CPA Firm Marketing Goes Ballistic

Accounting marketing gets savvier, embracing new technologies and metrics.

by Rick Telberg
(Appeared originally at AICPA/CPA2Biz)

Marketing has come a long way in CPA firms. It’s no longer a matter of talking up neighbors at cocktail parties, buying someone lunch, and/or even offering new services to existing clients - although all those things still happen and remain essential ingredients to practice growth.

Today’s professional CPA firm marketers are becoming savvier in research, branding, competitive intelligence and strategic planning - with new techniques, leading-edge technologies and ever-more-precise measurements of returns on investment.
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Posted on May 27, 2005
Filed Under BSG BUSINESS BUILDER | Leave a Comment

VENDOR TRENDER: Microsoft Accounting Leads in Mid-Market

Microsoft, which has just launched a new thrust into the CPA channel, is already the market leader in accounting applications with its Microsoft Business Software and a 23% slice of the mid-market segment (companies with 500-999 employees. Best Software follows closely, with 21% of mid-market companies.

The Microsoft package also leads among medium-sized companies (100-499 employees), at a 21% share. Second place goess to Oracle, at 18%.

Among the smallest companies (1-19 employees), Intuit’s QuickBooks remains the unchallenged leader, with a 68% share. Best has a slight lead among companies with 20-99 employees, at 30%. QuickBooks takes 29%

Source: Yankee Group
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Posted on May 26, 2005
Filed Under BSG MARKETPLACE - Products, Services and Vendors | 2 Comments

CPA Tech: Ya Gotta Deal With It

Technology overload? Too much, too fast? How do you sort it all out?

by Rick Telberg
At Large
(Originally appeared at CPA2Biz)

With more technological power in the cell phone in your pocket than was carried aboard the first mission to the Moon, accountants and financial executives are struggling to absorb it all.

But at the same time, worries about security, privacy and piracy are overtaking the discussion.

Just ask some of the people who should know: organizers of next month’s Tech 2005 AICPA Information Technology Conference in Las Vegas. Their responses weren’t in perfect unison, but they came pretty close. Read more

Posted on May 21, 2005
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STAFFING: Which Benefits Matter Most?

With a shortage of good, qualified staff in the CPA market, managers are scrambling for talent.

Here are some clues to what job-seekers may be looking for….

And what they have now… Read more

Posted on May 21, 2005
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MGI INTERNATIONAL: Why Join an International Association?

TRENDS IN CPA FIRM ASSOCIATIONS

Patrick Riley, CPA, the MGI North America coordinator, deputy chairman of MGI and Managing Shareholder of Braver and Co., P.C., talks about the profession’s new global landscape.

Riley

Rick Telberg (RT): What are the major trends or issues impacting your members and your association today?

Patrick Riley (PR): The most significant trend affecting our MGI members is the impact of changes to the profession caused by Andersen, Enron, WorldCom, Sarbanes Oxley, PCAOB, and Parmalat. These changes have created substantial opportunities for second and even third-tier firms. Those firms that have proactively recognised the importance of membership of, and active participation in, an association like MGI are well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities.
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Posted on May 20, 2005
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ON THE JOB: What Keeps YOU Awake at Night?

When sleeping gets tough, some CPAs go back to work.

by Rick Telberg
(From AICPA Career Insider)

Does work keep you awake at night? If so, you’re not alone.

Roughly four in 10 accountants and financial managers report that the relentless whip of topsy-turvy 1040s, forgotten Schedule C’s, impending SOX 404 reports, and deadlines, deadlines, deadlines leads to “regular” sleeplessness. And even those who said work didn’t keep them awake weren’t all that sure about it. Another third admitted that work did indeed keep them awake at least “sometimes.”
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Posted on May 19, 2005
Filed Under BSG FINANCE PROFESSIONAL | 1 Comment

STRATEGY: Selling Your Firm? Dance the Two-Step

Succession deals can go more smoothly if good operations are considered.

by Rick Telberg
At Large

You’re a successful CPA. You’ve spent your professional life building a successful practice. But the sands of the Caribbean beckon. A certain golf course calls your name. Your babies have graduated from college.

It’s time to think about retirement, and maybe merging out is the way to do it. If you want, you (and your equally aging partners) can just dump your practice: Sell it to another firm and each go your merry way.

But according to Joel Sinkin, president of J. Sinkin Consulting Group Ltd. and a principal in Accounting Transition Advisors, LLC, slipping slowly out the back door is the better way to go. He calls it a Two-Stage Deal.

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Posted on May 16, 2005
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Seen at the New Jersey CPA Show


The Creative Solutions Team Read more

Posted on May 16, 2005
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JOB MARKET: Accounting Is Hot

Accounting Among Top 10 Jobs for 2004-05 Graduates

The Job and the Starting Salaries…

Source: Spring 2005 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges & Employers. All data is for bachelor’s degree candidates. Rankings are based on number of offers reported.

Crystal Moran had many offers from large firms before choosing to work at Goldstein Schechter Price Lucas Horwitz & Co. Source: KnightRidder

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Posted on May 15, 2005
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BRUCE MARCUS: AIN’T NOBODY HERE KNOWS HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME?

A Tale Of Two Ads?One Passionate And One Effective

By Bruce W. Marcus
Bruce W. Marcus is the editor of The Marcus Letter (www.marcusletter.com). He may be reached at marcus@marcusletter.com.

It?s amazing, after all these years, that major professional firms and their agencies haven?t figured out yet how advertising works for professional firms.

Now, readers of The Marcus Letter (www.marcusletter.com) know that we don?t believe in hard and fast rules in marketing. Any such rule can be effectively ignored if there?s a distinct reason to do so, and there?s a lively intelligence and imagination behind deviating from the rules. We have also long advocated caution in judging advertising, without fully understanding that advertising objectives differ. For example, an ad may have, as its primary purpose, putting the firm?s staff in tune with the firm?s marketing position.

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Posted on May 15, 2005
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FIRMS TO WATCH: Ex-Deloitters Find Big Growth as Resources Connection

Resources Connection, spun off in 1999 by Deloitte, now has 60 offices around the world and employs more than 2,500 accounting, technology and business professionals.

The formula: Delivering some of the same high-end consulting services and professional pedigree that the Big Four offer. The company’s hourly rate ranges from $70 to $90 depending on the kind of service. That’s about 20 percent less than the Big Four. Projects are staffed by senior professionals who have an average work experience of 18 years and often have MBAs and CPAs. And the firm calls its services “internal” consulting, which means the firm’s associates act more as temporary workers than as outside consultants. Source: East Bay Business Times

NASDAQ: RECN, about $19 sper share.

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Posted on May 13, 2005
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AT LARGE: Are You an ‘Operator’ or a ‘Superstar’?

The answer may determine the future of your firm.

by Rick Telberg
At Large

One of the weightiest issues burdening the CPA profession today is the problem of CPA firm succession.

In essence, this generation of firm owners, most of them baby-boomers, are reaching retirement and discovering, unlike the generation before them, that there may be few qualified or interested CPAs interested in buying their practices. In short, it’s fast becoming a buyer’s market for CPA firms.

Now there’s a new look at the problem by Bill Reeb, a CPA and consultant to CPA firms, who says people are looking at the wrong end of the problem. Instead of working to get the best price for what you have, according to Reeb, owners should be working years in advance to build businesses with enduring enterprise value.
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Posted on May 12, 2005
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 3 Comments

CPAs vs. Banks? The Changing Competitive Landscape

?AT LARGE: CPAs Battle Banks for Business? reported on how community banks seemed to be muscling in on CPA services like tax prep through their trust departments while they are reducing their reliance on CPA-prepared financial reports.

But most CPAs are more worried about clients doing the work themselves and the power of technology to take away business. Read more

Posted on May 6, 2005
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 4 Comments

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