Chapters 1 through 5 of the book cover a history of the
accounting profession and move into why people buy what they buy, and
how much they will pay.
Chapters 6 and 7 challenge the 40-year-old practice of hourly billing.
Chapter 8 looks at price psychology and at why professionals suffer
from write-downs.
In Chapters 9 through 13 you will find alternative to the hourly
billing method that are superior in obtaining the value for the
services provided.
Chapter 14 reinforces the importance of customer service and loyalty.
Chapter 15 is about making the transition from a compliance CPA to a
consultant.
Chapter 16 discusses the morality of hourly billing vs. Value Pricing,
along with some of the ethical quandaries that attorneys are
struggling with as they shift away from hourly billing.
In Chapter 17 the critical link between a professional's level of
self-esteem and the ability to Value Price is explored.
Chapters 18 and 19 are for those who want to delve deeper into theory
and law and cover anti-trust policy and price theory.
Chapter 20 concludes with some thoughts regarding the death of the
Almighty Hour and whether or not Value Pricing is a fad that will
disappear or a portentous "paradigm shift" that will permanently alter
the way in which professionals price their services.
Ronald J. Baker started his accounting career in 1984 with
KPMG Peat Marwick's Private Business Advisory Services in San
Francisco. Today, in Corte Madera, California, he is a partner in
Baker & Barnett, CPAs--the firm he co-founded in 1988. He is a
Contributing Editor in PARTNER-TO-PARTNER ADVISORY, published by
Harcourt Professional Publishing. He travels across the United States
as a frequent speaker at CPA events and conferences and as a
consultant to CPA firms on implementing Total CPA Education Foundation
and has authored four courses for them: HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL
PRACTICE WITH TOTAL QUALITY SERVICE; THE SIFT FROM HOURLY BILLING TO
VALUE PRICING; VALUE PRICING, PART II; and ALTERNATIVES TO THE FEDERAL
INCOME TAX. He graduated in 1984 from San Francisco State University
with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and a minor in
economics. He is also a graduate of Disney University. Mr. Baker
currently resides in Petaluma, California.