This June marked the 20th anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that remains of interest to the accounting profession because the litigants included a state board of accountancy and a dually credentialed attorney advertising that she was both a CPA and an attorney. In Ibanez v. Florida Board of
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TOPICS / FIRM PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Practice growth & client service
CPAs have opportunities in financial planning and forecasting
Many accountants may have opportunities to expand their service offerings to small business clients by providing financial planning and forecasting, according to a new survey. Just one in three accountants offers financial planning or forecast services as part of clients’ business planning process, according to a survey of 150 accountants
The Brazilian way
Brazil, which hosts the World Cup in men’s soccer this summer and the Olympic Games in 2016, remains a top destination for foreign direct investments despite slowed economic growth. Businesses that expand into Brazil quickly learn the Latin American country has many faces.
The culture test
Ask managing partners for the top reason an accounting firm merger succeeded or failed, and the most popular answer you’ll hear is culture. Learn how firms can assess and adjust for cultural differences in a merger in the 11th installment of the series “CPA Firm Succession: Solidifying the Future.”
Accounting across borders
CPA firms are finding international services a booming business, based on responses to a recent AICPA Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) survey. The survey examines practitioners’ interest in expanding to new markets and growing an international clientele, as well as firms’ top international challenges and needs.
Raising rainmakers
This article proposes a series of strategies firms can follow to cultivate their young CPAs’ business development identity and the skills needed to go with it.
Bringing in more clients
Networking and visibility are key to building any CPA firm. To establish their brand in the community, CPAs must find the business development approaches that best suit their individual style. The following steps will help them pave their own business development path: Overcome the urge to be the worker
How to maximize client retention after a merger
Client retention is essential to the success of an accounting firm merger. Find out how to minimize client turnover in the 10th installment of the series “CPA Firm Succession: Solidifying the Future.”
Landing more referrals
Referrals are a key to building an accounting practice. Research conducted by marketing consultants Hinge found that 87% of clients turn to referrals first when looking for an accountant and that 76% of clients are “very likely” to recommend their accounting firm to others. Here’s how to get satisfied clients
How to network and find new clients across borders
Companies increasingly are investing across borders. That includes foreign companies establishing operations in the United States or Canada. The North American investments require accounting and tax services, making foreign companies potential new clients for North American accounting firms. But what is the best way to network across borders and attract
Tackling the top issues
For many, if not most, accounting firms, the quest to survive the Great Recession and its aftermath has ended. The focus now is on growth. That’s one of the overarching themes derived from the 2013 Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) CPA Firm Top Issues survey, which found that accounting firms
Mergers emerge as dominant trend
Powerful forces are transforming the accounting profession in the United States. The Baby Boomers are heading into their retirement years. Baby Boomer CPAs are in charge of most U.S. accounting firms. And most U.S. accounting firms don’t have a signed succession or practice-continuation plan in place. These realities are rewriting
How to open new doors by closing your office
Virtually no one who has leased office space has enjoyed writing that rent check every month. It might have been satisfying at first, when the firm or company was young and having an office was a sign of progress, but watching money go into a landlord’s pocket inevitably gets old. Still, the
Staffing, succession emerge as top CPA firm concerns
Succession planning and staffing joined new client acquisition and dealing with the complexities of rapidly changing tax regulations as the top issues facing U.S. accounting firms, according to an AICPA survey released Tuesday. The 2013 Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) CPA Firm Top Issues survey found evidence that CPA firms
Top concern of FVS practitioners: Business development
The top priorities of forensic and valuation services (FVS) accountants have changed drastically over the past few years, with business development concerns outpacing technical issues, according to a new AICPA study. The 2013 FVS Membership Top Issues Survey found that “bringing in new clients,” the classic business development imperative, ranked
Assurance opportunities broaden
Editor’s note: Beth Schneider is the chair of the AICPA Sustainability Task Force under the Auditing Standards Board. Corporate and public interest in sustainability and climate change issues, and voluntary reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions information, has grown significantly in the United States during the last decade. Companies have
From “write-up” to right profitable
CPA firms for decades saw little upside to providing basic accounting services to business clients. Bookkeeping and other “write-up” activities required extensive data entry and document transfer that chewed up man-hours but did not require much specialized knowledge. Client accounting services (CAS) were seen as commodities that brought with them
Survey: Business development now tops FVS practitioners’ list of concerns
The top priorities of forensic and valuation services (FVS) accountants have changed drastically over the past few years, with business development concerns outpacing technical issues, according to a new AICPA study. The 2013 FVS Membership Top Issues Survey found that “bringing in new clients,” the classic business development imperative, ranked
2012 MAP Survey: Signs of recovery
Accounting firms aren’t all the way back to where they were before the Great Recession, but they are making progress. That’s one of the many findings of note in the 2012 National Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) survey, sponsored by the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section in association with
2012 MAP Survey: A snapshot
The smallest firms have been the biggest winners among U.S. accounting firms during the past two years. That’s one of the findings of the 2012 National MAP (Management of an Accounting Practice) Survey, a biennial benchmarking survey conducted by the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section in conjunction with the Texas
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SPONSORED REPORT
Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season
As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.
From The Tax Adviser
October 31, 2025
Recent developments in estate planning
October 31, 2025
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 2
September 30, 2025
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1
August 30, 2025
