Challenge: McCarthy, Rose & Mills, LLP needed an edge in its market and a way to make its practice more profitable. Solution: Since the firm implemented CCH Axcess™ in 2012, it has been able to outpace top firm average growth by 2 to 4 percent year-over-year, and, for 2015, is on track to double the industry’s top-firm average growth rate (which was 8.4 percent in 2014, according to Accounting Today’s 2014 Top 100 Firms survey).

1. How McCarthy, Rose & Mills, LLP
Doubled the Industry’s Average
Growth Rates
How does a firm that has been around for more than 50 years
continue to improve profits, exceed industry growth rates and
recruit top talent? The answer for McCarthy, Rose & Mills, LLP, a
Dallas-based tax, accounting and consulting firm, is technology.
The firm, which has six professionals, one support staff member
and one para-professional, focuses on tax, accounting and
consulting needs of individuals, as well as companies of all life
cycles — including startups, growth-oriented businesses and
businesses ready to transfer ownership to the next generation.
Technology has always played a key role throughout the firm’s
many years of success.
Our firm is celebrating 50 years largely due to my father’s
entrepreneurial nature and dedication to technology. Technology
does many things for an accounting firm. It allows us to automate
routine tasks such as data entry, deliver complex projects timely
and at competitive rates and be effective while working remotely.
All of this translates into efficiency.
— Brett Mills, CPA,
Partner, McCarthy, Rose & Mills, LLP
Impressive Growth and Efficiency
In December 2012, the firm implemented two CCH Axcess
modules — CCH Axcess™
Tax, Wolters Kluwer’s cloud-based
tax preparation and compliance software module , as well as
CCH Axcess™
Practice, a time and billing software program
that enables firms to maximize billable hours and streamline
administrative work.
Since doing so, the firm has been able to exceed industry growth
rate averages year after year.
Since 2012, we have outpaced top firm average growth by
2 to 4 percent. Furthermore, we are on track to nearly double
the average growth rate in 2015.
This is largely because the Wolters Kluwer software has freed up
staff to focus on building the business.
Efficiency gains allow us to re-invest in our firm, grow our practice
and be true advisors to our clients.
When the firm came on board in December 2012, they also
added another CCH Axcess module, CCH Axcess™
Workstream,
a full-featured software solution that allows firms to efficiently
manage all deliverables.
CCH Axcess Workstream is huge. It has the ability to transform a
firm, so this implementation should not be taken lightly. It requires
a champion, someone with the authority and leadership skills to
obtain buy-in from the entire firm.
Challenge:
ll McCarthy, Rose & Mills, LLP needed an edge in its market
and a way to make its practice more profitable.
Solution:
ll Since the firm implemented CCH Axcess™
in 2012, it has
been able to outpace top firm average growth by 2 to 4
percent year-over-year, and, for 2015, is on track to double
the industry’s top-firm average growth rate (which was
8.4 percent in 2014, according to Accounting Today’s 2014
Top 100 Firms survey).
We feel that these software solutions from Wolters Kluwer
have made us more efficient, more productive and have
allowed us to do more work in less time. The solutions have
helped increase our bottom line. We turned to Wolters
Kluwer because other companies were stagnant, and we could
see the positive things Wolters Kluwer was doing.
— John B. Mills Jr., CPA,
ManagingPartnerandFounder,McCarthy,Rose&Mills,LLP
Twitter Handle: @BrettMillsCPA
Website: mrmcpas.com

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The Numbers Are Impressive
Because of the added efficiency, and without adding staff, the firm
was able to complete more returns before April 15 than the previous
year, despite increased federal regulations. That resulted in more
satisfied customers, as well as faster collections since the firm was
able to bill for more work.
Direct time-savings for the firm has been significant, too. The firm
increased realization and utilization rates by nearly 5 percent, and
decreased total amount of hours worked during busy season this
past year by nearly 10 percent.
Technology as a Differentiator
The firm’s use of the latest and best cloud-based technology found
in CCH Axcess helps the firm recruit top talent.
If two firms are exactly the same, but one is using outdated
technologies and the other is using high-tech tools, a bright, young
person will always gravitate to the technologically advanced firm.
In addition, the efficiency gains provide a better work-life balance.
I am quoting Teresa Mackintosh, President & CEO of Wolters
Kluwer Tax & Accounting US, in a statement she made at CCH
Connections: User Conference last year … to paraphrase, she said
that technology should help us to make money, save money or get
home faster. We are doing all three.
Tips for
Other Firms
Roll out new software a bit at a time
instead of all at once.
If I had a do-over, I would take a more segmented approach
to the implementation. We converted to CCH Axcess Tax,
CCH Axcess Practice and CCH Axcess Workstream from
December 2012 to February 2013.
Rely on Wolters Kluwer’s Professional and
Client Services to help staff learn how to
best use the software solutions.
We believe that training on software and a firm’s processes
is imperative to the success of utilizing all aspects of CCH
Axcess. Not just the one-time, initial end user training after
the implementation or when a new hire comes on, but we
deploy follow-up training and continuous training.
— Brett Mills