March 2012 Leadership Forum
Vol. 4 No. 3, March 2012
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: Are CPA firms concerned about possible conflicts of interest if they consult, or perform consulting engagements, with attest clients?
Consultants and Other Prominent Observers
| Angie Grissom | The Rainmaker Consulting Group | www.therainmakeracademy.com [email protected] |
| ...Business leaders are willing to pay more for a relationship where they feel they are getting a lot of value which is often advisory or consultative services. Offering consultative services to attest clients causes a dilemma with the accountant ...More | ||
| Bob Lewis | Visionary Marketing | www.thinkvisionary.com [email protected] |
| I believe most are not if the consulting engagement is not related to internal controls or overall financial system design ...More | ||
| William R. Pirolli | DiSanto Priest & Co., CPAs | [email protected] |
| ...We are careful to not act on behalf of or in a management role, but rather an advisory one. We also adhere to strict rules related to compensation from third parties where the corporation is concerned ...More | ||
| Marc Rosenberg | The Rosenberg Associates | www.rosenbergassoc.com [email protected] |
| This is a non-issue from the view of CPA firms. If there ever was an issue, it's with legislatures and media over the "perception" that there is a conflict. Clients would be the first to vouch for the ability of their CPA firms to do attest work as well as consulting work ...More | ||
| Rick Telberg | CPA Trendlines | www.cpatrendlines.com [email protected] |
| I think the rules are pretty clear on that. It's a non-starter. | ||
| Douglas H. Thompson, Jr. | CPA Choice, LLC | www.cpamerica.org [email protected] |
| They should be. However appropriate action is set forth in the Professional Ethics of the AICPA. | ||
| Jennifer Wilson | ConvergenceCoaching LLC | www.convergencecoaching.com [email protected] |
| Yes, I think all good firms are careful to ensure that they are not conflicted out of any work ancillary to the attest work they are doing for clients, but most also realize that many services are not in conflict ...More | ||
Firm Leaders
| Paul Regan | Hemming Morse, LLP CPAs | |
| Yes, this is a serious issue. | ||