Many accountancy firms around Australia have obviously resolved to significantly diversify their business activities and to be very proactive relative to the introduction of Business Advisory Services to their firms.
The CommBank Accounting Market Pulse Report issued in early May 2021 indicated that, based on their survey, only 5% of accounting firms will not be diversifying services in the next 12 – 18 months. This means that 95% of those firms have endorsed the concept that they will be “diversifying services over the next few years”.
Business Advisory Services was identified as the service line which had the most support from firms planning to enter, or significantly grow, service lines with 81% of the “leading firms” identifying their support for Business Advisory Services.
We are about to commence a new financial year which, with the ongoing problems caused by COVID-19, will be very challenging for thousands of SME businesses all over Australia. These businesses deserve the highest possible level of service that accountants can provide to them and this goes well beyond the preparation of annual accounts and income tax returns.
My comment on all this – It’s Time to Implement!
Business Advisory Services has been talked about for a long time. With today’s technology and communications, there is no reason why accountants cannot deliver these value adding services for your clients.
Some of you have phoned me and said “Where do we start?”
Unfortunately, it’s not just a matter of resolving that you will implement Business Advisory Services and that your clients will come to you seeking those services.
There is a requirement for training of your team and marketing/communicating the new services that you’re going to provide to your clients and prospects.
Within ESS BIZTOOLS we have developed a Business Advisory Services Training Package – 13 modules covering a significant range of the matters that, I believe, require consideration and understanding before starting to offer these professional services.
It’s as simple as this – if you’re going to charge professional fees, you need to make sure that your team has been briefed on the intricacies of the delivery of a different range of services to your clients. Hopefully, most of this will be a “refresher course” to what was learned at university or in subsequent professional development training.
I then recommend that you analyse your clients to get a clear understanding of the number of clients you have in various industries and their current requirements:
- whether they need to substantially reduce debtors’ days outstanding;
- submit an Export Marketing Development Grant application;
- need advice because they have been undertaking research activities but they are not in a company and at this stage they’re unable to claim the Research and Development Tax Incentive Rebate; or
- they are going to need additional funding and have run out of assets that can be offered as security, in which case if they have a good business and a motivated leadership team they could be suitable to raise capital from the public as a Crowd Sourced Funding Equity Raising Company.
Your client might be a trade business or manufacturer who does not have a set approach to the determination of an appropriate charge out rate which will contribute to the generation of the profits that the owner is seeking. I believe that one of the key services accountants should be providing to this group of businesses and to professional service firms, is a calculation based on their teams’ productivity and labour costs, their preferred level of mark-ups on purchases for clients and their overhead expenses to determine charge out rates which would generate the targeted profits.
You could then offer to perform a monthly or quarterly business review and present your report at a business review meeting to determine whether the business’ actual performance has enabled the targeted profit to be generated.
And you might have many other similar opportunities.
ESS BIZTOOLS has developed a series of communications that our subscribers are able to send to their clients and prospects communicating these types of issues and identifying to their clients and prospects that they’re able to assist in the implementation of professional services to assist clients to better run their businesses and add value to their businesses.
ESS BIZTOOLS is presenting a series of free webinars in July/August to discuss the implementation of Business Advisory Services to small business and medium-sized enterprises. You are most welcome to join us for these webinars.
- “Business Advisory Services Implementation Training – Getting Ready” – Wednesday 7th July 2021 at 12-noon AEST. To register (click here).
- “Business Advisory Services Implementation Training – Debtors’ Management” – Tuesday 13th July 2021 at 12-noon AEST. To register (click here)
- “Business Advisory Services Implementation Training – Tradies’ Charge Out Rates Calculator” – Tuesday 20th July 2021 at 12-noon AEST. To register (click here)
- “Business Advisory Services Implementation Training – Client Mentoring & Coaching – Purchasing or Commencing a Business” – Wednesday 28th July 2021 at 12-noon. To register (click here).
- “Business Advisory Services Implementation Training – Survival in Difficult Times” – Tuesday 3rd August 2021. To register (click here).
- “Business Advisory Services Implementation Training – SME Debtors’ System Manual” – Thursday 12th August 2021 at 12-noon AEST. To register (click here).
- “Business Advisory Services Implementation Training – Client Seminars/Webinars – Characteristics of a Well Run Business” – Tuesday 17th August 2021. To register (click here).
- “Business Advisory Services Implementation Training – Retail Pricing Calculator – Aligning Product Mixes & Mark-ups to Earn Targeted Profits” – Wednesday 25th August 2021 at 12-noon AEST. To register (click here).
- “Business Advisory Services Implementation Training – Business Health Checks – Pharmacy & Supermarkets” – Tuesday 31st August 2021 at 12-noon AEST. To register (click here).
Want more information? Please visit – www.essbiztools.com.au
Or send me an email peter@essbiztools.com.au
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