'I am seeking a powerful independent means of continuing to show partners the way forward for the firm. Accounting Beacon is proving very useful in this, and strengthens management's mandate.'
Giam Swiegers,
Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte
What evidence is Beacon based on?
As Australia's leading consultants to the professions, we use the resources, skills and experience of the Beaton Consulting team to help firms gain access to the highest-quality market research.
What is the Annual Business and Professions Study?
The Annual Business and Professions Study (ABPS) is the overarching research that informs Beacon. It is made possible by a unique collaboration between Beaton Consulting and a number of professional and industry associations.
How do the BRW Client Choice Awards fit in?
Beacon includes data on how clients buy professional services, how they view firms' performance on a range of attributes and what they think about firm brands. Part of the data in the performance section of Beacon is also used independently to judge the BRW Client Choice Awards. The Awards are a way of celebrating excellence within the professions by recognising those firms that clients rate as top performers.
How was Beacon designed?
How can we be sure its insights are valuable to us?
When Beacon was conceptualised in 2000, Beaton Consulting was not a market research firm with an interest in the professions. We were – and are – expert consultants to the professions, and we recognised a need for quality market research to support your firm's strategies.
The need for Beacon was discovered through Margaret Beaton's PhD on how corporate and government clients think about the service delivered by professional service firms. Her research provided much of the fundamental basis for Beacon and ensures it answers the strategic questions that firms need to know. Each year, the research is refined and new ideas are tested through dialogue with subscribing firms and the latest professional services literature.
While a few independent market studies provide a market-wide perspective on certain aspects (such as financial benchmarks) of various professions, they are usually based on information that is either of a generic, non-firm-specific nature, or provided by participating organisations rather than clients. Beacon is the only large-scale independent study that is market-wide yet captures client perceptions of individual firms.
The integrity of the research is protected in a number of ways – click here to read how.
Beacon™ is a trade mark of Beaton Consulting.