who loves ya, baby? cfos fault cpa service

finance managers say their company’s cpa firms could be doing a better job.

would you recommend your cpa firm to a friend? join the survey — get the results.

by rick telberg
at large

the overwhelming majority of accountants in public practice seem to think they’re pleasing their clients. but about half of all finance managers and accountants working in private industry just aren’t feeling that pleasure. pparently cpas are offering one thing (or think they are) while their clients think they’re receiving something else. cpas, it seems, may be a little overly optimistic about how much their clients love them.

while 97 percent of cpas feel that nearly all, most, or about half of their clients would recommend them to their close friends, only 50 percent of financial managers said they would do their cpas that favor, according to an ongoing bay street group study into the cpa-client relationship.

one thing cpas ought to be aware of is their inaccurate perception of who actually makes the decision on which cpa firm to choose. eighty percent of cpas said they think it’s the company owner, and only 7 percent thought it was the cfo.

but among cfos, only 26 percent said their companies’ owners made the decision, and 56 percent said it was the cfo himself.

so have cpas have been talking to the wrong people?

we also found a disturbing discrepancy in the reasons clients part ways with their cpas. only 35 percent of cpas thought it was a matter of “poor client service, attentiveness,” but more than twice as many cfos (79%) identified service as an important issue.

only 19 percent of cpas thought clients left because their auditors had not been proactive enough, but 33 percent of cfos said an auditor’s proactive efforts were cause for dismissal. only nine percent of cpas thought face-time with upper-level personnel was a decisive issue. thirty-eight percent of cfos thought the same.

not one financial manager suggested throwing a bucket of cold water on their auditor, but we’re wondering if that’s what it might take to wake some people up.

ray jordan, a sole proprietor in portland, ore., a man confident that nearly all his clients would recommend him, said he knows what clients are looking for: “someone they can understand and who they think can understand them.”

a little understanding is exactly what we’re looking for here.

an equally confident sole proprietor, donna wesling of austin, texas, had a similar inkling of what clients wanted. “someone who listens to their problems and helps solve them,” she said. and to keep clients onboard, she suggested, “have fewer clients — focus on the ‘a’ list of clients who are willing to pay.”

advice like that can make a big four out of a small one.

a few cfos and other financial managers mentioned understanding and listening, but far more common were words like “proactive” and “service.”

krista mann, who heads finances at seattle’s adolfson associates, inc., pretty well summarized what everybody else said they wanted from a cpa firm: “relevant, practical knowledge and understanding of my business and being a business owner. service. proactive — bring the issues to me before i have to find out on my own.”

if these comments aren’t ringing any bells, we have another suggestion: sit tight while we go get a bucket of cold water.

[first published by the aicpa]

posted on august 6, 2006