millions of “help wanted” ads surveyed and indexed.
indexed to february 2010, the number of open “accountant” jobs has increased 64% and the number of open “cpa” jobs has declined 11%, according to data from simply hired, a job search engine affiliated with 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. the graph displays the percentage of jobs with the search terms anywhere in the job listing.
industry grows to 926,000 employees nationwide.
the scant month-to-month increase came after a stall during the summer, resuming six months of advances from january through june, according to new and preliminary seasonally-adjusted figures from the department of labor.
at the typical cpa firm: “the bleeding has stopped.”
revenues at the typical cpa firm are up 1.7%, a slight improvement from the 1.4% increase in the year before, according to the 2011 rosenberg map survey.
still, when the impact of mergers is taken out, the growth rate was only 0.8%. the rosenberg map survey, founded 13 years ago by nationally known practice consultant marc rosenberg, reports on the results of 408 firms, most of which range from $2 million to $20 million in annual fees. nearly 100 metrics are collected and compared.
though the revenue increase is small, the authors say it’s noteworthy because — for the first time in two years — the growth rate increased from the prior year instead of decreasing. “the bleeding has stopped,” they say.
european regulators mull drastic action to reform audits.
while the big four have escaped public outrage in the u.s. for the global financial debacle, in europe they’re sharpening the guillotines.
beset by political pressures from failing banks and governments, eurozone regulators are airing a scheme to break up the big four into audit-only firms.
meanwhile, each of the big four has now reported its global revenues, showing a lag in audits and the developed world and a surge in consulting with rapid growth in emerging markets.
fueled by emerging markets and consulting.
with annual worldwide revenue of $29.2 billion, pwc has edged past deloitte to take bragging rights to the no. 1 spot.
and brag they did.
accounting today’s fourth year for the list.
top winners are to be announced at accounting today’s 2nd annual growth & profitability summit on oct. 25-27 in las vegas.
the best accounting firms to work for list includes 50 small firms (15-49 employees), 45 midsized firms (50-249 employees) and five large firms (more than 250 employees).
vault.com ranks accounting firms by “quality of life” issues.
leading the way was elliot davis, which took the top spot in four categories, with withumsmith+brown and deloitte each earning no. 1 rankings in three categories.
s&g financial services took the lead in two categories, and armanino mckenna, pricewaterhousecoopers, and rothstein kass each grabbed one top spot in this year’s rankings.
fbi background checks for some ptin registrants.
the irs is airing proposed rules and user fees for fingerprinting and for taking the new competency examination.
total fees, counting the irs share and corporate contractors doing the work, are expected to be between $60 and $90 for fingerprinting and $100 and $125 for testing.
the irs share of the fingerprinting fee is expected to be $33 and $27 for the test.
maybe the 150-person firm in bellevue, wash., has found a winning formula.
[jwplayer mediaid=”12592″]
clark nuber is consistently ranked among one of washington’s best places to work and the firm has an 88 percent retention rate. tracy l. white, sphr, senior director of human resources, shares insights into what it takes to build a dedicated staff:
the painful journey to a new era.
by bruce w. marcus
professional services marketing 3.0
in the years following bates, accounting firms began a long and difficult process of learning how to market.
accountants were still so steeped in the no-commercialization ethic that they tried to resist any form of marketing. they couldn’t, because other firms had started doing it, and were winning clients.
but it depends on your taste for risk.
by jean marie caragher
capstone marketing
there are at least four types of opportunities your firm can pursue in considering new niche growth, each with its own level of risk:
1. market penetration.
better known as cross-selling, market penetration is providing existing services to existing clients. this is the least risky opportunity since you are already familiar with the service and the clients. for example, you may be developing a niche in the construction industry. currently, succession planning is a firm specialty. this is a service needed by and could be offered to your builder and contractor clients.
2. market development.
provide existing services to new clients. this is a bit more risky since you need to learn about a new market segment. for example, you may currently offer retirement planning services to your current clients. this is a service needed by and could be offered to new business prospects.
3. product development.
provide new services to existing clients. this is also a bit risky since you need to learn a new service area.
4. diversification.
provide new services to new clients. this opportunity is the most risky since you are moving into a new line of business. sarbanes-oxley compliance work has provided many regional and local firms with opportunities to expand their bottom lines.
caragher is president of capstone marketing, a partner with 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 in the seven keys to successful cpa firm management. this article is adapted from one that appeared in the aicpa insider, which was excerpted from “bull’s eye: the ultimate how-to marketing guide for cpas,” available at amazon.com.