Last weekend, MSI held its annual meeeting for its North and Latin American members in Miami, Florida. With a record number of attendees, the overall atmosphere was positive, despite the recession. On balance, though, it seemed as though the lawyers were hurting more than the accountants.
It was interesting, therefore, to come on to Las Vegas to attend the 'Winning is Everything Conference', now in its 8th year. A show of hands in the first session indicated a reasonable level of optimism amongst the delegates. For many, 2008 had been a record year and although expectations for 2009 were down, most were predicting restricted growth rather than anything more negative.
One speaker, though, painted a much darker picture. Gary Shamis, a member of The Advisory Board that mount the conference and a man with strong credentials in the profession, asked a few questions that had a number of delegates shifting in their seats with obvious discomfort.
What would staff of these CPA firms be doing after the end of the tax season? And although it was commendable to book plenty of chargeable hours between now and 15 April, would these hours actually turn into cash in the bank, or would they get written off with clients being unable to pay or even going out of business? His prediction was that May would be the month when the US CPA firms would be letting many of their staff go.
Having to face such an unpredictable future, it has never been more important for firms to focus on the positives - and to work closely with clients to ensure that they continue to provide the highest levels of client service.
Perhaps this is why enquiries for membership of MSI continue to come in, irrespective of - or, arguably, because of - the recession.
James Mendelssohn (jmendelssohn@msiglobal.org)
Rise taxes is a good strategy against the crisis
Posted by: generic viagra | March 15, 2010 at 04:57 PM