ACCOUNTANTS AS TRUSTED BUSINESS ADVISORS


MANY accountants have, no doubt, looked at their practice in recent times and worried about the future. Many practices will be aware of new entrants into the market that are charging sub- stantially lower prices and attracting their clients away. This has the potential to cause a cri-


sis of confidence, and, of course, to cause the accountant to ask the ques- tion, ‘What can I do about this?’. What makes it easy to change


accountants? Richard O’Callaghan, chief executive of the IIPA, says: “If your client views the service they receive as a commodity that they can get from a range of providers, then the main rea- son that a client will stay with a practice is price. If a client does not perceive a difference between the service that you offer and the service that your competi- tor offers, then there is very little pre- venting them from moving on.” He continues: “Practice owners need


to ensure that they are more than accountants to their clients, they must ensure that they are valued business advisors.” Being a valued business advisor is


not about making a sales pitch – it is about developing a personal relation-


 Meet them personally – a trusted business advisor has a direct con- nection with their clients, not one operated through agents or assis- tants.


Richard O’Callaghan, chief executive of the IIPA


ship where your clients trust you to provide them with advice and services tailored to their needs. O’Callaghan lays out a number of actions that an accountant must take to ensure that their clients are more likely to view them as valued business advisors:


 Have critical conversations with your clients asking probing ques- tions – many clients are not aware of their needs. By probing and teasing out the more detailed facets of their business, you will be able to design services and solu- tions that are tailored for their business. Lower cost alternatives cannot compete with this as their model is based on fitting clients into pigeon holes.


 Continue the personal communica- tion over the long-term – there is always a danger of taking a client for granted once they have signed on. Differentiate your practice from the rest by keeping the com- munications channels open and running. Let your client know you are available to them and that you willing to provide services specific to their needs.


 Be willing to let clients go – this may sound counter-intuitive at first, but the truth is that not all clients are cut out for the type of service that is on offer. They may not be able to grasp the extra value that you have to offer, or may not be willing to look beyond price. Either way, for both you and them, they would be better off with a more commoditised service offered elsewhere.


“Building a trust relationship with a client can greatly help accountants to retain clients,” says O’Callaghan. “When a client does business with a trusted business advisor he is approaching the accountant on a per- sonal basis, taking that person into his inner circle and relying explicitly on the accountant’s professional knowledge and judgement.” In doing so, the value created for the


client is so much higher than with a practice that sees itself as an account- ing service provider, that competition is no longer on the basis of price, it is on the basis of breaking the relation- ship with a trusted friend.


IIPA - A World of Opportunities at Your Fingertips


The IIPA is the professional accounting body with the highest proportion of members who own their accounting firms, so we better understand the needs of those firms.


In choosing to joining the IIPA you will find a professional accounting body that works the way you do and thinks the way you do, allowing you to go after the world of opportunities that are at your fingertips.


And remember IIPA members are more than accountants, they are trusted business advisors.


Institute of Incorporated Public Accountants Ph: 045 895936 | Fax: 045 895830 | Email: info@iipa.ie


Web: www.iipa.ie | 2 Abbey Moat House, Abbey Street, Naas, Co Kildare


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