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Brilliant!
Spot on! This research combines perfectly with the recent article in The Times Business also published on Monday 5th about the Big 4 entering the small business market. Small firms only have themselves to blame if the larger firms 'steal' their clients. Only 35% of accountants ask about investment/funding needs? Only 34% ask about strategic objectives? And yes, I see it every day across the industry - as I said in The Times article....smaller firms need to 'up their game'. That's EXACTLY why I set up The CFN because I saw this happening 10 years ago. What is depressing though is how hard it has been to change the accountancy profession's approach to their service. It's happening, but it is so slow (as the above research clearly demonstrates). I long way to go yet!
Extract above
'Accountants still came out on top as the first port of call for business advice with 31%, but were only a few percentage points ahead of Google (24%) and online sites like UK Business Forums (24%). Another 20% of business people seek advice from family, friends and business mentors'
My take on the above, the clients that call Accountants first are sometimes, lazy, do not wish to pay anything for Accounting advice (they do not get charged for asking their Accountant for advice so they take advantage). They do not understand anything to do with accounts, they come out with the most ludicrous schemes, they annually ask the same questions, they don't have a clue they get away with murder. Though sometimes they just need a little assurance rather than technical advice. But do we continually want emails, calls, meetings from our clients, sometimes yes and sometimes no. send them some bills for advice and assistance you will see the calls and emails dry up then. Though answering calls, etc can be good PR, but does the business suffer.
Those that Google have some idea and do not wish to bother or be sent a bill from their Accountant. The trouble with google is, you gets loads of opinions, advice and assistance.....far far to much, and you get different advice, opinions and interpretations. Though a reasonable opinion can be formed its pretty good
Advice from family, friends is normally hopeless we have all heard the phrase 'My mate says' (the mate is normally a knumskull with no accountancy knowledge).
It's not depressing it's an opportunity!
It's great. When you are talking to a business owner with a reactive accountant it is easy to get asked to quote for the work. Right now there is a massive opportunity to put lots of clear water between a proactive accountant and a compliance mentality accountant.
Every single client of mine affected by the dividend tax currently has a strategy in place to be actioned as soon as the tax becomes law, probably in February 16 but who knows how late in the tax year they will leave it?
So when my contractor clients are talking to their mates about the impact of the tax and telling them they have a plan in place, some of the mates are bound to think "How come my guy has not even mentioned this yet?"
Another example from 3 weeks ago, R&D tax credits. The company's accountant, when asked about these, had said "Call PW or Ernst and Young".
I am currently under way with a £30k tax refund for this company, pretty straightforward R&D claim in my view.
Mixed percentages or just the way it reads?
This is all good stuff but I am just not sure how to interpret the "communication gap" percentages - surely because the accountant/client relationship is a one/many relationship there will always appear to be a communication gap?
For example: Of 300 accountancy firms surveyed 150 say they talk to clients about AE (=50%). Of 300 businesses surveyed 100 say their accountant has talked to them about AE (=33%) BUT how many of the 300 businesses were clients of the 300 accountancy firms surveyed? Answer, less than 100% - hence the perception of the communication gap?
The easiest way
of finding out if there is indeed a "communication gap" is to find out (of the 300 Accountancy firms) how many clients they actually lost through non communication. My bet is on very few.
" Fifteen per cent of
" Fifteen per cent of businesses said they were happy with how things are with their accountants"
Am I missing something or is this the biggest issue in the entire article?!
Picture above 2 people facing each other, diff sides of the road
Hi John Stokdyk, did you base your picture above on a shoot out from a Spaghetti western. Two gunmen bolt up right facing each other.
https://picinmotion.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/ouatitw-7.jpg