would you buy a pulled-pork sandwich if it was priced by the hour? at aries technology, a sage software reseller, they wouldn’t recommend it. that’s why they’re going to market with an aggressive value-pricing strategy. via ariestech.com
rates up only $4 in two years for “main street” firms.
most tax professionals will be charging an average of $233 for a typical itemized return this year, relatively unchanged since the beginning of the recession, according to a new survey of national society of accountants members.
the new $233 benchmark represents barely a $4 increase in the two years since the last biennial survey, when accountants posted a 10% advance from the 2007 poll, which followed a scant 2% gain from $201 in 2005.
the survey of nearly 8,000 tax preparers by the nsa found that the average fee for preparing an itemized form 1040 with a schedule a and a state tax return cost taxpayers only $233 this year. rates for non-itemized returns are also largely unchanged at $128 for a form 1040 and state return without itemized deductions.
here’s how to find out.
don’t try to tell terry putney, ceo of transition advisors llc, your firm isn’t ready for value billing. in this video clip, he answers: you’re already doing it; and you’re probably doing it wrong. we caught up with putney at the cch 2011 users conference.
see ron baker’s comment below. read more →
and five areas where innovation will produce significant results
by l. gary boomer
accounting firms generally are not who you think of when you mention “innovation,” yet many firms excel at innovation and there is a pattern to their success.
high performing firms continue, year after year, to experience measurable increases in productivity, by a margin of 6-to-1 over low-performing firms
no, you don’t own your clients.
by jason m. blumer, cpa/citp
founder, thriveal +cpa network
chief innovation officer, blumer & associates cpas
i’m learning a lot these days. for instance, i’ve learned the value of where my real assets are found.
an australian colleague said he doesn’t call his clients “his” anymore. that is, he has realized something that many of us in the business are slow to accept – your clients are not your property and you do not own them. ouch.
why do i believe this?
before we hit some practical aspects to this truth, 
let me discuss the deeper reasons for this new belief. with the accountancy revolution, i’m seeing that clients, or customers as i like to call them, have the freedom to make their own choices for their service providers. and i now believe this deeply.
exclusive series of half-day workshops to meet and learn from the best firms and leading experts.
what people are saying at the growth strategy forums…
now that internet services provider godaddy has been sold for $2.25 billion, founder bob parsons is looking pretty smart.
so maybe it’s worth looking at the entrepreneurial, controversial parsons’ self-written “16 rules.” (by the way, after serving in vietnam, parson graduated with an accounting degree.)
1. get and stay out of your comfort zone. i believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. i hear people say, “but i’m concerned about security.” my response to that is simple: “security is for cadavers.”
client retention falls to winning new business as top issue for firms.
in a signal that the competitive wars among cpa firms have only just begun, a new survey of practitioners shows client retention and even revenue growth are taking a backseat to a desperate grab for new clients.
adding new clients ranks no. 1 for firms employing 2 to 5, 6 to 10 and 11 to 20 professionals, according to the 2011 aicpa private companies practice section’s cpa firm top issues survey, last issued in 2009. read more →
in this newly competitive environment, the difference between success and failure can pivot on the smallest competitive advantage…
principles of accounting remain unchanged, but…
by dustin lubertazzi,
senior consultant, sageworks, inc.
luca pacioli, an italian mathematician and franciscan friar, is widely known as the “father of accounting” for publishing 36 chapters on the double-entry accounting method used by venetian merchants during the italian renaissance. his book, summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalita (which translates, “everything about arithmetic, geometry and proportion”), was written as a textbook for students in northern italy at the end of the 15th century. pacioli’s documentation of double-entry accounting and ledgers taught entrepreneurs of the day how to conduct business using timely and accurate financial information, and it established the fundamentals of accounting still practiced today.
pacioli’s fundamentals were only feasible thanks to the written numeral system and the abacus developed before that. and since then, the industry has seen further and more ground-breaking developments including the introduction of the typewriter, then computers, and later the internet. with each of these milestones, technology not only impacted how accountants handle financial information but also how they interact with their clients.
with the changing technological landscape, what must accountants do to stay competitive in the future, and how will technology change the future role of the accountant?
despite economic recovery, many firms seem unable to capitalize on new opportunities. click here to join the tax season 2011 survey; get the results.
tax accountants are finishing the 2011 busy season with stronger results than they expected, but – perhaps surprisingly — not as strong as last year, despite somewhat improved economic conditions.
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research suggests that many accounting firms may have over-reacted to the 2007 market crash by cutting staff and billing rates, leaving them unprepared to capitalize on the opportunities of the 2011 recovery.