Erik Solbakken is a certified professional accountant (CPA) in Canada and creator of the Accountant Success Formula™. For over 26 years, he provided accounting, tax, and advisory services to incorporated business owners and their families. Erik understands firsthand the struggles of running an accounting practice. During his time in public practice he developed and implemented a business model that was so effective that it allowed him to triple his net income without having to work a single hour of overtime.

Erik believes that accountants have been conditioned to accept a flawed, outdated and oppressive business model. As a result, most accountants suffer needlessly and never achieve the level of success they deserve. An avid proponent of the accounting profession, his mission is to end this suffering for all accountants and to positively impact millions of lives. Shownotes:

• How dropping the billable hour business model tripled an accounting firm's income without working an hour longer
• The traditional accounting firm business model is oppressive and negatively affects the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of accountants
• Accountants have been lied to for many years, but there is a path to freedom
• Does your accounting firm still require timesheets from staff?
• When accountants make it all about time, especially with the billable hour, they make their services all about price
• To command higher price for their services, accountants need to change the way that they sell
• Accountants struggle with the word 'sell' so why not change it to the word 'present'?
• Accountants create price sensitive clients because of the way they sell to them
• The big misconception about value pricing in the selling of accountancy services
• Would your accounting clients be willing to pay you $100K to make £1m?
• What accountants actually sell their client isn't what they think it is
• Artificial intelligence will wipe out so many accountants if they don't become the trusted advisor for their clients
• There's a lot to be said for an accountant working out a price with a pencil, paper and a frank conversation
• Accountants should move to a subscription based model or pricing their services
• Bookkeeping is bottom of the value curve and is getting automated faster every day
• Compliance is not dead but dying for accountants, with huge downward pressure on fees for services that can be automated
• The accounting gene pool is dropping with less accountants coming into the profession
• Embracing technology is dangerous for accountants because it puts downward pressure on price through efficiences
• Baby boomer leaders in accounting firms are a bottleneck to change, to better pricing and more profits
• What makes a good accountant great is thinking like an entrepreneur

Erik’s passion for life goes beyond the accounting arena. In his free time, he loves spending time with his wife and children, is an avid boater (in the summer months you can find him enjoying the gulf islands off the west coast of North America) and he is the drummer and lead singer of an 80’s heavy metal band. You can contact him below:

Erik on LinkedIn

Erik Solbakken website