Accounting is a great profession to be in. Not only is it a rewarding profession where you can add a lot of value to your clients lives, but a high level of trust can be built over a number of years with both individual and SME clients.
But there are storm clouds gathering, from a series of external forces slowly accumulating on accountants and demanding change.
These forces include changing regulations, cloud based technologies changing the way clients are interacting with both accounting software and practices themselves, shifting client needs and margin pressure on traditional revenue sources.
The storm clouds for many are approaching faster than many think, and most aren’t quite sure what to do about it. It really has come time for accountants in public practice to change their mindset in order to change their businesses. An excellent concept to enable this change is to adopt the following approach:
1. Stop worrying about things you can’t control and start focusing on the things you can.
• In reality, accountants who are not working on their business will be going backwards in real terms year on year. With the volume of change occurring externally keeping accountants awake at night, worrying alone will not help them adapt.
• What this means is a change in thinking from worrying to action. This is one of the key ingredients to success.
• The best approach is to start with what your Accounting clients want and take action from there. Map the current and future needs of your clients. Complete an audit of all your staff to assess your current capabilities, then package them up and identify target clients to offer them to. You can even think about skills accumulated whilst studying and offer services around these, such as such as inventory management, bank reconciliations, cash-flow analysis and software set up and training. Many of these services are outsourced to bookkeepers but can easily be offered by junior staff in an Accounting firm to provide clients with a complete service package in house.
• Then, determine the capabilities you need in the future, and enroll staff members into programs to obtain these skills. A good example would be if you want to offer SMSF advice in the future, chances are you will need a staff member who is RG146 compliant with a SMSF accreditation.
2. Get an external perspective
• Another key ingredient to success utilised by the more advanced and successful accountants is the use of external coaches to help from both a support and accountability perspective when implementing change.
• Consider who in your professional network can help, or seek out an expert. They can offer perspective on the external forces at work and help you work through a logical plan to adapt to change while remaining client centric as Accountants rightly want to be. You don’t need to agree with everything that these people have to say, but it will help to make sure the decisions you make are informed choices, not rushed ones that are forced upon you.
A problem shared is a problem solved. Worrying alone won’t change what is happening, but a change in mindset will be an important first step for most.
Beyond Surviving to Thriving – Key Research
- 91% of accountants believe they lack the confidence to deliver advice services.
- 42% of accountants believe they need to make major changes to secure future growth
- 62% of practices today don’t have their own trusted adviser or external coach
Source: Bstar/Count – What’s Keeping Accountants Awake at Night? 2015
