Banks need to listen to accountants

Banks and finance providers need to listen more, have greater empathy and better understand the businesses they work with, according to new research.

The results so far of AccountingWEB’s banking and finance survey reveal a frustration among accountants in practice and their colleagues in business that banks just aren’t listening to them.

Survey respondents reported a lack of understanding, with one accountant in practice advising their bank: “Learn how to interpret accounts and understand the sector the business is operating in.”

There was also a feeling of distance from their finance provider and lack of personal touch, with another commenting: “Bring back the local bank manager to build links with local businesses.”

The survey asked what one piece of advice accountants would give banks and finance providers, and the majority of respondents flagged up the need for better quality customer relationships.

Along with relationship management, staff issues came up as a priority with one respondent saying: “Stop spreading managers too thin on customer ratio and bringing in ever younger staff with little knowledge,” while another commented: “allow your staff to develop relations with business. Train them then trust them.”

The majority of feedback kept coming back to listening to customers, getting to know customers and making the change to a "clients are the lifeblood of the bank" mentality.

When it came to FD and CFO survey respondents, the feedback was similarly customer-focussed with comments ranging from “be there for your customers”, “value your customer” and “Your best customers are the small businesses that have weathered the storm and are still here - you tend to forget that.”

Aside from that, the majority of comments from business respondents called for a simpler approach: being honest and straightforward.

“Keep it simple and compliant,” said one, while another commented, “stop complicating products”.

Do you agree with the results of our survey so far? Get your view across by taking the short survey now and you could win £100 in Amazon vouchers.