Every business gets to the stage where, regardless of how well it is managed it needs an injection of new ideas and perspectives from outside the organisation. Owners and managers are immersed in operational issues that seem to just grind on from day to day. In this closed environment, they can quickly lose sight of the strategic issues that need addressing if the business is to grow and prosper.
Accounting Experience and Skills go Begging
Too few businesses take advantage of the broad experience and knowledge of their own accounting provider. They tend to see their accountant as someone who makes sure the accounts are all in order, the money is where it should be and the tax returns are lodged on time. Restricting a professional accounting firm to this type of role is short-sighted and a disappointing waste of the knowledge readily available from advisors who already know the business well.
Many accounting firms now offer business advisory services to assist their clients to improve their business. There are many benefits for the business operator who takes advantage of this additional assistance. A structured business advisory programme can improve the overall effectiveness and design of the business operations, finance and accounting functions, to name just a few.
Programme Involvement Produces many Benefits
Simply by assisting the client’s business to develop a strategic plan, benefits them by establishing a formal process for long-term thinking and the construction of specific goals in key areas such as marketing, operations, production and financial planning. Reviewing existing plans against actual results benefits the business by establishing how it is tracking against these long-range goals, and what corrections need to be made to keep it heading towards the identified targets.
Some businesses need assistance to raise capital for expansion but lack the experience and skills to go beyond their local bank. Those who are part of a business advisory programme have the support of experts in identifying various avenues and comparing offerings from several capital lending sources. The business is also not alone in managing the risk related to structured finance transactions, with objective advice ready at hand.
Even a process as seemingly simple as a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis is enhanced when developed as part of a business advisory programme. It can be performed in-house, but the extra experience, that external sources bring to the process will produce a much more comprehensive and objective result. External observers tend to be more realistic in their assessment of varying scenarios, and can also provide some statistical tools to quantify the concepts that are raised in this exercise.
These are not the only benefits that flow from being involved in an advisory programme with the existing accounting provider. Their more frequent involvement in the long-term vision leads to a deeper understanding of the bigger picture. This allows them to offer more insights and alerts than ever before because they also share a common goal – the success of the business.
