Is the General Practitioner Doomed?

Source: Accounting Today

Gale Crosley (Crosley + Co. www.crosleycompany.com) writes, “I firmly believe that segmenting and niching are here to stay, and that the days of the general practitioner are numbered.”

Sarbanes-Oxley has changed the CPA market from multi-discipline to multi-provider. Because firms now have frequent conflicts, companies are becoming accustomed to using more than one CPA firm. If different providers are required for certain SOX work, why not seek different providers for business valuations, employee benefit plan audits, etc.? The practice got its start with the large companies but is now taking hold in the middle market. Crosley says, “All other factors being equal, the firm that can create a compelling vision of itself as provider of choice for a particular service line or industry will win the business more often.”

From Accounting Today, June 4, 2007, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809. For the complete article, click here, then select the article Segment the Market and Pick Your Slices from the June 4, 2007 issue.