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Attempts at Growth Falling Flat at Half of Top 100 Accountancy Firs

20th Jun 2013
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New research from CaseWare, a leading accounting and financial reporting software provider, shows that attempts at growth at half of the Top 100 accountancy practices are falling flat, while others are confidently growing new and existing clients.

While over 90% of respondents to CaseWare's quarterly survey in April of accountants in the Top 100 practices said that their firms were undertaking initiatives to cross-sell more services to existing clients and gain more new clients, nearly half did not know how successful they were.

By contrast, about one-tenth of accountants felt their firm is ambitious, with a strong emphasis on achieving growth rather than controlling costs.

Cross-selling to existing clients

While 96% said their firm was seeking growth through greater cross-selling, 60% of respondents either did not know how their firm was doing or felt it was not successful (46% were unclear whether it was proving successful or not, 38% said it was proving successful, 11% felt their firm's initiatives were not successful, and 4% said their firm was not doing this).

Targeting new clients

It is a similar story with initiatives to gain new clients. While 96% said their firm is doing this, but 54% of respondents were either unsure if their firm was being successful or felt it was not working.

On the positive side, firms got a vote of confidence from many respondents, with 60% feeling their firm had a clear and successful strategy towards growth.  In addition, 14% felt their firm was "muddling through" successfully. It wasn't such good news from the remainder of respondents, with 19% unconvinced their firm's strategy was successful and 4% feeling their firm's strategy was unclear.

Simon Warren, Managing Director at CaseWare said, "At many firms there is a clear strategy for protecting and growing market share that is working, which is being well communicated throughout their firm.  For firms aiming to achieve the difficult balance of simultaneously growing while controlling costs, this is only possible on a sustained basis with smarter, more efficient systems."

Simon Warren: "However, the lack of awareness amongst so many respondents of how their firm is doing sends a worrying message.  At the minimum it shows poor communication of success but, more likely, it shows that there is not much to shout about at these firms and the growth initiatives at many firms are simply not working."

"Given the flat market and so many accountancy firms trying to grow their client base, practices need to urgently consider if they are investing enough - not only in winning new clients and cross-selling initiatives, but also in retaining their current business."

CaseWare's quarterly research surveys accountants in the top 100 UK practices on issues that are important to their working lives.  The research was undertaken in April 2013.

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