Here’s what you’re looking for: Michelle Golden

OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Accounting Firms Must Stop Charging for Time

Every year, the 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey asks the industry’s top consultants to share their observations from CPA firms across the country: How do you think the next 12 months will unfold? Trends? Predictions? Other thoughts? Also, how would you assess the last 12 months? Trends? Observations? Struggles?

We need more revenue per person, and private equity alone won’t solve that.

By Michelle Golden River
 The Rosenberg Survey

Fee increases and higher minimums will continue, but incremental 5-10 percent hikes simply won’t close the massive revenue-per-person gap (our big proportion problem) or allow firms to pay salaries competitive with other emerging professions. The firms that make real progress will untether pricing from time, secure current revenue levels before implementing efficiency gains, and position prices around the buyer’s perceived worth rather than costs.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.
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Charging for time creates an artificial cap on revenue because time is finite. Beyond a certain point, an hourly rate can also be perceived as unreasonable. The sooner firms learn to price using other revenue models, the better.
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OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Better Starting Pay Calls for a New Revenue Model

young woman holding giant dollar sign in modern office

Considering PE? Beware focus on the next five years.

By Michelle Golden River
The Rosenberg National Survey of CPA Firm Statistics

Pricing and talent are related. We’ll see another wave of fee increases as well as more firms feeling compelled to establish higher “minimum” fee thresholds. But these increases still won’t be enough. Until firms earn a lot more revenue per person, they simply cannot pay enough to overcome starting salary gaps.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Every year, The 2024 Rosenberg National Survey of CPA Firm Statistics asks the profession’s top consultants two sets of questions:

    • How do you think the next 12 months will unfold? Trends? Predictions? Other thoughts?
    • How would you assess the last 12 months? Trends? Observations? Struggles?

MORE: Business Models Continue to Evolve | Accounting Firms Must Consider Capital Resources | Artificial Intelligence Plays Role in Analytics, Optimization | People Development Still a Concern | Tech Anxiety Paralyzing Some Accounting Firms | Solving Staffing Requires Intention | As Private Equity Closes In, Firms Seek New Answers to Staffing Problems | Next Five Years Are Critical for Accounting Firms | The New Pipeline: Outsourcing and Offshoring
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Our would-be hires choose higher-paying professions like finance and tech, and who can blame them? To offer commensurate starting pay (and raise legacy salaries, accordingly), we must change our revenue model. Our current 5-10 percent annual increases cannot get us there. We fell behind more than a decade ago and, at this pace, we’ll never catch up.
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FEATURED

2020 Outlook: Innovate and Anticipate

You might have to do some hiring, or at least subcontracting, to keep the proper focus.

By Michelle Golden River

Change is here and firms are moving, but at vastly different paces. While minds are certainly more open, firms aren’t equal in knowing where to start and how to cope.

MORE: 2020 Outlook: Balance Advisory and Compliance | Talent Shortage Drags On | Demand Is High | Business Development Goes Borderless | Data Import on the Rise | Becoming the Most Valuable Advisor | Top Three Tips for 2020 Success | Where Do You Want to Be? | Dicey Disruptions
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Firms need more change-management function experts (there are great consultants in this space, and fantastic books out there) and project management experts (see Project Management Institute) to execute promptly once strategies are set.
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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

2019: Merger Effects Felt Long after Deals

Succession, underperforming partners also issues.

IS THIS YOUR LAST TAX SEASON?
Today’s Top Trends in Mergers & Acquisitions:
Who’s merging, who’s not, and why:
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By Michelle Golden
The Rosenberg MAP Survey

It’s been a major eye-opener for firms. Reality is hitting home about the true implications of technology advances, global standards, tax reform, and talent transition.

MORE FROM THE MAP SURVEY: 2019: Appetite for Growth Unabated | 2019: Doing More With Less | 2019: Tech Isn’t the Problem. It’s the Solution | 2019: Using M&A to Launch Consulting | 2019 Trends: Client Service Changes
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Overall, I’m impressed by the grace our profession’s leaders (across the Top 200) are showing as they embrace these huge changes as opportunities vs. threats.
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OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Future

Competing today necessitates a client-driven, not practice-driven, firm.

by Michelle Golden
Professional Services Marketing 3.0 by Bruce W. Marcus

Bruce’s newest book documents an important evolution in professional firms and the way law and accounting firms interact with current and prospective buyers. These interactions include serving the client, but also—quite importantly—reflecting how people working in firms present themselves in terms of their ability to bring true value to those who hire them.

Bruce’s approach is two-fold: understand the past, and be intentional about the future. As you read, and consider your firm’s present marketing in light of this broader, historic context, you have the opportunity to identify counter-productive attitudes and approaches and move to an advanced level of marketing sooner than you otherwise might. The author shares, through his rich observations and experiences, that the views a professional holds about the value of his or her offerings, and marketing in general, are more important than the specific marketing tactics he or she undertakes.

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