The fastest way to grow your firm this year

What else can you do for your current clients? That’s a key question to ask in order to grow revenue instead of solely focusing on new leads. Read on to learn more, plus find out how to build a firm culture that supports employee caregivers and what the results of a new survey reveal about the accounting industry.

But first, find out why a third of accounting new-hires quit within the first year on the job (and, of course, some solutions to implement in your own firm).

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New client growth only accounts for 20% of an accounting firm’s growth, according to Amy Franko. So where does the other 80% come from? Your best bet is organic growth from existing clients. 

Don’t assume long-term clients are a sure thing. Map their needs across industries and assess their future priorities to make sure you don’t lose them to competitors. Instead of solely building an industry brand, make sure current clients see your “industry behavior.” Franko says the firm should have coordinated visibility around both the client and their broader industry. Also, make sure your infrastructure evolves alongside those prominent client industries. 

Why this matters: It may seem natural to continually chase after the next new client. But neglecting your current clients leaves a huge missed opportunity to expand your relationships and services with deeper work that naturally grows your firm's revenue. (Inside Public Accounting)

Whether you’re caring for young children, aging parents or both, many accountants are facing challenges in advancing their careers and businesses during this stage of life. Donny Shimamoto discusses the importance of fostering a culture of belonging by recognizing the reality of caregiving. 

Historically, workplace systems would hamper professional advancement when a team member needed to reduce hours or slow their career trajectory. But offering flexibility that’s backed by a culture of caring can help these talented individuals stay in the game. Creating a support system that feels sincere can help with loyalty and long-term retention among your best employees.

Why this matters: Work-life balance has always been the hardest part of being an accountant. Smaller firms have the ability to not only build in policies to support caregiving employees, but also demonstrate their support in a meaningful way. (CPA Practice Advisor)

Increase in retail sales since last year (Connect Money)

About 98% of accountants say they love their work, according to a new nationwide accounting survey from Progress Software. The most reported reasons? Problem-solving, stability and impact. And the biggest priority for individuals and firms alike is client experience. But half cite difficulty in delivering because of operational inefficiencies.

The report also found that AI has become mainstream and is helping firms scale by summarizing documents, routing workflows and enhancing security. Even so, 61% of accountants don’t believe that their document exchange is as secure as they’d like.

Why this matters: Reports like these help you benchmark your firm against competitors. While you don’t need to throw your current strategy out the window if it doesn’t align with a survey, it gives you an idea of where other firms are investing and where you may want to move toward in the future. (Business Insider)

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The Net Gains is written and curated by Lauren Ward and edited by Bianca Prieto.