Moving forward
You might be happy sitting in the status quo, standing pat until it looks safe to come out again. But your competition is already on the move, so you better start talking to your accounting firm to find out what your options are for the future.
“Looking forward, based on the last 90 days, our business has really been ramping up, and I see it a lot more over the next 18 months and part of it is tax-related,” Hendren says. “There’s kind of a pent-up demand for acquisitions, which will require us to be more hands-on and active. At some point on the real estate side, they’ll venture back into new projects and developments that will require our assistance.”
CEOs are sensing the worst is over and are looking to make some strategic moves while prices are at historic lows.
“We’re hearing from many of our clients the desire to reposition their companies through varying merger and acquisition transactions,” Howe says. “This includes everything from carving out noncore businesses to growing through transactions. Many are looking for ways to leverage opportunities to expand their product lines and markets as well as their geographic reach. Accounting firms will play an essential role post-recession in helping clients evaluate, execute, implement and integrate these strategic alternatives, including identifying risks associated with the entrance into markets and processes to manage those risks.”
When you have a solid relationship with your accounting firm, it understands your business and you get a better idea of how it can help you with something other than your tax return. In fact, many firms have seen growth in areas that in years past, weren’t associated with accounting firms at all.
“Our experience has been that in some of our competency areas — specifically strategy and operations, technology integration and human capital consulting — our clients are using us more,” says Blaine Nelson, managing partner for North Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma for Deloitte LLP. “In fact, those practices have been growing even during these tough economic times. In some areas of tax services — mostly in the international, multistate or transfer pricing arenas — we’re finding an increase in demand for our competencies, and many companies have been looking for more consulting around enterprise risk management, as well.”
