Abstract

Based on the viewpoint of the establishment of an additional management consulting company in an accounting firm, as well as the allied management consulting business and operations between the two accounting firms and management consulting companies, this paper discusses the key factors affecting management consulting business performance and then develops and empirically analyzes three regression models of management consulting business performance to conduct empirical analysis. It is found that the two models of the annual revenues and operating profits of management consulting companies show consistent results. When an accounting firm has the behavior of engaging in work in China and applying e-commerce in operation, and when the salary percentage of senior employees, percentage of management consultants, percentage of CPA-qualified employees, professionalism of employees, and concentration of business markets are all higher, positive benefits can arise for the management consulting companies, which can also help the allied management consulting business performance of the accounting firm and management consulting company. In addition, when the percentages of management consultants and CPA-qualified employees in the accounting firm are higher, a positive influence on the allied management consulting business performance of the accounting firm and management consulting company can be achieved.

۱٫ Introduction

For a long time, accounting firms have focused on traditional auditing and taxation services. They have played a pivotal role as gatekeepers of the faithful representation of company financials for the general public. The most important function of accounting firms is auditing services, and the independence of auditors is a key characteristic of an efficient capital market (DeFond et al., 2002). According to the 2015 Accounting Firm Service Industry Survey, the number of accounting firms in Taiwan increased from 1012 in 2010 to 1048 in 2014, and from 1139 to 1203 during the period if head offices and branches are accounted separately. As far as incorporations are concerned, the number of sole practitioners (one-accountant shops) rose from 769 in 2010 to 796 in 2014. The number of partnership firms with two or more accountants grew from 243 in 2010 to 252 in 2014. A total of 166 new firms were established from 2010 to 2014, contributing to 15.8% of the total. This translates to an increase of about 42 firms per year. In fact, 48 new firms were set up in 2014 (vs. 42 new firms in 2013). The increase in 2014 was the highest since 2011. In sum, the competition has intensified each year. This has created a business challenge for accounting firms regarding how to maintain competitive advantage and seek operational breakthroughs.