Pathfinder Profiles: Questions for Pathfinder Firms

Pathfinder Profiles: Questions for Pathfinder Firms

Some of the questions that would be asked to gauge whether a firm is truly a Pathfinder include:

- Obtaining background on firm (who, what, where, why, when...etc.)
- How do you determine clients " and potential clients" needs?
- How do you translate information on decision-makers "needs into explicit services?
- How do you assess whether a potential new service is right for you?
- Have you dropped any service offerings and if so, why?
- What competition have you been getting from non-CPA firms?
- What is the most exciting aspect of the services you provide to clients?
- What was the most difficult challenge you have faced?
- What is the most effective market development tip you've discovered for this type of work?
- What is the single skill/attribute you feel is most critical to the work that you are doing?
- What type of capital investment did you have to make in order to provide these services? Is this investment different than the investment you might have made if you were providing more traditional services?
- What do you expect the product life cycle to be of the services you are providing?
- What do you consider to be the core skill set necessary to offer this type of service? Where did you obtain these skills?
- Are you hiring new entrants with the required core skill set?
- What is the applicability of the academic experience of new entrants into the profession?
- Do you find most of your client growth from referrals or other marketing sources?
- What is the most significant challenge you believe the profession faces in the future?
- How do you use technology?
- How do you identify opportunities?
- What do clients most value in you?
- Do you consider yourself a risk-taker? How has your approach to risk affected your professional life?
- Do you bill differently for non-traditional services, such as using the value-billing approach?
- How do you deliver your services to your clients? How do you use technology to better serve your clients?
- What do you find within the profession that might limit your ability to provide these services?
- What does the CPA designation bring to this new area of development/client service?
- What is the purpose of the profession? Why does it need to exist?
- What is the one aspect/characteristic associated with the CPA designation you would not change, even if it meant loss of revenue or market opportunities?
- What are the two-three biggest challenges or opportunities you think CPAs will face in the next five years?

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