advisory services crop up in a couple of ways.
by carrie steffen
the rosenberg survey: national study of cpa firm statistics
we’re seeing what i would call cautious optimism. optimistic because we’ve had a relatively good growth year for most, but cautious because firms are struggling with the question of how to sustain that growth and remain relevant in a changing environment.
more from the map survey: 2019: expect more alliances | 2019 trends: client service changes | 2019: shifts in hiring & office space | 2019: firms grapple with change | staff policies improve, but not mentoring
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merger activity continues at a steady pace, with some firms looking at non-cpa firm mergers, such as cybersecurity firms, in response to the relevancy issue.
we’re seeing more firms investing in business development and client service training for all professionals – recognizing that everyone in the firm can and should engage in helping grow the top line. it’s a bit of a shift from firms’ previous philosophy of investing in a few high performers only, although i do see that continuing as well.
i think a couple of factors are driving this. firms are thinking more strategically about growth – who they want to serve, what they want to do for those clients and what kind of experience they are delivering. they are aligning training to create more effective and inclusive growth cultures.
another key factor is the desire to create interesting, challenging and rewarding experiences for their professionals as staffing, after a brief hiatus, reclaims a position at the top of many firms’ list of challenges. i’m seeing less emphasis on “generational” issues and more emphasis on firms finding what is important to each individual, regardless of age, and working hard to create an environment to nurture their talent at every level.
finally, firms also are hearing a lot about automation and ai technologies, which are altering their landscape at a startling rate. they are processing what that means and some early adaptors are working ahead of the trend to transform their firm into one that can thrive in that new landscape by:
- focusing on developing talent (particularly communication skills),
- thinking about qualities to look for in new hires that may be different from what they have hired in the past and
- diversifying their service offerings to include more advisory-based services.
as 2019 begins, firms are narrowing their focus from the broad “how do we remain relevant” question to three key areas that have surfaced.
the first is defining client service and how to improve the consistency of the client experience across the entire firm. especially with merger activity, this has become an area of emphasis for many firms. and many are beginning to put their money where their mouth is, investing in processes to formally gather feedback from their best clients about the attributes of client service they value most – then using that information to develop client service processes and training to help everyone in the firm consistently deliver.
the second is a concerted effort to define “business advisory” services. this includes developing scope, process, deliverables, pricing models and marketing efforts, as well as identifying the skill sets needed, hiring and/or training and measurement tools to manage growth.
the third is thinking about non-cpa leaders/owners to manage the development of non-compliance-oriented practice areas or in some cases, to shift the organization structure of the firm to a more corporate-looking model vs. the traditional partnership model.
i expect with all the disruptors in the market as well as continued merger activity that these three areas will continue to remain important into 2019.