clients report little change to their external audit fees in 2010.
publicly held companies surveyed this year paid on average $3.3 million in total audit fees for fiscal year 2010, which represented an increase of 2% from the audit fees that these same respondents paid for the prior fiscal year audit, according to the financial executives research foundation, an affiliate of financial executives international.
the 14 strategies to build better business relationships.
it’s been said that when you look for the good in others, you discover the best in yourself.
it’s nowhere so true as in the accounting business. contrary to the cliche, accounting is a people business — most accountants spend a lot of time working directly with staffers, colleagues, superiors, clients and maybe-clients.
if you focus only on one approach in business development, you will be limiting your percentages for success.
by nicholas d. keseric jr.
via engineered tax services
if you only do one thing to position your firm and yourself in your marketplace, you will be missing out on most of the market.
many things together, over time, will result in an increased chance for achieving your goals.
twitter or the yellow pages?
and why it’s not like selling used cars.
the days when cpas could leave rainmaking to the rainmakers are long gone. today, technical skills aren’t enough. even the most talented cpas must bring in new business to succeed. but it’s about trust and relationships. the same skills you use to do business are the same skills you use to get business. prospects evaluate how you’ll work by how you sell.
here are some tips for building relationships and developing business: read more →
looking for younger, newer, larger clients? only about 12% of small business are on twitter, but one in five of those report having made a purchase decision using twitter — a hit ratio that’s hard to ignore. so, who exactly … continued
adapt and grow. or don’t and you won’t.
by alan vitberg
vitberg llc
new rules about marketing and business development are at hand, and firms that adapt early are those that will grow, not unlike their predecessors who capitalized upon transformative changes that occurred over two decades ago.
here’s a “baker’s dozen” of those new rules that can transform your firm’s marketing and business development, and take it to new heights:
your firm’s image could be turning off prospects before they even meet you.
by bob lewis
visionary marketing
this is a simple concept, but one that eludes a large number of accounting practices.
when going to a fine restaurant a patron expects a higher check. the guests will pay more for the experience and come back if the food is excellent and the environment provides the level of comfort that meets their expectations. the restaurant next door may have better food at lower prices, but they look like a diner and do not present themselves as a more interesting experience so they immediately turn off a large segment of the higher paying clientele.
cpa firms do the same thing.
free instant download:
cpa firm marketing readiness assessment workbook (pdf, 4 pages)
they buy what you stand for.
getting new clients may be many firms’ chief concern these days.
but for most firms, there’s un-mined gold in their current clients.
the accounting business may not be the same in five years. today’s standard products and services are evolving quickly. how long, for instance, will simple 1040 tax prep last with the speed of data aggregation?
but if you still have the same clients, you will still have cash flows.
the bottom line:
let’s face it: men and women work and communicate differently. people are as different as fingerprints, and many of us are loathe to generalize. however, some generalizations are both appropriate and necessary, according to workplace consultants victoria simon, ph.d., and … continued
marc rosenberg, author of the rosenberg map survey, says too many cpa firms fail to heed their own advice to clients: they don’t run their firms like a business.
serve your clients better and watch your practice revenues grow. by sandi smith, cpa sandismith.com the latest marketing strategies and trends are almost as hard to keep up with as the tax law changes these days. here is a quick … continued