Ohio Society launches Proud 2B a CPA campaign.

Building and implementing strategies that promote the value of working with a CPA

The AICPA offers members a plethora of resources to assist in their practices. For example, resources available on the AICPA Information Technology Center provide CPA firms with guidance related to identify theft.

The guidance offered on the AICPA Information Technology Center Web site covers considerably more than information about identity theft. The center helps members and the accounting community leverage technology to provide expertise in information assurance, internal controls, business process improvement, data analytics, and enhanced business reporting.

Less technical, perhaps, than many of the resource centers developed by the AICPA is the Web site created by the AICPA's communications team. The site has long supported AICPA members' marketing efforts by providing the CPA Marketing Tool Kit. The purpose of the tool kit is to help members promote their practices and services by providing them with resources and information to assist in marketing and communications efforts. The tool kit is accessible online at www.aicpa.org/Professional+Resources/CPA+Marketing+Toolkit/.

Some state societies have followed the AICPA's approach of providing members with Web sites focused on practice and services guidance. Recently, for example, the Ohio Society of CPAs (OSCPA) launched a similar Web site, which also includes a tool kit. The goal of the launch is to assist OSCPA members in their efforts to promote their public image and services as CPAs.

The CPA's Value and Distinction

In many respects, the OSCPA campaign follows the lead of the AICPA marketing tool kit. However, the primary focus of the OSCPA effort is to help CPAs promote the value of their CPA licenses and distinguish themselves from other non-certified accounting professionals. The program provides guidance on how to effectively market CPA practices and covers marketing fundamentals, from building a marketing plan to using tactics such as advertising, direct mail, social media, and community outreach to promote a CPA's image as an expert financial advisor.

OSCPA's Proud 2B a CPA tool kit serves as a marketing guide to explain the ground a CPA practice can cover when promoting a practice. The OSCPA tool kit includes templates and other resources similar to the AICPA marketing tool kit.

Tax Season Opportunities

Among the resources is a series of three ads built around the value message, "Trust the...