April 2006 Circle Update
During March and April, the Boomer Technology Circles are probably far from most members’ minds. Some little thing called “taxes” probably gets more mental attention at this time of year. But not so at Boomer Consulting, Inc.! We have been hard at work building the programs for the 2006 meetings.
Software vendor meetings
One of the things we have done is continue our meetings with major software vendors, so that we can bring to the Circles some insights on what’s new and what’s planned from these application providers. We have met with CCH, Thomson Tax and Accounting, and Microsoft during the past 60 days. In addition, we have heard from a variety of specialty application vendors and reviewed a variety of their products. Some of these will be seen by Circle members during the spring meeting Mad Labs. Others won’t. We continue to hear from members’ feedback that they value our “screening” of products and services, and keeping members abreast of new developments in the profession. This is the season when we get a lot of that research done!
Meeting agendas
Then, of course, there are agendas for the meetings. It’s been a long time since our last meetings and for a variety of reasons some of the planned agendas needed some “tweaking” and adjusting. That process is ongoing and some of you reading this are part of those discussions. We all appreciate your cooperation. I am confident that each meeting will be right on target for the needs and wants of the member firms in each Circle.
Circle Metrics collection
The last big ongoing project is our annual Circle Metrics collection. Data collection forms have been sent out, and the completed reports are due back not later than April 30, 2006. Several firms have already submitted their reports, and to them we say “thank you!” If you have not received, or have misplaced, your data input sheet please let us know and we will get you a replacement right away. The compiled data from this collection effort is a major point of interest among member firms, and will be included in the May and June meetings. Obviously, the value of the compiled report goes up with the more firms who participate. If you are a Circle member and have not yet submitted your Fiscal Year 2005 data, please allow time to do so before the end of April!
See you soon!
Hopefully all these behind the scenes efforts will pay big dividends when the Circle meetings resume in May. If your firm is already a Circle member, we look forward to seeing you at the next meeting. If you have not yet joined this group of best firms getting better, it is never too late. Contact Eric Hunt at 888-266-6375 (erich@boomer.com) and begin the process today!