I work with CEOs, MDs and FDs across many different industries. A client engages my company, to review and transform their sales function and enable growth by implementing a sustainable sales system© that will mitigate risk and maximise profit.
The future and the economy are always top of the agenda and I think this presents a great opportunity for accountancy firms who want to differentiate and grow their business.
News articles are appearing daily about the rapidly changing business world and point to an uncertain future. My experience with business owners and entrepreneurs shows they are looking for structure and substance to enable growth and confidence.
Growth and expansion
Accountancy firms may choose to focus their efforts to work with clients who are looking for growth and expansion because these clients have the most need of business and financial advice.
Business growth and business confidence stimulate work for everyone. Business owners are far more likely to invest in premises, machinery, IP, staff etc if they believe growth is achievable and will give them a competitive advantage in their market.
The challenge for many accountancy firms, is the difficulty in showing a clear differential between themselves and the competition, when they both offer Bookkeeping, HR, Tax and Audit in their stable of products.
Business advisory
Rebranding the firm as a business advisory is not the answer. It’s important that any new products or services you add to your offering don’t detract from your bread and butter products or destabilise your client base.
Your firm may already offer growth advisory services as well as traditional accountancy products. The accountancy profession offers a solid foundation for the addition of specific growth advisory services. Your offering may already include advice on financial decisions, auditing accounts and providing trustworthy information about financial records.
You may also report on taxation, audit, undertake forensic accounting, manage corporate finance including business recovery and insolvency, reviewing accounting systems and processes.
Professional services
Whether your firm is interested in growing your audit business, or introducing additional business growth and financial advisory services, accountants are perfectly positioned to differentiate from other professional service offerings.
Accountancy qualifications, training and experience are great assets, giving your services credibility and integrity. Whichever strategy you employ to achieve your firm’s objectives, you must assist with your clients’ business growth and this will include focusing on areas where they are underperforming.
As ways of doing business grow more sophisticated, firms need to embrace technology and find new ways of interacting with businesses to stay relevant and add more value to their existing clients while attracting new ones. It’s important to understand that winning new clients requires a sales skill-set and mindset, with energy focused on prospecting and winning sales using a sustainable and systematic method.
Technology
However, technology is the future, whether we like it or not. Chasing growth and profit will continue to ensure businesses outsource basic compliance activities to number crunching lower paid/lower value facilities and rely more heavily on financial and business advice.
I’m interested to see that cloud-based accountancy software platform Xero has developed technology that is transforming the way accountants are interacting with their clients. We all know that change requires continual education to ensure real value is delivered.
Xero has developed playbooks to educate their ecosystem of users. The accessible playbooks provide advice and guidance, with each playbook focused on a specific area such as cashflow, retail and professional services. *
Accountants are able to specialise in any industry and firms may have a portfolio of varied clients including public practice, commerce and not-for-profit and public sectors. Whichever industry you or your firm is in, the aim is always to maximise profitability for your clients. Maximising profitability means re-focusing their sales effort and ensuring their sales function is driving the growth they want.
A clear focus on a client’s own revenue and profit aspirations will have an immediate impact on the firm’s success/growth plans. Your advice must be able to achieve the growth they’re looking for with a corresponding increase in their sales and revenue. If you can do this, your accountancy practice will grow along with each client you advise. It makes sense – if they grow, so do you.