Three Things You (The Client) Need to Ask of Us (Your CPA)

We get comfortable, don’t we? Our habits become like our sofas after we have sat too long in one spot. They fit us like well-worn jeans, the ones that we hate to get rid of, even when they don’t look as good as they used to. As a CPA, our habits can hurt not only us but our clients.

I will take the blame for my comfortable habits, but I want you to do the same. Here are three things you can start doing differently today, as my client.

You must ask me to show you the value in what I do for you.

The days of my firm interacting with you in a strictly transactional manner are soon coming to an end.  There is a minimal amount of value in my working with you ONLY to provide tax returns, or financial statements that we don’t discuss and you only file away in the folder on your hard drive marked “Misc Business Information.” Those are comfortable services for us. There is more value in accessing our knowledge for business advisory services, tax planning and cash flow management, since all of those things help you keep more of your money. You need to ask us to show you the true impact of what we can do for you.

You need to embrace new technologies, and push us to make them work for you.

We spend a great deal of time researching new technology for our office, making sure that we take away redundancies and build new effective and efficient ways to do our work. When we find something that works, we share it.  Do you remember when you got that letter from your bank, outlining how you were required to work with them now, because of new security measures? Do you remember how resentful you were? I understand completely. But, sometimes these changes are necessary and in our case, we bring you these ideas to help you do your work better. Let us show you some new ideas and then push us to show them how they’ll make you more profitable.

Once you ask us for value, which includes new technologies, make us a part of your team.

We have a client who has been with us now for over two years, and in the first three months of working together he put us on his company’s organizational chart. That’s what we want from you, only after we have proven we belong there.

We want to be regarded as part of your family and an integral part of your team. No one works harder than us, except maybe you, to ensure your success. With your help, we'll get there.