billing rates at cpa firms remain high, evidence that the marketplace continues to be strong for cpa firm services.
despite the economic change and uncertainty that has affected u.s. businesses this year, the value of cpa cpa firms’ services is holding steady, according to the latest issue of accounting office management & adminstration report (subscribe here, 12 issues $469/year).
results from aomar’s 2009 cpa firm practice management survey reveal that rates are close to those reported in the research we conducted a year ago.
more significant from a strategy standpoint is the finding that cpa firms are continuing to raise their rates. more than half (51.5 percent) told aomar that they increased billing rates between 1 percent and 5 percent in this fiscal year; another third (34.0 percent) raised rates this year between 6 percent and 10 percent. a tiny number (3.1 percent) reported increases of more than 10 percent, and 11.3 percent kept rates the same.
for insights about addressing the billing rate issue in the current economy, see the sidebar on page 15.
owners’ billing rates: the average billing rate among cpa firm owners responding to this year’s survey is $225 an hour. non-cpa firm owners averaged $185, and nonequity owners, $212. the results from last year’s survey were slightly higher: for cpa firm owners, $229; non-cpa cpa owners, $207; and nonequity owners, $235.
