SURVEYS & RESEARCH

Ask Not What AI Can Do for You, Ask What You Can Do for AI

By

Four actions to take now.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The potentials and requirements of artificial intelligence are still a massive unknown. So far, we’re getting only a distant whiff of what’s to come.

Yes, AI is already serving us with doing research, composing letters, filling in blanks and taking best guesses. But turning it into a multifunctional workhorse is still a workhorse in progress.

MORE: Allison Schlegelmilch: Leadership Lessons from Firm Mergers | CAS Can Play a Critical Role in Clients’ Vendor Selection | Artificial Intelligence: It’s a Matter of Time | AI Will Steal Your Job. And That’s a Good Thing | Allan Koltin: How Small Firms Can Thrive Against PE-Powered Competitors | The Power of Community in Accounting | Desperate CFOs are Outsourcing Accounting Functions | Tax and Accounting Jobs and Salaries Show Strength | Olympics of Outsourcing and Offshoring for Accountants | New Study: Strong and Steady Growth for Accountant Jobs and Salaries
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

While the ubertechies are working on that, the rest of us should be figuring out how we have to change to accommodate AI, to avoid its pitfalls and make best use of its potential.
READ MORE →

Is Pricing a Marketing Function?

By

Ten steps to designing your pricing strategy.

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Services

Yes, pricing is indeed a fundamental marketing function. It plays a crucial role in determining the value of a product or service in the eyes of customers and has a direct impact on a company’s profitability and market positioning. Pricing decisions are typically made based on various factors such as production costs, competition, target market, positioning strategy and customer perceptions of value.

MORE: Develop Your Personal Marketing Plan in Ten Steps | Five Ways to Make Partners Fall in Love with Marketing | Losing Can Help You Win More | Eight Areas to Cover for Personal Goals | Service Quality: The Key to Client Retention | How Life Cycle Changes Your Marketing | Clients Buy Solutions, Not Features | Make Sure You Know What You Will Get from Your Marketing | Three Pillars Support a Successful Accounting Firm | Clients Have Six Reasons for Needing You | Six Ways to Market Your Technology Consulting Practice | Sixteen Marketing Activities to Try
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

Here are a few reasons why pricing is considered a marketing function:
READ MORE →

CAS Can Play a Critical Role in Clients’ Vendor Selection

By

The needed skills are already part of the accountant’s skill set; they just need to be applied outside of the finance function. 

By Donny C. Shimamoto, CPA, CITP, CGMA
Center for Accounting Transformation

Historically, vendor selection has been primarily driven by operations or IT teams. However, recent research by the Chief Executive Group for the CFO Leadership Council shows that Finance Teams play a critical role in vendor selection. Forward-thinking CAS teams should take a cue from these Finance Teams and broaden their service offerings to help clients be more successful. 

MORE Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA | MORE CAS | MORE CFO Services

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

How Finance Teams Support Vendor Selection 

As shown in Figure 1 below, more than 7 of 10 Finance Teams are involved in the final selection of vendors and products. Many people often see Finance’s involvement as just the final stamp of approval, but the research clearly shows that Finance Teams are involved throughout the purchasing process. 

READ MORE →

Four Reasons Accountants Struggle with Selling

By

Businessman with head in hands

Reframe your thinking.

By Martin Bissett
Business Development on a Budget

Let’s take a look at the last 20-plus years of my experience and my research as to where new clients come from in an accounting practice. I don’t think there are going to be too many shocks here.

MORE: Think of It as Service, not Selling | Eight Questions for Personal Preparation | How to Prepare for Partnership | Stop Waiting for Business to Come to You | Are You Projecting Confidence? | Do You Deliver on Your Website’s Promises? | Showing Leadership through Customer Service | Firm Not Thriving? Five Fixes | The Real Math Behind the Sales Pipeline | Five Questions for Grading Prospects | Be Clear About Your ROI Proposition | Don’t Let Recurring Fees Kill Your Practice | Two Steps Toward Mastering Selling | Nine Checkpoints Before Every Prospect Meeting
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

What I’ve found is that 82 percent of all new clients in a given year who come into an accounting firm come in from a referral source. This may be a bank or a lawyer or some other source, perhaps an existing client, who has recommended that a particular business meet with your firm and come on board as a client.
READ MORE →

Artificial Intelligence: It’s a Matter of Time

By

bar chart

What are you saving it for?

By CPA Trendlines Research

What is artificial intelligence good for? We still don’t know. We know it’s going to be good for a lot, but so far, we’re using it only for a little – just a taste of what’s to come.

MORE: AI Will Steal Your Job. And That’s a Good Thing | Allan Koltin: How Small Firms Can Thrive Against PE-Powered Competitors | The Power of Community in Accounting | Desperate CFOs are Outsourcing Accounting Functions | Does Firm Culture Still Matter? | Tax and Accounting Jobs and Salaries Show Strength | Tax Law is Driving Practice Development | Olympics of Outsourcing and Offshoring for Accountants | New Study: Strong and Steady Growth for Accountant Jobs and Salaries | Turnover Timebomb: 4 of 5 Senior Managers At Risk
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

One major impact will be on that elusive infinite, time.

For one thing, AI’s going to save a lot of time. Tasks that used to take hours or days will soon take mere seconds.

But is that a good thing or a bad thing?
READ MORE →