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survey: firms struggle to retain clients, key players

man in striped shirt holding spiral binder and talking to woman at laptopclients’ needs are changing.

by angie grissom
rosenberg map survey

last year (2016) in the accounting industry was an interesting year. i witnessed more firm leadership acknowledging the changing trends and committing to take action than in previous years.

more from the map survey: offshoring on the rise | leadership taking different forms | technology evolving faster than accounting firms | succession issues stalling some m&a | technology playing center stage in cpa profession
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a shift in focusing on the business of the firm occurred in many firms where the key management took notice of the changing needs of their clients, who are seeking more advice on how to better run and manage their companies, on the team who are seeking more support on how to be better equipped in their roles and supported in their desire to work differently.

every year, the authors of the rosenberg map survey ask the industry’s top consultants to share their observations of what they are seeing at cpa firms. specifically, they are asked the following questions:

  1. what kind of year was 2016? what were the major trends you observed? what were the issues you saw firms struggling with the most?
  2. 2017 is half over. based on your experiences this year, what are you seeing? what are the major trends? what are firms struggling with and what are they working on as the year progresses?

investments were made by strong leaders to better prepare their firms for the future. the major struggles remained with how to keep top clients and grow revenue and attract and retain key players who could do and sell work.

this year (2017) i am seeing firms continue to invest in learning more from their clients on what their needs are. firms are committing to new technologies and are asking their partners and up-and-coming leaders to commit to improving their abilities to serve clients and to attract clients. we are seeing this through an increased focus on accountability and training.

firms continue to struggle with doing the work and attracting more work. they continue to struggle with creating a leveraging model when the competition for staff is so high. the good news is that firms are paying attention to the important investments in resources and time needed to position their firms for future success. i hope this continues.

one response to “survey: firms struggle to retain clients, key players”

  1. pat graham-block

    too many times accountants have told me they’re competing on price in order to gain a new client. they’re either asking the client what they’re currently paying or they’re diving into the financial statements to discover that line item. retention and attracting new clients is a solvable problem. the solution is in being able to differentiate yourself from all of the other choices business owners have today. this allows you to retain clients and acquire new clients, at the fee you want.