I often question whether clients are getting the most value from their accountants. Do they really know the value that accountants can provide to a business? I’ve seen many situations where clients are using their accountants simply to process their financial transactions and meet their statutory obligations.

It is a waste of an accountant’s skills and expertise simply to have them processing financial transactions and producing financial statements. Valuable time can be freed up through the use of automated processes and tried and tested templates/macros to handle routine transactions. Accountant’s can then spend their time analysing the business itself so as to identify opportunities for improvement and providing valuable management advice to their clients concerning the running of the business.

For example, how much time might people spend in Excel messing around with formulae to include all accounts and getting reports to balance? Or spending time getting software reports 'customised' only to end up with simple reports that don’t present the information as useful? Not to even mention putting the time into reports only to pass them to clients for filing and never really going through the meaning of it all!

I don't feel the services of an accountant should just be going through the processes to 'deliver' to clients, hand them the basics of what they want or what they have been sold. I think accountants could be on a real winner by looking a bit deeper into what they can do of real value for the client, and delivering this efficiently and effectively. Spending a little less time messing around with formulae and reports, or pure guesswork (something I've heard recently some are doing just to have a report produced) - and more time looking at the client and where they can truly benefit.

Do some find time can be wasted on what might be simple tasks such as payroll processing? I know there are clients out there that regularly need changes to employee hours after they have been processed, or leave it to the very last minute so you're left rushing to get it done in time for bank deadlines.

Are there ways you could better put energy into improving the existing systems to deal with why this is even happening? I believe if there are errors that continue to happen, it is usually best to invest time once in preventing them from happening than needing to fix them continually.

In the past I've had my fair share of handling client cash flow issues and problems that are a direct result of poor cashflow. By investing a little more time in managing the finances... sometimes just the basics such as looking at how expenses can be reduced, ways to minimise risk of bad debt, or looking at why profit isn't improving... I've seen the flow on effect this can have on those less productive tasks such as problem fighting.

Some of this can be done with software and technology, some of it is in processes that are followed, and some of it might be in better utilising resources available. Ultimately I think it is with the approach to client handling, and looking at ways real value can be provided to help the client improve their situation and in turns yours.

Harry Nicholson
H Nicholsons Accountants

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Harry Nicholson, H Nicholson Accountants - A fictitious sample member of The Accountants Circle.