growth is no accident
winning new business is a team sport. spectators need not apply.
by gale crosley, cpa
crosley+company
the best firms are involved in the relentless pursuit of creating a firm-wide growth culture. read more →
client service opportunities
cpas poised to capture huge financial services markets
despite cpas’ huge advantages, why do they own only one-tenth of 1% of the business? the cpa profession could — if it mobilizes on the opportunity — quickly become the dominant provider of comprehensive high-profit wealth management and financial planning … continued
do’s and don’ts for success in wealth management services
clients were already clamoring for it.
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in this series of video bites, david strother, financial services director at dsf wealth management, the investment arm of darnall, sikes, gardes & frederick cpas in lafayette, la., explains how the firm decided to enter the wealth management business… and what they learned, sometimes the hard way.
recession bumps off ‘mass affluent’
$200,000 per year doesn’t cut it anymore.
the established notion of “mass affluence” is getting pushed aside by a new study that redefines the spending power of the truly and the up-and-coming affluent as the “class affluent” and the “emerging affluent.”
key findings:
what people want from you
the 14 strategies to build better business relationships.
it’s been said that when you look for the good in others, you discover the best in yourself.
it’s nowhere so true as in the accounting business. contrary to the cliche, accounting is a people business — most accountants spend a lot of time working directly with staffers, colleagues, superiors, clients and maybe-clients.
we’re all small firms now
how big is a small firm? aicpa says $25 million.
new market intelligence has surfaced as the result of a small row between the aicpa and the u.s. small business administration, suggesting the idea of a mid-sized firm may be a wishful notion. according to aicpa calculations, big four firms control about half the revenue and half the jobs, and most of the rest of the industry should be classified as small business.
cpas surge into wealth management
the rise of the accountant-adviser.
via smart money
a growing number of cpas are refashioning themselves as more well-rounded financial advisers.
some 5,000 cpas now boast a “personal financial specialist” credential, up 28% since 2008, and another 7,650 accountants are now certified as financial planners by the certified financial planner board of standards.
four in ten americans face retirement crisis
and many of those who aren’t worried, should be.
almost 40 percent of working americans say they will never afford retirement, which, for the second year in a row, ranks as the nation’s most important financial concern, according to an aicpa survey.
smallest of small biz hurting the most
small business optimism slumps in march, according to surepayroll.
the index fell two percentage points from february to 69 percent in march, with hiring is down 2.2% year-to-date. “while large businesses, medium-sized businesses and even larger small businesses may be seeing improvements in hiring, the smallest of businesses aren’t,” the company said.
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75% of wealth advisors expect double-digit growth
what will you get from your tax practice this season?
while traditional tax practitioners are toughing out another busy season, most wealth advisors and financial planners are expecting their businesses to grow phenomenally faster.
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the four hottest areas in litigation consulting
strong niche for cpa firms getting stronger.
law firm marketing consultant larry bodine reports new results from a bti market research study that shows the four top areas where lawyers “can earn top dollar from corporate clients with litigation.” and if lawyers can cash in, so can the cpas who advise them.
here are the top four growth areas:
four reasons why getting new clients isn’t the answer
getting new clients may be many firms’ chief concern these days.
but for most firms, there’s un-mined gold in their current clients.
the accounting business may not be the same in five years. today’s standard products and services are evolving quickly. how long, for instance, will simple 1040 tax prep last with the speed of data aggregation?
but if you still have the same clients, you will still have cash flows.
the bottom line:
four more years: clients delay retirement
“boomers have been scarred.”
half of baby boomer clients who have postponed retirement due to the economic downturn expect to work at least four years longer than they originally planned, according to cpa financial planners.
fifty-two percent of cpa financial planners said their clients – who typically have between $500,000 and $5 million in assets – are at least somewhat confident in the stock market now — a turnaround from a year ago when 54 percent said their clients were not very confident.
more highlights:
- 48 percent of cpa financial planners said their typical client is somewhat or very pessimistic about the u.s. economy amid gaping budget deficits and high unemployment.
- 51 percent of cpa financial planners said at least one client was turned down for a mortgage or refinance in the past year. the most common reasons: lower home values and higher underwriting standards.
- 44 percent of cpa financial planners said their average client emerged from the recession with increased net worth and 17 percent saw their net worth stay the same.