Creating Compelling Client Communications

Candace L. Witherspoon, PhD

Technological advances have changed the possibilities for accounting professionals to communicate with clients. Clients cite communication barriers as a primary source of dissatisfaction with tax preparers, making effective communication essential to client retention (Steven P. Golen, Michael A. O'Dell, and Sanjay Gupta, “An Evaluation of Communication Barriers Between Tax Practitioners and Their Clients,” Journal of Education for Business, vol. 71, no. 3, pp. 157–161, 1996). Although most accountants still communicate with their clients primarily through in-person meetings and phone calls, e-mail is now widely used and video conferencing and texting are gaining popularity, particularly among younger professionals.