product development will be critical.
by gale crosley
rosenberg map survey
the last decade was the decade of the industry. the next one is the decade of the service.
more from the map survey: succession issues stalling some m&a | firms focus on profitable growth, true leadership
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last year i highlighted the significant changes anticipated in our core services, mostly because of technology. since then, others have been writing about the topic, and firms are starting to sit up and take notice.
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:
- what kind of year was 2016? what were the major trends you observed? what were the issues you saw firms struggling with the most?
- 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?
awareness brings questions such as, “now what do we do about it?”
in the audit area, several way stations are emerging, such as the need to evaluate the roles, responsibilities and relationships between the audit, cas and consulting practices. cas learning moments, while utilizing the cloud, are valuable to the audit function. many audit-related technologies are already being utilized in the consulting practice, such as internal audit and soc projects.
the parallel universes of tax and wealth management are overlapping more each day. independent mid-market rias are changing their own business models and grabbing tax services as a way to identify new clients and increase their repertoire of offerings.
finally, non-traditional competitors are nibbling around the edges of other services we have traditionally provided as well. one client recently told me i was conservative in this comment, and that they are already into the muscle! the requirement to transition from accountant to consultant is critical.
in addition, product development and innovation has never been more important to add to our skill set. unfortunately, many firms haven’t learned and embraced the consultant role, nor developed an understanding of product development. but the rate of change compels us to get smart with the methods of a consultant, as well as product management.
a good read is “the consultant’s bible” by alan weiss. other books on bringing innovative services to market will point you in the right direction. buckle your seatbelt for the decade of the service!
one response to “be a consultant or be left behind”
pat graham-block
gale, i agree there is a requirement to transition from accountant to consultant/trusted advisor. that’s the secret to not only avoiding client attrition but gaining a constant stream of high-level referrals. if done well, it’s easy to become an expert in a particular niche.
being the expert helps the client be more successful, while at the same time, making it easy/more profitable to dispense advice specific to that niche. thus, more referrals because the client can’t help but refer his peers to the firm. rinse and repeat. the recommendation for alan weiss’ book is an incredible resource.