New Zealand Accountants Fee Survey - Oct 2009

Richard Burcher of Validatum™ Limited has a well established reputation within the legal profession for high quality professional services pricing research and pricing consultancy and his work is endorsed by the New Zealand Law Society. More than 500 New Zealand law firms (a third of all law firms) from sole practitioners to the "top 5" have participated in one or more of our surveys and ordered the reports. These services have now been extended to the accounting profession. Like lawyers, accountants are increasingly searching for and developing more innovative and client-friendly methodologies for charging their services. However, that is not the only thing that the two professions have in common. Regardless of whether you are a sole practitioner or a partner in one of the major firms, there is a dearth of reliable, confidential, comparative market pricing information.

Your answers will be treated with utmost confidentiality by us (see our Privacy Statement on our website). Individual responses will not be provided to NZICA or any other third party. No firm or individual author will be able to be identified in the published results. The answers will be used for no other purpose than to provide you/your firm with tabulated comparative results by region and nationally. This first survey catering specifically for the pricing needs of New Zealand accountants will provide colour charts, graphs, tables, analysis and commentary in relation to fees charged to clients:

• to prepare financial statements, tax returns and resolutions for various entities for a 12 month period
• processing of bank statements
• share trading clients
• LAQC rental ownership
• passive trust income
• monthly management accounts - Bank Link
• hourly charge out rates analysed by seniority (title) and number of years experience
• fee revenue generated relative to experience
• fee revenue generated relative to hourly charge out rate
• business structure advice
• preparation of 12 month cash flow/projections
• assisting clients to obtain bank funding for their business
• business purchase due diligence
• sundry matters including application for company IRD & GST number, application for LAQC status, trusteeship yearly charge, annual gift documentation, Company annual return
• your firm's KPIs (debtor days, chargeout multiples, WIP days, average chargeable hours, net write-off %, staff turnover, return on fees (profit/turnover)