strategy

428 business owners surveyed: “what should your accountant do?”

by rob nixon

there are two schools of thought on finding out what a customer wants and what they are prepared to pay for.

more on strategy: what it means to be a real-time accountant | are your goals big enough? | finding new opportunity in compliance services | how offshoring is shaking up accounting | the profession disrupted: compliance commoditized
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the first i’ll call the henry ford way. mr. ford (who founded the ford motor company) famously said that if he asked his customers what they wanted they would have said “a faster horse.” he didn’t ask his customers what they wanted – instead, he designed something that they needed. however, the customer didn’t know that they needed it yet.
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who understands midsize firms better than another midsize firm?

by domenick j. esposito

technology has become crucial to business success, as it allows businesses to

• feverishly collect vast quantities of data,
• qualify the value of that data and
• employ that information to benefit their customers.

more on strategic planning: 36 consulting services you might be overlooking | how to implement industry practice groups | what is ‘acceptable’ performance? | 6 measures of partner performance | is hr ready for your partner pipeline? | is your pyramid upside down? | taking a balanced scorecard to your partners | seizing the $10 trillion opportunity
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businesses are forming relationships with their customers and, in turn, are being entrusted with even more information that translates into fine-tuned marketing approaches with greater returns.
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10 behaviors that pinpoint the difference.

by rob nixon

the vast majority of accountants i meet are offering “redundant data” advice. they are offering up information based on old data.

more on strategy: what it means to be a real-time accountant | are your goals big enough? | finding new opportunity in compliance services | how offshoring is shaking up accounting
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

clients don’t want services that are late. they want real-time services that are on time, relevant and pre-emptive.
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“what pain do you want to fix and what pleasure do you want to achieve?”

by rob nixon

most accounting firms set no goals or at best they set small goals. if they do set any goals they set smags – small minded adequate goals.

more on strategy: is your business by design or default? | 12 predictions on the future of accounting | finding new opportunity in compliance services | the world is flat | will the internet replace cpas? | how offshoring is shaking up accounting | the profession disrupted: compliance commoditized
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if you go back to my success formula (doing what you want, when you want, with whom you want, in a manner you want) then a smag may be appropriate for your style. at least it’s a goal – albeit a goal that doesn’t fill your potential.

in my opinion (and this entire approach is based on my opinion – plus a lot of research) we’re only here once so let’s do something purposeful. let’s do something grand. let’s do something that lives beyond us.

let’s set some bhags – big hairy audacious goals.
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industry specialization can provide the added value you need.

by domenick j. esposito
8 steps to great

you know you need marquee clients, but how do you attract, develop and retain them? you do it by attracting, developing and retaining partners with industry, consulting and technical skills.

more on strategic planning: why you need marquee clients | how to drive consistent partner behavior | cpa firm partner performance: different activities, different metrics | develop the partners you already have | how many partners do you need? | how to develop tactics for your strategic plan | the big eight: harsh realities for firms today
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my basic belief is that accounting and auditing partners are the principal relationship partners in a cpa firm. they are the key to your business and the key to becoming a mid-market sustainable brand.
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5 key areas of focus when re-modeling your business.

by rob nixon

most accounting firms are operating their business by default – not operating their business by design.

more on strategy: 12 predictions on the future of accounting | finding new opportunity in compliance services | how offshoring is shaking up accounting | the profession disrupted: compliance commoditized
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

most accounting firms just seem to exist. they get through the years with a limited plan; they seem to “acquire” a bunch of clients who are a hodgepodge of make, model and size. they do not typically run the firm like a business, and worst of all the partners typically operate the firm based on learnings from the partners of the firms where they used to be employees.
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