What will your practice look like in 2022?

                It’s a new year, which means it is also time for people to make resolutions about improving their lives. One reason many resolutions fail, though, is lack of specific planning. Independent CPAs and small accounting firms are facing a crisis as their business model is becoming obsolete. This year, make a resolution to think about the future: what will your practice look like in 2022?

            Will you still be chasing accounts receivables and looking for help to get you through another tax season? Will you still be hesitant to increase your fees amid rising costs because you’re worried about losing more and more of your customer base to technology services? Will you still be worried about losing your biggest clients to larger firms who offer more holistic services than you can afford to provide? As Generation X and millennials mature into positions of power, small local firms who only provide basic accounting and tax services will continue to struggle.

            Successful business owners today expect – and demand – more from their accounting firms. To survive and prosper in the new decade, you need to reinvent your practice. Of course, the need for someone to do their taxes will not go away. There are several US-based firms that offer tax prep using CPAs in the US for about 40% of what you currently bill your clients. Outsourcing most of your tax prep to one of those companies will drastically reduce the workload for you and your in-house team. Gone are the 100-hour work weeks and constant staff turnover!

With more time freed up, you can then focus on more lucrative advice coordination and consulting which must represent larger and larger pieces of your business model. You may think that you don’t have the money or knowledge to provide those services, but you don’t have to be an expert in everything. You just need to know who is. You need to be able to verify that they are an expert. And, most importantly, you need to coordinate their services. This adds a new revenue stream for your firm and firmly entrenches you in your clients’ lives. It puts you in a position to not only survive in 2020, but to grow and thrive in 2022.

It’s almost tax season time. Resolve that 2020 will be the last year your practice works like this and commit to implementing a better way to support your clients. Array Partners has an existing team of experts that we can connect you with. Contact us to learn how to future-proof your firm.