survey

Benchmarking ‘Elite’ CPA Firms against the ‘Mainstream’

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The Rosenberg MAP Survey: National Study of CPA Firm Statistics original The leading national compendium of CPA firm practice management benchmarks.
National MAP Survey of CPA Firm Statistics

Looking inside firms with income per partner over $500,000.

By CPA Trendlines
Rosenberg MAP Survey

If you’re a firm with two or more partners wondering just how well your business compares to the CPA profession’s “elite” firms, you should be looking for a 5.2% revenue gain this year, according to the new Rosenberg Survey. And your revenue growth last year should have been at least 7.4%, excluding any changes that resulted from mergers.

The survey, based on activity at firms across the country with annual fees ranging from less than $2 million to more than $20 million, defines “elite” as the firms with income per partner of more than $500,000. By comparison, the average income per partner for the profession’s “mainstream” firms is $345,177.

The report provides comparisons for benchmarks including billing rates, partner-to-staff ratios, hours billed annually, staff turnover rates, men-to-women ratios, partner ages, client services and partner compensation.

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SURVEY RESULTS: CPA Firms Accelerate Growth

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The National MAP Survey of CPA Firm Statistics -- The Rosenberg Survey
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The 2014 national MAP survey shows widening divide between large and small firms.

Exclusive to CPA Trendlines
The National MAP Survey of CPA Firm Statistics

Marking the third consecutive year of quickening expansion since the recession, CPA firms are posting 6.7% revenue growth, according to the latest results from the National MAP Survey of CPA Firm Statistics reported here exclusively by CPA Trendlines.

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“The National MAP Survey of CPA Firm Statistics: The Rosenberg Survey” is well known and well respected within the national CPA industry, due to its solid reputation for accuracy, thoroughness and high participation rate. Exactly 75% of the firms in this year’s survey participated in 2013. This allows for more accurate year-to-year data comparisons. All of these characteristics, plus the highly sought-after executive summary, make “The Rosenberg Survey” a must-read for any entrepreneurial-minded CPA firm. The survey captures data from participating firms of all revenue ranges, from solo practitioners to those with over $20 million in net fees. READ MORE →

NEW SURVEY RESULTS: Accountants Face Stiff Client Resistance to Cloud Accounting Apps

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cloud adoption likelihood
Likelihood of adopting cloud accounting

SMBs say cloud accounting is the last thing they want.

Accountants are encountering extraordinary difficulties in getting their small- and mid-size business clients to adopt cloud computing, according to new research findings made available first to CPA Trendlines.

Accounting is the last operation small business wants to update. Everything else comes first, according to Software Advice, Austin, Texas-based accounting technology reviews company.

Key Findings:

  1. Over half of respondents express moderate to high levels of confidence in cloud-based accounting solutions, with 32 percent indicating “moderate” confidence.
  2. With 5 percent already using cloud accounting, only 16 percent more are likely to move ahead anytime soon.
  3. The top concern with cloud-based accounting, cited by 46 percent of small business owners, is security. Cost and training were other key concerns. READ MORE →

Survey: How Accountants Keep Up with Tech Trends

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Top strategy: Compare with peers.

CPA Trendlines Exclusive

The pace of change in technology is leaving accountants so dazed and confused that about half of all practitioners say merely “keeping up” is one of their biggest technology-related problems. Cost comes second.

Accountants are so fed up with the staggering pace of developments that you couldn’t pay them enough to try a new software product “while drinking umbrella drinks on a beach at vendor expense,” according to Randy Johnston and Leslie Garrett, writing in the new Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey. They caution, however, that “If you dislike change, you’re going to dislike irrelevance even more.”

The survey reveals the top tactics accountants are employing to stay up to date and make informed decisions – starting with keeping close tabs on their colleagues and competitors. READ MORE →

Survey: Top 10 Ways Firms Tutor Top Talent

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No. 1 method: ‘Give them challenging assignments.”

By CPA Trendlines Research

It may sound harsh to the uninitiated, but the most common way for firms to turn talented staffers into future managers and leaders is to make their lives a little more difficult, according to a new CPA Trendlines multi-year study.

The questionnaire for “Talent Strategies: How to Identify and Develop Professionals for Management and Leadership Responsibilities” remains online and open as CPA Trendlines continues to collect data and refine its analysis.  READ MORE →

CPA Talent: How To Identify Future Leaders Early

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Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 6.58.19 AMWho gets promoted and why in accounting: Join the survey; get the answers.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Tax, accounting and finance professionals don’t agree on everything. But they do seem to agree on the key traits needed to succeed in the profession, according to a new CPA Trendlines multi-year study.

The questionnaire for “TALENT STRATEGIES: How to Identify and Develop Professionals for Management and Leadership Responsibilities” remains online and open as CPA Trendlines continues to collect data and refine its analysis.  READ MORE →

How Firms Are Adapting to the New Mobile Workforce

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Breakfast and workingNew benchmarks and insights on remote access, the Internet and telecommunications.

By Randolph Johnston, Leslie Garrett PhD,
and Brian F. Tankersley, CPA.CITP, CGMA
The Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey

Working remotely can occur from home offices and from a client’s location. When individuals have access to the support technology and data they need to do their work, and when they can be held accountable for their performance when working remotely, where they are located when getting work done matters less. READ MORE →