For years now, accountants have been encouraged to “move into advisory”. It’s become one of those phrases that is repeated so often it risks losing meaning. And yet, many sole practitioners, especially, continue to resist it.
Some genuinely believe that NONE of clients would value their advice. (None??)
Others feel uncomfortable initiating conversations that will warrant additional fees.
And still more have a very real concern about whether they could deliver advice that stands up to scrutiny, alongside the practical question of where the time would come from in an already full compliance schedule.
These are not trivial objections. But they do tend to focus on the accountant’s perspective rather than the client’s experience.
So it’s worth turning the lens around for a moment.
When your clients need advice, and don’t see you as the person to ask, they rarely sit and wait. They look elsewhere.
Increasingly, that means searching online and landing on a solution that may or may not fit their circumstances. Or asking an AI tool that produces something plausible, well-worded, and potentially misleading or inappropriate.
Others turn to peers in their industry, assuming that what worked for someone else will work for them.
Some speak to business coaches or consultants who may have strong opinions but limited financial context.
And a fair number do nothing at all, which is often the most expensive option for them.
None of these routes are inherently wrong. But they all carry a common theme: the accountant is absent from the conversation and so unable to share their expertise and insights; and unable to provide valuable support and guidance for their clients. Often this is a huge missed opportunity.
Research has consistently shown that, unless prompted to do so, many business owners simply don’t see their accountant as someone to approach for broader advice.
Not because they’ve consciously rejected the idea, but because nothing in their experience suggests it’s a conversation they should have. Or they tried it once (whether with their current accountant or a previous one) and were disappointed for one reason or another.
This is especially the case for those clients who only hear from their accountant once or twice a year. Conversations are narrowly focused on accounts and tax returns. There’s little curiosity about the wider business, its direction, or its pressures.
Over time, a perception forms that the accountant’s role is limited to the technical and transactional, rather than extending to the commercial and strategic.
Once that perception is set, it becomes self-reinforcing. Clients won’t ask for advice they don’t believe you offer. And if you’re not asked, it’s easy to conclude there is no demand.
That’s where many firms quietly miss opportunities, not through lack of capability, but through lack of visibility and positioning. It’s not that clients read your website and dismiss your advisory services. It’s that they don’t think to look in the first place. (And in many cases, even if they do, the website is silent on such matters)
They remember you for what you consistently demonstrate, not for what you occasionally mention.
This is compounded by the largely reactive way that so many accountants work. If most of a client’s interactions with you are driven by deadlines, data requests, and last-minute chases, there is little space for broader conversations. And without those conversations, there is no natural route into advisory work, even where it would clearly add value.
At the same time, many accountants underestimate how this shapes fee conversations.
From the client’s perspective, they are buying a necessary service that appears increasingly commoditised.
It’s no surprise then that cheaper alternatives become attractive. If they see your role as simply to produce accounts and tax returns, we shouldn’t blame them if they choose to move to a lower-cost provider. It’s entirely rationale I’m afraid.
Where this becomes more significant is in retention and referrals.
Client churn is a challenge as few accountants factor in the time it takes to woo and win clients when setting fees. This can still be economic if clients stay for years, but if they quickly move on then much of your effort will have been unrewarded.
And yet, the strongest driver of long-term growth remains word of mouth. Clients who feel understood, supported, and occasionally guided, tend to talk about it. Those who experience a purely transactional service tend not to – other than to other people who want a low-cost compliance focused servce.
This isn’t really about “adding advisory” as a new service line. It’s about how your role is perceived in the first place.
You can change this by making small but deliberate shifts. Taking a genuine interest in what your clients are trying to achieve. Asking questions that go beyond what’s required to complete a set of accounts. Making space, occasionally, for conversations that aren’t tied to an immediate deadline.
And then being clearer about the value you already provide to each client – and to others. Many accountants do far more than they articulate, but if it isn’t explained, it isn’t recognised and often isn’t valued either. Clients rarely join the dots themselves.
You may also need to build a broader support network. You don’t need to have every answer, but you can become a gateway to the right ones. Whether that involves working with specialists, introducing trusted contacts, or gradually developing new skills in-house, the effect is the same and your role becomes more central to the client’s decision-making.
None of this requires a dramatic repositioning overnight. But it does require intent.
If you’re finding yourself questioning whether a move into ‘advisory’ is realistic, or how it might fit within your current practice, it’s worth exploring this properly rather than dismissing it at the outset. There is usually more opportunity than first appears, along with practical ways to approach it without overwhelming your existing workload.
That’s exactly the sort of conversation I have with accountants who want to build their confidence, identify where genuine opportunities exist, and create a workable plan forward.
