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CPA Australia is partnering with its members in public practice to help them tell their story about how they can add value for clients.
A CPA can help with more than just tax and compliance
01 May 2018
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2 minute read
For a lot of people, an accountant is someone you only need contact once a year to help sort out which expenses you can claim on your tax return. However, this is grossly underselling their value, according to Peter Docherty, General Manager Public Practice at CPA Australia.
“It is certainly true that a CPA public practice accountant can be of tremendous assistance with your personal tax, but that is just a fraction of the breadth of professional finance and business services that an accountant can offer,” Mr Docherty says.
“A CPA public practitioner can assist with everything from business planning and management consulting through to cash flow, audit and assurance services and financial reporting.”
According to Australian Taxation Office research, small businesses are time poor, focussed on setting up their business and the majority do not seek professional advice. As a result, 50 per cent of new businesses are under financial pressure within 12 months of starting operations, and the pressure keeps building which increases the risk of business failure.
“Our research shows that customers see CPA Australia public practitioners as the first port of call for advice around taxation and compliance. While this is integral to their practice, we want to get the message out to the public about the other ways that a CPA can add value, whether it be to your business or to assist with the respective phases of life’s journey, from purchasing your first home to organising aged care options.”
To help make this point, CPA Australia is launching a new media campaign to support CPAs working in public practice. The campaign will run across a range of media including television, radio, digital, print and local cinema advertising over the next two months.
“We want to partner with our members to raise awareness about the broad range of services that CPAs offer,” Mr Docherty says.
“Every member needs to tell their own unique story on how they can add value to their clients. This is not just about growing businesses, but also helping our public practitioners to build sustainable and varied practices, and of course create satisfied clients. Happy clients mean more referrals,” Mr Docherty says.
The campaign invites consumers to contact their local CPA by using the Find a CPA search tool on the home page of CPA Australia’s website (cpaaustralia.com.au). The newly enhanced tool makes it easier to find a qualified CPA in the local area and to see which practitioner is right for them.
The new campaign builds on CPA Australia’s Lead the Change campaign of 2017 which highlighted the benefits of becoming a public practitioner to attract the next generation of accountants into practice.
“It also complements the Public Practice Concierge service we introduced in 2017. As part of our Concierge service, CPA Australia provides personalised advice to our licensed public practice certificate holders, based on the needs of the individual practice. It has been a great success and has helped pave the way for this awareness campaign.”
If you’d like to know more about CPA Australia’s public practice solutions, contact www.cpaaustralia.com.au/enteringpublicpractice
