june2021 - 4

FROM THE EDITOR
On Being a Cook and an Accountant
When customizing your own practice and service offerings, it's imperative
that you focus on services that are going to appeal to your clients.
MY NIECE HAS a 12-year-old daughter who enjoys cooking. I learned this week that my
niece's daughter " looks with disdain " on those who use mixes in lieu of collecting and
measuring actual ingredients. I get that. There is something deeply satisfying about making
magic out of basic ingredients. Then you can add your own special touches, create dishes
that are tasty and nourishing, and feed yourself, your family and your friends.
The same theory can apply to
working with our clients. Sure,
there are cookie-cutter businesses
out there that will automate various
accounting and tax processes, and
that's fine. Even in cooking, I'm
okay with not having to mill my
flour, crystalize my sugar, harvest
my salt, build my fire. Short-cuts
allow us to concentrate on the more
customizable parts of our process;
we can add our personal touches
that work best for us as well as the
recipients of our services.
When customizing your own
practice and service offerings,
it's imperative that you focus on
services that are going to appeal
to your clients. In this month's
magazine, we discuss various ways
in which you can add financial
planning to your existing services.
Especially as tax accountants, a lot
of what we do involves financial
planning anyway. Taking the leap to
make this an actual service line in
your practice is not such a big step.
When you prioritize the needs
of your clients and listen to their
concerns, it's easy to determine
the services that they need. The
questions then become, are you
capable of offering those services,
should you partner with someone
else who can work alongside you to
provide the services, do you hire an
CPA
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Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm
NSA
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VOLUME 31, NUMBER 5
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Editor-in-Chief: Gail Perry, CPA
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Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP
Kristy Short
Randy Johnston
Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP
Paul McDonald
Amy Vetter, CPA.CITP, CGMA
Becky Livingston
Garrett Wagner, CPA.CITP
Richard D. Alaniz, J.D.
Mary Girsch-Bock
Editorial Advisory Board:
Jim Bourke, CPA.CITP, CGMA, CFF
Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP, CGMA, MBA
Bob Cedergren, CPA.CITP, CGMA, CISA
Randy Johnston, MCS
Greg LaFollette, CPA.CITP, CGMA
Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA
Doug Sleeter
Sandra Wiley, PHR, SPHR
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expert in certain areas?
Adding a new service line takes
care and planning on your part as
you determine how to make the
service available and incorporate
it into your practice, how to price
it, how to market it. Don't be afraid
to beta-test by providing the new
service to a small group of clients as
you work through the way in which
the service will unfold and the way
in which the clients benefit from
the service. Just as you add your
own special ingredients to a dish
you're cooking, creating a specialized
service requires sampling and
improving over time.
And just as the cook who uses
his own experience and expertise
to make intelligent decisions about
how to enhance a dish or add to an
existing menu, we accountants have
Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm
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GAIL PERRY, CPA
Editor-in-Chief
gail.perry@cpapracticeadvisor.com
@gperrycpa
the knowledge to expand our services
based on our own education
and experience. Restaurants add
to their menus frequently in order
to keep regular customers coming
back and to attract new customers.
We can do the same thing with our
practices.
Without progress, without evolution,
we stay in the same place,
doing the same tasks, offering the
same services to our clients that
we offered years ago. If your clients
need more than you are offering,
and if you're concerned that they
might venture elsewhere to find
those services, it's time to assess
what's on your menu and consider
expanding to include new options
that will satisfy your existing clients
and will attract new ones as well. ■
- Gail Perry, CPA, Editor-in-Chief
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4 JUNE 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

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