January 2013 Leadership Forum
Vol. 5 No. 1, January 2013
The Leadership Forum is a panel of the most prominent thought leaders in the profession. Each month we ask them to respond to a question dealing with CPA firm management and leadership.
This month's question is:
What challenges or opportunities do you predict for the accounting profession in 2013?
Consultants and Other Prominent Observers
| Richard Rinehart | Grant Partners, LLC | [email protected] |
| Let's start with opportunities - Once we get past the politics of the fiscal cliff we will be looking at income and estate tax reform. That has always posed opportunities for the accounting profession. Whether we like the answer or not, there are issues to be addressed by our clients regarding their planning where we can help. The biggest challenge for the profession seems to be partner succession. Based on my recent experience, the number of firms ill-prepared for partner succession is distressing. Firms have "kicked the can down the road" too many times on partner succession and 2013 will be another year where firms will have to face the client service and financial challenges presented to them by aging partner groups and lack of planning. | ||
| Rick Telberg | CPA Trendlines | www.cpatrendlines.com [email protected] |
| The Big Issue for 2013: Fee Pressure, but that's not the real problem. A media outlet contacted me the other day to ask: "What challenges or opportunities do you predict for the accounting profession in 2013?" Here's what I told them: Pricing. Everyone is complaining about fee pressures. But they're ignoring two very real issues that underlay the whole problem: (1) Value. Actually, "value" is the wrong word. It doesn't mean anything anymore. Let's start talking about "worth." We need to start talking about pricing by asking ourselves, clients and prospects, "What's it worth?" I think you'll find that clients will think that preparing a tax return, for example, is worth little or nothing -- it doesn't add a cent to their bank accounts. But ask, "what's it worth to know you paid the least allowed by law?" or "What's it worth to stay out of jail?" and you might get an entirely different notion of "value." (2) Costs. The Leverage-based pyramid structure of the CPA firm is collapsing. Firms are flattening. The firms that are investing in technology, automation and workflow are leaping ahead by leagues. The firms that can get there first are winning. The rest are becoming irrelevant. |
||
| August Aquila | Aquila Global Advisor Group, LLC | www.aquilaadvisors.com [email protected] |
| Organic growth will continue to be the major challenge facing the accounting profession in 2013... More | ||
| Richard Rinehart | Grant Partners, LLC | [email protected] |
| Let's start with opportunities - Once we get past the politics of the fiscal cliff we will be looking at income and estate tax reform... More | ||
| Marc Rosenberg | The Rosenberg Associates | www.rosenbergassoc.com [email protected] |
| The opportunities will be for firms to (a) find ways to increase the efficiency of their processes and use of technology, thereby reducing the need for more labor... More | ||
| Joe Tarasco | Accountants Advisory Group | www.accountantsadvisory.com [email protected] |
| Lateral mergers of firms with less than 20 partners will increase as a succession and growth strategy, in order for partners to maintain control... More | ||
| Rick Telberg | CPA Trendlines | www.cpatrendlines.com [email protected] |
| The Big Issue for 2013: Fee Pressure, but that's not the real problem... More | ||
| Douglas H. Thompson, Jr. | CPA Choice, LLC | www.cpamerica.org [email protected] |
| ...New tax law will present good increased service and planning opportunties... More | ||
| Sandra Wiley | Boomer Consulting, Inc. | www.boomer.com [email protected] |
| Opportunities abound in 2013, and I will focus on those that are specific to our Human Assets... More | ||
| Jennifer Wilson | ConvergenceCoaching LLC | www.convergencecoaching.com [email protected] |
| Succession, involuntary turnover of top talent, staffing shortages and the need to really emphasize HR programs and build a culture that is attractive to the young. | ||