Happy new financial year!
This is a great time to discuss a very important issue for your accountancy business – “How do you respond to:
- disruptive technologies?
- changing market demands by SMEs?
- SME fee resistance for compliance work?
- new market trends?
- commoditisation of taxation returns?”
The CommBank Accounting Market Pulse Report June 2018 reported that approximately 90% of the accounting firms that they surveyed were “planning to add or grow new service lines over the next 12 – 18 months, with many expanding in multiple areas”.
The report also indicated that 44% of the firms surveyed indicated they were developing “new services”, whilst 64% of the surveyed firms indicated that they were pursuing “organic growth” within their firms.
When you consider all of these items, what should your firm be doing to “future proof” your business activities”?
Our suggestion is that you implement our “8 Step Future Proof Strategy for Your Accountancy Business”.
Step 1 – Implement New Business Services
By identifying a range of new business services that your firm could introduce. These services could include:
- Debtors’ Review – aim to reduce high debtors’ days outstanding.
- Preparation of a Debtors’ Systems Manual – aim to supply a written customised debtors’ manual for your clients.
- Personal Property Securities Register Due Diligence Review – identify your clients in the “PPSR High Risk Categories” and offer to undertake an annual due diligence review for them.
- Business Plans – identify clients that might need a business plan – sales over $2m, wanting to expand or acquire other businesses, interested in raising capital.
- Identification of Government Grants – clients in the targeted industries who would like to receive a 50% subsidy for services that will benefit their business.
- Chief Financial Officer Services – for businesses with turnovers over $2m, businesses wanting to grow, businesses interested in raising capital.
- Capital Raising Assistance – for companies who are interested in raising capital as an Early Stage Innovation Company or a Crowd Sourced Funding Company.
Step 2 – Identify the Clients
You could utilise our service matrix to identify the clients who are interested in the types of services that are listed in Step 1.
Step 3 – Training Your Accounting Team
On a range of new skills required to successfully deliver a range of business services as distinct from compliance services.
Step 4 – Training/Briefing of all of the Staff on the Future Proofing Strategy
This will assist all of your team to be able to communicate with your clients and prospects about the new exciting range of services that your firm is offering.
Step 5 – Series of Small Seminars/Webinars
It is important that you communicate with clients, identified as prospects for the “new business services”, that your firm is offering. Our suggestion is no more than ten businesses at a seminar – enables one-on-one discussions and prompt follow-up.
Step 6 – One-On-One Meetings with Clients
Utilise the ESS SME Needs’ Analysis to gain confirmation from your clients, who participated in the small seminars/webinars, of the additional services, that they want you to provide.
Step 7 – Implementation
After the one-on-one meeting with your client, promptly submit a written proposal and quotation. Don’t delay in getting the proposal to your client and when they have signed off on the proposal get started on the project. Clients will not be as tolerant of delays in business advisory services work being undertaken as what they have learnt to be for taxation services.
Step 8 – Ongoing Marketing
Update your website, social media, brochures etc., to continually inform your clients/prospects of the services that your firm is providing. Prepare videos, webinars, media releases to inform your market that your firm is aware of SMEs’ desire for a broader range of services to be offered to them.
ESS BIZTOOLS has Australia’s most diverse range of products/services to assist accountants to “future proof” by delivering a range of commercial services for your clients.
As part of our celebration of the new financial year, we are offering you the opportunity to make a low-cost investment entry into business advisory services. We firmly believe that these products will assist accountants to satisfy client requirements, will give your team the opportunity to be involved in “real accounting work” and will make a significant contribution to “future proofing your accountancy business.”
The ESS BIZTOOLS’ Silver Package “New Financial Year” product offering for “For Accountant readers” is:
- 30% reduction from our normal subscription
- plus, one-hour free mentoring webinar/Skype session for your team to assist them with your firm’s business advisory services journey
- plus, free product offering – “New Opportunities Calculator” (to assist in identifying where your firm might be vulnerable to client loss and assist in identifying the group of clients to which you might be able to sell additional services).
Your investment $1,532.30 (incl GST) for a 12-month, 24/7 subscription per office. To avail yourself of this fantastic offer, please (Click here)
If you need any further information, please send me an email – peter@essbiztools.com.au or phone 1800 232 088.
Peter Towers | Managing Director – ESS BIZTOOLS PTY LTD
+61 7 4724 1118 | 1800 232 088
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