Consulting

O.D. Lanier: Stepping into Advisory

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Transformation Talks: A leader at one of the fastest growing firms in the country describes transforming his career, pros and cons of building versus buying and the four (or five) steps to becoming a consulting firm.

 


Transformation Talks
With Bill Penczak
Center for Accounting Transformation

Center for Accounting Transformation

How does an accounting expert journey from audit and Big Four to starting his own firm and becoming a consultant? Odysseus (O.D.) Lanier, a founding partner of one of the fastest growing firms in the country, describes his start, why he left “boring” auditing (but why it is critical experience), as well as what he sees as pros and cons in building a consulting firm versus buying a consulting firm.

MORE on McConnell Jones: Five Global CPA Leaders: Four Survival Strategies

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Why are CPAs moving from tax and audit to get into consulting? Lanier said the bottom line is that consulting is lower risk with a higher margin.

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Why Accountants Fail at Consulting

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Couple meeting with investment advisor.The move requires commitment and resources.

By Gary Bolinger

Most all CPAs in public practice talk about transitioning away from traditional compliance services to offer more advisory services.

MORE: Advisory vs. Low-Value Clients | What + Who Leads Firms to Better Service | How Accountants Are Profiting in Disruption | Ask the Right Question(s) | Seven Elements of Engagement for CPAs | True Advisory Work Isn’t Just Consulting
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When I have talked to firms in the past few years and I ask about percent of total firm revenues in A&A, tax and advisory, the percentage for A&A and tax constitutes a significant majority of total fees. But advisory alone is usually 10 percent or less.

Even then, those advisory consulting fees are generally closely tied to some aspect of compliance. So, I’m not sure that I would really say that’s advisory. So, with all the talk – for maybe the last 20 years – about the need to grow advisory revenues, why are the revenues so low in relation to compliance services?
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How to Offer Second Opinions

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Two people sitting across from each other at a deskIt’s an old service under a new consultant label.

By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor

Second opinions are just that – an outside look at a client’s business or personal situation.

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We used to call them second opinions and promoted them as such. We no longer do that, but offer this as a separate and distinct service or product such as we do for performance measurement services. We feel that the difference is how the service is marketed, not how it is performed for the client.
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36 Consulting Services You Might Be Overlooking

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business meeting of a woman and two menPlus 38 events that trigger those needs.

By Domenick J. Esposito
8 Steps to Great

In today’s business world, the greatest growth and margin opportunities for a CPA firm are in the consulting area, as clients outsource specialized skills to deal with business challenges that they cannot handle internally.

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Presented below is a summary of the most typical CPA firm service offerings, together with opportunity triggers and market trends.
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