PCPS update.

• Position: Private Companies Practice Section

MAP Top Five Survey Results Available

The annual MAP Top Five Survey, gauging the most important issues impacting local and regional firms, is complete. For the sixth year in a row, "Finding and retaining qualified staff" ranked as the top concern for respondents. Rounding out the top five were "succession planning/funding partner retirement" "marketing/practice growth," "seasonality/workload compression," and "fee pressure/pricing of services."

PCPS continues to use this survey as a compass for planning programs. For example, recently we have created solutions to help members address their concerns about marketing/practice growth through tools that enrich their service offerings. Currently, we are working on educational materials for firms to share with not-for-profit clients. In addition, we just issued a marketing brochure for members interested in discussing fraud prevention services with clients, which is available at http://www.pcps.org/pdf/fraud_brochure.pdf. Keep checking www.pcps.org and reading the monthly PCPS Brief for more information on programs that PCPS is developing to address the top five concerns.

National MAP Survey Closes With Record Number of Participants

This year an unprecedented 3,200 practitioners participated in the National MAP Survey, sponsored by PCPS and the Texas Society of CPAs (TSCPA) and supported by Aon. This is marked growth over last year, when 2,500 people completed the survey. The high number of participants will increase the scope of data available to PCPS members in the free survey reports, which will be available after October 15.

Did You Know?

As a PCPS Member, you are entitled to a 20% discount on many AICPA publications such as Double Digit Growth: Tools for Top Firms, Solo Practice: Strategies for Success, and Create a Virtual Office: Ten Case Studies for CPA Firms.Visit http://www.pcps.org/ download/ThePCPSAdvantage.pdf...