Business Advisory Services Is A WIN, WIN, WIN!

WIN for your clients, you’ll be assisting them to add value to their businesses!

WIN for your team, who will have interesting and challenging work, will help your firm with retention and attraction of team members!!

WIN for your firm, diversified services will add value to your firm!

OPEN LETTER TO ACCOUNTANTS, BUSINESS ADVISORS, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERS, BOOKKEEPERS BY PETER TOWERS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ESS BIZTOOLS

I hope you’re seeing improvements in business conditions now that there is some relaxation on COVID-19 regulations.

In this edition of Accountants’ Minute we have included extracts from our most recent ESS BIZTOOLS’ Business Advisory Services Podcast (click here) featuring Mark Holton a Director of Smithink and a well-known Business Advisory Services Implementation Consultant to accountancy firms.

Prior to the interview with Mark, I had a conversation with Andrew Geddes an Australian accounting legend who was Chair of Greencross Ltd, a Top 200 ASX company for 10 years, when we discussed utilising “Scaling Up Strategies for Teambuilding” when Andrew said “You’ve Got to Start It Now – This Afternoon – Because Your Greatest Challenge at the Moment is Getting Good People to Work With” (click here).

Business Advisory Services has been in the news this year – CommBank Accounting Market Pulse identified that the accountants, who participated in their 2021 survey, had nominated “Business Advisory Services” as their top pick for diversified services in 2022.

ESS BIZTOOLS is offering a range of 50% discount specials for upfront payment for 12 months access to celebrate the end of lockdowns:

• $795 (incl GST) will get you started with 7 packages.
• $999 (incl GST) will give you a larger portfolio of 17 packages.
• $3,250 (incl GST) will give you the full range of products that ESS BIZTOOLS has developed to assist accountants to deliver Business Advisory Services.

I invite you to visit our new website www.essbiztools.com.au and if you believe that you can use these tools to assist you to deliver “Value Added Services” to your clients, as outlined by Mark Holton and Andrew Geddes, I would be very happy to welcome your firm as a member of the ESS BIZTOOLS’ community. 

BUSINESS ADVISORY SERVICES IS ANYTHING THAT THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T FORCE YOUR CLIENTS TO DO!

Mark Holton, Director, Smithink Pty Ltd discussed services provided by accountants with Peter Towers, Managing Director, ESS BIZTOOLS in the recent ESS BIZTOOLS’ Business Advisory Services Podcast.

Mark was asked to comment on what he thought the position for accountants would be as we enter 2022 – do accountants go back to just doing what they did 2 years ago, basically concentrating on annual accounts and tax returns, or do they take the opportunity from the changes that have occurred during the last 2 years to expand the services that they are offering?.

“I’ve never seen as much interest over the last 3 or 4 months with regards accounting firms undertaking business advisory in a more systemised manner”.

“Every accounting firm that I’ve spoken to over the last 25 years has told me that they do advisory services, but in most circumstances, it’s instigated by somebody other than themselves, such as the client or bank and it’s not promoted productively – the attitude being – we have got this job to do we better do it and in most cases it is done in a non-systemised manner – and a classic example is the way that Budgets and Cashflow Forecasts are prepared at the request of a bank or lender”.

“We provide the Budget and Cashflow Forecast to the client who takes it to the bank and this is the end of the job”.

“I’ve always looked at Budgets and Cashflow Forecasts as the entrée point to getting the client into ‘Quarterly Board of Advice Meetings’ where the accounting firm acts as the external chair and holding the client accountable to the action plan.  I get a lot more involvement with the client because we are meeting, at least, quarterly to review how the business is performing against the Budgets and Cashflow Forecast”.

“What we should be doing is making an entrée point to a variety of other services that accountants could provide” Mark Holton.

Crowd Sourced Funding Equity Raising Company

Peter Towers said that “Crowd Sourced Funding Equity Raising is an example – approximately 1,625 companies applied to ASIC appointed Crowd Sourced Funding Intermediaries in 2020/21.  The joint founder of Equitise (one of the Intermediaries) has indicated that Intermediaries are only having serious discussions with 5% of the companies that apply to them about Crowd Sourced Funding Equity Raising.  This is an enormous cost to those companies that were not appropriately prepared with Business Plans, Budgets and Cashflow Forecasts, and an understanding of how Crowd Sourced Funding Equity Raising operates, also probably not being familiar with corporate governance and other issues relating to being a company in which the public would be confident to invest”.

“Accountants could have been a lot more proactive in helping clients on this capital raising journey, otherwise we would not have 95% of the companies, which showed interest, not being accepted for a Due Diligence Review”.

“Agree 100%” Mark Holton.

Research and Development

“Research and Development is another area where many clients need assistance in understanding how the Research and Development Tax Incentive Rebate operates and the types of records that the company needs to maintain, if it is going to be able to successfully claim the Research and Development Tax Incentive Rebate”.  Mark Holton.

“When I go to an accountancy firm, most of them have Business Advisory Services clearly listed as one of their services on their wall.  When I ask them what type of Business Advisory Services they offer, very few of the firms can tell me exactly what it means and, in fact, many say to me – what is Business Advisory Services in your mind and I always hit them with the same response – “Business Advisory Services is anything that is not Compliance – It is anything that the government doesn’t force you to do”.  Mark Holton.

You can listen to the full podcast conversation by clicking here.

You can watch the video recording of the discussion with Mark Holton by clicking here.

FREE WEBINAR RECORDINGS RELATING TO NEW CLIENT SERVICES THAT YOUR FIRM COULD DELIVER

Webinar recording relating to the products included within ESS BIZTOOLS, that our subscribers can access and use:

• Personal Property Securities Register – click here.

FREE WEBINARS RELATING TO SERVICES THAT YOUR FIRM COULD DELIVER TO CLIENTS AND PROSPECTS

• 2021/22 Export Market Development Grant Application – To access recording please click here.
• SME Debtors Systems Manual – Help Reduce Australia’s Embarrassing Debtors Days Outstanding Figure – Tuesday, 16th November 2021 at 1.00pm AEST (2.00pm AEDT) – To register click here.
• Grant Finder – ESS BIZGRANTS – Finding Grants for your Clients will help you Develop new Service Offerings – Thursday, 18th November 2021 at 1.00pm AEST (2.00pm AEDT) – To register click here.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

You are invited to “Book A Free Strategy and Demonstration Session” on ESS BIZTOOLS with Peter Towers, Managing Director, ESS BIZTOOLS to gain a better understanding of the services that are available within ESS BIZTOOLS and ESS BIZGRANTS?

You can book a demo at www.essbiztools.com.au or contact Peter Towers:

• Email:
• Telephone: 1800 232 088

Stay safe!
Have a great day!