the new formula for an accounting business

productivity isn’t the same as putting in the hours.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

getting the right clients and projects goes a long way toward building a profitable and successful firm. but that’s only part of being business-minded about your firm. cpa firms have followed the same overall business model for generations, based on billing clients for the hours worked on a file. while that has been successful and has allowed many partners to achieve great wealth, a few forward-thinking firms are successfully challenging that model.

more: how to upgrade c and d clients | eleven types of audit clients and which to fire | don’t take on audits in an industry you don’t understand | how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong | exceptional audit client service demands effective communication | five ways to prevent audit bottlenecks | how do we drive relevance in audit? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | four basic understandings every auditor must master | wanted: great audit mentors | closing the audit expectations gap
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many firm owners obsess about chargeability and realization rates. but that’s missing the big picture: the only thing your revenue model needs to accomplish is bringing in enough cash to cover your expenses with leftover profit. we know how much we’re paying the staff working on the audit, and we need to collect two to three times their salaries for that work. that will give us the cash we need to pay them and all our other expenses, plus a return to the partner, and make up for the weeks when they’re not as busy or are in cpe or taking pto.

that’s why, instead of obsessing about chargeability and realization rates, a better way to measure success for your firm is by looking at your collected rate.