Daily Archives: November 17, 2014

Financial Services Up at Largest Firms, Down at Smaller Ones

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Couple meeting with investment advisor.Conflict of interest is one reason smaller firms shy away from RIAs.

The largest CPA firms are by far the leaders in providing investment advisory services, but the rest of the profession does not appear to be following their lead too closely.

Fifty-eight percent of the profession’s largest firms, with more than $20 million in annual fees, offer investment advisory services, up from 51 percent in 2012, and another 9.1 percent were at least somewhat likely to add the services to their menus, according to the “The National MAP Survey of CPA Firm Statistics: The Rosenberg Survey.”

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How to Tell a Client How the Fee Was Set

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Ed Mendlowitz CPA The Practice Doctor Q and ABy Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor

QUESTION: I performed some additional services for a client and gave her a bill that she questioned and wanted to know how much time I had spent. I billed more than the time charges, but this client never gets time bills – everything I do is on a fixed fee so I never account for my time with her. What should I say now?

MORE PRACTICE DOCTOR Q&A: 18 Ways to Blow a Partnership Opportunity | When Experience Doesn’t Add Up | 8 Times When Hourly Billing Trumps Value Pricing | 6 Simple Steps to Impress a Prospect | Making Meetings More Productive | 5 Time Management Tips for an Overworked Accountant | Running an Accounting Business | 14 Ways to Switch to Value Pricing | Pricing, Billing, Costing: Don’t Blame Clients

RESPONSE: If a client is on a strict time basis, they are entitled to a breakdown of the hours and person performing the services.

Otherwise, when clients ask me how I arrived at a bill I tell them something similar to this:

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