Art of Accounting: Preparing proposals
Frequently we are asked to prepare a formal proposal. This is usually done when the client or prospect is considering multiple firms and the decision will either be made by a board of directors or when the person making the decision feels the need to tangibly back up their decision. Sometimes the request is made to show that multiple firms were solicited when management wants to retain the current accounting firm. Whatever the reason, it is usually a good practice to comply and to comply with a complete and impressive proposal.
This column was prompted by a colleague’s request asking me how she could go about preparing a proposal. For starters, the proposal should include a detailed description of the requested services and scope and the client’s anticipated role, biographies emphasizing the experience of the people that will be working on the engagement, experience in the client’s industry, a timetable for the deliverable, where the work would be performed (usually on the client’s premises), the range of your rates for each level that will work on the team (if it is a time-based fee), and payment terms.
