Research Reports

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In the current economic climate, to keep existing clients as well as to acquire new business, CPA firms, more than ever, require information about what their clients want — and what makes them happy.

According to a recent survey, 80% of all unhappy clients will never do business with that firm again and only 4% will let the firm know about their displeasure.

Fortunately, there are many different indicators that can be used to measure client satisfaction.

To help you benchmark if your firm’s clients are happy with the services you are providing, how you can improve, and what other firms are doing to retain and increase their business, IOMA Research has created a report that delves into top issues facing CPA firms of all sizes, such as:

• challenges your clients are facing right now
• longevity of the business relationships
• reasons clients change CPA firms
• rating the quality of your client relationships
• what additional services your clients might welcome
• frequency of communication with your client
• assessment of fees and referrals

With over 100 pages and 30 tables, you’ll find all the key statistics you need for creating or enhancing your client service plan, such as:

• Happy clients stay with their CPA firms: among survey respondents, the relationship lasts 12.8 years on average.

• The relationship with the lead partner serving clients is important, but so is the relationship with the firm: 82.2 percent of clients told us that they would stay with their CPA firm even if that lead partner retired or became unavailable.

• Fees may not be as big an issue as you fear: 54.7 percent of clients believe that CPA firm fees are “just about right for what we receive.” Another 28.0 percent see fees as being “on the high side, but it is worth paying more for the value we receive.” That’s a total of 82.7 percent that are content with the fees they pay their CPA firms.

• The most common ways CPA firms communicate with their clients include newsletters (received by 58.9 percent of clients), e-mail updates (49.3 percent), and regular telephone calls and in-person meetings (46.6 percent).

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