Cowen, CPA: Accounting Outside the Box
Cowen, CPA: Accounting Outside the Box
For Cowen, “playing it safe” has always meant seeing beyond the conventional wisdom. “Look, my entire business is predicated on crunching the numbers, analyzing the trends, and saving my clients money in the long run,” he says. “Well, what’s more cost-effective than using Mac? I’m saving money every day with Mac — and it’s my business to know.
“People say Macs cost more money than PCs. But Mac is really far more cost-effective over time, because there’s so much back-end cost in using PCs. Suddenly you’re bringing in consultants to battle viruses, or recover lost data, or troubleshoot network issues. So many businesses spend a fortune maintaining their PCs.
“We don’t spend anything on maintaining our Mac platform. No consulting costs. No downtime due to viruses. You plug a new Mac into your network, it configures effortlessly, with no technical know-how — and runs forever. We never turn our machines off. I’ve used Macs for 20 years, and I can’t think of one that’s gone down on us. We have a couple PCs on our network, and we run through a PC every other year due to speed and support issues. I’ve never had to replace a Mac due to a support issue. We upgrade our Macs because of technology advances, not because something goes wrong with the hardware.
Taking Stock of the Intangibles
“As for productivity, well, my employees love using Mac — and that means a lot to me and my business. It’s easy to train people, and they enjoy their work. Even those who’ve been trained on PCs overcome their reluctance quickly — and they never want to go back.
There’s no doubt in my mind that, in so many ways, the Mac platform helps our firm focus wholeheartedly on client relationships. And that’s what gives me a competitive edge.
“That aspect of Mac use — the simple enjoyment — is intangible but crucial. Because it’s all about human relationships at this firm. I have great relationships with my employees. And I always tell them that we’re selling relationships, not services. It just so happens that we’re accountants, but what our clients want is a relationship they can rely on.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that, in so many ways, the Mac platform helps our firm focus wholeheartedly on client relationships. And that’s what gives me a competitive edge.”
