Are The Rich And Famous Using GoodAccountants.com?

The one thing popular CEO, Jack Welch, Pop Star Justin Bieber and world renowned fashion designer, Ralph Lauren may all have in common is GoodAccountants.com, the nation’s fastest growing online accounting service.

Managers immersed in projects in which the three iconic figures are affiliated with have tapped GoodAccountants.com for referrals to accountants that are members of its network.

But more than the rich and famous, it is Corporate America that is utilizing the services of GoodAccountants.com, the nation’s largest online accountancy referral network. The array of logos of corporate clients on display on the company’s new website is quite impressive. From the National Basketball Association to corporate giants such as McDonald’s, many well established companies are engaging the services of GoodAccountants.com’s nationwide network of accountants for such things as their annual audit, for tax planning and financial statements as well as for outsource bookkeeping and CFO services.

“In the not so distant past, when someone needed an accountant they would ask their brother-in-law or next door neighbor for a referral which is no longer the way it’s done,” says Johanna Laurent, President of GoodAccountants.com.  “Finding your accountant or an accounting firm online is now the new normal, as opposed to the way it was done in the past when it was not uncommon for someone to ask a friend or relative for guidance in finding an accounting professional to help them,” she adds.  But what may be adding to the increase notoriety of GoodAccountants.com over some of the nation’s largest accounting firms is its relevancy to a younger and more tech savvy population of Americans.

With the proliferation of social networking websites and Internet accessible devices, consumer behavior has changed significantly in terms of the way people are connecting with service providers today. “When you’re looking for a reliable contractor to fix the leak in your roof, you go to Angie’s List, when you’re looking for a dentist you go to 1-800 Dentist, when you need a good accountant, you go to GoodAccountants.com, no one picks up the yellow pages anymore,” says Laurent. “Now, people pick up their cell phones or some other mobile device on which they can perform a Google search for whatever it is they’re looking for, this is the way it’s done today,” she explains. However, such behavior is not only typical of impulse shoppers, but is prevalent among business owners and corporate managers that are deliberately choosing online search instead of asking their attorney or banker for advice about who they should select as their accountant. The reason may be that online search is empowering and gives owners and managers the feeling they are in control of their decision making process and not someone else. It also affords them a level of confidentiality.

The fact is each year more and more Americans are shopping the Internet to find everything from electronics to bed warmers and the way they select who they’re going to do business with is no longer dependent on the local geography. The new GA Website which officially launches on New Year’s Day 2013, has taken these trends into consideration and incorporates technology that is designed for mobile devices. If you’re an accountant in today’s market place and you’re still relying on word of mouth, you’re at a big disadvantage to your peers who are using technology to grow their practice. For example, the new GA Website also utilizes patented software that tracks users who leave the site without selecting an accountant or requesting assistance. “At some point they’re going to make a decision to move forward and we want to be right there in front of them when they do,” says Laurent. “Our ads literally follow you around the internet keeping our services right there in front of you the whole time,” she adds.

Few accounting firms can directly compete when it comes to the know-how that is required to successfully advertise on the Internet which has resulted in GoodAccountants.com becoming the dominant presence in the online accounting marketplace. The company’s success in producing clients for thousands of accountants, bookkeepers and audit firms that comprise its nationwide network, is evidenced by the $2 dollars for every $1 dollar return-on-investment guarantee it offers its members. “Where else can you spend a dollar and are guaranteed to get back two dollars,” says Certified Public Accountant, Karen Hazleton who is a member of GoodAccountants.com.

In addition, the website gives users the option of selecting a service provider from a network of accounting professionals as opposed to just from a single service provider who may or may not be a good fit for the services that are required. When an accountant has been identified to help a particular website user, a profile page bearing the accountant’s credentials, office location and services is served up to the prospective customer within seconds of their inquiry being received by GoodAccountants.com. Some profile pages feature videos of the accountant with whom the website user will be meeting which makes the experience uniquely special.

Click here to test drive the new GA Website.

This article was written by Omar Reed, a freelance business writer and financial analyst.