the ongoing survey on professional development strategies, conducted in conjunction with the ohio society of cpas and consultant michael ramos, is asking in what areas accountants plan to beef up their capabilities this year. the survey touches on two dozen aspects of practice management and skill development. among them, the not-for-profit niche is emerging as the hottest specialty niche, followed by personal financial planning and business valuation.
as might be expected, preliminary results are showing most efforts to be in the standard professional missions: accounting, financial statements, audits, and tax preparation. the survey is also asking about specific specialty skills. the results may be indicating the true scope of today’s—and tomorrow’s—accounting industry. every skill mentioned was being pursued by at least quite a few respondents.