Do you ever think about how your practice and your client base might be impacted in the next few years by changes in technology? Historically most clients stay with their accountant for many years. They generally move only when they feel their accountant doesn't care enough about them, puts their fees up significantly or messes
My conversations with sole practitioner accountants over the years suggest that many are happy enough once their business has plateaued. 'Happy enough' is hardly an enthusiastic summation of how things are going. It suggests a degree of reluctant acceptance. The underlying message perhaps is that things could be better but the accountant is used to
If there was ever an award for the most obvious predictions in finance, I might have won with those that I made in 2009. At the end of my presentation at the Mercia Partners' conference, I did, as I had been asked, and offered my predictions as to what would happen in the coming two
Let me save you some time. Yes, the accounting profession is going through (another) period of unprecedented change. There will be fewer jobs for accountants in the future. There will be fewer large firms of accountants in the future. But there will continue to be plenty of work for savvy sole practitioner accountants for many years
This blog post was prompted by a tweet. It was posted by a top 30 firm of accountants: "Are you aware of the range of services we provide? We do more than just a set of books at year end. Take a look" There was then a link to a page on their website which
I was interviewed recently for a magazine piece about longer-term trends and changes in the accountancy profession. In this blog post I share my thoughts on one of the topics we discussed. Where will accountants operate from in the future? The options at the moment tend to be high street office, above a shop, off
In early 2013 Professor Richard Susskind published a new book, 'Tomorrow's lawyers'. This included some updated observations of the views expressed in his previous book, published in 2008: The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services. As I share many of Professor Susskind's views I thought I would pick out one theme for this blog.
Most lawyers only know a world in which they have to quote fees and charge for the provision of advice. Few solicitors have the luxury of charging recurring fees to clients who come back year after year for the same recurring compliance service. Accountants, on the other hand, tend to earn much of their fees
The traditional focus on recurring work and the associated recurring fees is likely to change in the near future. There are an increasing number of alternative, low cost and professional alternative service providers. Those clients who perceive that all their accountants do is produce accounts and tax returns will be at risk. At the
Although qualified accountants are aware that anyone can call themselves an ‘accountant’ I find that very few ‘real’ people appreciate this fact. They tend to assume accountants are like dentists, doctors and solicitors. If only that were the case! It is precisely because of this confusion that various groups of accountants campaign to secure
I was reflecting on this idea the other day. The MD of a big IT software supplier was telling me how surprised he was that so many accountants had yet to pick up on the new obligations to file iXBRL tagged accounts. This will be relevant to all accounts filed from April 2011 re
Many commentators seem almost contemptuous when talking about accountants who focus on the provision of compliance services. We’re told that fees are being forced down and that firms that focus only on compliance services face an uncertain future. I’m not sure I agree. If you have an established practice and know your clients well,
At a recent ICAEW conference on the future of auditing I realised how what was once a traditional service provided by most accountants, is almost extinct. It won’t die out completely but it’s certainly becoming more specialised as the number of companies requiring audits has fallen dramatically in recent years. And that trend is set
