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My Week – Technical Accountant

22nd Jan 2016
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I am settling into my technical accountant role. It is NOT a role I envisaged for myself on a long term basis. It may turn out this way.

I would not call it a challenging role. In fact, it is far easier than a strategic business owner role. In that, you do what needs to be done. You do all the client work, make your practice management systems efficient and keep your existing clients happy. In other words, the uncertainty and risks are missing. As long you do the work of a technical accountant, in the main everything is tickety-boo.

The critical aspect of marketing and/or business building are missing. After a certain level client, it is impossible to do both. Trying to do this would mean neither of the roles would be undertaken well.

The way I feel, I will maintain the current status quo. Expansion is not on the agenda at present. Thanks to my past hard work, the practice is still growing but not a pace I would like. For the moment, that is for the best since I do not have the capacity.

I need to give myself, space to breathe and take a back seat. This means, continuing with my current role, maybe for a year, then think.

I received one of those emails from a recruitment consultant asking me if I knew anyone who would be interested in a technical accountant role. It offered a reasonably attractive salary plus the usual benefits. I was tempted. From a Directorship to a technical accountant, not a good move. Maybe try for another Directorship role? No. For the moment, I will stick with my current technical accountant role.  

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Replies (5)

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By cheekychappy
22nd Jan 2016 19:11

Slow but surely, I think you are starting to realise that you are the business.
You won't admit we were right, however.

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Locutus of Borg
By Locutus
23rd Jan 2016 18:27

Marketing and system development should never be a full time job in a micro practice. Perhaps it could be in a practice of 10+ workers, but not in one of your size.

If you try and make it into a full time job in a micro practice then you simply become top heavy and struggle to make a profit. Ironically, if the marketing is really successful then your small workforce would quickly become overwhelmed,

Most successful accounting practice owners that I have seen spend most of their week doing the type of work that their clients pay them to do (whilst delegating the more basic work to junior staff) and a minority of their time doing doing marketing and other non-productive work.

That way their practices continue to grow in a controlled fashion. If the practice continues to grow, then the owner is gradually able to devote more time to marketing or whatever they like doing.

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By mrme89
23rd Jan 2016 17:59

I've always got the impression that you measure the success of your practice by client numbers and not profitability. 

Now that you are doing the work, and are going to do it for a while, you should see your profits increase. Are you eventually going to forfeit those profits for another full time employee, or will you hire a part time employee once the workload demands it? Or something different?

 

 

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
24th Jan 2016 21:17

I think I have just heard
- a penny drop with Firstab. Another few months he will raking in the produce of all,his chargeable work he has been doing.

But then again.

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By MissAccounting
26th Jan 2016 09:15

Hes just playing it safe with a sensible post before another completely outlandish made up one next week Glennzy!

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