The Pricing Problem in Accounting: CPAs Must Stop Apologizing
How to reflect your true value and keep up with rising demand
If you're in the accounting industry, you've probably heard of the "Great Resignation."
Basically, people are quitting their jobs left and right, and it's happening in accounting too. To make matters worse (or better, depending on how you look at it), salaries in public accounting are skyrocketing.
Accountants have the upper hand now, so you better pay them well, give them awesome work, maximum flexibility, and fewer hours.
Here's the thing: CPA firms aren't just competing with other CPA firms for talent.
They're competing with private industry and remote technology jobs too. So, if you want to attract and retain top talent, you need to step up your game. However, it’s not the end of the world: prices of goods and services are going up (hello, inflation), and CPA services are in high demand. Taxes are going up too, which means there's more work to be done.
The accounting industry is at a strategic point of inflection. There's a limited supply of CPAs, boomers are retiring, and demand is only going up. So, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to keep pricing your services lower than attorneys even though you're the natural trusted advisors?
CPAs have a reputation for being pricing apologists. It's time to stop that. You need to raise your prices to reflect your true value. What got you here won't get you to the next level. You need to adapt to the changing landscape of the industry.
The bottom line is this: you need to pay your accountants well, give them great work, maximum flexibility, and fewer hours. If you don't, they'll find somewhere else that will. But to do this, you need to raise your prices to reflect your true value. If you don't, you'll miss out on potential profits, and your accountants won't be able to keep up with rising salaries and demand.
So, get with the program and adapt to the changing times!
Taking Action:
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About the Author:
Shannon Vincent has dedicated his entire career to working with accountants in various capacities. He has consulted with Top 100 firms to Sole Practitioners, helping them create sustainable and profitable businesses. A member of the California Society of CPAs, he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics with an emphasis in accounting from University of California, Santa Barbara, and now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. Shannon is passionate about helping accounting firms find their true value in a changing industry.
About Renew Group:
Are you tired of being on the diet but not seeing results? Most consultants to the CPA Profession do lots of talking and deal in 'fluff'. But there's no accountability and no focus on RESULTS.
At Renew, we start with your numbers. Our firms complete a Pareto for Profit analysis EVERY YEAR, set new targets to improve their profitability and then 'weigh in' regularly. We give you a roadmap to transform the profitability of your accounting firm by accessing our content, collaborating with other firms on a similar path and being held accountable by our coaching team and your peers.
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