The accountant's green eyeshade and armbands have been gone for a
very long time. But if you still refer to your CPA as "the bookeeper" or
"the auditor" you're showing your age. And you might even be a "sexist
pig" if you refer to the male gender when talking about CPAs. Many things
have changed in the CPA profession. But has the business community kept up
with those changes?
The way you do business is constantly changing. Remember when most
businesses didn't take credit cards or have fax machines? What about the
advent of electronic document transfer (attaching data or a document file
to your email)?
Yes, the way you do business would amaze your
grandparents. Consider this: Your great and great-great grandparents may
even have referred to it as magic, voo-doo or witchcraft.
Unnoticed by many business owners, the accounting profession has
also kept up with the times. While the wrongdoings of a few very large CPA
firms have grabbed the headlines in recent years, many other changes in
the profession have not been discussed by the general news media.
For example, a certified public accountant can now also earn and
hold designations such as the CFA (Certified Financial Advisor), the ABV,
(Accredited Business Valuator), CVA (Certified Valuation Analyst), CFFA
(Certified Fraud and Forensics Analyst) and a host of others.
What
does this mean to the business community? It means that the CPA holding
the additional certifications has additional training and expertise in
those designated fields. The CPA is a "specialist" in those particular
areas of practice.
Specialization has become an absolute necessity
in order to provide competent advice and services to business owners
needing such additional services.
Because business matters have
become so much more complex, gone are the days when your CPA knew much of
what your business needed to survive. Today, the CPA (general
practitioner) without the additional certifications is most likely not a
good source of information concerning business valuation, making
investments, forensic accounting, fraud detection, mergers and
acquisitions, and buying or selling a business.
"Buyer Beware" is a
saying that should come to mind if you need advice about fraud detection,
business valuation issues, or if you intend to buy or sell a business. A
CPA general practitioner without the specialty designations is not going
to be the best source for advice or information in those areas. It doesn't
matter how great the CPA is when it comes to tax matters, accounting or
auditing matters. They don't have the education or background necessary to
adequately compete with the better trained and more competent CPA
specialists.
Some CPA specialists are now offering only specialty
professional services. Take the case of one CPA firm owner in Northwest
Ohio. Grover Rutter was a CPA with a good clientele of tax and accounting
clients. However, in 1993 he began to pursue specializations in the areas
of business valuation and litigation support. By the end of the 1990's the
demand on his time for business valuation, litigation support, business
acquisition and disposition services became so great that it was difficult
for him to do the right job for all of the different types of clients he
served. So, he decided to continue providing only the specialty services.
He sold the accounting and tax practice to a regional accounting
firm that provided traditional accounting and tax services. Mr. Rutter
then started a new firm known as Grover Rutter Business Brokerage,
Valuation & Consulting, LLC. As a CPA he is also a Certified Valuation
Analyst, Accredited Business Valuator, Business Valuator Accredited in
Litigation and a Certified Business Broker.
"I still get asked to
do tax returns," Mr. Rutter says. "But taxation is a specialty that I
don't practice any longer. Now if you want me to value or sell your
business..."
Rutter says that this new specialty practice requires
educating his potential clients. "We are going to see many Baby
Boom-treneurs wanting to sell their businesses in the next few years. But
many won't be ready. Most of those folks don't know what they don't know,
so they just don't know what needs to be done" Rutter sighs.
In
order to provide business owners with helpful information about the value
of their businesses, he has written a book, Your Business IS Your Goldmine
(Learn How to Get the MOST Out of Your Business). Business owners wanting
to preview or purchase the book may do so online at www.Lulu.com/businessadvisor
His firm also
offers free information on the company website at www.gruttercpas.com
No, business isn't like it used to be. Business professionals
aren't what they used to be, either. There are new professional
specialties and new sources of information about which business owners
must be informed.
Contact Information:
Grover Rutter
CPA/ABV, CVA, BVAL
419-427-1564
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STRAIGHT TALK BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/9/prweb162011.htm