Show value, add value, and bring value.

• Date: 01 September 2022
• Author: Walker, April,Meyer, Jackie
• Published date: 01 September 2022
• Author: Walker, April

Part 1 of this series, in the March issue, discussed bringing value to your team. Part 2 of the series, in the June issue, focused on showing and bringing value to clients. Now, the final part of this series provides more detail on adding value to clients, which inevitably brings up a hot debate on value pricing. Pricing tax work has a long history of confusion and frustration in accounting firms. The terminology can be overwhelming, and CPAs are worried they might do something to violate the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct at every turn. This column clarifies some of these concepts and discusses how to transform a practice for the better.

A shift toward value pricing has been happening for decades. Last year's AICPA National MAP Survey showed a continued gradual shift toward it. (See the table "CPA Firm Billing Practices.")

Why do so many firms resist value-pricing tax services when it is has been shown to be more profitable?

Curious to compare these results, the author polled a Facebook group called Accounting Firm Influencers, and, surprisingly, almost half of the respondents claimed to use value pricing. The results are shown in the table "Facebook Poll Results."

Then the author polled #taxtwitter to obtain more feedback from a wider audience. The results are shown in the table "Twitter Poll Results."

The following example gets into the nuts and bolts of the how value pricing might work:

Example: A client comes to you for tax preparation and planning services. The scope of the work is annual tax preparation for a Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business. The client also needs...