Mid-size practices face closure crisis

A Midlands based firm of Chartered Accountants (with more than 5 offices) has just lost a friend of mine as a client.

The firm of accountants at first sight and to my prior impressions was regarded by me as highly reputable and highly professional.

How far from the experience that my friend sufferred with his business !

To read more :-

http://tinyurl.com/yqt457

I would like to think the trend for the benefit of small businesses is for such a 7 or 8 office under-performing firm to become 7 or 8 individual firms more focussed on local business needs.

The downside of having 7 or 8 individual firms (each having one office) is potentially a lack of specialist knowledge within in the individual firms, but surely this could be overcome by mutual co-operation between individual firms or the smaller one-office firms subscriping to a helpline / accountants technical support group.

Interesting prediction but to assert: "There is little doubt that many of the firms responding to this survey will no longer exist" is gratuitious sensation seeking.

Having worked for a six office firm as a manager, the sooner that partners get back to working for their living and actually trying to prepare accounts , getting stuck in to proper tax advice, and stop inflating time sheets for themselves and their staff, the better. Forget all the fancy hyperbole and marketing spin, there is a place for us all if we are prepared to offer value for money services and stop accepting that the donkey work done by junior staff is the key to profit without experienced staff getting actively involved.