A brave accountant admits he needs help and asks for it.

By |2022-10-11T18:51:37+01:00October 18th, 2022|Accountants, Client servikce, Professional Negligence, Tax related|

An accountant approached me last week to ask whether any of the members of my Tax Advice Network would be willing to work with his practice on a regular basis? The answer was 'yes'. The background to this accountant's question was not uncommon. What I admired however was his desire to address the issue. And

How confident can you afford to be?

By |2013-10-15T08:27:37+01:00October 15th, 2013|Professional Negligence|

Not all accountants are full of confidence. And some of those who come across as confident are not - or should not be. There's an understandable desire to come across as confident in our profession. After all, who would want an accountant who seems unable to give confident replies to questions and requests for information?

Five key tips if you are the subject of a complaint

By |2012-11-15T09:44:38+00:00November 15th, 2012|Professional Negligence|

I had the privilege of attending the ICAEW Support Members' annual conference yesterday. I was there in my capacity as vice-chairman of the ICAEW Ethics Advisory Committee. I thought it would be helpful to share a few of the learning points that may be of interest and value to accountants who find themselves the subject

What do you count as a bad client?

By |2008-02-21T08:17:36+00:00February 21st, 2008|Client servikce, Professional Negligence|

I regularly encourage accountants to ditch their bad clients. There are two primary reasons for this. - Following the Pareto (80/20) principle, you can be sure that your worst clients (however small the number) cause the bulk of the problems and hassle that you suffer. Conversely, 80% of your profits are probably generated by the

What sort of advice do you give? Specialist, Compliance or Dangerous? (part two)

By |2007-10-02T08:14:09+01:00October 2nd, 2007|Professional Negligence, Tax related|

In yesterday's blog I described what I see as the three categories of advice that best describe the approach of many professional advisers. The third category I described was 'dangerous' and I explained that advisers giving dangerous advice, normally do so as they are what we might term 'unconscious incompetents'. That is they are unaware

What sort of advice do you give? Specialist, Compliance or Dangerous? (part one)

By |2007-10-01T08:07:04+01:00October 1st, 2007|Professional Negligence, Tax related|

What would be the impact on your practice if a client alleged that you had been negligent? It's not something that anyone wants to consider, of course.Often such allegations lead to complaints that result in investigations and disciplinary proceedings, or a professional indemnity insurance claim – whether justified or not. All such eventualities invariably result

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