one conversation to be had: the distinction between advisors and consultants.
by carrie steffen
the rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics
two words come to mind: intentional growth. with leaders making some strategic moves around capacity i feel a general sense of interest in revisiting their strategy around growing the top line. i’m being asked to speak on growth, business development skills and go-to-market strategies more in the next 12 months than i have been in the last several years.
editor’s note: every year, the 2024 rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics asks the profession’s top consultants two sets of questions:
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- how do you think the next 12 months will unfold? trends? predictions? other thoughts?
- how would you assess the last 12 months? trends? observations? struggles?
more: accounting firms upshift to corporate model | tech anxiety paralyzing some accounting firms | what’s going to happen? lots, say consultants | growth and complacency must concern accounting firms this year | solving staffing requires intention | how accounting firms are handling the staff shortage | the future of fees | as private equity closes in, firms seek new answers to staffing problems | when staffing falls short, clients get culled | how accounting firms are dealing with retirement | next five years are critical for accounting firms | staffing turnover’s down, but why? | what’s your firm worth? private equity wants to know | the new pipeline: outsourcing and offshoring | is this the last year of accounting’s golden age?
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have we finally turned a corner on talent challenges? maybe not entirely, but it is encouraging that owners are beginning to think again about investing in growing their businesses. for that majority that means deeper niching and greater focus on pursuing the right opportunities. i’m having a lot of conversations about how to turn down work.
i also get the sense that some of this is driven by the injection of private equity money into the profession and some leaders looking for alternatives to raise capital and remain independent of that. we’re not yet to the five- to seven-year mark when the early investing pe firms will exit their investments, so it’s unclear how that will affect the landscape, but those firms that are committed to maintaining their culture and autonomy need to be more assertive about growth to be sustainable and relevant. i believe this means even altering the language we use to describe ourselves – owners versus partners, business versus firm. it certainly means upskilling people to become advisory and being crystal clear on the definition of an ideal client.
finally, there is also a conversation to be had about the distinction between advisors and consultants as those areas become key opportunities for driving revenue growth. the skill sets, knowledge base and behaviors are different. the buyer types and sales strategies are different. the kpis and measures of success for these two practice types are different. both advisors and consultants are critical components of an accounting firm’s growth strategy but need to be managed differently. i’m excited about the work i get to do in the next 12 months to help people embrace consulting and advisory services and grow their businesses with intention.
last year’s theme continued to be the current talent shortage and anemic accounting candidate pipeline. while there is no one answer to solving the issue, firms have begun to take the necessary steps to change what they can and be part of the solution. in the last 12 months i’ve seen firms of all sizes make strategic moves such as re-evaluating their workflow to leverage non-cpa professionals in roles such as account management, incorporating offshore professionals into their teams, culling clients and re-evaluating compensation for non-owners. it’s encouraging to see concrete steps being implemented; however, cpa firm owners also need to continue to push beyond comparing themselves to the rest of the profession, or to their own firm 15-20 years ago and be honest about how they measure against talent competitors such as finance, technology and other consulting companies.
i have noticed a softening of demand for training and other consulting services among cpa firms in the past 12 months. it certainly feels like firms are pulling back a bit on spending and the leaders i talk with express a general pessimism about the economy and the small business environment in the next year. i worry particularly for the folks who are earlyish in their career not having access to the soft skills, which are critical to their career satisfaction and success. as we continue to focus on people as our greatest resource, i’m encouraging owners to continue to play the long game by providing learning opportunities at every career stage.