Show Clients How to Succeed in Business

Source: The CPA Journal

As the economy continues to dig itself out of the recession, CPAs can provide significant value to their clients by helping them improve their business planning and develop strategies for enhancing their financial performance.

This article discusses several areas in which CPAs can assist their clients, including:

• Reviewing and refining business plans, budgets, and strategies,
• Educating clients about the purpose of a business plan,
• Providing in-depth analysis of financial statements,
• Comparing actual results to budgets and plans to improve their accuracy,
• Identifying critical customers and evaluating vendors,
• Developing and implementing fraud prevention and detection policies and practices, including surprise audits, whistleblower programs, and other methods, and
• Developing and implementing controls, such as internal auditing, management review processes, internal control audits, independent audit committees, and management certification of financial statements.

For the complete article, read “Growth Potential in a Difficult Economy: Strategies for Expanding Client Services.”

From The CPA Journal, A Publication of the New York State Society of CPAs, June 2011.