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The Crunch: The Annual Accounting Firm Benchmark Report

THE CRUNCH is the annual Australian Accounting Firm Benchmark Report. This exclusive report provides valuable insights tailored specifically for accounting firms in Australia. Discover how your firm truly measures up in the competitive landscape.

As a participant, your firm will receive a personalised Benchmark Report, meticulously analysing your performance metrics. This report goes beyond numbers, unveiling the distinctive practices of top-performing firms and offering strategic recommendations to channel your firm’s efforts and resources effectively.

Working in collaboration with SmithInk, The Benchmarking Group will analyse and compare core business metrics such as charge out rates, employee productivity, firm profitability, operational expenses, wages and salaries and much more.

Registrations are now open. So sign up for this unique opportunity to see how your firm stacks up against the industry’s best.

Are you a Benchmarking Suite subscriber? All subscribers can participate in the Crunch Report for FREE! Contact us now to register your firm.

THE CRUNCH – THE ANNUAL AUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING FIRM BENCHMARK REPORT

REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CRUNCH

REGISTER NOW AND PAY JUST $247 (SAVE 50%!)

Why participate in The Crunch?

Accounting Industry

Discover your true strengths to leverage, as well as your most urgent areas for growth

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Learn what sets the top accounting firms apart from the rest and how your firm can reach new heights

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Use your report results to promote your firm to potential clients and to attract new employees

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Analyse competitor charge out rates and how firms price their services to gain a competitive advantage

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Reveal your employee productivity ratios and ensure your firm is paying staff competitive remuneration

The Crunch: Registration & Report Estimated Time Frame

What’s included in The Crunch:
The Annual Accounting Firm Benchmark Report?

Financial Performance Benchmarks

In the accounting industry, analysing financial performance against competitors is crucial for Australian accounting firms to maintain a competitive edge. By comparing key metrics, such as revenue, expenses, profitability, and efficiency ratios, your firm can gain valuable insights into your relative strengths and weaknesses. This analysis will highlight areas for improvement, enabling you to refine your growth strategies and streamline operations.

Moreover, benchmarking financial performance provides a standard for setting realistic goals and tracking progress over time. Ultimately, analysing your financial performance against competitors will empower you to make data-driven decisions so you can achieve sustainable growth for your accounting firm.

Employee Productivity & Trends

Analysing employee productivity allows accounting firms to improve efficiency and resource allocation. By understanding employee productivity benchmarks, firms can establish strategies to set best practices and boost overall productivity.

The Accounting Industry Benchmark Report compares your firm’s productivity against your competitors and high performing firms. This will enable you to address bottlenecks, identify gaps, and invest in professional development strategically.

The report also assess employee salaries, so you can review if your firm is offering competitive remuneration to employees.

Further, improving your employee productivity and helping your employees feel valued will increase overall employee satisfaction and retention.

Pricing Strategies & Charge Out Rates

Benchmarking your pricing strategies against competitors allows you to ensure your firm’s prices are competitive and aligned with market standards. Further, you can see what the industry leaders charge out rates are and how they add value to their services.

By understanding how competitors’ price their services, your accounting firms can adjust rates accordingly to attract and retain clients. Alternatively, you may need to increase the value you are offering to client.

Analysing competitors’ pricing strategies also helps identify pricing gaps and potential opportunities for differentiation. Your firms can assess the value you offer and determine if your prices are justified in comparison.

Ultimately, this analysis gives you the tools to optimise your pricing strategies, maximise profitability, and grow your market position.

Expenses & Operations Analysis

Comparing operational expenses against competitors will enable your accounting firm to identify areas where you may be overspending; thus showing opportunities to reduce unnecessary overheads.

By benchmarking against competitors, you can identify cost-saving opportunities and implement strategies to streamline operations.

Additionally, the report will help you focus expenses on highly valuable areas. By understanding how high performing competitors allocate their resources, you can prioritise investments that bring the most value and competitive advantage.

The Principal’s Position

As an accounting firm in Australia, it is crucial for you to have a clear understanding of the business equity and the financial position of all principal owners.

Understanding your firm’s financial position and equity enables you to make informed decisions about investments, expansions, and strategic partnerships. It helps you assess your firm’s stability and evaluate potential risks and opportunities.

Further, comparing remuneration of principal owners against other firms is crucial for an accounting firm to ensure competitive compensation. It helps attract and retain top talent, maintain fairness within the organisation, and align remuneration with industry standards. This analysis supports the firm’s reputation, employee satisfaction, and overall financial health.

About SmithInk

Smithink is an Australian advisory company that assists accountants in transforming their practices into successful businesses. They offer practical firm innovations, drawing from their extensive experience as practicing accountants and business consultants over several decades. Their expertise stems from firsthand implementation, allowing them to identify what strategies yield the best results.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Crunch?

The Crunch is a new report that will benchmark Australian accounting firms against each other. It will be a 20-30 page report highlighting industry insights, trends and challenges and forecasts.

Can I see a sample?

You can download a sample of the Crunch Report here: https://benchmarking.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Crunch-Example-Report.pdf

Why should I participate?

When your firm participates, you receive a custom version of the report tailored to your firm. This means you can clearly see how you are performing against similar firms. The report will also provide recommendations based on your results.

How much does it cost?

The final report will cost $495. However, firms that opt to participate before March 29th receive a 50% discount, making the cost only $247.

We are part of a group, what's the cost?

For accounting groups that participate the cost is $247 +$100 per additional site. For accounting groups larger that 5 sites, please contact us for a custom quote.

I thought it was free?

Participation in the report is free for all Benchmarking Suite Subscribers. Find out more about becoming a subscriber here: https://benchmarking.com.au/benchmarking-for/accountants/

What's the process and timeframes?

Once you have signed up, you will receive an email and instructions on how to enter your details. All firms will need to complete their data entry by the end of March. During March, we will then analyse the results to create the custom reports for everyone who has participated. This means you will receive your report in April 2024.

I have more questions, who can I contact?

Please reach out to us via:

  • The chat at the bottom right of this page
  • phone 02 9262 5564
  • or any of our other contact methods here

What People Say

This report is FANTASTIC!! Thank you to you and your team for doing this. And to think a revised version will come in April with even more data, even better. This is beyond what I was expecting and I dare say you’ll have all of us signing up again next year and spreading the word to get others involved. I’m so glad I responded to the initial email and made the time to get involved, rather than just grumbling about being time poor and lazily hitting the delete button.

Best money and time I’ve spent in a very long time!

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Matthew Tucker | Principal | Creative Crunchers