3 Best Practices for Accountants providing Business Advisory Services
Note: This article is the fifth installment in our series on offering CPA Business Advisory Services. See Part IV
Even if you are providing business advisory services to your current clientele, it’s important to use the right approach to make the most of the arrangement. This includes helping your client understand how they are progressing in remedying his or her business problems and where they stand in the marketplace. As well, it’s important to remember that business advisory services need not be limited to just your for-profit clients, but can also be extended to other areas where you are a key trusted advisor. This includes giving advice to non-profit clients and other organizations you may assist. Follow these best practices to ensure you’re optimizing the valued added services you offer for both your firm and your clients:
1. Provide action items and set goals
Chad Wright, regional consultant at Sageworks says it’s important to establish relevant goals and action items that should be addressed prior to the next consulting session. Track the client’s results at each meeting and describe how far their company has come since your firm has been working with them.
2. Don’t forget about non-profits
It is likely that you are already working with a non-profit organization or serve as an advisor to a non-profit board. Don’t forget that you can run financial reports on nonprofits to help them improve organizational efficiency and help them with financial transparency to their board. This could include benchmarking non-profits’ performance against similar organizations in the sector.
3. Leverage industry data
You likely serve multiple clients from a given industry and have a pulse on the financial trends for that industry. Combining this knowledge with real time industry data is a great way to provide fast and easy deliverables of high value. Companies want to know where they stand and how to improve if they are sub-par.
