Advisory accounting - when to make the switch | QuickBooks UK

Advisory Accounting - How to Level up Your Practice

When it comes to setting up shop, and questions on tax, compliance, and liabilities, you’re the first port of call, right? Accountants are essential advisors at the early stages of a business lifecycle. They prove their worth as a business grows by assisting the business owner(s) on how to make financial efficiencies and often become their client's very own search engine for all ‘how to’ business questions.  

However, at a certain point, business owners find themselves hiring in-house finance help to take care of day-to-day bookkeeping. At this stage, accountants should look to level up their practice, rather than focusing on bookkeeping alone. Focus should shift from compliance and admin, towards advisory accounting services. This can help business owners to make key strategic decisions, whilst also helping to reshape their practice, and increase profit for both customers and themselves. Win win.  

At QuickBooks, we can support either route, but to grow alongside your clients, you might need to make some changes to continue to offer value to your client. We explore how you can develop a strategic mindset, and offer your clients advisory accounting services as their business grows.

Why management and advisory accounting is on the rise 

Technology has helped many accountants manage manual and repetitive tasks more efficiently, giving them more time to look into other ways to support their clients. 

At the same time, a recent study has highlighted the integral role accountants can have, and how important it is for them to build a strong relationship with business owners by providing management accounting and advisory services.  

Participants were asked to describe their accountant using positive or negative traits. Results showed that accountants described by their clients as ‘trusted advisors scored higher against positive attributes and lower against negative ones. And it’s not just accountants that benefit. Companies that work with a ‘trusted advisor’ are more likely to outperform the market and a third are more likely to see a significant increase in revenue, highlighting the relevance of this shift in accountancy practices.

Advisory Accounting and the Business Lifecycle

At each stage of the company lifecycle there are tasks that require the assistance of an accountant. These accountancy services generally fall into two categories – admin and advisory. 

As an accountant, if you only offer ‘admin’ services, you may find that your relationship with business owners might become less impactful over time.  As your client’s business grows and evolves, they may require less assistance with admin tasks which means it’s time to start offering more strategic and advisory services.

Less Admin More Advisory Accounting with QuickBooks

To take your practice to the next level, you need the time to plan and step away from the bookkeeping and reporting work. QuickBooks accounting software for accountants can help with just that.  

Making the move to strategic accountancy has never been easier. We free up accountants’ time by taking care of the day-to-day admin, allowing you to focus on more valuable advisory services. We’ll help you manage everything in one place, see your client's data in real time and be confident they’re compliant.

Conclusion

Whilst automation may be replacing parts of accounting processes, accountants can take a more strategic and future-focused approach to their client’s businesses to remain relevant during all parts of the business lifecycle. 

To learn more about developing your advisory accounting services and making the switch to management accounting, read our exclusive Admin to Advisory eBook.