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Tip #2 for practice growth - Be a trusted advisor

27th Sep 2016
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lifecycle

Lifecycle is a new and unique network for accountants.

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Following the recent publication of its guide to practice growth, Lifecycle takes a look at number 2 of its five most overlooked yet essential tips for success.

Free to download, the guide is specifically relevant to those many SME accountants whose clients have at some point asked them to provide a non-core service that they are unable to deliver.

So to ensure that growth opportunities - in terms of client base, reputation, capabilities and fee revenue - are maximised, this very useful and usable document from Lifecycle highlights some of the simplest steps accountants can take.

Tip #2 from the guide is to be a trusted adviser

It’s long been known that SME owners rely on accountants more than any other adviser - and a major new study proves it.

The study - undertaken by researchers from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, working with the International Federation of Accountants - found that SMEs most frequently turn to small or medium-sized accountancy practices for business advice. And that using accountancy expertise leads to improved performance, in particular to increased rates of survival and growth, better decision-taking and superior financial outcomes.

This is because so many important business decisions are linked to company financials that SMEs depend on their accountant - their primary “go to” professional - to help them make the wisest choices.

As a result, they are consulted more often and - very importantly - their opinions carry a great deal of weight.

The benefits of being so trusted

Such strong reliance provides a whole host of opportunities for accountants to engage with their clients - offering mutual benefits to both their clients’ business performance and their own practice progress.

For entrepreneurial SME owners, setting up and growing a successful business is the most likely way to become professionally accomplished and personally wealthy. Such ambition means that they are most in need of a breadth of expertise and high quality advice. What’s more, they are willing to pay for it.

And as a significant proportion expect to sell their business one day, there are many reasons why clients need wide ranging levels of support and guidance from their advisors throughout their entire business lifecycle.

Being able to provide the most expert and extensive service offering to meet SME owners’ needs - from start-up to sale - can therefore enable accountants to capitalise on this dynamic whilst providing the highest service levels to clients.

How Lifecycle can help

There are untold opportunities for accountants to add significant value to business owners - as well as driving practice profitability - by offering a range of non-core, additional services. These include legal services and specialist funding advice with the expert support of a business partner.

Lifecycle is a new accountancy network that provides a simple, trusted and quality complementary offering that can expand a practice’s core services.

By becoming a member, SME accountants are also able to extend their client capabilities by outsourcing specialist services to a trusted and non-competing partner.

To download Lifecycle’s five most overlooked yet essential tips for practice growth, click here.  

About the Lifecycle network

Lifecycle is a unique network for accountants - provided by the Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group.

Lifecycle is free to join and also offers members many additional benefits. These include eligibility for a highly competitive Professional Indemnity insurance scheme, a regular programme of free training and education and discounts on products and services relevant to their business and clients’ needs.

Services offered by Lifecycle include: Company secretarial and formation; equity finance for SMEs; debt advisory for SMEs; personal debt advice; corporate restructuring, insolvency and cessation; debt finance for SMEs; cashflow maximisation; property solutions and legal services.

For more information on Lifecycle click here and to become a member of Lifecycle click here or call for free on 03300 242 333.

Follow Lifecycle on Twitter here or email at [email protected].

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