The New Dynamics: Why Accountants Should be Worried and Jubilant

Source: ABACUS, The Accountant-Centric Magazine

Most accountants are oblivious to the fact that just as they lost a big chunk of their tax preparation business to major national tax franchises in past decades, today they face a new and potentially more devastating threat. These same competitors, and ones even more fearsome, will aggressively pursue core accounting services using predatory pricing, state-of-the-art technology, and even globalized economies of scale.

The Internet is changing the entire dynamics of doing business. Today, any U.S.-based corporation with marketing muscle is capable of offering ultra-low-cost accounting services simply by taking advantage of the Internet and the huge cost differentials that exist between the United States and global economies. In all likelihood, the threat to accounting practices will emerge from many different directions we can’t even begin to predict today.

The most important thing accountants can do to continue to thrive is to protect their client relationships vigorously. A position of trust still exists between independent accounting practitioners and their small business clients. It’s one of the accountant’s most precious assets. Today’s most successful accountants are learning to use their relationships for the mutual benefit of their firms and their clients and are successfully defending their turf against powerful external threats.

While the Internet has emerged as a major threat to traditional accounting services, it also gives accountants even greater power to fight this threat by taking advantage of new opportunities. The biggest advantage of the Internet is that it enables accountants to work collaboratively with their clients, and this will help accountants strengthen their client relationships in ways never before thought possible. Working collaboratively with clients, accountants can create very strong electronic bonds that will be very hard for anyone to break.

From ABACUS, The Accountant-Centric Magazine, Accountants World (www.accountantsworld.com). Read the complete article by clicking here.