As the effects of technology, speed of change, and information overload take their toll on many businesses, the accounting profession is also under pressure to change. Gone are the days where compliance was the only service provided. For accounting businesses to stand any chance of surviving in the future, they need to change and evolve to align themselves and their skill set with the needs of their clients. Bottrell Business strive to continuously move forward, expanding with new and innovative methods, as well as utilising the minds of the next generation. See how this ever evolving Accounting and Business Growth firm can help you – 4933 6888, or email us at gavin@bottrellbusiness.com.au
Looking at the impact of technology
This message is no longer new to the profession, yet some are either choosing not to change or have decided that their days are numbered. The results for these businesses are decreased revenue and decreased profits. The impact of technology in particular, has meant compliance can be done more efficiently with less need for human interaction (fewer hours to bill) and a resultant drop in fees. With compliance being a grudge buy and perceived by many as not providing them with anything of value, clients now shop around for the lowest fee. In other words, it’s a race to the bottom.
So, what services do clients value and what, therefore, are they prepared to spend money on? The answer, in a nutshell, is advisory services. So for those of us who are prepared to roll up their sleeves and embrace change, how do we transition to this new world of advisory?
So what do clients think?
Feedback from clients about their experience has been very positive, and it’s a win-win situation – we have clients who are now equipped with the support they need to transform their businesses, and that in turn provides us with continuing work with a business client who is buying a broader range of services from us.
As a bunch of accountants, the biggest challenge we have, of course, is around the delivery of non-financial services. The skills required to deliver advisory and business support services generally come from someone who has ‘been there and done that’.
To kickstart, take a collaborative approach – outsourcing to local experts when the necessary skills weren’t immediately available from our internal team (or where the capability only existed in a handful). It’s all about the client experience and ensuring it’s consistent, regardless of the advisor. Using technology to our own advantage, we’ve created processes, and adopted and white labelled cloud tools to support that consistency.
Looking forward to the future
Firstly, we need to recruit people who can demonstrate strong interpersonal, commercial and communication skills with previous business experience (things that traditionally don’t come naturally for accountants).
Secondly, we need to nurture and mentor our graduate accountants, leading by example to expose them to client-facing situations wherever possible. For example, I encourage younger team members to shadow me in meetings to experience first-hand experience situations that they would otherwise not be exposed to. The quicker we can up-skill, the quicker we can reap the rewards. Not only that, the opportunities to cross-sell, calling on the expertise of other team members, increase.
Diversifying our business into a broad range of professional services to further expand the Bottrell brand has been a large driving force for the innovative and new solutions our team delivers. Whether it be financial, marketing or advisory services, we have all business sectors covered.
Tips for expanding your accounting service skill set
- Think outside the box when it comes to what you can offer your clients
- Listen to what your clients are after, then respond in kind
- Don’t be afraid to use technology to expand your skill set
- Always be aiming to up-skill and re-skill
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