Accountants must carve out time for strategy

The UK economy remains riddled with obstacles for small businesses. Soaring interest rates constrict access to funds, while the relentless rise in living costs compels employees to clamor for better compensation. The recent turnaround in inflation is good news, but we are not out of the woods yet.

In the midst of these turbulent times, small enterprises naturally seek guidance from their accountants and outsourced payroll teams.

We recently commissioned a survey of 313 accountants and professional service firms asking how client demands had changed in the last year.

Predominant among the responses was a desire for greater pricing flexibility and discounts, selected by 29% of the participants – this shows the hardship is real.

Following closely was the necessity for “enhanced” advisory support to navigate “economic hardship,” a choice favored by 28% of respondents. 25% of participants said their clients had an increased need for advisory support to future-proof their businesses.

This growing dependence of SMEs on their accountants for strategic guidance is hardly surprising. Unlike large corporations with the resources to engage high-profile consultants from the big four, accountants, bookkeepers, and payroll experts aiding these SMEs often stand as their primary source of external counsel.

Happily, these experts are uniquely positioned to offer precisely that strategic insight, without charging them tens of thousands in consulting fees.

For accountants, setting aside time for these strategic dialogues with clients is paramount not just to being a good accountant but to keeping your customers. Even if your basic services are well-run there’s always the risk that clients may seek more cost-effective alternatives or explore internal capacity-building.

Incorporating strategic counsel into your service portfolio makes it far less likely that a client will drop you for someone cheaper. This needn’t entail exhaustive weekly sessions, but it is worth making time for. Remember, your unique external/internal perspective can provide invaluable insights to SMEs – you know their books but are not so involved that you can’t see things with clarity.

Undoubtedly, finding time for this can be demanding. Even a quarterly strategy session, spanning multiple clients, can devour a significant portion of your schedule.

Good tools are crucial to carving out that time.

Well-built cloud software that stays current with the latest regulations will free you from laboriously ensuring every pay run is compliant or waiting on drawn-out updates.

Automation can eradicate countless repetitive and time-draining tasks. This doesn’t mean making yourself redundant or delegating critical functions like payroll entirely to a machine. Yet, there’s likely a facet of your role that could become substantially more efficient through automation. Investigate the current suite of software offerings, ensuring that your tools are returning time to you rather than siphoning it away. Transitioning to new software may entail a short-term challenge, but the long-term gains are undoubtedly worthwhile.

Employment Hero will be exhibiting at Accountex Summit Manchester on the 19th September 2023 on stand G17.

You can register for a free ticket here.

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