PODCAST: How advisory services can help firms become a “destination workplace”

By Jessica Salerno-Shumaker, OSCPA senior content manager  

Offering advisory services can give staff reason to grow and develop at a firm, rather than leave in search of new opportunities. 

“If you want to look at your workplaces as a destination workplace, meaning that someone would want to spend their career at your firm, then you do have to offer new opportunities and ways for people to learn and grow,” said Amy Vetter, CPA, CEO of the B3 Method Insititute.  

Vetter joined the State of Business podcast to discuss advisory services, and said she regularly hears from firm leaders that they want to offer the service but are unsure how to execute it successfully. Automation and thinking of new ways to recruit staff for this area can help.   

“There's another opportunity with offshoring,” she said. “And this often gets overlooked because maybe it hasn't worked out that well in the past. But there are many reputable offshoring companies now with CPAs all over the world that can help with the heavy lifting that you need.”  

Looking within the firm for people who are interested in new opportunities is also key, Vetter said.   

“Don’t put the blockers up because you think it's not possible if you don't have the staff,” she said. “If you are that interested in it, step back, do the business plan, create a strategy. And within that, you're going to figure out what kind of resources you need.”  

Developing a plan is crucial, Vetter said, because advisory services works differently than the tax or audit department. Go over this plan with colleagues in the firm to ensure what the execution of this department would look like and what’s expected. This is also helpful when creating the marketing and sales strategy later.  

Vetter said offering advisory services means having an “entrepreneur mindset” and while it’s helpful to learn from others, your department will operate uniquely based on your skillset and client needs.     

“Once you've put that business plan in place… it's easier for the firm to know what your service line does,” she said.  

Now is an exciting time to commit to the advisory services space, Vetter said, as she’s seeing more interest than ever before from firms.  

“I think it is going to be a much more profitable part of accounting practices than ever before, because they're starting to pay attention,” she said. “It has been so interesting to see how engaged people are in making this a success. And how many more people are dedicated to this practice than I've ever seen in the past.”  

Listen to the podcast now. 

Hear more from Amy Vetter at two upcoming learning events:  

November 30: CAS Workshop: Building & Scaling a CAS Practice https://my.ohiocpa.com/topclass/topclass.do?expand-ConferenceEnrollment-mode=3-offering_id=14044211-viaTC=1 

October 28 – December 14: The Client Advisory Services Practice Roadmap: The Cherished Advisor® Step-by-Step Program https://my.ohiocpa.com/topclass/topclass.do?expand-GotoOffering-aptifyid=56346