Customer Reviews

The Firm of the Future: A Guide for Accountants, Lawyers, and Other Professional Services

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first read this book about 2 years ago. I keep it within arm's reach of my desk and refer to it often, still.

I've read one reviewer who stated that this book was the modern almanac of best business practices. I agree completely.

I run my own small law firm. We have implemented many of this book's practices with great success and profitablilty. Primary among them is fixed fee agreements. Yes, we are a law firm that has trashed its time sheets, due in large part to the inspiration and impetus of this book. And, we will never go back.

An earlier reviewer suggested that this book would be more useful for CPA's and not for lawyers. I disagree. Though I'm certain the message of this book is critical for CPA's, I think that any person in law firm leadership must read this book. I think it is particularly suited to small firms and solos who will have the ability to immediately take action in implementing these ideas and making them a reality in their practice.

However, if you are one of my competitors forget everything I said above and do not touch this book. My firm and my family will thank you.

The Firm of The Future coordinates both the theory and practical application of pricing concepts AND business service models in such a complelling manner that Baker & Dunn give Professional services organizations permission to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

While the Firm of The Future is geared to the legal and accounting professions the message and vision is applicable to Advertising agencies, Consulting Organizations, Marketing service firms and professional service providers of all shapes and sizes.

Cost plus pricing is short sighted and intellectually flawed.The intense pressure on increasing billable hours and driving down costs is destroying the creativity and core capabilities of Professional Service companies.Baker&Dunn explain the flaws of cost plus and hourly schemes and identify a road map which outlines how to move a professional services organization and it's customers to a healthier, happier, more productive and more mutually profitable business process

A great read---Inspirational and practical


Tom Finneran
Executive Vice President
American Association of Advertising Agencies

Expanding on the principles discussed in Value Pricing, Ron Baker has teamed up with Paul Dunn to share their theories, insights and ideas on how professionals (in particular CPAs) view and price their services. The Firm of the Future is written around major themes and includes individual commentary from Ron and Paul.

Are you creating value for your clients and charging for the value you provide, or are you charging your clients based on the time you spend? If you are not thinking about the value you are creating for your clients, watch out! Every professional who reads this book will be thinking about the value they can add not only to their clients, but yours. What about fees? Do you think that you can match or beat my price? "Any firm can compete on price; it is truly a fool's game. In contrast, competing based on Total Quality Service, positive customer experiences, and transformations requires more thought, creativity and investment." This book could be your first investment in achieving Total Quality Service and differentiating yourself from the competition.

Paul Dunn & Ronald J Baker's new book "The Firm of the Future and the Future of the Firm" challenges the old paradigms of the professional firm and clearly shows the way forward.

Although aimed at the professional firm, the book is relevant to all service businesses.

If you attended Paul Dunn's seminars and read Ronald J Baker's books, then this will be a useful refresher. If you haven't - then oh boy what a ride! Let the journey begin.

In addition this book introduced to me the concept of Intellectual Capital, a framework that I'll certainly use in the future.

The authors have immense experience consulting with accounting firms. Every accountant in the United States should read this book and apply its concepts. Then, and only then, will accountants redeem themselves from the scandals that the "Final Four" and "Andersen androids" delivered to us. Accounting has dealt with irrelevant matters for decades now. How telling it was when the authors point out that the last service innovation promulgated by the accounting professional body, the AICPA, occurred back in 1974-29 years and ticking.

So, what's the problem with accounting firms anyway? The list is endless. I can summarize the problem with a simple statement-no guts. An old joke describes accountants as insurance actuaries without the sense of humor. It goes deeper than that. Too many prefer to review the game and announce the winners rather than actually roll up their sleeves and help their selected clients win. Sure, that's sort of messy but that is where true professional satisfaction lies. Also, it involves making real judgments too, helping clients who deserve our help because we really care about them and want to help make them more successful. Sure, that requires making choices. If you don't like a client, why in the heck are you working for them anyway?

Too many accounting firms operate on this principle. An old joke says that accountants are the sort of people who after the battle, bayonet the wounded. I can add another corollary to this. Not only do accountants bayonet the wounded, they also strip the corpses naked with fees not tied to real value but to a rate per hour tied to what they want to make, rather than what the client really got. If you believe you deserve to be paid no matter what you really did to help, this book isn't for you. But, if you believe your fees should relate to what you've really done to help somebody, these folks not only support your point of view, they prove it beyond all doubt.

I didn't give this book five stars because the author's really don't make their case as well for project based professionals like certain lawyers. Should lawyers be more upfront about their charges? Absolutely. But, I sympathize with the struggles they face pricing services without adequate experience with a particular client. Lawyers will find Baker's prior works on value pricing more applicable to their practice situations than this work.

Baker and Dunn certainly get it. This thouroughly researched and insightful book had me breaking out my highlighter, dog-earing pages, reading aloud to my wife. Firm of the Future got me fired up, and dreaming again.

Baker and Dunn occupy the same real estate on my bookshelf as George Gilder, Peter Druker,Walt Disney, Harvey MacKay, and Michael Gerber. Baker and Dunn apply the science of economics and the wisdom of GOOD BUSINESS SENSE to professional services in a way that could revolutionize the professional services industries in a dramatic fasion.

I apologize for the following trite blurb: "If there is one business book the professional must read, it's Firm of the Future" - but it is true. If you consider yourself "forward thinking" and want to regain joy from your professional service business, this is your book.

I sincerely hope that my competition avoids this book; or at best, reads it, forms a committee, and organizes a task force to look into the issues of "value billing." While my competition arrogantly holds thier client's hand, a quiet revolution will be occurring; and the customer will seek a better experience- with professionals who are forming the Firms of the Future.

I've read hundreds of business books, from the popular to the technical, economic theory, touchy-feely, to chainsaw management....This book got me excited about being a CPA again! valuable at a time when the profession is going through a credibility crisis.

Ron Baker is doing for the professional services firms what Columbus and Pythagoras did for the "Earth is Flat" proponents! "Paradigm-shifting" has become so over-used in our culture, but it is not mere hyperbole when describing this book. The work is quite thorough, implementing excerpts, quotes, and philosophies from dozens of well-respected scholars, economists, and management consultants. The work reminds me a lot of Tom Peters' seminal book, "In Search of Excellence" in the way in which the author sprinkles in so many great examples from other successful organizations and industries. In addition, he has many real-world examples (from firms around the world) of professional services firms that have successfully tranformed their practices. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any professional who is trying to transform a professional services organization or who is wondering if there might be a more effective and profitable way to run a professional services firm.

This book exposes what the authors consider to be an archaic and counterproductive approach to traditional "revenue" based accounting versus would-be "profitability" based accounting. This is a prescription for how accounting can become collaboratively vital to a company's profitability, rather than remain an adjunct transactional function. What's profound about this prescription is that it is based on the same understanding of value delivery so many B2B companies lack: The message of reform, by way of achieving a deeper understanding of purpose and potential, is not just a message accounting firms need to comprehend and act on, it is a message for any company that is out of touch with its marketplace and its own business potential.

I am a mere law student right now so my opinion can't be informed by years of practicing the principles in this book. Still, I think this should be required reading at every law school. That's a cliche statement but I mean it. Having worked for 10+ years before coming to law school, I have to say I found the billable hour to be obscene when I first encountered it. It just makes no business sense. I am amazed that clients have agreed to it for as long as they have. But countless "experts" have given the billable hour chat in an overpriced $80 ABA book - this goes well beyond that. Once Dunn and Baker get you past the billable hour nonsense, they open your mind to the possibilities. Using knowledge to build multiple streams of income is just brilliant. This book even goes so far as to drop pointers on the interview process. The Firm of the Future is packed with information. It's worth reading slowly and taking notes. I'll be happy to model my own firm on the points in this book. I suspect I won't regret it.

This book is a must read for all CPAs, and accounting students as well.

It's just that simple.