Mark Wickersham FCA is a Chartered Accountant and public speaker. He is well known for being an excellent profit improvement expert in the accounting community.
Mark is also a widely published author on practice issues. In May 2011 his first book, “Effective Pricing for Accountants”, was a number 1 Amazon bestseller.
In 2015 Mark was shortlisted in the AccountingWeb “Outstanding Contribution to Accounting” award.
Not only is this the future it's here now. Jason makes so much sense and I love the stories.
Jason is right, the cloud sceptics will resist. But this is happening. It's no different to dozens of other changes... many accountants hated the idea of social media, but now it's extremely rare to find an accountant without a LinkedIn profile. Most accountants I work with now actively use Facebook (one of the most powerful marketing tools for accountants) and yet 3 years ago everyone was sceptical.
Trying to resist cloud technology is as futile as King Canute. There will come a point when all software companies stop supporting desktop applications.
I don't profess to be an expert on auditing, however, on the question of pricing I think it is very, very dangerous to get into a price war.
There will always be someone out there that will undercut you on price... don't play that game. Firstly, it seriously erodes your margins, secondly those clients that choose you on price will be the first to leave you when somebody else comes along with a lower price, so your client loyalty is less and finally, lower prices may lead to cutting corners in an attempt to meet budgets which will compromise the quality of the audit work.
So accept the fact that there will be people that will try to undercut you on price. Instead focus on the quality of what you do.
A couple of months ago I wrote a book on pricing for accountants and you'll find some really useful ideas on how to differentiate yourself. If you would like a completely free copy of my book you can order a copy here www.freepricingbook.co.uk/acc. I hope that helps.
My answers
If you want any help with implementing value pricing in your firm feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and I'll send you some resources.
This is the future
Not only is this the future it's here now. Jason makes so much sense and I love the stories.
Jason is right, the cloud sceptics will resist. But this is happening. It's no different to dozens of other changes... many accountants hated the idea of social media, but now it's extremely rare to find an accountant without a LinkedIn profile. Most accountants I work with now actively use Facebook (one of the most powerful marketing tools for accountants) and yet 3 years ago everyone was sceptical.
Trying to resist cloud technology is as futile as King Canute. There will come a point when all software companies stop supporting desktop applications.
Great YouTube channel
You've got a great YouTube channel, James. It's not surprising you're seeing benefits.
Charging for audits
I don't profess to be an expert on auditing, however, on the question of pricing I think it is very, very dangerous to get into a price war.
There will always be someone out there that will undercut you on price... don't play that game. Firstly, it seriously erodes your margins, secondly those clients that choose you on price will be the first to leave you when somebody else comes along with a lower price, so your client loyalty is less and finally, lower prices may lead to cutting corners in an attempt to meet budgets which will compromise the quality of the audit work.
So accept the fact that there will be people that will try to undercut you on price. Instead focus on the quality of what you do.
A couple of months ago I wrote a book on pricing for accountants and you'll find some really useful ideas on how to differentiate yourself. If you would like a completely free copy of my book you can order a copy here www.freepricingbook.co.uk/acc. I hope that helps.