What SME's Want From Small Business Accountants [& Where To Find Them]

INTRODUCTION:

Recently I went to the Accountants Daily Conference in Sydney which was a fantastic day to hear some fantastic speakers. Mark Bouris and Tom Panos were just two of the very impressive line up and their words of wisdom abounded! One of the sessions was to discuss the results of a SME survey which asked what they wanted to see from their small business accountants.

Figure 1: Some fascinating insights from SMEs and what they want from their accountants Sydney

1.Small business accountant plays more of a mentor role

Small business accountants Sydney have in the past been mainly used for tax and financial statements work with some company secretarial work and structure set up. These tasks are still incredibly important but the advent of cloud technology has now seen the pressure put back on the accountants to provide more, such as strategic planning and a mentor role.

Business owners have a thirst for somebody they can trust to help them plan and then keep them on track.

2. asks for feedback on their work

Like any other SME in business, accountants should ask for feedback on their work. This keeps the communication lines open and will enhance trust with clients. Being afraid to ask how well the services were being provided just in case the feedback is negative is never an excuse!

3. more frequent but brief phone calls

The biggest complaint that SMEs can have is that they rarely hear from their accountant. It doesn't take much to pick up the phone and check how things are going and this is exactly what business owners expect.

The small business accountant Sydney of today should be using technology to stay in contact. The phone is often the best but even a text or email will do it.

Figure 2: Not keeping in contact regularly will strain the relationship.

4. don't sell products - only offer what clients need

There's a big difference between offering a service that's needed and just offering solutions to problems that don't exist! Selling something the client doesn't need is of course not appreciated and will only erode trust.

Figure 3: Offer only what is needed and a happy family is much more likely!

5. don't use jargon that's hard to understand & answer any questions

Giving a tax return and figures that mean absolutely nothing to clients is a recipe for client/advisor relationship disaster! The client wants to hear language they can understand and if they have questions, they expect these are listened to carefully and answered accordingly.

CONCLUSION:

Finding a great accountant is never easy. However it's also clear that business owners are turning to on line to hold what is now known as their 'digital interview'. These days, accountants who are on the ball will be on the web, social media and blog sites. They will be attending up to date seminars and they will be vocal about their specialisations. These sites also typically offer ratings and testimonials so the hype can be backed up by others' experiencesand communicated to would be buyers.

It's pretty clear that clients quite rightly expect more from their small business accountants as time moves on and technology continues to improve. This sample of business owners surveyed makes it very clear what minimum standards are expected.

The firm of the past is gone. The firm of the present & dare I say it the future, needs to be here now!