He Says Your Accounting Firm Sucks

[NixLee]

Your accountant talk to your CFO to get YOUR information to prepare you tax return? Your accountant reach out to you in order to provide YOU service?
At which point do you take responsibility for the services that YOU need? Tsk tsk. This is why you are likely not have a long term accountant. You are what we call PITA client. You’ll get charged more than the average client, and eventually get invited to find another firm because no one wants to deal with you.

[destdan]

Wow. I’ve seen a few crazy clients but this is one client I would not want. I wish you could actually interview his past accountants and see what they have to say. I’m sure that would be an interesting interview.

[wanglelife]

This interview is so perfect. I've had very similar experiences.

[molewnik]

As an admin, some clients do not wish to speak to me, ever. Even if they need our fax number (which is listed on our telephone systems, email signatures and website), they do not want to speak to me. I think accounting firms can only be as great as the clients. Clients are not educated on tax, so it’s a battle.

[mnkeycrak]

This guy sounds like a nightmare client. He should have a cpa on a monthly retainer with the level of proactiveness he wants, but i highly doubt he would want to pay for that.

[ens]

One question I would have loved to hear is “how much was your compliance bill last year”. I’ve got a feeling, based on Mike’s experiences, that he’s been with firms on the smaller end and paying minimal fees. Just like everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

I’d also love a follow up if this guy ever started a firm, which he won’t. He’d be closing the doors in a few seasons if he’s hiring minimal talent to do the actual work, and a crew of “customer service” folks.

All in all, giant headache client who doesn’t pay enough for what he wants, and thinks the service you provide him can always be done for cheaper.

[platoplato]

This happens in all professions, not just accounting. I think it’s very important to listen to clients needs and help them achieve what they want. Some other people below have said needy clients want bonus service but don’t want to pay and that’s fair too. The thing is, we don’t really work for the client, we work for the government/professional body. We can’t do anything illegal or unethical. At the end of the day even if your service was impeccable, clients will be upset because of outcomes arising from business facts that have nothing to do with the accountant. There’s no magic solution. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[chelseasheahan]

I think every firm leadership should watch this as a centering exercise.

[kevindavis]

Would not take this guy on as a client at all.

[SmithJonny]

A lot of good points. Being proactive is important, but one thing I've noticed after 10 years is you tend to spend more time on the clients that pay the most. Please don't take this as an insult, but my first thought was that Mike strikes me as someone with high expectations but probably fights the bill. I could be wrong.... Also, I think he's feeling the effects of the great resignation. It's hard to provide that level of service when people are leaving the profession at higher rates than ever. Everyone else that stayed is just trying to keep their heads above water which results in keeping clients just happy enough, but some will inevitably leave anyway. Last, he has a point that some firms just have a hard time with providing service. Knowing tax law and providing tax services are two skill sets and sometimes they excel at one and not the other, or maybe neither. Good video! Agree with a lot of his points.

[salubriousfarmhomestead]

I love this, but it seems like a fantasy. We are so overwhelmed with three CPA’s and an admin. He was right about being proactive, I know clients would appreciate it.

[harold]

We started to reject clients who would not be able to comply with our technology driven business plan. Unfortunately, business clients come in a broad spectrum of needs. Deciding to let go, or not accept older traditional accounting clients allowed us to better serve those who want accountants that are more actively engaging. And can provide a faster turnaround time with their financial documents. Tough choice but it has relieving pressure on the entire staff.

[truefem]

he's the kind a dude I don't want as a client...good luck buddy as more people keep leaving accounting...it's not we have to impress you...but you have to impress us buddy!

[triggerhappymacrogir]

Our front desk admin was a retail store manager. She is fabulous!

[TaxTimeForever]

This guy’s accounting firm would have to charge 10k per return to break even

[_jimmyrose]

Love this. Such a good video and very cool of Mike for jumping on the call.

If only there was a platform that could do typed information and files in one go, with the ability to prefill last year's info 🤔

[jepf]

We use Adobe to sign documents. We add signatures that way for ourselves and send it to the client for e-signatures for when they need to sign something for us. I haven't ever had an issue with getting documents signed so I'm a bit confused as to how this is still an issue for some people.

[kimbleproductions]

I work at a top 10 firm and the points mentioned in this video are points that we emphasize with our staff and in-charges constantly - it is embedded in our firm culture to provide unmatched client experience. And the feedback we receive from our clients and our NPS benchmarking reflect our success in this area. Our people are the face of the firm and we spend a lot of time training on professionalism and effective communication - being an accountant is not an excuse for poor communication / professionalism. I think that investing in people is the better solution rather than thinking that non-accountant customer support staff will solve client communication issues.

Also, our clients are paying for and expecting our level of service. And in my experience, if you are choosing the cheapest option, you are probably not getting white glove service.

[EricHempler]

Regarding dealines, as soon as I can work on something it's started. For example, there's no reason why I can't start working on the sales tax filing on the 1st of the month, right after that bank account is reconciled. Even though it's not due till the 20th, there's no reason to wait if I can start on it on the 1st. It's usually filed around the 5th.

[trisha]

We're rare, but we're out there! We are already a technology-forward firm of the future. Yes, we "live" in our portal, which is also our client management software, our secure document storage and file transfer, project management, e-signatures on agreements and e-file authorizations (where IRS allows--they still require some forms to have hand-signatures), invoicing and payments, secure messaging, password vault, etc. We work with our clients' bookkeepers, legal and financial advisors, and CFO's all the time in support of our clients. Sounds like Mike hired an old-school, reactive, compliance-oriented firm instead of a proactive tax planning firm. Those are very different firms with very different fee structures. Also, it was an interesting choice to go to a financial advisor for tax planning advice. Additionally, Dropbox is not FINRA-compliant, and I'm sure not an acceptable file sharing method with his financial advisor.