Shifting Competitive Landscape in Accounting

One of our wonderful clients is the accounting firm of Simpson & Osborne. They are a member of the BDO Seidman Alliance, which is noted in the news clip below. [Link to Simpson & Osborne]

In the accounting industry it appears that a shift is occurring. BDO seems to be leading the way. Is there a common thread across all professional service firms? Are the competitive cirucumstances such that the "little guys" (who are more nimble and more cost-effective) are in a position to routinely and soundly knock off the "big guys?"

Cheaper, more attentive second-tier firms are scoring clients off the Big 4. According to proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co., 238 companies with more than $100 million revenue switched auditors in 2004, up from 115 in 2003. The winners have been the second-tier firms. According to Glass Lewis, BDO Seidman gained 71 new clients in 2004, after factoring in gains and defections. Grant Thornton, McGladrey & Pullen and Crowe Chizek gained 46 such clients combined. The trend continues, according to GT's own statistics. It led all U.S. firms in new SEC audit work for the first six months of 2005, picking up 50 new SEC audit clients.

Read the BusinessWeek article at:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948035_mz011.htm