By Lori W. Braden, vice president – strategic marketing

“You can’t make it better if you don’t know what it is.” This thought on practice management was delivered by Bill Pirolli, CPA, during the 2016 AICPA/PCPS/CPA.com National MAP (Management of an Accounting Practice) survey webcast. And, basically, that is the essence of the National MAP survey. Now in its 20th year, MAP is the leading benchmarking study for CPA firms. The biannual report measures key practice management points and offers strategic insights for profitability, growth, and development.

Because nearly 60 Pennsylvania firms participated in the 2016 survey this past summer, PICPA members can log in to access the results of various firms sizes covering financials, staffing and compensation, benefits, technology, and owner-partner programs.

Firms can use this data to identify potential growth areas such as individual tax planning or outsourced CFO services. An encouraging piece of data shows that the rate of firm growth in 2016 was higher than in 2014 for firms of all sizes. But one area that continues to fall to the bottom of the priority list, and has remained unchanged since 2014, is that of succession plans. Only 14 percent of firms have one.

The PICPA offers several ways to learn more. You can watch the National MAP Survey webcast or log in to read the MAP survey commentary and results. You can also check out PICPA’s Sole Practitioner Toolkit and our Succession Planning resources.

Also Available …

PICPA on-demand courses:

• Building a Pipeline of Prospects and Winning Clients
• Future Financial Trends Affecting CFOs & Controllers
• Exiting Your Business – Taking Control of the Process