Competition, growth, and client retention continue to be on the top of CPAs minds (along with talent). Several recent studies and surveys offer clues for CPAs looking to kickstart growth and increase retention of their best clients and the opportunities might surprise you. The Top Five Ways are: 1. Proactive Strategic Advice 2. Specialization and expertise 3. Spend more time with your “A” clients 4. Use the Latest and Most Efficient Technology 5. Cross-sell services What is holding you back from these big opportunities? Our Business Learning Institute has been working on an innovative learning system that will teach CPAs how to begin offering practice strategic advice, get future ready, and learn how to anticipate opportunities for them and their clients, to proactively solve problems before they happen. This new learning approach allows you to learn more in less time with a series of very short single-concept videos (2-3 minutes) along with rapid application exercises to apply those concepts to your practice, allowing you to turn your insights into action to offer these new strategic services to your clients and grow your firm. It is the Anticipatory Organization: Accounting and Finance Edition at www.blionline.org/ao

2. TheTop 5 Ways to KeepYour Clients
and GrowYour Practice
• Proactive Strategic Advice
• Specialization and expertise in their industry
• Focus on your best ‘A’ clients
• Use the latest and most efficient technologies
• Communicate your services (cross-sell)

3. www.blionline.org
Source: CPA.COM Insight into the CPA of the
Future Study 2014
Only 8% of CPAs are Future Ready
Future Ready is the capacity
to be aware, predictive, and
adaptive of emerging
challenges, tech innovations,
and trends and changes in
business, population, and
social environment.

4. Only 13% of CPAs Ahead of Curve

5. What
SMBs
Want?
Source:
What
SMBs
Want
from
their
CPA
–
2014
–
The
Sleeter
Group

6. The research: Anticipation is
showing up across our Profession
MACPA
Member
Survey
Top
Challenges
2014
Sleeter
Group
Survey
2014

7. Still not convinced?
• #1 Issue facing CPAs in MACPA-BLI national survey
• 76% of SMB owners say their CPAs are not proactive
• 75% of SMB owners have changed firms due to “reactive
services” instead of proactive advice
• 57% want more business
planning and strategic advice

8. What your customers rally want?
"Increasing the proactive
consultative approach to
business service and
technology information is
one of the most important
factors in improving a firm’s
reputation and the strength
of its relationships.”
- Doug Sleeter

9. www.blionline.org

10. CPAs are trusted advisors who
help business and organizations
shape their future. Combining
insight with integrity they
deliver value by:
• Communicating the total picture
with clarity and objectivity;
• Translating complex information
into critical knowledge;
• Anticipating and creating
opportunities;
• Designing pathways that
transform vision into reality.
Source:AICPA: CPA Horizons 2025 Report

11. “The
faster
we
go,
the
farther
ahead
we
have
to
see…”

12. ANTICIPATION
Strategic
Thinking
External
Awareness
Vision
ConOnuous
Learning
InnovaOon
CreaOvity
Problem
Solving
PrioriOzaOon
Business
Acumen
Decisiveness
Influencing/Persuading
EmoOonal
Intelligence
Consensus
Building
CollaboraOon
InspiraOon
Risk
Management
Anticipation –The Critical Competency
• Anticipating and reacting
to the nature and speed of
change.
• Acting decisively without
always having clear
direction and certainty.
• Navigating through
complexity, chaos, and
confusion.
• Maintaining effectiveness
despite constant surprises
and a lack of predictability.
Source: Conference Board 2015 Ready-Now Leaders Report

13. www.blionline.org/ao

16. Hood's
greatest
a,ribute
isn't
that
he
consistently
glimpses
the
future
more
quickly
than
the
rest
of
us
(though
he
does).
It's
that
he's
able
to
bring
it
back
to
the
present
and
serve
as
its
?reless,
inspiring
and
effec?ve
champion.
– Accounting Today
Tom Hood, CPA, CITP, CGMA
Named the Second Most Influential in Accounting
by Accounting Today Magazine 2013 & 2015
CPA Practice Adviser Accounting Hall of Fame
Top 150 Influencer by Linked-In
Top 25 Influencers in Learning & HR by HR
Examiner
Top 25 Public Accounting Thought Leaders by CPA
Practice Adviser
Working on Learning Management with AICPA/
CPA2Biz, Cloud Curriculum, Performance
Management /XBRL, Leadership & Generations
CEO
Maryland Association of CPAs
(MACPA) www.macpa.org
Business Learning Institute
(BLI) www.blionline.org
http://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhood/