There is a commonly held view that the success of an accountancy firm is dependent solely on generating sufficient fees. As long as everybody focuses on fees, all will be well.

This perception is commonly endorsed by the traditional way that firms operate. It is a truism that a firm will get the behaviour that it is seen to record, to report and to reward.

This common focus on fees therefore follows because most attention is commonly directed to:

· Recording chargeable time and fees billed;

· Reporting new client wins and forecast fees that will flow there from; and

· Rewarding the highest billers and best fee winners.

Of course increasing fee income is essential to the future of any professional services firm. But the future of a firm, of its reputation, of it’s attractiveness to the next generation of partners and of its credibility with its stakeholders, depends on much more than the fees generated each year.

Whilst it is crucial to ensure that sufficient fees are generated to cover direct costs, overheads and to generate a profit margin, if that is all the firm focuses on  it will not last very long.  Over the years I have worked with many ambitious firms keen to grow and build their reputation. Fees are AN importnat focus, but not the only one.  What else do the readers of this blog consider to be important?