Compliance and strong client relationships have long been the foundation of client retention in public accounting. You deliver accurate audits, solid tax filings, and thoughtful advice. Clients pay for certainty. It’s a win-win.
In between, you may meet on the greens or have a happy hour.
Today? Compliance isn’t enough to differentiate your firm. If you want to stay competitive, you need to focus on CX: The client experience.
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Clients want fewer emails, faster communication, and processes that make their lives easier, not harder. It’s not that they value technical work any less; it’s that they now see how the work gets done as part of the value itself.
This shift has become one of the biggest differentiators I’ve seen between firms that grow steadily and are able to command higher fees. Of course, compliance will always matter; however, client experience has become the real driver of growth.
Why CX Influences Your Growth Strategy
Here’s what I’ve come to realize after working in the accounting industry: most client frustrations aren’t centered on the work itself but the processes that surround it.
Yes, clients value accuracy and technical expertise.
But when processes feel unnecessarily difficult, slow, and confusing? It’s frustrating.
I recently worked with a firm that was seeing strong growth, but after a few months of growth, the managing partner told me he was thinking about pausing new client acquisition for a bit. At first, I was stunned. When I asked why, he indicated that their processes needed help.
Clients were uploading documents in multiple places, such as email, shared drives, and even texting them directly to team members. This led to duplicate follow-ups and confusion about what had actually been received. When feedback came in after busy season, it wasn’t as positive as it could have been. Both clients and team members felt the experience was scattered and stressful. He realized that adding more clients without fixing the process would only multiply the chaos.
Suralink found some really interesting data around this very topic in their Inside the Client Experience Report.
- 82% of clients say CPA requests are unclear or time-consuming.
- Nearly 8 in 10 clients would consider switching firms due to poor technology experiences.
- 77% of clients expect deliveries to be on time and on budget.
- 67% want firms to reduce their team’s effort.
What do all of these stats signal? Inefficiencies and unclear processes do more than just frustrate clients. They erode trust.
Once that trust erodes, so does retention and referrals.
The Real Impact of Client Experience on Accounting Firms
When I worked in public accounting, I experienced the same pattern that every accountant has experienced, too:
- Only a small fraction of requests are complete and correct the first time.
- When projects start with confusion or documents aren’t sent on time, they almost always run late or over budget.
- Team members suffer burnout. They spend so much extra time chasing documents and doing admin work. Technical work winds up accounting for a small percentage of their work.
- Clients become frustrated. They already have full-time jobs. Working with you starts to feel like a second job.
Whenever requests are unclear or processes are clunky, costs ripple across the engagement. The problem isn’t just an operational one. It’s a brand issue.
Why?
Because the way your firm communicates both internally and externally defines how clients perceive your value.
Whenever requests are unclear or processes feel clunky, the impact ripples across the entire engagement.
And it’s not just an operational problem. It’s a brand problem because the way your firm communicates internally and with clients shapes how your value is perceived.
Lack of clarity and efficiency isn’t just an annoyance. It’s a dealbreaker for clients who expect a simple and transparent process that respects their time.
Clients want to know that you have things under control. They want to trust that communication won’t fall to the wayside and deadlines will be met.
What happens when these expectations aren’t met? It leads to client churn, lower margins and ultimately, fewer referrals because the CX shapes the perception of your entire firm.
How Better CX Fuels Growth
I still remember one of my first encounters with a poor CX experience. Our team was beyond overwhelmed, but not because of the work itself. We were drowning because of the never-ending chase for information.
During that engagement, I started getting to the worksite at least an hour before everyone else just to begin my follow-ups. Then at night, I’d review what had come in throughout the day and figure out what was still missing.
It’s a common problem for firms. In fact, 65% of auditors in the public accounting industry say requesting support documentation is a major challenge.
We didn’t have the right processes in place to get the right information the first time. Clients were frustrated. We were frustrated.
Had we implemented clear and effective processes from the start, clients would have had a better experience, and our workload wouldn’t have felt so monumental.
Because here’s the reality:
A better client experience does more than just create smoother engagements. It fuels growth.
When clients feel supported, understood, and confident in your process, they stick around longer and spend more. A positive experience strengthens trust and reduces price sensitivity.
It’s also one of the most effective marketing tools your firm can have. When clients enjoy working with you, they talk about it. They tell colleagues that your firm is organized, responsive, and easy to work with. Those stories spread faster than any paid ad.
The impact doesn’t stop here. When you take steps to improve the client experience, you improve your team’s experience, too. Clear workflows and consistent communication mean less time chasing documents and more time spent on meaningful work.
The end result? High morale and lower turnover rates.
It’s clear that a better CX fuels growth. But how do you get started? How do you build the kind of experience that benefits your team and clients?
Practical Ways Firms Can Leverage Better CX to Fuel Growth
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of elevating the client experience? Often one might think it was the tangible things, like:
- beautifully designed proposals
- sending gifts
Both of these are nice, but it’s the intangible things that really make a difference.
Things like:
- Setting expectations early. Be clear about what you need, why you need it and when you need it.
- Simplifying communication. Ditch the scattered email threads. Keep requests and updates centralized so that no communication slips through the cracks.
- Respecting your client’s workload. Remember that your clients have full-time jobs outside your engagement. Build processes that make it as easy as possible to work with you.
- Respecting your team’s workload. Don’t overlook your staff. If they’re overworked, they can’t deliver the responsive, high-quality experience clients expect. When you protect your staff’s capacity, you protect the client experience as well.
- Measuring and adapting. Track where requests stall or miscommunication happens. Refine and adapt your processes to correct these issues.
- Leveraging modern tools. Technology can simplify collaboration when everything lives in one place. Tools like Suralink centralize requests, document exchange, and communication.
These strategies are not about adding more work. They’re about streamlining the process and removing unnecessary steps, so your team and clients can stay focused on what matters most: great outcomes.
Final Thoughts
Compliance is still at the heart of your service (it’s what keeps firms in the game). But how you deliver is what will set your firm apart from others.
Firms that stay ahead make the client experience a part of their core strategy and not just an afterthought. As a result, they grow faster, retain more clients and build stronger brands.
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Katie Thomas, CPA is a 40 under 40 CPA Practice Advisor recipient, Top 50 Women in Accounting recipient, and the owner of Leaders Online, where they help accounting and B2A (business to accounting) professionals increase their impact, influence, and income through thought leadership and digital marketing. To get in touch with Katie, schedule a time at: www.leaders-online.com
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