The reason clients seek out advisory services is because these are often things our clients cannot perform on their own. Advisory services include value-added services our clients don’t have time to do, don’t want to do, or can’t do for themselves.As our client’s accountant, we have the capacity to provide tailored advice and opinions. Large advisory firms have committees, or act as a team, that have the authority to render a decision or judgment on an issue, in addition to providing opinions.As accounting professionals, most of us have seen businesses succeed and fail. By offering our expertise and providing guidance, we can help our clients in one or more specific situations.
Advisory services can be divided into several buckets that help define the roles each of these advisors perform for small business owners.
Small business owners are seeking our support. As their trusted source, it’s a natural progression to provide council. Sharing financial information can feel like being exposed. If a small business owner does not fully understand their numbers, it makes them feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. Advisory starts by building trust and understanding. The mark of a good coach is being able to actively listen and gather as much information as possible to understand their situation and goals
Knowing the positive impact we can make, our role is to help our client understand that we are the go-to source for answers and advice. Business owners should not rely on searching Google for answers. It’s scary and sad how easily they can be misled or even led away by someone else’s free advice.
We offer advice. Business owners often feel in the dark when trying to navigate their financials. One way we can help is to filter out the noise and focus on the most relevant information to their situation. Our clients feel greater confidence with the information they are provided.
We coach our clients. A shortfall of the accounting profession is that we often are not providing the coaching our clients so desperately require. Small business owners find themselves paralyzed with indecision due to a lack of confidence in their financial knowledge. Frequently, business owners are unsure when to purchase assets or implement investment strategies. Integral to successful coaching is providing guidance tailored to our client’s specific needs.
We give a fresh perspective. If they have the time, our clients spend their days looking at one set of books. They are often set in their ways and/or in a pattern of doing things the way they have always done them. You can bring a fresh perspective from the outside looking in. By asking leading questions and asking why they perform tasks in a particular manner, we can help our clients see things in a new light. Our job is to review existing processes and look for opportunities to apply best practices.
We provide affirmation. We set realistic expectations about the timeframe in which change will occur. Like us, clients are busy people and want to see instant results; therefore, it is critically important to stay in touch, so they don’t drift back into prior behavior due to lack of immediate success. A soccer coach doesn’t attend just one practice and walk away; they coach for the entire season. At the very least, seek to implement a cadence of monthly meetings, if for nothing more than to touch base with our clients. Continual communication is a crucial success factor to help them stick to the plan and stay on track.
We connect regularly. This is specifically about meeting with our client. To lay a foundation for success, business owners need to first understand their own personal requirements in order to create successful business budgets. This cannot be accomplished without frequent meetings. Therefore, we must shift our own mindsets from completing tasks to building long-term goals and plans with our clients. Quantity equals quality when it comes to meetings. Not every session will be life changing. Often, coaching is a phased-in approach over a 12- to 18-month timeframe. Improvement is realized over time, and reading financials is like reading a story. The years’ worth of bank activity tells the story of where the money came from and where it has gone. This insight allows us to decode the narrative of our clients financial life.
To inquire about our Accounting Advisory Services, please e-mail us or call us.