february2021 - 7

COVER STORY

SEASON
THE TRAP OF BUSY SEASON

It's easy to fall into the putting out fires category.
This time of year tends to be stressful for many
firms as they spend a lot of their time and energy
getting tax returns, payroll reports, W-2s, 1099s
and financial statements out the door. There's
always a client to follow up with, e-file authorizations to chase down, or phone calls and emails
to return.
In the past year, many firms have improved
their processes out of necessity. Due to the pandemic, firms needed to be able to collaborate while
working remotely, send and receive information
from clients digitally. As some offices reopen, this
move toward digital transformation continues
to offer benefits. But when you free up capacity
with process and technology, what do you plan
on doing with the time you gain? If your answer
is using that extra capacity to complete more tax
returns and audits, you're missing the point of
this transformation.
Counterintuitive as it may sound, busy season
can be the best time to deepen relationships
with clients and identify additional advisory
and consulting services. This is often the time
when your firm is top of mind with clients, so
it's a perfect opportunity to get some face-to-face
time with them (even via video conference) and
discover ways that you can add value and help
meet their needs.
Although you might not want to think about
adding more work to your plate right now, the
opportunities and services you identify during

this season can help keep you busy - and your
firm profitable and relevant - during the rest of the
year. You need to shift your mindset from simply
getting through the next few months to igniting
a flame that will power a transformation for your
firm's business model.

IDENTIFYING NEW SERVICE
OFFERINGS
Some of the biggest opportunities for CPAs to
expand their service offerings beyond transactional and compliance work can be identified
during this time. For example, you might talk to
a client about internal controls and learn that the
client could use some help selecting and implementing a new accounting solution. Finding out
the client purchased a building in the past year
could lead to a cost segregation study. Talking to
clients about their business goals could lead to
strategic planning or human resources consulting
engagement.
Unfortunately, even when CPAs identify these
opportunities and have every intention of following up with clients after busy season, time pressures force them to focus only on the immediate
tax return or audit. Those services might comprise
a big portion of your firm's revenue stream, but
it's not sustainable. If you don't have a plan to
add high-value services beyond tax and audit,
you need one.
Remember, it's far more cost-effective to keep
an existing client - and expand the number of
services the client purchases from you - than it

is to acquire a new client. Yet, most accounting
firms leave revenue on the table because their
existing clients use only one or two of the firm's
service offerings.
Adding new services can increase your firm's
revenue from existing clients and reduce the
likelihood that they'll start shopping around for
a new firm. Even if you can't jump into these
engagements immediately, you can get them into
your sales funnel if your firm has a process for
business development.
Make business development part of the client
management team approach. Start by identifying existing staff members with solid sales skills
and training them on business development. If
someone on your team identifies a client's needs
but doesn't have the time or expertise to pursue
potentially offering a new service, it can be funneled to your business development team.
The time for simply looking for efficiency in
your firm's operations has passed. Successful firms
use this time of year to identify opportunities to
truly shift their business models. What will you
do this busy season to light a fire for your firm? ■
As a shareholder, consultant, and Lean
Six Sigma Black Belt for Boomer Consulting, Inc., Arianna Campbell helps
accounting firms challenge the status
quo by leading process improvement
initiatives that result in increased
profitability and client satisfaction.
She also facilitates the development
and cultivation of future firm leaders
in The P3 Leadership Academy.

FEBRUARY 2021 ■

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

february2021

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