6 Effective Strategies for CPAs to Build Trust with Clients

By Lyle Solomon, J.D.

Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) are trusted financial advisors who assists people, businesses, and other organizations to plan for, and achieve their financial goals. They work for both small and major public accounting firms. They offer advice on a variety of topics, including taxes and accounting. Traditional accounting services concentrate on preparing and evaluating financial data according to accounting standards and procedures.

On the other hand, advisory services help firms with succession planning, wealth management, acquisitions, cash flow planning, payroll, and system reviews, among other things. These are highly specialized services that are matched to the client’s requirements and demands.

The nature of accounting professionals’ services is constantly changing in today’s world. This creates a need for trust, relationships, and professional ethics that have never been greater.

People may believe that the only choice for CPAs to build trust with their clients is to offer free advice. However, giving free advice all the time will not result in getting paid. CPAs need to do something different to earn future clients’ TRUST without wasting their time and expertise. Strategies CPAs should follow for building trust and relationship with clients

1. Create value for money – Businesses are hesitant to hire CPAs unless they believe their services are cost effective.

Traditional compliance services, such as auditing, taxation, and so on, were considered cost-effective, and business owners were quite impressed with the value received from spending money on them. However, the wide range of services provided by CPAs today, such as succession planning, payroll, cash flow planning, corporate finance, investments, and wealth management, creates a significant barrier for customers to consider these services cost-effective.

As a result, CPAs must improve both their strengths and weaknesses to get more visibility for their clients.

They also need to do a SWOT analysis, to determine how they are performing compared to their competitors, discover chances for value creation, and decide which tactics would help them achieve this value.

Also, accountants must focus on offering high-quality services in both traditional and diverse areas. They should try to find their niche and focus on creating value in that niche.

CPAs should also advertise their knowledge and skills by writing blog entries, providing articles to various media platforms, and hosting seminars.

2. Provide a demo of your work – Tell your client WHAT you’ll do for them rather than HOW you’ll accomplish it. You can’t offer them all the answers when you don’t have a signed agreement with a potential client. They want to know what you can do for them.

Of course, you’ll have to offer them some answers (at a high level with no specifics). You’ll confidently disclose the outcomes you can achieve without revealing how. If you show them everything, they might go down the street and ask another CPA to do the same work for less money!

While efficiency is a desirable trait in a CPA, you should always return to your clients with exact, polished work rather than rushing through it. You won’t impress clients with hasty work, and they’re less likely to stick with you if they don’t feel like you’re paying attention to them. CPAs should make every effort to make sure that their clients understand how serious they are about their work.

This will prove your knowledge and establish trust in you as a professional. It doesn’t matter how you do it until they pay you. Instead of telling your prospects everything, choose your words carefully.

3. Be open and honest – Transparency is necessary for establishing a trustworthy relationship with clients. It starts with effective communication.

Be honest with your customers. As a CPA, have clear conversations to discuss and set expectations. You should discuss how much you will charge and what services you will offer. You must also discuss security policies and how you plan to protect their data.

This is when engagement letters come in handy. You should outline both parties’ expectations in the engagement letter so that you’re on the same page. Avoid using complex accounting language when discussing objectives, pricing, and regulations with the clients. Most people aren’t familiar with typical accounting terms and will appreciate it if the CPA uses words that make sense to them.

Make an effort to create an open, welcoming atmosphere where clients can freely ask their questions and provide feedback.

4. Train your clients on a regular basis – Never lose an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise if a client faces a problem and seeks your opinion.

Make every attempt to explain to your clients the technical aspects of any problem he or she is facing. This will help them understand what is going on in the background. It also gives them context of the work you, as a CPA, will do to solve the issue.

Once you start exchanging knowledge with your clients, it will help your accounting firm grow trust and goodwill. This is because they will have a clear view of any financial discussions and decisions. Clients will place a higher value on your services, and you will have more meaningful conversations with them about their business. Clients will trust your ideas and suggestions more.

CPAs must ensure that their clients know compliance rules, financial terminology, and other processes involved. For that reason, you can take the initiative to train your clients, whether in person or by email, so that you can establish a social relationship and gain their trust.

5. Be proactive and available – Don’t always expect your customers to come to you. Reach out to them to let them know you’re thinking about them. Sending clients things that they might find beneficial is one unique approach to being proactive in maintaining relationships.

Your clients will learn to trust your intentions and become more receptive to your suggestions if you frequently keep in touch. If your clients appreciate your efforts, you can go a step further and help them make future plans. Making time for your clients shows them how important they are to you. But that doesn’t, however, imply that you should drop everything the instant they contact you.

Make it clear that you have other clients and duties, yet want to be available to them. Establish boundaries through a preferred method of communication. It might be through email, a client portal, text message, phone, or face to face. Respond promptly to their questions, concerns, and requests when they contact you.

6. Follow up with the old clients – As a CPA, you shouldn’t focus on acquiring new clients so much that you overlook your existing ones. But make sure you focus on the clients who give you more business than others. You should provide excellent services and follow through on all contracts. Make sure you have a system in place to keep track of all your work, responsibilities, and the deadlines you promised.

Last but not least, build trust with potential clients using Yelp and LinkedIn. Social media channels help to promote your services and offer assistance to client questions or complaints. Clients can write testimonials and reviews for your service, and you can publish articles or material that will help you prove yourself as an expert. CPAs should educate themselves on the advantages of technology, such as how it can improve advisory services, save time for accountants, increase client retention, and encourage value pricing. This type of social activity can be a distinctive approach for CPAs to build trust.

=========

Lyle Solomon has considerable litigation experience as well as substantial hands-on knowledge and expertise in legal analysis and writing. Since 2003, he has been a member of the State Bar of California. In 1998, he graduated from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, and now serves as a principal attorney for the Oak View Law Group in Los Altos, California.