Project: Balance

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Project: Balance

KAF walks the walk and makes Work/Life Balance a reality

"Our goal is to become the CPA firm of choice, and to encourage everyone to live the work/life balance that we all crave," says Kenneth Kirkland, Managing Partner of KAF Financial Group. And these are more than just words for KAF. The firm has created a program that makes the "tax crunch" season run more smoothly for everyone.

"Project: Balance" takes much of the stress out of what is normally a very stressful Tax Season.

Imagine being encouraged to "go home" at 5:30 during the tax season? That's what KAF has done, with "mandatory closings."

"We began with the mandatory early closings, shutting the office down at 5:30 p.m. on every Wednesday and Friday," Kirkland said. To further ease the stress, the firm brought in theme dinners the other three weeknights.

This is all part of an overall strategy that the firm is employing to create a desirable work environment that really "walks" the work/life balance talk.

Other features of the "Project: Balance" include:

Limiting Saturday work, in-season, to four Saturdays, two before March 15 and two before April 15
Speed up and even out the tax workload by working closely with our clients
Early determination of "extension" clients who are taken out of the "season"
Establishing a team approach, which shares responsibilities and workload
Utilization of Technology so work can be done from anywhere, anytime

One of the greatest challenges in the field of accounting is employee recruitment and retention. Partner, Mark Robinson, notes, "Often times, a compensation package, while important, is not the determining factor in whether a person joins a firm or stays. Quality of life, however, is very important."

He added, "We are proud of the work environment that we have built - one that is intellectually stimulating and comprised of quality clients. We understand that a professional's work life is only part of that person's life, and "Project: Balance" was created to make work/life balance a reality."

Project: Balance worked according to our Staff

61% of our staff said that their work/life balance improved over the prior tax seasons
90% felt that they controlled when and where they worked
62% increased their productivity
75% said working as a team to complete their assigned projects improved productivity and was more fun!
69% of the staff stated the communication in the firm and within teams improved
Over 50% of the staff worked 4 or less Saturdays, with another 37% working only 6 Saturdays as compared to 90% working 12 or more Saturdays in prior years.
46% took advantage of working from home

Project: Balance is here to Stay!

See the AICPA Top Technology Case Study on Project Balance