core competencies are:

1. Leadership: The ability to develop and share insights and the aptitude to mobilize and inspire others to action. Leadership is about finding possibilities and developing people, utilizing their strengths, and shaping the future.

2. Communications: Able to give and exchange information with meaningful context and appropriate delivery and interpersonal skills. It includes the ability to make thinking visible to others in a way they can easily grasp.

3. Strategic thinking: A future-minded and flexible mindset that thinks critically and creatively. The ability to link data, knowledge and insights together to provide quality advice for strategic decision-making.

4. Collaboration and synthesis: Being effective at engaging others and working across boundaries to turn challenges into opportunities, including the ability to consider the whole picture (past, present, and future context) and create alternatives and options for the future.

5. Being tech savvy: Anticipating technology changes and how they can benefit others. Being adept at standardizing data for transparency, efficient exchange, and visualization.

(Credit: MACPA Blog)

These five critical skills can set you apart from other CPAs, whether you have been in the business for years or are preparing for your first CPA Exam. The video below, entitled “The Bounce” is a visual lesson in how these critical skills are put to the test and capitalized upon in the various stages of a CPA’s career. For more information please check out the full, original post on the MACPA’s blog here.

Also, be sure to Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter, and as always, follow our blog here at WordPress.com for the latest news and information about Protexure Accountants!

Everybody Makes Mistakes: Why Accountants Need Professional Liability Insurance

No one’s perfect. We’ve all heard the phrase. Inevitably, mistakes do happen and a Professional Liability Insurance policy is the bungee cord that stops you and your firm from a free fall. Errors and Omissions (E&O for short) and other Professional Liability Insurance policies cover professionals from all areas of business, including but not limited to: Advertising Agencies, Property Managers, Mortgage Bankers, and of course, Accountants. Our Accountants policies protect against several different types of claims. Some of the most common errors covered by a Accountant’s Professional Liability policy are as follows:

• Errors in Financial Statements
• Errors in Auditing Activities
• Negligent Tax Filings or Tax Preparation
• Failure to Detect Embezzelment
• Poor management advisory services

Many Accountants believe that purchasing any type of Professional Liability Insurance makes them an easy target for lawsuits. The truth, though, is that a determined client or savvy attorney can sue you regardless of your Professional Liability status. A policy can protect you from losing assets, paying high court fees, and potentially losing your business. The relatively low cost Professional Liability Premium from Protexure Accountants makes the protection we provide all the more worth the cost. Our policy costs typically range from ½% to 1% of the Accounting firm’s annual revenue.

What Sets Us Apart

At Protexure Accountants, we provide our clients with the utmost professionalism and competitive policy rates that are among the best in the industry. Our policies are tailored towards the needs of smaller Accounting firms. This allows us to provide a more personal form of customer service along with a policy that satisfies the specific needs of a small firm. Our online application process is streamlined and simplified. We allow you to spend more time running your business, and not filling out paperwork. For a quick, free quote, visit our website at www.Protexure.com or give us a call at (888) 803-9898. Also, be sure to “Like” our Facebook page and Follow us on Twitter @ProtexureACCTS to stay up to date with the latest news regarding Professional Liability Insurance for Accountants!

Making Sense of it All: Professional Liability Insurance for Accountants

At Protexure Accountants, we pride ourselves on giving our customers the best policies and service available in the industry. Not to be forgotten, however, is the importance of educating our customers. We want you to understand your policies as well as we do. To help you out, here are some of the most often misunderstood terms in a Professional Liability Insurance Policy:

First Dollar Defense

The standard deductible in Accountants’ Professional Liability Policies is payable by the Insured when a claim is made and reported to their Insurance Company. The deductible applies towards both legal expenses and damages incurred in resolving a claim. First Dollar Defense changes the deductible feature to only apply towards damages paid with the Insurance Company paying all expenses in the handling of a claim. For instance, if a claim requires only Attorney’s Fees to resolve, the Insured pays nothing and the expenses are paid by the company from the limit of liability. The added cost for this feature is typically 5-10% on your premium.

Aggregate Deductible

Deductibles are typically defined as applicable to each claim reported during a policy period. An Aggregate Deductible limits the amount paid by the Insured during the policy period to the deductible amount regardless of the number of claims reported. This feature will cost an additional 5-10% on your premium.

Split Limits

Accountants’ Professional Liability Insurance Policies include a limit of liability equal to the maximum amount the Insurance Company will pay on all claims reported during the policy period. A policy with a Split Limit provides an aggregate limit that is typically a multiple of the limit of liability. For instance, if you purchase a policy with a $1,000,000 limit of liability, the most the Company will pay for one or multiple claims reported during the policy period is $1,000,000. If you purchase a policy with a split limit, $1,000,000/$2,000,000, the policy will pay up to $1,000,000 on a single claim and $2,000,000 for all claims reported during the policy period.

Expenses Outside the Limit of Liability

The standard Accountants Professional Liability Insurance Policy provides a limit of liability equal to the total amount that the Insurance Company will pay for claims reported during the policy period. These payments include expenses, Attorney Fees to represent you, and damages paid to settle a claim. The option to purchase a policy with Expenses Outside The Limit Of Liability converts the limit to only pay for damages and the company pays for the expenses outside the limit. Typically this feature is capped at the amount of the limit. For example, if you purchase a policy with a $500,000 limit of liability and expenses outside the limit, there is $500,000 available to pay damages for all claims reported during the policy period and expenses are paid by the company in addition to your limit, up to the outside expense limit. The cost-related impact of this extra benefit on your premium will typically range between 5-15%.

Claims Made Policy

Accountants Professional Liability Insurance policies are written on a Claims-Made Basis. In a Claims-Made Policy, coverage is triggered when notice of a claim is realized by the Insured and reported to their Professional Liability carrier. The policy in place at the time the claim is made will respond, regardless of when the act causing the claim occurred, subject to other conditions in the policy. An important feature of a claims-made policy is the Retroactive Date, also referred to as the prior acts date. This date represents the first date the Insured purchased and continuously maintained their professional liability coverage.  For example, a policy with a policy period of 1/1/2012-1/1/2013 and a retroactive date of 1/1/2000 will respond to claims made and reported during the policy period based on services provided subsequent to 1/1/2000. It is extremely important to continuously renew your Professional Liability Insurance Policy to avoid a gap in coverage. Another important feature to claims-made policies is the Extended Reporting Period option, also referred to as tail coverage. The extended reporting feature is available in the event the Insured discontinues operation due to retirement or selling their practice. The extended reporting feature is available for a premium that is dependent on the length of the reporting period option. This feature provides coverage for claims made and reported based on services provided prior to the end of the last policy, the date you closed or sold your practice, and otherwise covered by that last policy.

For more information on these topics, please Like our Facebook page, Follow our Twitter, and visit our Official Website for a Quick Free Quote:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Protexure-Accountants/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ProtexureACCNTS

Official Website URL: http://www.Protexure.com

Protexure Accountants program is designed for sole practitioners and small firms.  We are the small firm protector for price and protection.  We’ve eliminated the cause of expensive malpractice suits, mainly firms that perform public audits and larger firms, from our pool of insureds and passed that saving right on to you. Contact us directly at (888) 803-9898 for a quick, free quote.

Accountant Movie Awards including an Academy Award Winner

Since PricewaterhouseCoopers has been the official tabulator and certifier of the Academy Awards votes since 1934, we at Protexure Accountants would like to do a little tabulation of our own and feature our favorite motion picture accountants.

Here are our favorites this year for best accountant in a motion picture and best accountant film.  

For the best Accountant Role based on a real character – The winner goes to Charles Martin Smith as Oscar Wallace in The Untouchables (1987).  Who brought down a mighty mob boss?  That’s right, an accountant!  A brilliant performance by Mr. Smith.

For the best Accountant Actress in a comedy -  The winner goes to Cher as Loretta Castorini in Moonstruck (1987).   She finds out that there is more to life than facts and figures and falls for Ronny Cammareri (played by Nicholas Cage).

For the best Accountant Actor in a comedy – The winner goes to Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom in The Producers (1968).  Who can forget his hysterical performance.

For the Lifetime Accountant Achievement Award – The winner goes to Jack Lemmon as Bud Baxter in The Apartment (1960).  Lemmon spectacular performance as the office pushover who ends up with Shirley MacLaine.   Who says accountants aren’t romantic?

For the best Accountant Actor or Actress performance in an artsy film – The winner goes to Johnny Depp as William Blake in Dead Man (1995).  With a cast that includes Johnny Depp and Iggy Pop in a western, it has to be artsy.   William Blake is an accountant from Cleveland, Ohio who ends up shooting buffalo from a train window and no one does it better than Johnny Depp.

For the Goofball Accountant in a Silly Movie – The winner is Stephen Root as Milton Waddams in Office Space (1999).  He’s a complete goofball and we are still unclear on what he actually did in the movie but it sure resembled some sort of bookkeeping.  Just don’t give this guy a stapler.

For best Accountant Movie – The winner is The Accountant (2001).  Was there any competition really?  One hard drinking, chain smoking, backwoods accountant who stops a national conspiracy and saves the O’Dell brothers family farm.  Disclaimer:  This movie really won an Academy Award in 2002 for best short comedy film.

Enjoy the awards this week-end.  Your friends at Protexure Accountants.  http://www.protexure.com

Five Tips for Small Business Success in 2012

We are now two weeks and two days into our “new year’s resolutions”.  Maybe you came up with a basic resolution like losing weight or eating better food and it might even be working for you.  You can also do the same for your business this year and transform your business by taking some small steps to greater business success in 2012.  Here are 5 tips for small business success in 2012.

1.  Delegate, delegate, delegate.  It’s easy to become overwhelmed when you are a small business owner and take on many of the tasks that others could easily complete.  Allow others to grown along side you and hand some responsibility over and watch them grow in the process.  You get more time and they learn new skills.

2.  Promote yourself.  Take the time to complete a marketing plan that includes social media and follow through.  Social media outlets are free and relatively easy to use.  Or if you don’t have time, hire a social media strategist to complete some of the basic tasks for you.  You are a vessel of knowledge and can parlay that knowledge into customers by promoting yourself through digital marketing.

3.  Join a networking group.  Remember in college when you would stay up all night talking with other students about great ideas?   The same can happen now in networking groups.  You can learn all kinds of new things from other small business owners like yourself.

4.  Learn something new.  It will add to your skill set, allow you to meet new people and gain new insight into things.  It will also improve your work-life balance.  Depending on how you choose to learn, you might meet new and interesting people along the way who could potentially turn into new clients, colleagues or friends.

5.  Put time on your calendar for you.  Schedule yourself some time on your calendar for things that you enjoy and recharge your batteries.  Burn out is common with small business owners and it breeds frustration.   Remember the work-life balance.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results.  Remember that you must try to make change a part of your every day life and maintaining a healthy work-life balance is important.

Protexure Accountants program is designed for sole practitioners and small firms.  We are the small firm protector for price and protection.  We’ve eliminated the cause of expensive malpractice suits, mainly firms that perform public audits and larger firms, from our pool of insureds and passed that saving right on to you.  Visit us online today for a free instant quote at http://www.protexure.com.  Or give us a call at 866-803-9898.