What Clients Want

Source: CPA Insider

An ongoing survey of almost 1,800 financial executives, of whom more than 60 percent are CPAs in public practice, provides the following insights:

• Clients are not as satisfied as CPAs think. Most CPAs think their clients will refer them, but not as high a percentage of clients say they would refer their CPAs.
• Most finance executives say they make the decisions on engaging CPA firms. Most CPAs think owners make those decisions.
• Clients are less loyal to their CPA firms than CPAs think.
• CPAs are focusing their marketing initiatives on more referrals, networking, and Web site improvements. Clients would like to see more seminar offerings.
• Clients’ major concerns are:
  • Service and responsiveness.
  • Quality of work.
  • Accuracy of work.

CPAs place too much importance on personal relationships and don’t place enough value on the above.

From CPA Insider, November 13, 2006, www.cpa2biz.com. For the complete article, click on the following link: http://tinyurl.com/yyuc84.