20:20 Vision of the opportunities ahead

Whether on a mandatory or voluntary basis, more and more businesses are reaping benefit from consulting with individuals outside of their organisation when making strategic plans and decisions. This article considers how even the smallest accountancy practice can take advantage of outside voices and influence to fuel its own success and growth.

If an accountancy practice, or any business, only consults within their internal team, they will not necessarily see all that lies ahead; what opportunities there are to grasp and the risks that need to be side-stepped.

Consulting with or listening to individuals within different firms or businesses can aid objective and unbiased decision making; it’s the power of the ‘fresh set of eyes’ and creative problem solving.

Of course, many accountants provide just this service for their clients – as the virtual finance officer – and get a lot of job satisfaction and client loyalty from doing so.

But how do we apply this to our own firm?

All accountancy firm owners should be considering how they can surround themselves with the right people to get the best possible view of the bigger picture.

It is a great skill to be curious and comfortably and routinely ask clients and peers open questions such as ‘what is important to you right now?’. The intelligence, insight and trends this often reveals can be incredibly valuable.

Some firms are bringing outside voices into their management committees and reporting fantastic results – having experts in HR, IT or whatever it may be, can lift the pressures of running an accountancy practice considerably. But it doesn’t need to be a seismic shift.

At 2020 Innovation, we have proudly created a community of forward-thinking accountants and it is our privilege to host regular member meetings where sole practitioners and partners in all sized firms share their current challenges and, where applicable, solutions found. We also invite into the meetings marketing experts, business growth experts, software gurus, talent specialists and wealth management advisors. These meetings take up very little time, are included as a standard feature in the 2020 Innovation membership and, without fail, our members feedback that they get a lot from the open discussion forum and leave energised with fresh ideas and solutions.

As well as consulting with peers, we must also proactively engage with and listen to clients. This might be by habitually asking the ‘what is important to you right now’ question and collecting other feedback at client meetings but we should also consider surveys that allow anonymity and potentially more honest answers. Technology allows us to quickly and easily canvass opinions and more personable telephone based approaches can be adopted as well. The data revealed will directly contribute to strategy. If 25% of your top clients are thinking of leaving you, this is information you need to have! Equally, if you are looking to grow your practice by attracting more of a certain client profile, you need to understand why your existing clients that fit the bill joined your firm and why they stay.

Increasingly we’re seeing service businesses move to ongoing client satisfaction surveys, triggered at key touchpoints, with regular reports on the trends and movements. The accountancy professional bodies are also encouraging their members to get into these best practice routines.

Once you start asking the right questions, you will be surprised by the ideas that will come through to help you reach the top of that mountain! Talk to our team at 2020 Innovation to see how we can help your firm succeed.

By 2020 Innovation

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