Accounting firms – like other professional service providers – rely heavily on client satisfaction and service quality to retain accounts and differentiate from the competition. Service quality and client satisfaction grow even more essential to business success during economic lulls and industry challenges. This may partially explain why business leaders across sectors prioritized customer experience (CX) in 2023. To understand how your service measures up year over year, you need a feedback tool that gathers insights and simplifies tracking—and gives you a metric that you can easily compare to your competition’s performance. Enter the Net Promoter Score® (NPS®), a service quality and customer satisfaction metric that serves as a leading indicator of revenue retention and growth, not to mention brand differentiation.

What is NPS?

Your NPS starts with a single survey question that asks clients how likely they are to recommend your firm to a friend or colleague. The most forward-thinking firms are also asking their employees, hoping to boost their employee experience (EX) too. Responses land on a scale of 0–10, ten being extremely likely and zero being not at all likely. From there, people have the option to offer more specific feedback.To calculate NPS, we subtract the % of detractors (those who respond with a 6 or lower) from the % of promoters (those who respond with 9 or 10).

Why is NPS Uniquely Useful?

NPS offers a standardized measurement to track and report on client satisfaction and service quality—one that can be applied across every level, from the industry as a whole to the brand level. Each company can also drill down within their organization, including by lines of business, department, or account manager. This means that you can compare your firm to others while also pinpointing the shining stars and any areas to improve within your organization. Learn more about how NPS can help drive business growth.

Accounting Industry NPS in 2023

ClearlyRated’s annual NPS Benchmark Study includes an industry focus on accounting firm NPS—and it’s good news. The 2023 accounting industry NPS has bumped up 2 points from 2022, landing at 41%. This NPS is the highest level recorded in the accounting industry going back to 2011, the first year that ClearlyRated measured industry satisfaction. Many drivers of accounting client satisfaction, such as responsiveness to calls/emails and delivering results within established timelines, are also at record highs in the industry. After a low point in the late 2010s, the industry’s average NPS picked up significantly, increasing by 15% in just one year, from 2020 to 2021. After a 1% increase in 2022, this year’s 2% increase marks the accounting industry’s third straight NPS rise, suggesting a trending improvement in the industry’s service levels.

Accounting Client Satisfaction – measured as NPS

Year-Over-Year Accounting Industry NPS (Client Ratings)

Insights on 2023 Ratings

We’re glad to see our accounting clients increase their NPS for the third consecutive year, especially within an industry that lags compared to global NPS standards. For reference those wider standards only classify organizations as excellent once they’ve earned a 50% NPS. A 70% NPS would classify them as world-class. What does it look like to have a 70%+ NPS? Consider Starbucks and USAA, recognizable service leaders with an NPS of 77% and 75%, respectively. Then compare them to Comcast, a notorious service laggard, whose clients give them a -25% NPS. While the accounting industry seems to be improving overall, it is still ripe for further progress. And as firms achieve better service levels, clients’ expectations will rightfully get higher, meaning any firms that don’t keep are likely to flounder. Click here to learn more about the NPS methodology.On the other hand, this presents a huge opportunity for accounting firms that capitalize on their NPS momentum, continuing to improve their customer satisfaction and service. Firms that manage to deliver an outstanding CX and earn a high NPS as a result will more easily outshine their competition. Get tips on how to improve your CX based on customer feedback.

A Note on EX in the Accounting Industry

Our NPS survey programs can help our clients in every industry measure both their CX and their employee experience (EX). In fact, we believe so much in the importance of EX that we use NPS surveys for our own employees and have even shared what we learned. Unfortunately, in our experience accounting firms are typically more hesitant than other types of organizations to measure and improve their EX.Thankfully, we’ve already seen some wise accounting firms like Perkins & Co use their NPS survey program to not only improve their CX but also boost their EX by celebrating their wins. When employees receive recognition for providing good service, they are happier and more likely to continue providing high levels of customer care. Keep in mind that a better EX helps you retain your employees and builds a foundation for an improved CX.

How does your firm stack up?

If you’re not already leveraging NPS at your firm, we hope you consider this article a call-to-action. Not only do client satisfaction and service quality represent opportunities to differentiate in an increasingly commodified service industry, they are fuel for firm growth. Remember the adage: “You can’t manage what you don’t measure” – and you certainly won’t be able to improve it either. Up against a reluctant firm culture? Get some tips on how to overcome common objections to survey programs to help build buy-in and get started.

Next Steps

• Ready to get started with NPS? Contact the ClearlyRated team for insights, best practices, and a tour of our survey platform (designed specifically to support professional services firms).
• Considering a survey program? Our veteran team of survey experts has compiled a Satisfaction Survey Checklist for accounting Firms to help you avoid common pitfalls and build a road map for a successful client survey initiative.