Saturday
Apr042009
3 Things I learned about the CPA Profession from Twitter
Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 10:37PM
Twitter is the latest social media craze. If you're wondering what it is check out a post I wrote a few months ago. Whenever you hear people talking about using Twitter for business they inevitably say something like "If you're not paying attention to what your customers are saying about you on Twitter you're an idiot." Since it's unlikely that any of my clients are going to be talking about me or my firm on Twitter I decided to keep track of what people are saying about CPA's in general (this is pretty easy to do using an application like TweetDeck or Twitter's own search functionality). Here's what I learned.
- If Twitter is still around in five years A LOT MORE CPA's will be using it. How do I know this? Because there are a lot of CPA candidates tweeting about their progress on the CPA exam. Once they pass, move into the ranks of staff accountants and start seeing clients you can bet we'll be hearing about their interactions in real time.
Client service may not be the profession's strong suite. Clients don't like it when we're not proactive. More than a few people are upset with their CPA because they owe taxes. From experience I think this is less about blaming the CPA for their personal tax situation and more about not liking surprises. Still, if you need any encouragement to offer EVERY client the opportunity for a tax estimate in November reading some of these tweets is good medicine. There's also a lot of evidence that CPA's should do something to aleviate the anxiety that accompanies a tax appointment. There's a lot of comparing going to the CPA with going to the dentist. Not exactly the frame of mind I want my clients in when they show up to meet with me.
Community rules. There is a vibrant community of cool, friendly and helpful CPA's out there more than willing to lend a hand, offer advice or provide that missing nugget of information. For those of us with small, niche practices having a network of like minded colleagues who walk in our shoes every day is invaluable. Twitter is a great way to feel the pulse of a thriving, professional community of CPA's who care about what they do. The community would still be there without Twitter, but tapping into it would be a little more difficult.
Reader Comments (4)
It's funny but the accounting crew is starting to have a more overwhelming presence on Twitter than the spambots - and definitely more than the lawyers!
Groups like the Maryland Association of CPAs, and CPA bloggers like CPA Trendlines, Re The Auditors, Krupo.ca, etc etc have a strong presence and we have a very supportive network - so there has been quite a bit of talk about the presence but I think you're one of the first to point out just how many CPA exam candidates are actively tweeting their exam experiences (minus the actual exam particulars, of course, haha). I think this is a wonderful shift and it's so great to see candidates supporting each other with this medium.
Twitter certainly isn't the be-all-end-all of social media or the accounting industry - but it never ceases to amaze me how people adapt tools like this for their own use.
If you're on Twitter yourself you're welcome to track down Roger CPA Review (we're early adopters of Twitter going back to 2007) @RogerCPA
Twitter, Facebook, Blogger and all these new websites that companies are having to keep up with are of great help when searching for people in the filed.
The accounting crew as Adrianne mentioned is definitely growing fast!
You can also follow check us out in twitter
http://twitter.com/KuninAssociates
We We would love to have you as our friend!
We are Professional Recruiters specializing in Accounting and Finance and would like to meet everyone in the field that is either working now or looking for a new position. Even if you are currently employed it's great to reach out to us and discuss your career or if you need to hire someone.
Hi ! I'm fully agree with you twitter is the best tool for developing not accounting but any profession by updating short message in blogging
[...] 3 Things I learned about the CPA Profession from Twitter : Twitter may not be at the top of the priority list for many CPA firm partners, but clients and staff are quickly incorporating this newest social media craze as part of their everyday life, and firm owners, HR staff and marketing departments need to recognize that fact. (Axiom CPA Blog) [...]