bookkeeping: the next dinosaur for cpa firms?

patrick bonnaure
patrick bonnaure

learn a lesson from how the payroll market evolved.

 by patrick bonnaure
www.proledge.com

twenty years ago, the vast majority of accounting firms provided payroll to their small business clients. then came payroll specialists like paychex and adp, and the rules of the game changed. nowadays, if your firm provides payroll, you’re the exception. bookkeeping is following the same trend, with a lag of a couple of decades. if your accounting firm is providing bookkeeping, it is time to look at it strategically and understand how it fits in the bigger picture.

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new survey results: busy season prices heading up 4.1%

source: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

after a conservative 3.2% price increase last year.

complete findings are published in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practitioner’s tax season performance review and outlook report. (learn more here)

tax and accounting practitioners are again cautiously raising prices this year, prompted by years of little or no rate hikes and continuing step-ups in labor and technology costs, according to new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey data.

becky klotz, the head of small local firm of tax consultants in oregon, says that, with an economy where “i don’t see much improvement in the near future,” her firm will be raising pricing, but “just a bit.”

on the other hand, wray rives at rives cpa in coppell, texas, is holding the line. “we believe we are priced at the right level for our market,” he says.

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survey results: accountants expecting a better busy season in 2012

small but measurable advances.

preliminary results from a survey by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 suggests that tax and accounting professionals are expecting a better busy season this year than last year.

last year at about this time, practitioners rated the then-upcoming 2.35 on a five-point scale with 5 being “much better” than the year before and 1 “much worse.”

in other findings from the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer and related reports:

complete findings are published in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practitioner’s tax season performance review and outlook report. (learn more here)

new and preliminary data rate the outlook a 2.42, a scant but perceptible improvement.

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women report growing career dismay

survey reveals widening gap with men.

only 48 percent of women are satisfied with their careers, compared to 59 percent of men — a gap that has only widened from year to year, according to a mergis group survey.

and nearly three-quarters of women in accounting and finance believe they face a tougher set of obstacles than their male counterparts.

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solo practitioners step up marketing

source: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

high performing single-owner firms now focus on digital strategies.

with more than half of solo practitioners planning to step up their marketing activities going into busy season, they will be intensifying their efforts in networking for referrals, spreading word of mouth and providing the best service they can to current clients, according to a new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis.

the complete 179-page study, “marketing and business development strategies at accounting firms – 2012 survey report, with commentary and analysis,” is available for purchase from 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 parent bay street group llc. the study shows trends within the profession, but also distinguishes between high-performing firms and low-performing firms, based on time-tested proprietary 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 criteria. in this study, high performing firms are far more likely than low performing firms to enjoy marketing successes. the data for this report was gathered over the course of more than two years and includes the responses of about 588 practitioners. the margin of error is plus or minus about 3 percentage points at a 90% confidence level. click here to learn more.

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