Business owners weigh in on MDP issue

According to a recent survey of more than 2,000 business executives from large and small companies in Illinois, a majority of business owners would have no fundamental objection if their accountant and lawyer were to become partners in a combined practice, commonly referred to as multidisciplinary practice (MDP). However, only one in five view such a combined practice as an advantage.

Specifically, the survey results show that 75% of respondents would have no fundamental objection if their accountant partnered with their lawyer in a combined practice with proper disclosure. Additionally, 85% said that if their current accountant or lawyer set up practice with a professional that they did not know, it would not cause them to sever the relationship. Twenty percent of the respondents said they would meet with and consider switching some of their business to the new MDP partner.

The survey identified shared practice areas in which respondents indicated they would call their accountant, attorney, or both for assistance, including: mergers, acquisitions, and sales; family business succession planning; business organization and formation; employee benefits and compensation; and e-commerce.

Of the presumed advantages that an MDP would offer, better advice and cost efficiencies were considered most important to respondents; single billing, single point of contact, and “one-stop shopping” were considered of little importance. Respondents cited conflicts of interest, confidentiality, uncertainty of uniform quality, conflicting advice, and loss of objectivity as potential disadvantages of MDPs. Forty-four percent of the respondents indicated these disadvantages might be sufficient to cause them to change their service provider.

The full survey is available at the websites for the Illinois CPA Society (www.icpas.org) and the Legal Marketing Association (www.legalmarketing.org).

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