Growth Strategies For Strategic Planning- Spring 2023

Gr wth Strategies

40507 859-402-9769 info@accountingmarketing.org www.accountingmarketing.org

Rhonda Clark AAM Headquarters

Editorial Board Dana Bottorff Committee Co-Chair Anadon Marketing Communications 781-856-3262 editor@accountingmarketing.org

Heather Kunz Committee Co-Chair WBL CPAs + Advisors 770-512-0500

editor@accountingmarketing.org

Janet Berry-Johnson JBJ Media LLC

Christine Downs BerryDunn

Stacy Dreher James Moore & Co.

Katie Funderburk Mauldin & Jenkins

Jacqueline Harnevious Windham Brannon

Ulrike Harrison USH Associates, LLC

Hannah Kubik EisnerAmper

Eileen Monesson PRCounts, llc

Christine Proulx Grzyb Lumsden & McCormick, LLP

Kennady Rabe Barnes Dennig

Richard Shippee Whitman Business Advisors

Maddy Rojo, Publication Designer

Trends and Insights

Key Findings from Inovautus Consulting’s Annual Growth Outlook Survey

The results are in from Inovautus Consulting’s fourth annual Growth Outlook Survey.

Inovautus first launched its survey during the pandemic to gather insights from accounting firms as they developed their strategic growth plans. This year, more than 100 growth professionals submitted responses to the survey from firms across the United States ranging in size from less than $8 million in revenue to firms with over $300 million in revenue.

The survey measures the following areas of growth:

• Firm financials

• Revenue generation

• Budget

• Client culling and growth challenges

• Marketing and sales staff

• Pricing

• Sales efforts

• Key operational support

• Technology

Results of the 2023 survey showed that revenue from non-compliance (advisory and consulting) services was up, even though most firms are seeing capacity issues with too much work and insufficient staff. Many respondents reported they were culling current clients to help adapt to capacity issues, with an average of 4.38% of clients culled in 2022.

What’s exciting about this information is the possibility that firms will take on more profitable engagements to replace culled clients. This strategic replacement will bear multiple benefits for firms.

• Video and digital marketing

• Public relations

Survey respondents also said that pricing was a hot topic. Last year, firms raised rates more than in recent history, largely due to misalignment, staffing shortages and retention issues. The majority increased rates between 5% and 9.9%, with almost one-third raising rates by more than 10%.

Another interesting finding was the addition of administrative fees to client bills to cover the costs of everything from technology to administrative tasks. Administrative fees vary from an average fee of 5% of the total bill to an average of $335 when looking at flat rate options.

When it comes to growth, respondents said their top challenges are:

• Staffing and capacity

• Business development

• Talent acquisition and retention

• Branding

• Technology

Respondents also ranked their top budget areas, which seem to correlate to their growth challenges and include:

• Events and networking

• Internal training

Firms are investing in sales training, but interestingly, few firms host their sales or marketing training in-house. Fifty percent of firms fully outsource their training, while 30% use a hybrid approach with some outsourced options and in-house support, which is ideal for long-term success.

Most firms continue to acquire new business from referrals. Interestingly, referrals from clients edged out referrals from a network. In recent years, firms have emphasized and invested in client service, which seems to generate a greater number of satisfied clients who refer new business to firms.

As firms struggle with capacity issues, it’s not a surprise that marketers are now spending time supporting other operational areas of their firms outside of their traditional marketing roles. Ninety-five percent of respondents

said they are now involved in marketing for recruitment purposes, and more than 30% are involved in coordinating and attending recruiting events. Some are even coordinating interviews with candidates.

Finally, when it comes to marketing technology, the survey showed popular software applications by category:

• CRM — HubSpot

• Marketing automation — HubSpot

• Email marketing — HubSpot

• Communication — Teams

• Practice management — CCH

• Social media — HootSuite

• Design — Microsoft

More than 50% of respondents said they are not currently using any of the following software solutions:

• Marketing automation

• Project management

• Proposal software

• Podcasting software

Most firms not using the above solutions plan to evaluate software in 2023. It appears that marketing teams will be looking to leverage new technology and expand efficiencies by adding to their marketing tech stack.

The role of the marketing and business development practitioner in accounting firms continues to expand. It is clear these roles will play a significant role in the growth strategies of their firms in 2023.

AAM members can download the 48-page report with all findings here: https://inovautusconsulting.com/ thegrowthoutlookreport. Contact AAM headquarters for a discount code.

Sarah Dobek, president, Inovautus Consulting. Contact at marketing@inovautus.com.

Ty Hendrickson, training & development director, Inovautus Consulting. Contact at thendrickson@inovautus.com.

Industry Leaders Predict Major Shifts Are On the Horizon

Eileen Monesson

remain aligned with the firm’s strategic priorities. A best practice is to have a seat at the table when strategies are being defined and priorities are being set. Firm leaders should support this.” As the future unfolds, CPAs and marketers must be able to perform higher-level consulting work, said Gale Crosley, CPA, strategic revenue growth consultant and founder of Crosley+Company.

According to three of Accounting Today’s Most Influential People in Accounting, significant shifts in the profession will reshape the industry, redefine the role of an accountant and bring new opportunities to firms.

Allen Koltin, CPA, CGMA, and CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, said clients today expect their accountants to do much more than prepare a tax return or financial statement.

“Accountants must evolve from being the most trusted advisor to the most valuable advisor,” Koltin said. “This requires partners to be more strategic. They need to be able to help clients grow strategically, run their businesses better and produce greater profitability.”

Angie Grissom, owner, and chief relationship officer with The Rainmaker Companies, agrees that a growing focus on strategy makes marketers more valuable than ever to their firms.

“Accounting marketers are uniquely positioned to address the changing needs of their firms’ clients, prospects, referral sources and team members,” Grissom said. “Marketers must stay informed about these changes and

“Accounting and advisory firms will continue to see lower margins in core compliance services, with much of that work being addressed by technology solutions like AI and bots," Crosley said.

Growth Areas

The industry is changing, and firms must prepare now for the future.

“Accountants need to get into the business of making money unrelated to time,” said Koltin. “There are many services firms can offer where earnings are based on the value provided or as a percentage of the savings or profits.”

Following are five areas for growth that Koltin, Grissom and Crosley said could provide firms with tremendous opportunities:

1. Environmental, Social & Governmental (ESG)

2. Digital Assets

3. Private Equity

4. Chief Growth Officers and Other C-Level Executives

5. Professional Sales Teams

“Client Accounting Services (CAS) is

not on the list but will continue to be a growth area for many firms,” said Crosley.

Environmental, Social & Governmental

More consumers want to do business with companies that have good environmental, social and governmental (ESG) policies. ESG goes beyond awareness of carbon footprints to encompass everything from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to financial transparency. As the trend grows, companies are issuing statements on how they support ESG. All these claims must be documented and verified. No one is better qualified for the job than an auditor.

Marketers can support and expand their firm’s ESG initiatives by getting to know the terminology and latest trends, as well as investigating what other firms are doing, how they market ESG and what they communicate about the unique value they bring. Marketers can also survey clients to determine their needs, conduct focus groups, develop peer networks and use strategic tactics to position the firm as an ESG thought leader. The AICPA offers a Fundamentals of ESG Certificate for those interested in getting up to speed quickly.

Growth in Digital Assets

Digital assets are defined broadly by the IRS as “any digital representation of value which is recorded on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or any similar technology.” Digital assets include, but are not limited to, convertible virtual currency

The accounting industry is about to experience a revolution, and the action has already started to occur on several key fronts.

(cryptocurrency), stablecoins and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

Taxpayers must report digital asset activity, gains and losses on their tax returns. Since there are limited reporting standards for digital assets, accountants are needed to track the transfer of ownership, audit the books, enter debits and credits and do bank reconciliations, among other services.

Marketers can provide value by assessing market needs, surveying clients, collecting competitive intelligence and helping develop, package and promote new product offerings. In addition, savvy marketers will learn everything they can about digital assets so they can provide advice and guidance on leveraging cryptocurrency, blockchain and disruptive technologies like AI and ChatGPT.

Alliance with Private Equity Firms

Private equity investors are changing the industry by infusing firms with cash to finance growth. Although most accounting firms will not have the chance to work with private equity firms, the ones that do will have the capital to acquire competitors, talent and technology. They will also have funds to invest in new products and services.

“Young professionals do not want to wait for a payout. They want a piece of the rock now,” said Koltin. “Instead of waiting 25 years to get a small amount of cash, they can get monetized in ways we never thought possible, thanks to investments from private equity firms.”

Marketers can increase their value by proactively bringing new ideas to the firm. Marketers should watch what is happening in the accounting industry and the industries they serve to uncover shifts in buying behaviors and client needs. Private equity firms look for progressive firms. Being on top of new developments can increase the likelihood that your firm is attractive

to private equity firms, as well as potential M&A partners and the best talent.

Hiring Chief Growth Officers and Other C-Level Executives

Adding positions such as Chief Growth Officer, Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Product Officer will give firms a competitive advantage. These professionals can focus on strategic growth instead of producing work. Bringing in professionals with different skill sets can also help enhance value creation and client retention.

Marketers can provide value by keeping abreast of new developments in the accounting industry, researching trends, determining what clients want and need and learning project management skills. Once again, it is important to collect competitive intelligence. Firms must know what competitors are doing to properly position themselves.

Working with Professional Sales Teams

Accountants make money from recurring and nonrecurring revenue. Recurring revenue is typically generated from tax, accounting and audit work done on an annual basis. Nonrecurring revenue comes from special consulting engagements that may be done once or periodically. Bigger profits generally come from consulting engagements.

While consulting provides more value and higher revenue, it also requires a focused effort on new business development and delivering the work.

“As the mix of non-annuity work tilts to an annuity, there will be fewer auto-renewal projects and a greater mix of one-time projects and retainer engagements,” Crosley said. “Accountants will need a higher level of skill and more resources devoted to keeping the pipeline filled. A few rainmakers will not bring in enough

new business to support the firm. An internal professional sales team can open more doors than a single rainmaker by focusing 100% of their time and effort on sales.”

Marketers can help take prospects through the buyer’s journey and support sales teams with content, education and collateral to enhance the process.

The Bottom Line

Many firms are shifting from compliance to consulting.

“Rethink the firm’s growth strategy and the talent needed to meet or exceed goals,” said Grissom. “Marketing professionals are in a great position to work alongside accounting and consulting professionals to help determine what market needs exist, where the firm can assist and what additional offerings and resources can be made available to clients. To do this, marketers need to understand the firm’s challenges and become part of the solution.”

“There have been more changes in the accounting profession in the past three years than in the past four decades. As a result, firms can no longer ignore major professional shifts if they want to remain relevant,” said Koltin. “Change is better than the status quo.”

Eileen Monesson, CPC, MBA, CEO, PRCounts. Contact Eileen at emonesson@prcounts.com.

Harvey L. Johnson, CPA, CGMA, CISA Partner, Chief Executive Officer

PBMares

Harvey Johnson joined PBMares in October 2003 and currently serves as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer. Prior to taking on the role of CEO, he served as an assurance and consulting partner and leader of the firm’s financial institutions team. Johnson helped to establish the firm’s cybersecurity practice and led its Cyber & Control Risk Services Team until 2020.

How often is PBMares’ strategic plan revisited and revised?

We just started our new strategic plan in January of 2023. Previously, we were on a three-year cycle, but there’s so much packed into those plans we felt that stretching it to the five-year plan was the right approach. Strategic planning used to take us 15 to 18 months. We would be halfway through the last plan and have to start planning for the next one. We brought in an outside consultant to help us facilitate the current plan, which shortened prep time from 15 months to four. The other significant change we made was to bring some of the operations folks to the table, including our CIO, the director of marketing and the director of HR. We felt it was important to have their perspective and subject matter expertise, but also we needed to understand what operational projects were on their plates and how we could create space for them to work on new strategic initiatives. Our new strategic plan has a lot more flexibility and agility in it. We set what we called a “strategic destination;” we know where we want to go, but how we get there is going to evolve over the next five years.

What are the top issues that firms deal with in their strategic planning today?

Two things we’re really struggling with right now are change management and project management. Change management because the pace of change is so fast and the amount of change is overwhelming to our partner group and staff.

Project management is an important issue. As we developed our strategic plan and the initiatives around client experience, employee experience and technology experience, these fall back on the same groups: HR, marketing, IT and our practice leaders. These groups already have pretty heavy day jobs and there is a lot of cross-collaboration required. We recognize it can be difficult if we don’t have a project management

background or function to support and streamline collaboration.

Like most firms today, we’re struggling with talent and technology, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Every merger or acquisition is going to require the same resources; you’re going to need IT, HR and marketing, so those M&A opportunities can put a real strain on the organization and shift focus from our strategic initiatives. How does your firm build nontraditional service development opportunities into your strategic planning process?

If you look at what’s happening in the market space and particularly with the larger firms, almost all those firms have nontraditional CPA services. They are acquiring cybersecurity firms, data analytics companies, companies that do cloud computing, network hosting, outsourced HR, etc. It is definitely part of our strategy. We are looking for cybersecurity companies and all of those other types of consulting services.

What is your marketing department's role in formulating

the strategic plan?

[Marketing] plays a huge role in redefining our client experience. They’ve been instrumental in helping shape the vision of how are we going to redefine “the PBMares’ Way,” and “the PBMares experience” for our clients.

Marketing has been profoundly important in understanding both our CRM needs and our digital online experience. Marketing is pushing us to be more digital, to consider the digital experience, identify how we find new clients and what social media platforms are they on — all things accountants would typically ignore. They show us the data to help answer those questions. Marketing plays a huge part in helping us plan and transform the client experience.

Interview by Katie Funderburk

What are creative ways marketers can help roll out strategic plans to achieve buy-in?

Beyond just tying your marketing strategy and goals back to the overall firm strategy, which is important, marketers have the opportunity to use their unique perspective to get a seat at the table in the creation of the plan. Strategic plans exist as a roadmap for growth, which is the ultimate focus of any marketing department. So, it’s important to utilize that growth perspective, as well as be the voice of a client in the room. As marketers, we are so involved with client experience that we can play the integral role of ensuring that client service is not sacrificed on the path to growth.

Jeshanah Fox, marketing director, Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz CPAs

Getting buy in doesn’t happen when you roll your plan out, it happens at the beginning. Getting input from all staff levels can help provide different perspectives, giving you the best chance of success. Tie your strategic goals to something measurable and if those metrics are tied to something individuals in your firm can control, reward them for achieving the metric. Always be on the lookout for how you can help the team present them in a professional and visually pleasing way. It’s amazing how much more strategic plans can be taken seriously when the presentation is professionally designed.

Tara Davis, marketing manager, Harris CPAs

I have always had success by including key members of the professional staff in the strategic planning process. Securing their ideas and insights gives them a sense of ownership of the plan. This in turn will encourage their support and participation in the plan's roll out and implementation. To further increase buy-in, be sure to keep all the contributors in the loop throughout the planning process. Once the plan is finalized, be sure to point out where their ideas and contributions have been included. Lastly, thank them publicly (i.e., in front of other influential firm professionals), if possible; this will add accountability as well as show them that their contributions were valued and appreciated.

Jonathan Ebenstein, president, Strategic 7 Marketing

Achieving buy-in for a plan’s rollout begins well before the plan is even started. When prioritizing which practices to focus on, work with leadership to consider whether these four ingredients for success are in place: a committed practice leader, an active team, the right technical expertise and a robust market opportunity that aligns with the firm’s objectives. The first factor — a leader to champion the effort — is the most important of all. You can have the best opportunity in the world and the best of intentions, but a strong leader is needed to build excitement, motivate the team and bring accountability.

Jill Jacobs, chief marketing officer, Marcum

Strategies should be personalized to niche and practice focus. The first step is to understand the firm’s growth strategy and which areas they want to grow. Secondly, where are the challenges and hidden opportunities? Marketers should also pay attention to trends in each client industry. When you can match up client industry trends with the desires and personal goals of firm leaders, then you have data to support buy-in on your strategic plan. Research plus communication leads to creative ideas.

If you have related niches, could they co-host a podcast together for valuable cross-promotion?

Objective interviews with leaders are extremely valuable to get creative with your marketing.

Dawn Wagenaar, principal, Ingenuity Marketing Group LLC

Interviews

by Christine

Proulx Grzyb

The Evolving Role of Marketers: From Marketing Tactician to Growth Strategist

Janet Berry-Johnson

Focus on Strategy

Today, firm leaders recognize the importance of aligning marketing and business development around strategy.

What’s the difference? Strategy is the path from where your firm is now to where you want to be, while tactics are the specific actions you’ll take to serve the strategy.

These two types of marketing professionals bring different skills to the table — a distinction some firm leaders have historically overlooked. But times are changing.

The Disconnect

Marketing strategy hasn’t always been top of mind in accounting firms. In the past, a partner who “likes marketing” might have overseen the firm’s growth strategies. Others might hire marketing talent based on their tactical marketing skills — designing a website, writing content, managing social media or creating digital marketing campaigns.

In both cases, these professionals are highly skilled in their areas of expertise but don’t necessarily know how to look at the big picture to achieve the firm’s long-term goals. There’s a disconnect when firm leaders fill marketing roles based on interest or tactical skill but expect those hires to drive long-term growth strategies.

Fortunately, many successful firms are now making that connection.

“My efforts are around keeping us focused more on the strategic side,” said Adam Klein, chief growth officer at Bennett Thrasher. “Obviously, the tactical has to get done. But I see value in combining the business development and marketing functions into a singular growth organization. Marketing is the function, but it’s not the goal. Our goal is to grow the firm and marketing is a means by which we do that. To me, the value that marketing brings is the strategic outlook.”

Klein isn’t the only one who recognizes the advantages of aligning marketing and sales.

“That’s where a big part of the shift has occurred for professional services firms,” said Robert Duffield, director of client engagement and growth at McKonly & Asbury. “We've been doing this marketing stuff and we've had pretty good results, but not great results. So, the addition of professional sales and business development people has been a big shift. It used to be only the big four and the national firms had professional business development."

How Essential is Marketing Education When Hiring New Talent?

It's no longer enough to have a partner or team member who "likes

marketing" heading up the firm's marketing team. To be successful, accounting marketers need to understand the complexities of today's changing landscape. While tactical skills can be learned on the job, a marketing education provides the necessary skills to create and implement a marketing strategy.

"Even as a CGO, there is a lot of nuanced stuff that I truly don't understand,” Klein said. “I've got a high-level understanding of branding, web optimization, Google search analytics and content strategy. But where we really start to see firms set themselves apart is by having those professional marketers with experience, background and expertise. They know this stuff certainly better than the firm's partners, but probably even better than some homegrown marketers."

Kate Harry Shipham, principal at KHS People, an executive search firm for senior business development and marketing talent, believes that the practical experience gained in a professional service firm — in addition to a marketing education — is invaluable.

"A degree is often the theoretical foundation. After this, layering on practical experience is how the industry’s most sought-after marketing and business development talent gets to the highest,” Harry Shipham said. "Professional services firms are unique. They are nuanced. There is a different type of hierarchy, partner dynamics and revenue targets. Nothing can substitute

When building a marketing team, firms need strategic and tactical talent to achieve their goals.

practical learning, observing and complete immersion into that world. Once these puzzle pieces fall into place for a marketer, they can leverage all that knowledge."

For Duffield, professional development opportunities — like those offered by the AAM Summit — can help fill any gaps and sharpen marketers' skills.

"The nature of marketing is changing so quickly," Duffield said. "We are in a highly and increasingly competitive arena. Continuing education is so critical because how people get information has changed and it's changing how people make decisions. So how do we create a customer experience to address those things if we're not paying attention? That's where education comes in. If we're not paying attention to those trends, we're not winning."

Finding the Right Fit

Of course, education and experience don't make a marketer a strategic thinker. Mindset is really the

differentiator. So, how can firms looking for a strategist find the right fit?

For Klein, it's all about curiosity. "It's that willingness to question and challenge the status quo," Klein said. "The folks we're looking at have to have the skill set. But more importantly, I'm looking for them to be someone who's thinking past the immediate task."

Fortunately, that skill can be taught, as Klein demonstrated with a recent example from his team. Recently, a partner reached out to a Bennett Thrasher marketing team member and asked for their help with an email campaign.

"I'm fairly certain that six months ago or nine months ago, that marketer would have said, 'Sure, when do you want to start?' Today, she wrote back to that partner and said, 'Hey, can we get on a call and talk about this? I'd like to understand what your goal is,'” Klein said. “That's the message I've been trying to push to my team: let's

dig deeper. Why do you want to do that campaign? What are you looking to accomplish? We can find plenty of tacticians, but strategic thinkers are more challenging."

Harry Shipham helps her clients find strategic thinkers by looking for talent in firms that already take a big-picture approach to growth and have a historically strong business development culture. And she doesn't limit her search to the existing accounting marketing community.

"These strategic folks can also come over from another industry," Harry Shipham said. "For example, a marketer from a law firm can do really well in a CPA firm because they're typically accustomed to a higher-stress environment with lots of competing dynamics and deadlines. If this person hasn't had experience with accounting before, that can work in their favor because they have completely fresh eyes. But the firm needs to be ready for that perspective. Otherwise, it won’t work."

The takeaway is that the best marketing teams are a mix of strategic thinkers and doers. By carefully curating your team with this in mind, you will help your firm accelerate growth.

Janet Berry-Johnson, CPA, freelance technical and content writer. Contact at jberryjohnson@gmail.com

Michelle (Golden) River

On your website you use the phrase “anticipate tomorrow.” Are accounting firms getting better at that as they shift to more consultative advisory services?

“Anticipate tomorrow” refers to being proactive versus reactive as an organization. Firms can introduce structure into their operations that move them to be anticipatory, first as a habit, then eventually as a culture. Start this industry by industry and let this inform strategic planning.

The anticipatory firm (a term coined by author Daniel Burrus) looks at hard trends and creates solutions and products around what others aren’t addressing yet.

I suspect the shift to formally selling advisory services has been more reactionary than anticipatory, thus far. Only a handful of firms stretch and create a service before it’s in demand, which is what being truly “anticipatory” gets us to.

You are well-known for helping firms transition to a value pricing model. How do firms build strategic plans around value pricing?

I think the term “value pricing” is often misunderstood. The word “value” has come to be associated with cheap or low cost. Instead, I describe the end goals as worth-based pricing and pricing in advance — both of which are core to my Advanced Pricing Methods®.

Worth-based means worth it to the buyer and worth it to the firm. We shouldn’t propose our bottom-dollar price or a price at a buyer’s max ROI level. An optimal price is somewhere in between. Most importantly, while our bottom-dollar amount certainly takes our time commitment into consideration, our actual price is predicated on the buyer’s perceived ROI, which has nothing at all to do with how long it takes to do the work. Customers deserve to know prices up front, and we can give them this trust-building courtesy.

Routinely arriving at prices ahead of doing the work is new territory for most practitioners. Experimenting is great but when

firms want to adopt the approach firm-wide, buy-in is important. They achieve this by aligning the initiative with strategic-plan objectives, vision and brand commitments.

Is the shift to worth-based pricing usually part of a larger evolution in a firm?

Yes! Changing the revenue model changes the business model. Firms see positive culture shifts and deeper, more trusting client relationships as well as improved financial performance. The holistic approach of packaging increases collaboration across service lines which breaks down silos and strengthens industry niches.

What else changes when a firm transitions to a worth-based pricing model?

Self-worth increases dramatically. Today’s CPAs are the fourth or fifth generation of accountants taught that they sell their time, which is false. They sell outcomes and results: dreams achieved and problems resolved. Both are far more valuable than an hour is. Their confidence grows as they start to secure work at prices related to ROI instead of time, plus they feel more valued and appreciated by clients.

Another huge change is viewing what they do from the client’s perspective. Many CPAs have told me the new focus on their works’ purpose — what it accomplishes for the buyer — has reinvigorated their passion for their careers.

How do you quantify the value of a service?

Value is subjective and the only relevant judge of your service’s worth is your buyer. To complicate things, the value is fluid—it’s worth more one day than it is another. And if you have multiple decision-makers, they likely view the value differently.

As sellers, we can raise the perception of value by providing context, telling stories about similar clients in similar situations and helping them see their issues differently. Don’t price your product, price the customer. That is the secret behind worthbased pricing.

Michelle (Golden) River, CPF, is a growth and profitability strategist who has worked with accounting and advisory firms for nearly 30 years helping them implement new business and revenue models based upon outcomes. River’s Advanced Pricing Methods® (APM) are in use at CPA firms of all sizes. An AAM Hall of Fame inductee, River also has been named among the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting by Accounting Today and among the 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Content Creation Tools

The use of content as a strategic instrument for attracting and retaining clients isn’t going out of style in 2023. What is evolving are the tools that capitalize on SEO, personalization, elevating creativity and efficiency. The use of artificial intelligence, or AI, for pumping out search engine optimized, “original” content in a short period of time is trending in nearly every industry.

AI has been around for decades, but due to an increased investment in software and machine learning, as well as improvements in natural language processing tools, businesses are turning to AI tools to supplement their writing, editorial and creative staff or when the dreaded writer’s block hits.

Accounting marketers recently shared insights into how they are using AI tools for content creation:

A content generator to use for blogs, articles, video scripts, headlines, list generation and social media posts.

A text-to-speech generator that allows the user to export audio to mp3. It knows more than 65 languages and has more than 400 voices to choose from.

Article generator that writes unique (not plagiarized), SEOoptimized, long-form articles. In a single click, users receive 1,500+ word articles.

An AI system that can create images based on a text description. It does this by combining concepts, attributes and styles. For example, you could write “I want an astronaut riding a horse in a photorealistic style,” and that’s what you’d get.

This text editing tool comes in handy when you need another set of eyes — computer eyes, that is — to tighten up your writing. Each piece of content gets a readability score based on the average length of sentences and words.

Free – at least for now.

Flexible pricing models available.

Flexible pricing models available.

Currently free to use, but there is a catch. You're allotted 50 free credits during your first month's use and 15 free credits after that.

As a Chrome extension, this tool is free.

Expect kinks with any new technology, and AI tools for content creation are no different. For example, CNET, a prominent technology news website, published an AI-generated article with significant errors. What this shows us is that there’s always going to be a need for human scrutiny and oversight. AI is here to support, not replace, knowledgeable content creators.

Hannah Kubik

Rise Above the Challenges: Planning for Firm Growth in 2023

to business growth. Some of the top threats include:

Uncertainty in the domestic and global economies.

recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2023. Many firms and industries were expecting business to return to prepandemic levels, but it will not.

It involves assessing the external environment for threats and opportunities before identifying potential strategic actions.

Challenges to Firm Growth

In 2023, accounting and advisory firms face several looming threats

Economic uncertainty and instability can make it difficult for firms to plan for growth, especially for consulting and advisory services because firms may face forecasting challenges about future demand for these services.

Failure to rebound to prepandemic levels.

The pandemic significantly impacted the global economy and many businesses are still struggling to

Increased competition from nontraditional sources.

With the rapid rise of remote and online work, more players in the market are offering accounting services in this manner, which can lead to increased competition for traditional firms. Taking remote work a further step, offshoring can challenge pricing models for traditional, commoditized services.

Strategic planning is crucial for growth in the accounting and advisory industry.

The increasing role of technology. It can be challenging for firms to keep up with the latest technology developments and trends, particularly with artificial intelligence's (AI) explosive growth in late 2022 and early 2023. AI applications can be far-reaching, with new use cases and applications hitting the market daily, it seems.

The regulatory environment. Changes in tax laws present opportunities for compliance and tax strategy but can require firms to invest more resources to stay abreast of changes and adapt to meet client needs.

Talent attraction and retention.

One of the continuing threats to accounting and advisory firm growth is the ongoing challenge for firms to attract and retain top talent. In a labor-intensive industry such as accounting, overcoming capacity restraints due to labor can be crucial for firm growth and success.

Industry mergers.

Mergers and consolidation in the industry will decrease the number of independent firms, making it harder for small and independent firms to compete. This may lead to reduced profitability, market share and, potentially, the exit of some of these businesses from the industry.

Strategies to Address Growth Challenges

By monitoring the economic conditions and being proactive in addressing potential threats, firms can position themselves for success in the future. Consider the following growth strategies to meet threats to business growth head-on:

Build a strong brand and reputation.

One of the most important growth strategies for accounting and advisory firms is building a solid brand presence. Now is the time to have a point-of-view in your marketing and build the strength of your reputation.

Ensure that your positioning as experts is clear and increase your visibility to your audiences. Offering your clients resources and information helps build trust and loyalty in an economic downturn.

Invest in long-term relationships with clients.

Now is not the time to have a shortterm view of client and engagement profitability. Firms should consider the history of client relationships and the potential customer lifetime value. Prioritize high-value client relationships and look for ways to add value to them. For example, conduct strategic planning workshops and offer forecasting and scenario analysis to assist clients in evaluating their options and best courses of action. Also, invest in maintaining and deepening personal relationships with clients. They may be facing hardships and they will remember the trusted advisors that were there for them.

Offer cloud-based or hybrid service models.

With the rise of cloud-based accounting software and online tools, more clients are opting for digital solutions over traditional inperson services. To stay competitive, firms need to be prepared either to offer cloud-based services or a hybrid model. Firms can invest in their own cloud-based software and technology to increase efficiency and reduce costs. By being proactive, firms can attract and retain clients looking for a more modern and efficient approach to accounting.

Use automation for a competitive advantage.

Another growth strategy for accounting firms is to use automation for competitive advantage. Automation and AI can increase efficiency and reduce costs, particularly for repetitive data-driven tasks. It also can help firms improve the client experience. By automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, firms free up their staff to focus on

higher-value tasks such as advisory services and client relationship management, improve the accuracy of data and reduce the risk of errors.

To implement automation, firms should explore AI tools that use Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and machine learning. It's essential to evaluate the options available and select the best one for your firm's needs, as well as make sure that the team is trained and ready to use the new tools.

Be Informed and Flexible

As the economy and business environment change, it's important for firms to be aware of the potential challenges to their growth. By staying informed and being flexible in their strategies, accounting firms can navigate these challenges and position themselves for success in the future.

Apoorv Dwivedi, president & strategic marketing advisor, Fixyr. Contact at apoorv@fixyr.com.

Corner

How do you advise marketers to take on a more strategic role in their companies? Consultants’

As firms offer more advisory and consultative services, marketing departments are becoming a hub of progress and innovation. With the increasing use of automation and analytics, marketers can take a more strategic role by turning data and metrics into strategic insights. By understanding what is driving numbers of subscribers, open rates, clicks, website traffic, event attendance, social media engagement trends and more, marketers can provide data-based feedback on what is resonating with existing and prospective clients. This allows for more refined marketing efforts that result in high-quality marketing leads. The success of this strategic role is best achieved by ensuring that marketers are intentionally involved in internal conversations to create alignment with firm goals and objectives.

Arianna Campbell Boomer Consulting, Inc. arianna.campbell@boomer.com

There is a good reason to get marketers more involved in strategic thinking. Our annual study of the fastest growing, most profitable firms shows that their marketing teams are more involved in a wider range of non-traditional activities, such as recruiting, setting pricing and strategy development.

To make your work more strategic we suggest relating each of the marketing practices to the business goals they're aimed at achieving. It's important to do this on a repeated basis to make the connection clear to all your stakeholders. We also suggest putting a strong emphasis on tracking results. This tells the entire organization that your intentions are strategic.

Lee Frederiksen Hinge Marketing lfrederiksen@hingemarketing.com

Most marketers must initially ask to be part of strategic discussions. If a partner or other firm leadership meeting is scheduled, ask if the firm’s growth strategy is on the agenda. If it is, you need to ask to be there for that part of the discussion (if not for the whole meeting) when strategy is covered. This will likely be uncomfortable for you (it was for me); but make your case by explaining that you cannot drive strategy if you don’t hear what is desired.

Join the first meeting and listen. Afterward, share what you learned and what you can do with that knowledge. Over time you won’t have to ask to participate; you will just get invited. And soon your opinions will be sought after, too.

Katie Tolin CPA Growth Guides katie@cpagrowthguides.com

Interviews by Richard Shippee

In2022, 16% of corporateCFOswere women,thehighest percentageever reported,and 8% of CEOswerewomen.

Source: CristKolderVolatilityReport

Themarketing methodconsidered mostimportantby accountingand financialfirms:

1. Onlinereviews

2. Websites

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*Wordofmouthhasdroppedto thirdsincelastyear

Source: CPASiteSolutions

Source: PwCPulseSurvey Globalcorporate spendingonartificial intelligence(AI) increased 38% in2021 over2020,from $67.8 billion to $93.5billion.

Source: Statista

Googleprocessesapproximately 63,000 searcheseverysecond,totaling 5.6billion searchesperday. CompiledbyHeatherKunzandDanaBottorff

Source: Hubspot

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