Parth Shah

Top 6 advisory skills accountants need to succeed in 2020

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Now that the self-assessment tax season has come to an end, accounting practices can take a sigh of relief and take some time off to recharge and decompress. However, the ‘calm after the storm’ also brings an opportunity for accountants to prepare for the new tax year, upskill themselves, and expand their service portfolio.

Given how new technologies, communication methods, and job roles have dramatically altered the way businesses and clients interact with each other, accountants like yourself must focus on enhancing advisory skills to manage new-age clients and operational challenges.

We spoke to several accountancy practice experts to bring together this list of top advisory skills to focus on this year to help accountants deliver a great advisory service:

1. Advanced technological know-how

According to an IDC study, around 40% of all technology spending in businesses will be for digital transformation. The widespread adoption of technology through software, cloud, and electronic applications has shifted the balance of power towards the customer.

According to Martin Bissett, Founder of The Bissett Group, accountants must possess strong knowledge of what technology is critical, what is merely ‘nice to have,’ and what is superfluous, to increase profitability in that client’s business to the level desired. 

“Today, your clients expect you to be sufficiently savvy about all the platforms, processes, and integrations in use. You thus need to focus on smart, capable technology solutions that have robust controls, deliver quality results, and are also easy to understand by your client,” he explains. 

But it isn’t just the physical technology that needs to be considered that can add unnecessary complexity. Ashley Leeds, Head of Growth at Accountants Millionaires’ Club, believes that accountants need to be able to take the technical stuff out of the numbers and present in a way that their clients can understand. 

“They deal with people from all walks of life. Not everybody gets excited by a P&L or a balance sheet, or even knows what it is for that matter,” he adds.

2. Increased attention to detail

A detail-oriented approach to projects is what sets the top accountants apart from the mediocre ones. It involves procuring and checking the right documents, being aware of all necessary compliance norms, having excellent bookkeeping and compliance skills, and gathering and analysing appropriate sources of data.

As you know, in accounting, even minor errors in data entry can add up to significant discrepancies in the final result. It is always good to remember that attention to detail with your bookkeeping and care with your tax software solutions should ensure that no such errors creep in at any stage.

3. Awareness of the client's need and industry

“The driver for most of the accountants I meet is a desire to get involved (in their businesses) and to help people (with their personal needs)” shares Richard Brewin, FCA, co-founder of ProgressBB who has coached and presented to accountants across the UK, as well as in the US and Australia.

You can share proactive advice only when you have a comprehensive understanding of the industry in which your clients operate. It is thus ideal if you specialise in only a few niches rather than working as a generalist.

By doing so, you can acquire in-depth knowledge of the selected niches, enhance your services by learning from clients in that niche, and subsequently establish yourself as an industry leader.

4. Ability to build relationships

As experts with in-depth industry knowledge, you should focus on encouraging and assisting your clients in growing their businesses, however large or small they may be. In this regard, active listening allows you to understand the client’s vision and to take it forward.

Based on data analysis and the client’s KPIs, you can suggest new ways to reach and exceed those metrics. You can also connect clients with business coaches or influencers to give them guided assistance with their professional and personal goals.

The ability to help your clients have a robust financial, mental and physical health is something all accounting practices should strive for.

5. Proactive customer service

The ability to build a strong relationship with the client and gain their long-term trust is essential for those who provide advisory services. You are not exempt from this notion either. Customer service experience should thus be a high priority for you:

One way of doing this is by:

  • Providing weekly/monthly/quarterly reports of the work done
  • Connecting on a video conferencing tool or meeting for lunch periodically
  • Suggesting new solutions and checking on progress from the last meeting
  • Asking for feedback and implementing changes quickly

It even makes sense to appoint an account manager to every client for faster and better communication.

Research from Bain shows that businesses offering proactive customer experience services enjoy an increase in client retention by 5%, which goes up over time. Delivering timely and accurate responses to client queries is also essential to earning their trust.

According to Paul Shrimpling, Founder of Remarkable Practice Ltd, customer service requires a series of skills to work well.

“That includes having conversation skills – both questioning and listening skills. Preparation skills, on the other hand, help build rapport with business owners. Yes, technology helps but skills around leading and managing change are what will determine an advisors’ success,” he explains.

6. Communication with impact

86% of employers and executives feel that ineffective communication or lack of collaboration is the reason for workplace failures. Accountants should thus make it a point to implement processes that keep everyone on the team connected and in the know at all times. “Communicating with impact and challenging clients are probably two of the most important aspects from an advisory perspective. If you can’t communicate with impact, the message is lost. If you don’t challenge yourself, you don’t add 360-degree value. Additionally, if you don’t practice silence, you can’t listen to what your business is saying,” adds Alastair Barlow, Founder, flinder. Communication should thus be transparent and in real-time so that the team can respond promptly to situations, and also stay in touch regardless of where they are located. 

OVER TO YOU

It is impossible for the accountant to be an expert at all their clients’ needs. But building a network of contacts that reflects the accountant’s ethics and values will enable them to deliver a complete solution to the client.

The thing is, we have to own holding our clients accountable for getting stuff done and moving the needle forward. The product or solution or advice we deliver will help them achieve their desired outcome, but we have to stay on top of things to ensure they get there.

As an advisor, it is your responsibility to create and protect the sustainable value of your client’s business. But if you are busy managing tedious functions such as bookkeeping, year-end compliance, payroll and other admin stuff, there’s no way you can give the support your clients expect and need.

That’s where accounting outsourcing can do wonders. And since you have read this far, let me add that Stellaripe has the experience, expertise and resources to take you where you want to be. With our fully managed outsourcing support, we can free you up so that you can invest in more time with your clients and generate more advisory revenue.

Think of us as an extension of your accounting practice – a virtual shop front!

Call us on +44 20 3475 3537 to get your questions answered right now. We love to talk!

Eight strategies for a successful tax season

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January 31 every year marks the deadline for filing Self-Assessment tax returns. Naturally, accountancy practices across the country are gearing up for the last leg of the busy period. While working overtime to meet the nightmarish deadline is an inevitable part of the tax season, it doesn’t have to be like that.

Accountants need to work better with their clients in the run-up to the tax season deadline. In this article, I discuss eight strategies that can help you boost your practice staff’s productivity and ease their workload.  So if you haven’t addressed these points for this year, keep a note to get things sorted early for this tax year.

1. Get organised

Taking some time out at the start to sort out your workflows will really help to avoid delays later. Review your best practices and make any adjustments you think you’ll need before the client rush begins.

There’s never a better time to assess your staff capacity and determine whether you’ll need to hire anyone on a part-time or contract basis to manage the workload. You should also ensure that all your tax guidance checklists and documents are in place and up-to-date so that your practice staff has an easier time accessing them.

2. Set up a document portal

If you haven’t gone paperless yet, you should. Keeping your documents digital helps streamline communication within your practice, and promotes easy collaboration with your clients. Trust me – you don’t want to be chasing them at the last hour.

You can start by setting up an online document portal where clients can upload their documents instead of mailing you hard copies. Be sure to collate each client’s records in separate folders to keep them organised.

A lot of accounting outsourcing firms – such as Stellaripe – store documentation on the Cloud. Get in touch with us to know more.

3. Get a grip on technology

Update your software licences well in advance of the tax season and ensure that you have enough for the entire practice staff. You could also consider bringing in an IT professional to look over your systems and ensure that they are free of bugs and glitches. Using cloud practice management and tax production applications gives your practice staff the flexibility to work remotely and also boosts everyone’s productivity. Make technology work for you this tax season. If you feel that your tech isn’t ready to take on the demands of the January 31 deadline, you could consider outsourcing your clients’ tax returns to an efficient accounting outsourcing service provider that’s always on board with the latest technology to ensure effective, on-time delivery.

4. Set the schedules

While tax season is undoubtedly hectic and everyone will be working overtime, it’s important to remember that your practice staff members have a personal life as well. Factor this into your guidelines for office operations during tax season so that everyone can have some flexibility and enjoy the much-needed work-life balance.

For example, you could set up a rota so that everyone works from home one day a week, or give each employee personal time off on the schedule. Using cloud software and integrations helps make remote working easier, thereby increasing their productivity by letting them work from the comfort of their homes.

5. Track progress constantly

Have a robust system in place to know where you are with each client. Keep an eye on completed tasks, send reminders to any clients who have delayed in submitting information or documents and push your practice staff to prepare taxes faster in case the pace has slowed down in the process.

Accountants often spend the final week working “non-stop” because they have to chase clients that couldn’t provide the complete records on time. That’s a nightmare, but an efficient way of managing your submissions is by dividing them into smaller chunks and completing one at a time.

6. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Tax season can be challenging to handle smoothly, especially with all the other accounting projects on your plate. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your tax projects, remember that you can always outsource them to teams like Stellaripe.

That way, some of the workload gets lifted from your practice staff’s shoulders, and you are guaranteed timely, accurate results from experienced outsourced accountants. Contact us to know more about our services.

7. Get quick approval

Your job doesn’t end after sending tax returns to clients’ for approval. Be sure to follow up with them proactively for a quick approval. That way, you have enough time to submit accurate returns ahead of the deadline, in case you are required to do that. You can speed up the process by explaining the tax returns to your clients over Skype or Zoom.

8. Schedule tax strategy meeting

You already know your clients’ sources of income and taxes. This gives you enough information to plan their tax returns for the year. Invite your clients to a strategy meeting to plan their taxes, either in person or through Zoom or Skype.

It’s important to remember that you need to propose investment options before this current tax year ends, and your client must make their investments before April 5. Be sure to make time for proactive advice during the meeting on how your clients can benefit as much as possible from current tax laws.

Over to you

January is always a challenging time for accountants in the UK. But you can make it a success by planning your tax season properly. Fortunately, Stellaripe can help you reduce the season workload without compromising quality.

Take a step forward towards increasing the efficiency of your accountancy practice with our help. Call us on +44 20 3475 3537 or email us at contact@stellaripe.co.uk to learn more about our accounting outsourcing services.

Why outsource your accounting function this Christmas

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While the rest of the world is winding down or shutting-up-shop ahead of the festive break, many accountants across the UK find themselves far too  busy at this time of the year owing to the tax filing season that ends on January 31st.

Naturally, amidst the pop of prosecco corks and party poppers, the one thing that number-crunchers like yourself desperately want for Christmas is for dear ol’ Santa to sweep away those piles of client tax returns for you.

Good news: it is not too late to delegate the tiresome tax return filing chores to an outsourcing partner, your Santa in disguise! In this article, we give you six reasons why accounting outsourcing should be on your to-do Christmas list:

1. Become trusted business advisors of your clients

The start of the New Year brings you an opportunity to expand your service portfolio and increase visibility in the market.

Time-consuming, tedious functions, including bookkeeping, year-end compliance, and payroll, can be handled by professional accounts outsourcing company.

And, you can dedicate a higher proportion of your in-house staff’s time and efforts for delivering high-end services such as tax planning, budgeting, forecasting, and more.

That way, you can accommodate more client demands and build strategies for sustained growth, not just for them but also for your practice.

2. Provide predictive real-time accounting data to your clients

Catching up with the advancements in technology, accounting today aims to glean business insights from both past and present real-time data. Predictive real-time accounting gauges ongoing company performance and historical business data to predict the future of your clients’ business, also suggesting what measures can be taken to improve the same.

That vital insight enables you to make a real difference to your clients by having forward-facing conversations with them, backed with real-time data. What’s a better Christmas present than growth for any business owner?

3. Increase efficiencies with the right communication tools

As a business, setting and tracking meaningful and SMART KPIs enable you to gain an overall understanding of how your accountancy practice is performing.

When you outsource a portion of your services to an outsourcing expert, you set definitive processes in place to complete essential tasks on time.

For instance: make use of cloud collaboration tools for a transparent and smooth conversation. Even if you are on a Christmas break, you can connect with your outsourced team and keep track of the progress being made.

By taking such necessary measures, continuous improvements are made possible even when away from the office.

4. Expedite processes and service delivery time to your clients

Lack of skilled staff could lead to issues for your practice, such as missed expenses, late filing, payroll errors, and so on. The problem is even greater during the holiday season. If you are struggling with staff shortage, outsourcing your accounting function is a practical option.

You can employ highly-qualified and experienced accountants who make use of tried and tested processes to turnaround tasks quickly. Outsourcing gives you a competitive edge, and helps you maintain consistency across a range of functions, attracting and retaining clients, and scaling the support up and down your business as required, with greater efficiency.

The flexibility allows your accountancy practice to remain nimble without losing focus on core competencies or client service during the Christmas break.

5. Cut business costs without hampering the quality of the work

It may sound illogical to hire full-time accountants when you are trying to curtail costs. However, as strange as it may seem, it is almost always cheaper to outsource your core and non-core business functions.

You can easily save yourself from having to pay a full-time expert’s salary to take your step for outsourcing and hire an outsourced accountant. Salary aside, you will also save costs by not having to pay for facilities like insurance, pensions, NI contributions and other overhead expenses associated with full-time employees.

Outsourcing your accounting functions will help you keep overhead costs low while improving client experience and boosting your bottom line.

6. Be better prepared for the January 31 deadline

That’s the last date for anyone to file their taxes for the FY 2018-19. Because traditionally accounting firms remain closed for Christmas, filing taxes during the holidays becomes a challenge. It doesn’t have to be like that.

With outsourcing, you can ensure you don’t have to shut-up-shop and instead, continue preparing tax returns for your clients at a time when they need you the most, by delegating work to expert outsourced accountants.

Besides, this lessens your workload and frees up your time for more critical aspects of business, such as improving client relations. Further, you and your staff can also spend time with the family for Christmas.  A Christmas present for your whole team.

Summing up

Christmas is a time when everyone deserves a break. You and your practice staff are not exempt from this. Luckily, Stellaripe can reduce your tax season workload without burning a hole in your pocket or compromising quality.

Work with us, and we will provide the best experience for your clients; show them that they can count on you – even during the festive break. Utilise our dedicated accountants as your extended team. Contact us here.

Checks to make when choosing an outsourcing company

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Making sure you undertake due diligence when choosing an accounting outsourcing company is essential. Find the steps to take in this article.

Checks to make when choosing an outsourcing company

There are many reasons businesses take the decision to investigate outsourcing; from lack of staff to a need to grow but without the associated infrastructure costs. Taking that decision is the first step on what can be a fairly uncertain road unless your next steps enable you to undertake due diligence when choosing who to partner with.

Here we look at six major steps that will help you make the right choice to outsource your business tasks.

1 Ask for references and testimonials

Nothing beats experience in the world of outsourcing and the first place to go when choosing a company is to see what others are saying about them. Reading or viewing testimonials is a good place to start. You could also ask for references from their other clients to ensure the testimonials are authentic. Any genuine company will be happy to put you in touch with their clients directly.

2 Sample work/trials

Once you have shortlisted the companies that you may want to work with, you should always ask them for a trial of their work. Again, genuine companies will offer trials as part of their sales process – either free or for a charge – just make sure that undertaking the trial doesn’t tie you in to any longer-term commitment. Asking for a trial also ensures that you get a clear picture of their style of work and allows you to decide if that is how you would like your project to be handled.

3 Check out their IT infrastructure

The company should have a reliable and robust IT infrastructure with security at its heart. You do not want your data held in an unsafe manner. Ask for full details of how they manage data, where their servers are, the security measures they have in place. Can they work remotely in a secure manner, so your data doesn’t have to leave your premises? This information is critical in your decision-making process.

4 Ask to see their current certificates

Bodies such as ISO provide their certificates to companies who have put strict procedures in place and then follow them. Each company that has been awarded an ISO certificate will be independently audited on a regular basis to make sure that they are operating consistently within their set procedures. Check what is the latest version of the ISO certificates they are holding – are they in date? It is easy to say you have a certificate, even if it has expired so make sure they are genuine.

5 Pay them a visit

It is important to fully evaluate the company you are planning to trust with your outsourced business. And the best way to do this is by paying them a visit. Some companies will even cover the cost of the visit but whether or not they do, you will truly get an impression of how the company is run if you take the time to see them within their own offices. It will also enable you to get a feel of the workplace and the company culture. This is a big step for you, you need to make sure it is a company you are happy and confident to work with.

6 Costs and expenses

Finally, once you are satisfied with the rest of the details related to your outsourcing service provider, it is time to clarify the costs and expenses that will be incurred. Effective communication is the key here. Also, it is sensible to get quotations from other companies so that you get a clearer picture of the cost trends in the industry. Remember that before finalizing an outsourcing partnership, both parties should be clear about, and agree, the costs and expenses involved. This can prevent a lot of misunderstanding and complication at later stages.

Following these tips can help you choose the right accounts outsourcing partner and move on to the next steps of a long-term relationship. Feel free to get in touch with us to talk through your outsourcing plans.

Outsourcing accountancy work can solve the accountant skills shortage

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The skills shortage for accountancy roles continues to grow with no sign of a solution. We explain a quick and easy fix by outsourcing accountancy services.

How to solve your accountant recruitment issues

There has been a dearth of accountants for years and yet this situation seems incapable of being resolved. Reductions in training and qualified accountants, increasing retirements and a rising requirement for financial analysts all compound the problem. For those accountants looking for a job move, salaries are being pushed up to attract the best talent and it really is a job seekers market.

Essentially, the market is changing but the workforce has not adapted to it. The recently issued Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends 2019 guide provides some sobering facts about the state of the accountancy skills shortage. Tracking back to the economic downturn in the late noughties, the situation we have now has been exacerbated by the cutbacks to training of junior staff.

“We are witnessing a shortage of middle management candidates – technically strong ACA-practice-trained accountants, specifically across the finance and accountancy sector,” says Martin Parr of the Sellick Partnership.

“This is as a result of the 2008 recession when firms cut their graduate schemes, meaning that there were less candidates entering the market. These candidates are now qualifying, giving us a shortage.”

According to the Hays research, temp and contract workers have been brought in by around 40% of accountant and finance employers while others are training-up their existing staff to fill the skills gaps.

But what about the small practices, looking for growth or to replace a key staff member and whose pockets might not be as deep as the larger groups. A reliance on contract workers or taking on more work themselves are simply not suitable options for the long term.

There is a simple solution

Accounts outsourcing used to be frowned upon but with the skills shortage ongoing and more and more operators entering the market, its adoption is growing. In fact, many high street accountants and accountancy groups are already benefiting from the access to highly qualified and educated overseas workforces, many with UK accountancy experience.

It is a big step to take and it needs to be approached with the right frame of mind – outsourcing involves entering a partnership with the outsourcing company; it is not a matter of throwing a load of accountancy work at a company and expecting them to produce a miracle. Time and training, communication and working together; companies that approach outsourcing not as a quick fix but as a long-term investment, are most definitely the ones that benefit.

Many outsourcing accounting companies will be happy to spend time explaining how they work, will give you a trial and will bring their accountants or bookkeepers to spend time at your practice to ensure they fully understand how you work, what you expect and thus are better able to deliver to your requirements.

You have the option of taking someone on a long term contract – so that person or team of people works just for you as part of your extended team; or you can buy a number of hours and your work is undertaken by a team of accountants and bookkeepers. There are pros and cons to each option and will often be dictated by the amount of work you have; taking on full time employees on a contract basis is invariably cheaper and more cost effective.

One of the big advantages of choosing right accounts outsourcing company, in addition to the financial benefits, is the ability to pull in more resources when you need them and then release them when you are over the work hump.

If you would like to investigate whether outsourcing some of our accountancy work would be a good fit for your practice, why not give us a call now?

Taking those first steps to outsourcing your accounts

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When an accountant starts to think about outsourcing, he may not realise all of the benefits it will deliver to their practice. We consider some of the main reasons to outsource.

A beginners’ guide to outsourcing

A frequently heard concept of the rationale behind outsourcing is that you can just get rid of the rubbish jobs that take up time.  Well yes, there is an element of passing over time consuming work to focus on other, more profitable work, though we would never describe it as ‘rubbish jobs’.  But in reality, accounts outsourcing brings so many more benefits that accountants never even consider.  We will run through a few here:

Review and improve processes

We all get stuck in the rut of doing something in a particular way because we have always done it that way.  Hands up anyone who religiously reviews their work on a regular basis.  One of the first things that happens when you outsource is there is a full review of your work and how you do it, the steps you take and so on.  Whilst an outsourcer should never insist it is ‘their way or the highway’, they will definitely suggest any improvements that could be made to your processes and the way they deliver your clients’ accounts.  They will have a broad experience from undertaking work of numerous other accountants and are well placed to know what works well and what doesn’t.

Free up time to focus on business growth

Once an outsourcer is working for you, you will begin to have the time to clear the decks and look at the opportunities you have for growing your business.  Never offered payroll or bookkeeping to your clients before?  Well now you can – new profit lines delivered by your outsourcer with no need to take on additional staff, software etc.  Now you can properly look at your clients’ accounts and begin to help them to grow and deliver more profitable business with advisory services.

Eliminate staffing problems

When one of your accountants or team leave your business, it presents you with a costly nightmare – trying to find a suitable replacement can be time-consuming and recruitment it costly.  An outsourcing company will provide as many accountants as you need, almost immediately who are trained, competent and capable of undertaking your accountancy work.  You can be involved in the recruitment process if you wish, or you can leave the entire process to the outsourcer. 

Lower your overheads

Outsourcers will cover holidays and sickness, software and training too so you don’t have those expenses on your bottom line.

And of course, you do hand over those repetitive, low revenue jobs that you UK team will be very pleased about.

If you would like to investigate whether outsourcing some of your accountancy work would be a good fit for your practice, why not give us a call now?