Which accounting firm troubles do you want to overcome?
Shane Lukas explores the common issues that are holding back your success.
Over 25 years of listening to accountants talk about their challenges, I’ve heard the same four issues crop up again and again. And with the extraordinarily rapid rise of AI in the accounting profession, there’s also another one to add to the list.
Do any (or all) of these sound familiar?
- You’re the bottleneck in your firm
- You lack the confidence and skills to shift to advisory work
- You don’t know how to attract clients who want and will pay for advisory
- You aren’t communicating or charging for your real value
- You aren’t making best use of AI solutions in your firm
A little more on those accounting firm troubles
1. You’re the bottleneck in your firm
Being the bottleneck in your firm can feel like a vicious circle. You have too many clients paying low fees so you stretch yourself too thin trying to meet their demands. But because they pay so little, your profits aren’t high enough to start employing more people. And because you’re so overworked you don’t have time to delegate properly to your existing team, so your clients always want to deal to you. And so it goes on. But doesn’t have to be this way. There are some simple steps you can take that will quickly make a difference.
2. You lack the confidence and skills to shift to advisory work
It’s a big leap from tax returns and year end accounts to advising a client how to run their business. Imposter syndrome kicks in – how can you possibly know more about their business that they do? Won’t they just give you a stunned look if you even suggest it? But it doesn’t have to be scary. As an accountant, your skills with numbers can make a real difference to business owners. And you’ll find it more rewarding both emotionally and financially.
3. You don’t know how to attract clients who want and will pay for advisory
When you have unambitious, price sensitive clients, it’s unlikely they’ll want to pay a premium for your advisory services. And yet, putting the right mechanisms in place to attract premium clients isn’t as hard as you might think.
4. You aren’t communicating or charging for your real value
Pricing competitively is easy, but it’s a race to the bottom. And putting your prices up without demonstrating the value just makes you look expensive compared to the competition. The right pricing and positioning strategy shows your clients and prospects the value you bring, not just the price you charge. It frees you up to offer profitable services that clients will pay for because they see the benefits for their business.
5. You aren’t making best use of AI solutions in your firm
The tech landscape is exploding exponentially. New AI tools are launched by the hour and tech companies are rapidly integrating AI in to their products. Keeping up is hard, choosing the right tools is hard and resisting the bright and shiny is harder still. All these changes cause stress and uncertainty. But no change means uncertainty too and the likelihood of falling behind your competitors. The right tech stack can save you hours and hours of work, through improved efficiency, productivity, job tracking and information chasing.
Each one of these troubles holds you back from growing your firm, increasing your profits and, most importantly, enjoying your life.
So, which of them do you want to overcome? And how will you do it?
At AVN we’ve been helping accountants beat these challenges for decades. Why not book a call to see how we could help you?
Book your free, no strings discovery call here.