Lead SMEs Through the Innovation Journey: Part 2
Accountants Minute 436
What if you could spot business problems 12 months before they happen – and guide your clients around them before they even see the danger?
This is the power of Stage Five of the Innovation Journey.
Predictive Accounting Reports are not “just more spreadsheets.” They are:
✅ Your financial GPS
✅ Your early-warning radar
✅ The foundation of a true Virtual CFO service
Stage Five is where accountants and bookkeepers stop reporting the past…and begin interpreting the future.
This is the moment you stop being a “number reporter” and start becoming your client’s Strategic Storyteller.
The Core of Predictive Accounting
Predictive Accounting Reports turn the Business Plan into a 12 - 36-month financial interpretation of the business’ future.
They include:
✅ Budgets for each business operation
✅ Key driver analysis
✅ Cash flow forecasts
✅ Projected balance sheets
Stage Five Deep Dive
Budgets for Each Business Operation – Where Clarity Begins
Ever looked at a P&L and thought:
“Something doesn’t add up… but I can’t see it”?
That’s because consolidated Profit & Loss (P&L) statements hide the truth.
Without separate budgets and P&Ls, business owners miss:
❌ Loss-making divisions
❌ Product lines dragging down margins
❌ High-performing operations
❌ Cost blowouts hiding in averages
Large corporations NEVER rely on a single P&L. Your SME clients shouldn’t either.
When you separate budgets:
👉 You gain control
👉 Clients gain clarity
👉 Decisions become razor sharp
This is where accountants become indispensable.
Key Drivers – The Real Story Behind the Numbers
Key drivers are the “subaccounts” that tell the story behind the totals. Examples include:
✅ Raw material inventory
✅ Work in progress
✅ Labour cost allocation
✅ Capex
✅ Debtors & creditors
✅ R&D project costs
✅ Loans & dividends
Every month, these drivers must be reviewed for:
✅ Creeping cost increases
✅ Cash flow leaks
✅ Stock blowouts
✅ Collection bottlenecks
✅ Underperforming divisions
This is where great accountants stop guessing—and start leading.
Cash Flow Forecast – The Heartbeat of a Healthy Business
A 12-month rolling cash flow forecast allows you to say:
“Here is what’s coming—and here is how we fix it before it hurts you.”
Even small operational changes can have massive impacts:
👉 A clerk paying suppliers too fast reduces creditors days → cash drops
👉 Debtor follow-up delays increase debtor days → cash choked
👉 Inventory stockpiling ties up hundreds of thousands
And when debtor days and creditor days BOTH move in the wrong direction?
💥 Cash flow crisis – even when the business is profitable.
This is where real leadership is delivered.
Projected Balance Sheets – Revealing the Future
Projected Balance Sheets allow accountants to say:
✅ “Here’s what your business will look like in 12–36 months.”
✅ “Here’s the impact of your strategy.”
✅ “Here’s the problem we fix now – not next year.”
Before signing off any cash flow forecast, create a variance summary.
When clients understand WHY the numbers shifted, decision-making becomes intelligent – not emotional.
This is the work clients value most.
Benchmarking – Turning Insight Into Action
Benchmarking lets clients compare themselves with the top 20% of their industry.
Our affiliate TaxFitness offers benchmarking tools that:
✅ motivate improvement
✅ reveal unseen problems
✅ drive strategic decision-making
✅ increase client engagement
As Peter Drucker said:
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”
Use code ESS100 at taxfitness.com.au for a $200 discount.
Predictive Accounting Makes You the Interpreter of the Future
In Stage Five, your role becomes:
✅ Interpreter of the Business Plan
✅ Navigator of the Future
✅ Strategic Storyteller
You identify risks, opportunities, weaknesses, and growth pathways before they happen.
This is the highest-value work accountants and bookkeepers will deliver in the next decade.
What if one simple weekly system could save your clients thousands – while positioning YOU as their most trusted strategic partner?
Most SMEs operate blind. Big businesses don’t.
Large corporations run on:
📅 Daily reports
📅 Weekly performance reviews
📅 Monthly accounts
📅 Constant feedback loops
This is why they catch problems in days—not months.
ESS BIZTOOLS has built the SME version: the 52-Week Business Enhancement System.
A Virtual CFO framework that gives SMEs the financial visibility big businesses rely on—and gives YOU the tools to deliver it.
Daily Reports
Fast. Sharp. Actionable.
Covering:
✅ Bank balance
✅ Key debtors due
✅ Critical suppliers
✅ Urgent issues from yesterday
The daily pulse check that protects cash flow.
Weekly Performance & Profitability Estimates
Every operation in the business gets:
✅ Sales
✅ Wages + on-costs
✅ Purchases
✅ Expenses
✅ GP%
✅ Average sale
✅ Variations from budget
If something goes wrong, your client knows this week – not next year.
This is the beating heart of Virtual CFO services.
Monthly Accounts
Prepared quickly.
Compared to budgets.
Variances explained.
Weekly reports reconcile fully to monthly accounts – just like Woolworths, Coles, national franchises, and major manufacturers.
Real-time information = real control. SMEs deserve it.
The Supermarket Example: Why SMEs Struggle
Inside a supermarket are multiple operations that could survive as standalone small businesses – butcher, bakery, deli, fish, fruit & veg, café.
Why do these “departments” succeed?
Because they get:
✅ Weekly sales
✅ GP%
✅ Labour cost %
✅ Shrinkage
✅ Wastage
✅ Profitability insights
Meanwhile, the small shop next door only knows:
✅ Turnover
✅ Wages
This information gap explains why SMEs struggle.
Our system closes that gap.
What This Means for SMEs on the Innovation Journey
But here’s the challenge:
In the 2025 QuickBooks SMB Navigator Report, only 15% of SMEs said their accountant/bookkeeper is a:
“Key Strategic Partner – our go-to for advice and growth.”
The firms who implement Stage Six WILL be the ones that change this.
ESS BIZTOOLS is here to help you reach that level.
Black Friday – 75% Off Until 5 December
All packages include the Predictive Accounting and Stage Six materials.
EXPLORE ESS BIZTOOLS AND SUBSCRIBE HERE
Visit our website – www.essbiztools.com.au – to discover the detailed overview of the services provided by ESS BIZTOOLS. You are also welcome to contact us on 0418 190 181 or email .
Insights From Our Affiliates
Before You Benchmark Clients, Benchmark Yourself
Last week’s article generated a lot of replies — and one point kept coming up:
“Darren, I want to start benchmarking clients… but I haven’t benchmarked my own practice in ages.”
That’s the real problem.
You can’t talk to clients about pricing discipline, write-offs, efficiency or Top 20% performance if you’re not across your own numbers. Advisory starts with holding a mirror up to your own practice first.
Peter Drucker summed it up perfectly:
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”
Most firms run on feel.
“We’re flat out, so things must be okay.”
But the moment you benchmark properly, the reality hits hard.
Some firms discover write-offs are double where they should be.
Others realise pricing is 15–20% below what top operators charge.
And staffing ratios — the biggest profit driver — are often miles off.
You can’t give clients clarity if you don’t have clarity yourself.
Benchmarking your own practice gives you three things:
Confidence — you’re speaking from experience.
Credibility — clients respect advice you actually apply.
Consistency — a more profitable practice gives you the space for advisory.
Top 20% benchmarking isn’t something you do to clients.
It’s something you live.
If you want clients to take benchmarking seriously, start with your own numbers.
Make sure to use the Referral Code: ESS100 for $200 off your annual subscription.
EXPLORE TAXFITNESS AND SUBSCRIBE HERE
Offer to Accountants
Sign up to The Boss Factor Library for an annual subscription of $70 (plus GST) per month.
Free Webinar by ESS BIZTOOLS
Empower Tradies with an Effective Pricing System
📅 Thursday 4 December | 11am AEST
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📅 Thursday 11 December | 11am AEST
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📅 Thursday 18 December | 11am AEST
ESS BIZTOOLS Podcast
Transforming from “tax technician” to true key strategic partner is no longer optional.
In this episode of the Accountants Minute Podcast, Peter Towers unpacks the uncomfortable gap between what 75% of accountants think they deliver and what SMEs actually say in the Intuit QuickBooks SMB Navigator Report. You’ll explore why so many firms are still seen as “transactional”, how to test your own client perception with a simple three-option survey, and the practical steps to deepen Financial / Commercial / Management Accounting services so clients genuinely see you as their go-to advisor. Tune in and start shifting your firm’s vote to “Key Strategic Partner”.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST
Listen to more Accountants Minute Podcast episodes here
Want to know more?
Visit www.essbiztools.com.au.
If you would like to have a discussion about how this concept of virtual CFO services can be supplied by Australian accounting firms please ring our Managing Director, Peter Towers, on 0418 190 181 and we will arrange a complimentary 45-minute Zoom meeting to discuss your firm’s position and to give you our advice.
We believe that this is the blueprint for the delivery of an enhanced range of services by Australian Accounting and Bookkeeping firms to assist SME businesses to add value to their businesses and to assist accountants and bookkeepers not only to attract but to retain outstanding talent who want to be involved in the delivery of “real accounting services”.
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