Benaiah Consulting Group

Resiliency Is A Requirement There’s a saying we have in Texas about our weather… “If you don't like the weather, just give it a couple of minutes.” From our spring storms just over a month ago that dumped 21” of rain in less than 9 days To the last 4 weeks of heat advisory warning with temps in the 100+ range To today and this weeks expectation of Hurricane - now Tropical Storm - Beryl that made landfall on the SE coast this morning and is headed our way to East Texas with a projected 5-10” of rain Regardless of what area of the country you live in, we all have the ups and downs of crazy weather that we deal with and have the possibility of causing chaos in our business and personal lives. What are some of the temperamental and often bi-polar weather issues you deal with in your neck of the woods?

Happy Birthday America 🇺🇸 I love my country!! We still have a lot of work to do and the beautiful thing I choose to believe is that there are still WAY MORE things that join us together than the talking heads want us to believe. Taking some time today and thanking God for the blessing of being born, raised and living in this amazing nation we call the United States of America!!!

My Favorite Title Is Dad!! I love my new role of Papa John to Preslie, Kylie and Scottie. But nothing will ever, ever replace the joy I have from being called Dad by these two! They have been a big part of my WHY for almost half my life. Thank you Father for allowing me to be their father. I pray I’ve done more right than wrong. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads who are pushing, striving and doing all they can to get back up and continue the climb each time you stumble. They’re always watching!!

This Is What Getting 21” Of Rain In The Last 8 Days Teaches You About Running A Business… ❌🛑❌🛑 NOTHING!! Not 1 darn thing!! But it does keep you humble and grateful for the simple things in life. Thankful for sunshine and the 10 day forecast of ZERO rain🌧️ and lots of ☀️ to dry out this not-supposed-to-be-there lake For those clients who have been patient with the slow follow up lately due to… ⚡️No electricity 🛜 No internet 🪚A lot of necessary chainsaw work THANK YOU!! We’re dry now and ready to get back to normal as we do a lot of clean up.

"Charging By The Hour Punishes Me For Being Good" For anyone struggling to understand the failed logic in a Hours/Time = Billing model, here’s a pretty good video explanation albeit from a different vertical than accounting Would love to hear some thoughts Henry Huie, CPA Mark Stovel, CPA Mike Payne, JD - CPA Yuri Kapilovich, CPA

The Highs & Lows of the Talent Advisory Business One of the early lessons drilled into my head by my first mentor in this business was don’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows Yesterday was a perfect example of that. Shortly after lunch, I called a prospective candidate who had scheduled some time on my calendar for an initial conversation Within the first two minutes of the conversation, it was very easy to see - and hear - that his demeanor and attitude would not be something I’d feel comfortable representing in the market. I made the determination to end the phone call and not invest any additional time. About 20 mins later the email on the left-hand side greeted me in my inbox validating my decision. Two hours later, I had the privilege of making a phone call to extend an offer for a CAS Senior Accounting Analyst with one of our clients. When I initially spoke with the candidate a little over a week ago, I almost fell out of my chair when they told me what they were making at the Top 25 firm they were a part of. Underpaid is an UNDERSTATEMENT!! Our client being the firm and leaders that they are, made sure that they put together an offer that compensated this person at the top end of where they should have been in the first place with their experience and certification. As I wrapped up my day yesterday after calling to extend that offer, the text message on the right hand side is what I was able to end the day with It’s so easy to let the NOISE distract us from our mission and vision in life or business. You choose daily who you let rent space in between your ears. What you focus on is what you will see Challenge yourself daily to see the wins; the successes and the victories. They’re all around you.

Deep Thoughts & Philosophical Conversations With A 6 Month Old At 6 AM On A Sunday We’re hanging with Grandkid #3 and Grandson #1 this weekend There’s nothing sweeter than some early mornings while the moon’s still out and the sun’s still sleeping to get in some extra time before the chaos of another day hauls us away Stop Breathe Hold ‘em close Kiss those cheeks Tickle those toes Make silly faces Soak up those moments Because there will be a day that they’re moving as fast or faster than you. Sundays at Mimi and Papa John’s were made for times like this!

It’s Travel Day After spending the last 5 days in Miami 🎉Celebrating Cindy’s birthday 🍽️Eating a lot of great food ☀️⛱️Soaking up some Vitamin D ✅Doing a lot of focused work ON the business 🎙️Setting up six podcast guests for the coming weeks It’s time to get back to Texas When you travel, are you a 🏃last minute to the airport person, or ⏰get there with a lot of time to spare? What’s your travel preference??

“If the people preparing the financials are overworked, or there’s not enough of them, you will have errors.” A great observation and quote in a Fortune magazine article this morning made by Joshua Khavis of Univ at Buffalo School of Management who apparently has researched and documented the links between turnover, long working hours and mistakes. Regardless of whether you acknowledge it - or ignore it - the reality is, there is a significant delta between current needs vs available talent in the accounting marketplace today And if you as a firm owner or leader do not have a strategic, forward-thinking, long and short-term talent management plan that includes all the aspects of ✅Talent Attraction ✅Talent Retention ✅Talent Branding You are playing to at best just stay alive and at worse, lose. And that plan is only as good as the people or person you will have develop and implement it in partnership with you Over the next 3-5 years, leaders are going to be facing some pretty choppy and tumultuous waters. How you choose to face those waters - alone or with a navigator who has weathered the waves and charted previous trips through similar waters - will determine if you thrive, just survive or capsize. The link to the full article can be found in the first comment.

Work From Home, or Work From Anywhere There really is a difference in mindset between those two work cultures In 2018, we moved our business from a 100% in office set up, to 100% remote. The next question I had to address a few months later, was the question of what type of a culture did you want to have? Work from home or work from anywhere? Did it really matter to me… ❓When the work got done ❓Where the work got done My answer? Absolutely not. Just get it done. Therefore, this week, and every last week of February/first week of March, for the last four years, my wife and I have unpacked our shorts and T-shirts from winter storage and headed to Miami Beach We celebrate her birthday, but I’m still working as I talk to candidates, engage with clients, extend job offers (2 this week) and use the week to look back on the last four months of our performance during public accounting’s busiest hiring season. ✅Wins ✅Successes ✅Areas we didn’t do well ✅What opportunities exist for growth And begin to recalibrate to ensure success for the remainder of the year If you’re part of a WFA firm, how do you balance the need to deliver for clients and the need for flexibility with/for your team? If you’re an employee that is contemplating a move to a hybrid or remote firm, make sure part of your interview/questioning process asks Are you work from home culture, OR A Work from anywhere culture Because there is a difference. The pic is a view from our room as we soak up some much needed Vitamin D this week. If you’re in the Miami area and need an excuse to get out of the office, let me know and I’ll gladly meet you for coffee, a beer, glass of wine, an iced tea or anything else you’d like to consume while we’re still here.