Accountants shun social media when attracting clients

LESS THAN ONE in ten accountants use social media as a main means of attracting clients, according to a survey by the CCH IT company and YouGov.

At its annual conference, CCH said that, even with the vast technological advances, "traditional" and "conventional" methods such as face to face meetings continued to dominate the way accountants draw in new clients.

When asked what were the top methods used to bring in new clients, 78% said word-of-mouth, 40% personal networking and just 9% of the 99 firms surveyed said social media.

Similarly, 80% of clients said they find accountants through the traditional methods such as recommendations.

Firms are also less likely to make the leap to digital paperless offices anytime soon with 38% claiming they are not likely to move to digital.

Online products fared just as badly, with 64% claiming they were not likely to move to cloud computing.

Cathy Wolfe, CEO of CCH parent company Wolters Kluwer, said social media and online products would increase as iPads became more popular and more clients moved to cloud computing in the future.

The CCH conference took place over two days at the Grove in Hertfordshire this month.