In recent times, we have heard many accountants claim compliance is dead. They cite the rise in advisory services and believe the latter will replace the former. Is this the case? In our opinion, the opposite is true. Compliance remains a critical part of the accountant’s role, and always will be. Indeed, compliance is fundamental basis for advisory conversations. Advisory conversations often start by going through a set of accounts with the client before using graphical representations of their KPIs to make it easier for them to understand. The thrust of advisory is presenting numbers in a meaningful way for your clients and to demonstrate how to improve profitability, increase available cash or grow and/or sell their business. Many accountants already offer some sort of advice during regular client meetings, even though they don’t charge extra for it. And the pandemic has accelerated this, with vast numbers of clients ringing their accountant in a panic asking for advice about the available Government schemes. Compliance is alive and kicking in our opinion, but the pandemic has been the catalyst for advisory services and the majority of accountants don’t charge for it. As we come out of the pandemic, there is a choice to be made. Do we charge for it as a formal and specific service, one that is part of a higher value package? Yes or no – what are your thoughts? Extra kudos for a reply that doesn’t start with “it depends” 😉

Posted by Accountants' Club at 2021-12-20 16:19:46 UTC