Agree - AI/ML models did not work for us during R&D of Futrli Predict. Small business data is too complex/irregular. That's why we've built our own IP that looks at the data like a CIMA would. It's never going to be psychic, but we iterate over the prediction algorithms regularly in order to pick up new journal patterns, or posting types.
No one is saying that compliance is dead surely? As trained professionals, we rely on you to interpret legislation to ensure we make the best tax decisions and ensure that we are indeed compliant.
But using the relationship you have with your clients; the privilege you have in having access to the inner workings of their business - no other industry gets to see the Balance Sheet of their customers; the financial knowledge that you have trained for years to amass, that can truly help them - isn't it a duty of care to help?
Isn't that what advisory should be? Help.
We have so many accounting clients @futrli who do just that.
- Ensure their clients are compliant
- Assess their current and predicted numbers individually or with our Portfolio report,
- Help their clients understand things they may not and identify growth/risk areas e.g.
These are common sense steps in a funnel - there's no need to "sell or launch" advisory. Advise, agree scopes of work and success outcome, rinse and repeat?
Thanks so much for reviewing Futrli Advisor! It's a bloody brilliant workhorse and perfect for Advisory conversations with larger clients who need board packs, management accounts and longer term strategic planning.
It's 1 of 3 products that we have and I'd love to get your opinion on Fluidly vs Futrli Predict. It is still different to Fluidly as it's a hybrid financial prediction and forecasting software (think Float + Fluidly + Advisor + next-gen algorithms)
Thanks so much for reviewing Futrli Advisor! It's a bloody brilliant workhorse and perfect for Advisory conversations with larger clients who need board packs, management accounts and longer term strategic planning.
It's 1 of 3 products that we have and I'd love to get your opinion on Fluidly vs Futrli Predict. It is still different to Fluidly as it's a hybrid financial prediction and forecasting software (think Float + Fluidly + Advisor + next-gen algorithms)
Thanks so much for reviewing Futrli Advisor! It's a bloody brilliant workhorse and perfect for Advisory conversations with larger clients who need board packs, management accounts and longer term strategic planning.
It's 1 of 3 products that we have and I'd love to get your opinion on Fluidly vs Futrli Predict. It is still different to Fluidly as it's a hybrid financial prediction and forecasting software (think Float + Fluidly + Advisor + next-gen algorithms)
Thanks for your thoughts, I just really want to clarify how different Predict is to Advisor/Fluidly/Float as the only hybrid prediction software to give more than just cash flow.
I love the responses here. You would think it's common sense, and I wish it was TOSH, but it isn't.
There's a huge amount of fear in many firms, particularly when there is no formal training when it comes to ACTUALLY talking with clients like humans and not compliance box tick exercises.
Partners are often the only people in the firm to have "advisory" (and can we scrap that word) conversations with their clients. The rest of their team don't. So no wonder articles like this are written. If you're taught to look back with 100% accuracy and then are asked to explore the future with far less accuracy then it's genuinely tough for some in the profession. Far easier to prepare a tax return and basic management accounts from Xero...and I'm not criticising. That's ok if that's what you want to do . Just don't purport to being an advisor unless you truly understand business operations.
Ask many firms what operational KPIs they think their clients should be on top of every day/week, why (!) and what difference it would make to the client, not to mention tracking cashflow monthly, target setting and advising on all of the things that come out of actually running a business, then brace yourself - you're not going to get the answer you think you should.
It's such a disconnect, as by god small businesses want to know they're ok, but all too often we hear "my clients don't care about their numbers..." No you're right, they don't care about being sold a PDF. They do care about being given real help and not being made to feel like they are idiots however.
"What do they worry about? What keeps them awake at night?.. It starts with talking to them. The problem is most in the profession don’t know the right questions to ask. If you ask different questions to what you normally do, you’ll soon find most of your clients don’t actually want a tax return or set of accounts. What they really want is an outcome."
Of course they don't want the compliance piece! It's statutory, they have to have it and the value piece there is how cheap, painless and fast will it be to tick that box! What they want is to know they are ok, whatever ok means to them and by asking curious questions you'll uncover that, as well as where you as an accountant can actually add value. I genuinely couldn't agree more - this isn't rocket science, it's common sense. Kevin - I'd love to talk with you about a project I'm running. I think you'd enjoy it.
My answers
Love that we allegedly "struggled to gain traction" at Futrli, Tom. Or we saw it as an opportunity to expand our reach globally?
Agree - AI/ML models did not work for us during R&D of Futrli Predict. Small business data is too complex/irregular. That's why we've built our own IP that looks at the data like a CIMA would. It's never going to be psychic, but we iterate over the prediction algorithms regularly in order to pick up new journal patterns, or posting types.
No one is saying that compliance is dead surely? As trained professionals, we rely on you to interpret legislation to ensure we make the best tax decisions and ensure that we are indeed compliant.
But using the relationship you have with your clients; the privilege you have in having access to the inner workings of their business - no other industry gets to see the Balance Sheet of their customers; the financial knowledge that you have trained for years to amass, that can truly help them - isn't it a duty of care to help?
Isn't that what advisory should be? Help.
We have so many accounting clients @futrli who do just that.
- Ensure their clients are compliant
- Assess their current and predicted numbers individually or with our Portfolio report,
- Help their clients understand things they may not and identify growth/risk areas e.g.
These are common sense steps in a funnel - there's no need to "sell or launch" advisory. Advise, agree scopes of work and success outcome, rinse and repeat?
When am I getting you online to Predict you Mark...;)?
Hi Marie and Lara
Thanks so much for reviewing Futrli Advisor! It's a bloody brilliant workhorse and perfect for Advisory conversations with larger clients who need board packs, management accounts and longer term strategic planning.
It's 1 of 3 products that we have and I'd love to get your opinion on Fluidly vs Futrli Predict. It is still different to Fluidly as it's a hybrid financial prediction and forecasting software (think Float + Fluidly + Advisor + next-gen algorithms)
Let me know if you'd like a 1:1 - [email protected] :)
Hi Marie and Lara
Thanks so much for reviewing Futrli Advisor! It's a bloody brilliant workhorse and perfect for Advisory conversations with larger clients who need board packs, management accounts and longer term strategic planning.
It's 1 of 3 products that we have and I'd love to get your opinion on Fluidly vs Futrli Predict. It is still different to Fluidly as it's a hybrid financial prediction and forecasting software (think Float + Fluidly + Advisor + next-gen algorithms)
Let me know if you'd like a 1:1 - [email protected] :)
Hi Marie and Lara
Thanks so much for reviewing Futrli Advisor! It's a bloody brilliant workhorse and perfect for Advisory conversations with larger clients who need board packs, management accounts and longer term strategic planning.
It's 1 of 3 products that we have and I'd love to get your opinion on Fluidly vs Futrli Predict. It is still different to Fluidly as it's a hybrid financial prediction and forecasting software (think Float + Fluidly + Advisor + next-gen algorithms)
Let me know if you'd like a 1:1 - [email protected] :)
Thanks for your thoughts, I just really want to clarify how different Predict is to Advisor/Fluidly/Float as the only hybrid prediction software to give more than just cash flow.
This is why we built it :) : https://www.futrli.com/blog/why-we-built-futrli-predict-and-where-it-sit...
Happy to give you a personal walk through as a challenge! :)
Hannah Dawson
I love the responses here. You would think it's common sense, and I wish it was TOSH, but it isn't.
There's a huge amount of fear in many firms, particularly when there is no formal training when it comes to ACTUALLY talking with clients like humans and not compliance box tick exercises.
Partners are often the only people in the firm to have "advisory" (and can we scrap that word) conversations with their clients. The rest of their team don't. So no wonder articles like this are written. If you're taught to look back with 100% accuracy and then are asked to explore the future with far less accuracy then it's genuinely tough for some in the profession. Far easier to prepare a tax return and basic management accounts from Xero...and I'm not criticising. That's ok if that's what you want to do . Just don't purport to being an advisor unless you truly understand business operations.
Ask many firms what operational KPIs they think their clients should be on top of every day/week, why (!) and what difference it would make to the client, not to mention tracking cashflow monthly, target setting and advising on all of the things that come out of actually running a business, then brace yourself - you're not going to get the answer you think you should.
It's such a disconnect, as by god small businesses want to know they're ok, but all too often we hear "my clients don't care about their numbers..." No you're right, they don't care about being sold a PDF. They do care about being given real help and not being made to feel like they are idiots however.
"What do they worry about? What keeps them awake at night?.. It starts with talking to them. The problem is most in the profession don’t know the right questions to ask. If you ask different questions to what you normally do, you’ll soon find most of your clients don’t actually want a tax return or set of accounts. What they really want is an outcome."
Of course they don't want the compliance piece! It's statutory, they have to have it and the value piece there is how cheap, painless and fast will it be to tick that box! What they want is to know they are ok, whatever ok means to them and by asking curious questions you'll uncover that, as well as where you as an accountant can actually add value. I genuinely couldn't agree more - this isn't rocket science, it's common sense. Kevin - I'd love to talk with you about a project I'm running. I think you'd enjoy it.
Bravo on the post.
Hannah Dawson, Futrli founder & CEO