THE FIRST STEP.

• Author: WATERS, SUSAN B.
• Position: California Certified Public Accountants member survey

RESULTS FROM CaICPA'S 2001 MEMBER SURVEY

WE HAVE EMBARKED on a journey to understand our members. The information and data we compile will be used to provide you with better services and to guide our council and board of directors as they make decisions on behalf of the profession.

As a first step, we conducted a membership survey in January. The survey was sent to a sample of the membership, adhering to the techniques of social science research. In all, we surveyed 4,951 members in public practice and business and industry. The sampling error, given a 95-percent confidence level, is plus or minus 3.3 percent. Following are highlights from the survey.

CALCPA MEMBERS ARE OPTIMISTIC

Nearly three out of four (72 percent) of the members reported that their firms or businesses are doing better now than they were five years ago.

Seventy-seven percent expect their firms or businesses to be doing even better five years from now. Newer members were the most optimistic, with 93 percent reporting that they expect the next five years to be brighter financially than now. Only 5 percent expect their firm or businesses' financial performance to decline over the next five years.

Seventy-seven percent of CalCPA members agree that "I am able to practice the way I want with my CPA credential." Members in public practice were somewhat more positive with 79 percent agreeing with this statement, compared to 72 percent of members in business and industry. Fewer than 10 percent of members (9 percent in public practice and 8 percent in business and industry) felt that the CPA credential limited their ability to expand their practices. Only 13 percent expressed the opinion that a new credential is needed to better express the range of services provided by OPAs.

KEY BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES

Two issues emerged as professional challenges, with responses being consistent across types of practice. They are: increasing difficulty in hiring and retaining qualified staff, and increasing pressure to manage the business better. Our members are not concerned about competition from any sector or about pressure to sell products and services. Nearly half (45 percent) of our members have ventured into new practice areas in the past five years and have become more specialized. Only large firms (22 percent) and members in business and industry (21 percent) have had any significant geographic expansion. Everyone expects the next five years to be similar to the past five.

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