Originally posted on 2 Jan 2014
I came across this and wanted to share it with you: Bloomberg BNA executive editor of tax and accounting George Farrah discusses how accountants today are dealing with the economy, technology, globalisation and practice management, in an interview with accountingTODAY editor-in-chief Daniel Hood, here.
Whilst you’re on the accountingTODAY website, why not view this video: Marketing Trends in Accounting – available here. Art Kuesel of Kuesel Consulting discusses the top three marketing trends in the accounting profession in an interview with accountingTODAY managing editor Tamika Cody at the Growth & Profitability Summit in Orlando.
But, according to research by ICAEW, the greatest issues facing accountancy firms in the current climate include “needing more clients”, “late payment of [fee] invoices” and “trouble billing time on ledger to clients in full”. “The main thing that affects us is cashflow,” comments Kara Williams, partner at Welsh firm Ellis Lloyd Jones and a member of ICAEW’s practice committee. “Our clients still have to have the work done so our overall fee income is not necessarily less, but more of our clients are taking longer to pay than previously. We are having to chase debts a lot more than we used to.” The firm is addressing this issue by encouraging new clients to pay by monthly standing order and offering a 10% early payment discount for fees settled within two weeks of issue. – See more here.
The ICAEW are right, particularly about getting paid for the work and the trouble in billing for all the time on the time ledger. I blogged on this (Pay Daze: Do’s and Don’ts of Billing) on 30 December, here. Don’t forget that if you agree fees at the outset of an assignment, bill early (as soon as you’ve done the work) and chase early, and identify extra work as it happens rather than months later, you’ll increase your cash flow and fee income dramatically. See Bizezia’s calculator which shows how much money you could be throwing away by not doing these simple things.
By the way, when was the last time you looked at your firm’s Engagement/Client Care Letters? In today’s business climate, anything less than a full and comprehensive set of Terms and Conditions of Business is professional suicide. Your firm could be much closer than you think to an expensive and embarrassing professional negligence claim. Litigation against accountants is on the rise. There’s a free evaluator of where your firm stands here. Don’t forget that Professional Indemnity insurers are increasingly acknowledging the effectiveness of firms’ risk management strategies in assessing the premiums payable. See how your firm measures up: Try the Professional Negligence Timebomb Evaluator.
There a useful article I wrote which outlines how having a formal letter of engagement in place can help you avoid getting sued, here. My view is that setting out your terms of business with your clients is the only sensible way of delivering professional services. To do anything else is professional suicide: see another article I wrote here.
What are your thoughts? Email me at mpollins@bizezia.com.
He has written over 700 business publications (see Glossaries at http://onesmartplace.com/resources/glossaries/) and is editor of Better Business Focus (see http://onesmartplace.com/resources/better-business-focus-magazine). His Blog, on a wide range of subjects can be found at: http://onesmartplace.com/blog/
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