MAP Survey Platform customizes critical data for success

The 2023 AICPA® & CIMA® Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) and CPA.com National Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) survey results are in.

PCPS conducted the biennial survey from mid-May through mid-July 2023, capturing 2022 financial results. Firms supplied information from their 2022 fiscal year in 10 areas divided into four categories — Firm Information, Financial, Staffing and Cyber Liability & Security. The result is a platform that can power the customized needs of small, mid-sized and large firms.

Available to PCPS members, the MAP Survey platform allows you to:

• Input your firm data — When you want to find your data, just click the Reports tab.

• Set filters — You can choose from a list of filters to refine your results further.

• Customize filters — You can select multiple filters to narrow down firms that match your criteria.

• Customize report options — There are many ways you can download your reports: Excel files as a pre-filtered personalized report, customized filtered report, or in PowerPoints as a KPI report, KPI trend report, financial report or staffing report.

Sample reports provide you with a variety of features such as:

• Major revenue service line — Within this sample report, you can see both current and prior years.

• Net client fees earned — You can compare your firm by net client fees earned and by percentile.

• Average billing rates for equity partners/owners — You can compare the average billing rates and see your firm’s median and percentile.

Benefits of the MAP Survey platform

• Once you’ve completed the MAP Survey, you’ll have access to critical data, including over 70 reports.

• As a firm leader you can use the data to compare your practice’s performance to other similarly sized firms and obtain vital insights to make more informed decisions.

• You can select and set your filters to drill down to specific information, such as viewing national results by region and size.

• To illustrate, you might want to look at two equity owners with client fees between $700,000 to $900,000. In this case, the filter will highlight the fact that out of the 1,117 participants recorded in the 2023 Map Survey, 21 fit that criteria. You can review those 21 firms that are similar to your firm.

“The value of the platform is in being able to drill down any way you want on multiple or single factors. You can refine and pinpoint exactly where you are in your scope and peer group. Access to the platform capability is a PCPS member advantage,” said Carl Peterson, CPA, CGMA, VP — Small Firm Interests.

Non-PCPS members who’ve taken part in the survey receive their overall results but not the capability to delve further. You can find out more about full access capability with our MAP Survey video tutorial and MAP Survey Platform demonstration.

Once you have personalized data, you can use this to take effective action. The 2023 MAP Survey results identified key takeaways and provide associated tools to help you achieve your goals, such as:

• Continue to focus on fees — Net client fees and rates per position have increased, but there may still be room for improvement. Tool: PCPS Revenue Modeling Toolkit

• Shift from hourly to value billing — There’s been an increase since the last survey, but over time, technology and other efficiencies may make it necessary. Tools: Pricing Tool and Overcoming Pricing Objections Tool

• Continue to evaluate compensation — Salaries should be competitive for all levels and compared to other career opportunities and not just accounting firms. Tool: PCPS Employee Compensation Toolkit

Survey participants can access the National Map Survey platform to benefit their firms. If you have questions, please contact us at PCPS.