CPAs Get Serious about Twitter

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By Rick Telberg

Like 23 million others, accounting and finance professionals are flocking to the newest internet craze, Twitter, the so-called social media micro-blogging service.

Launched just three years ago, the Twitter phenomenon has swept up celebrities and politicians, wonks and geeks, and casual users as well as businesses. Even if you haven’t opened an account (yet), you’ve no doubt heard of a Twitterland filled with Tweeple Tweeting and Re-Tweeting Tweets. If you still need an introduction, try this popular YouTube video, “Twitter in Plain English.”

Twitter could still go the way of the Pet Rock or the Hula Hoop, but a lot of serious CPAs are taking the craze seriously.

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CPA David Feil may be typical. (Or, is it “twypical” ?) A financial analyst for a Texas manufacturer, he signs in as “musiccpa,” reflecting a personal passion. But Feil uses Twitter just as much for keeping up with the pulse of business.

Chad Bordeaux, for instance, shares an accounting practice with his wife, Donna, in Lake Wylie, S.C. He reports picking up a couple new clients for tax season after they found him on Twitter. He talks about “online presence” like any business person might talk about highway billboards or a nice office location – it’s just another place to do business.

CPAs Jeff Elliott and Shane Eloe, meanwhile, represent a new legion of blogging Twitterers sharing what it’s like to confront the CPA exam and start a career in the profession. Their experiences are informative and even inspiring.

The AICPA itself runs several popular accounts, including AICPAnews, Young CPA Network, the Journal of Accountancy, CPA Letter Daily, 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy and Feed the Pig.

The Maryland Association of CPAs has been a pacesetter, Twittering as MACPA. CPA and author Diane Kennedy has over 5,000 followers. The St. Louis chapter of the Association of Government Accountants, under chapter president Anita Santiago, uses Twitter as part of its communications efforts.

Eventually, Twittering (or its technological successor) may become as common as faxing and email. But for now, people are still learning about it, and about what it can teach us.

Joey Brannon, who owns Axiom CPA in Bradenton, Fla., made a study of what people talk about when they talk about CPAs on Twitter. His findings are eye-opening. He says on his blog:

  1. If Twitter is still around in five years, a lot more CPAs will be using it. How do I know this? Because there are a lot of CPA candidates tweeting about their progress on the CPA exam. Once they pass, move into the ranks of staff accountants and start seeing clients, you can bet we’ll be hearing about their interactions in real time.
  2. Client service may not be the profession’s strong suit. Clients don’t like it when we’re not proactive. More than a few people are upset with their CPA because they owe taxes. There’s a lot of comparing going to the CPA with going to the dentist. Not exactly the frame of mind I want my clients in when they show up to meet with me.
  3. Community rules. There is a vibrant community of cool, friendly and helpful CPA’s out there more than willing to lend a hand, offer advice or provide that missing nugget of information. For those of us with small, niche practices having a network of like-minded colleagues who walk in our shoes every day is invaluable.

So CPAs might be well-advised to Twitter with a purpose, according to Kristy Short, a veteran public relations consultant. “They have to think of Twitter as a professional discussion forum and not a place to update casual, daily activity,” she says. “No one needs to know when they are getting a snack.”

So does it make “business sense” for CPAs? I asked on Twitter. Monica Lawver, “TheTaxCPA,” wrote back, remaining well within the 140-character convention: “Twitter sense: It provides an easy way to network with other professionals, and easy access to the latest acctg news.”

5 Responses to “CPAs Get Serious about Twitter”

  1. MECPA

    I think the networking possibilities of Twitter are the real value. If I or my collegues/employees can find specialized knowledge or a quick reference to further research through Twitter, what a valuable tool. You simply can’t find additional resources through e-mail until you have “met” the individual source and attained an e-mail address. Through Twitter, you can broadcast to a potentially wide audience and receive quick input.

  2. Pete Terranova

    Mr. Peters sounds a little cranky. His question about staff twittering all day can be asked about e-mailing as well. But he sounds like a bottome line kind of guy so here’s the bottom line about Twitter: It’s not that hard to calculate a return on investment on your Twitter account – it’s free! And Accountants like free, don’t they? Any client that comes your way through Twitter automatically makes your Twitter account an insane profit center!

    Even such, I don’t necessarily think Twitter’s a great way to attract new clients. I think it’s just another tool CPAs can use to keep in touch with clients and peers. Or, heck, just to have fun. Both my Twitter account and blog are intended as a source of personal and business communications; they’re not intended as solely a marketing, or even networking, tool. Marketing and networking are only by-products; I’m in both to enjoy myself.

    What it comes down to is this: you are what you tweet, or blog. Either people will find that interesting or not. No one’s forcing anyone to do either but I suspect CPAs who give new media a try will be rewarded in the long run. Worst case scenario? CPAs may actually have fun doing it.

  3. Jeff Elliott

    “Tell me something you can do on Twitter that you can’t do with regular email.”

    Easily connect with people who aren’t already in your list of contacts, for one. Give it a try, Craig. I’ll “follow” you :)

    -Jeff

  4. Asiah

    I have to agree with Monica Lawver. I am just a college student, but I use Twitter to help me stay informed with all the latest acounting news. I have also made a few “friends” on twitter, and I think it is an excellent way to network!

    By the way…I found this website through twitter!! ;)

  5. Craig Peters, CPA, CMA

    Tell me something you can do on Twitter that you can’t do with regular email. Sounds to me like yet another unproductive way to lose valuable time! Do you want your staff members twittering all day?