The Importance of Maintaining a Good Relationship with Your Clients as an Accountant and Tax Practitioner
Introduction
As an accountant and or Tax Practitioner, your expertise in numbers, tax, and financial regulations is essential. However, an often-overlooked aspect of your role is the importance of building and maintaining strong relationships with your clients. This not only ensures client satisfaction but also plays a crucial role in the growth and sustainability of your practice. Here’s why fostering good relationships with your clients is vital and how you can achieve it.
Trust and Transparency
Trust is the cornerstone of any professional relationship, and this is especially true in accounting. Clients entrust you with sensitive financial information, and it’s your responsibility to handle this data with the utmost care. By being transparent about your processes, fees, and any potential conflicts of interest, you can build a foundation of trust. This transparency reassures clients that their financial well-being is your top priority.
Personalised Service
Every client is unique, with specific financial needs and goals. By taking the time to understand their individual situations, you can offer personalised advice and solutions. This tailored approach not only helps clients feel valued but also ensures that they receive the most relevant and effective financial guidance. Regular check-ins and updates on their financial status can further demonstrate your commitment to their success.
Effective Communication
Clear and consistent communication is essential in maintaining a strong client relationship. Clients appreciate being kept in the loop about their financial matters, especially during tax season or when significant financial decisions are needed. By promptly responding to emails, phone calls, and meeting requests, you show clients that they are a priority. Additionally, using simple language to explain complex financial concepts can help clients feel more confident and informed about their financial decisions.
Reliability and Consistency
Clients rely on their accountants to provide accurate and timely financial services. Consistently meeting deadlines and delivering high-quality work reinforces your reliability. This consistency helps build your reputation as a dependable professional, encouraging clients to return year after year and refer your services to others.
Adding Value
Beyond the basic accounting services, finding ways to add value can significantly enhance your client relationships. This could include providing insights on cost-saving opportunities, advising on investment strategies, or helping with financial planning for major life events. By going above and beyond, you demonstrate your dedication to helping clients achieve their financial goals.
Professionalism and Integrity
Maintaining a high level of professionalism and integrity is crucial in the accounting profession. Adhering to ethical standards, being honest about any errors, and correcting mistakes promptly are all part of building a trustworthy relationship. Clients respect accountants who demonstrate integrity, which in turn strengthens their loyalty.
Long-term Partnerships
Building long-term relationships with clients can lead to more stable and sustainable business growth. Loyal clients are more likely to provide repeat business and refer new clients to you. Additionally, long-term clients can offer valuable feedback that helps you
Improve your services and adapt to changing market demands
A number of accounting firms have broadened the range of services they provide in response to the demand from current and prospective clients. Review the following list and consider whether some of these services could be incorporated in your practice, in addition to traditional tax and accounting services.
Annual planning session: Meet with client each year to map out, or update, the strategic direction of the client’s business.
Develop action plan: Assist in completing the action plan to achieve the goals identified. This includes identifying the necessary follow-up steps and allocating responsibilities for tasks and deadlines.
Implement and update the action plan: Ensure the plan is fully implemented, with regular follow-up meetings, mentoring, and coaching.
Goals and objectives: Identify and establish the goals and objectives of the business, and together determine how to get there.
Organization chart: Review the client’s organization chart, including allocation of responsibilities and accountabilities. This also includes a review of position descriptions for each position.
Site visits: Regularly spend time in the client’s business to physically assess the continued sustainability and development of the business.
Regular Business meetings: Meet in person or via video-enabled apps with the directors on a regular basis to discuss the financial performance, growth, and development of the business. This could be on a monthly or quarterly basis.
Management accounts: Review the business’s performance against the budget. Assets Liabilities Net worth.
Annual budget: Prepare and review.
Annual cash flow forecast: Prepare and review.
Sales pipeline: Regularly review.
Accounts receivable: Review and track accounts receivable monthly. Consider the impact on the cash flow forecast and bring any concerns to the attention of the directors.
Accounts payable: Review and track monthly. Check against the annual budget allocation and consider the impact against the cash flow forecast.
KPIs: Identify the specific KPIs for the business that are to be regularly reported and relevant financial and nonfinancial information relating to the performance of the business.
Finance and funding: Review the finance and funding arrangements that are in place to ensure that the most appropriate and cost-effective forms of finance are being utilized.
Bank manager: Meet with the client and the client’s bank manager annually to discuss the performance of the business and future plans. This discussion should include a review of the relative appropriateness of the funding arrangements in place.
Bank security: This discussion will be linked to a review of the security the bank holds to support the finance structure. These meetings should coincide with a monthly management meeting.
Corporate structure: Review and consider the corporate structure through which the business operates, to ensure it continues to reflect the client’s intentions for the business.
Asset protection: Link to the review of corporate structure a consideration of asset protection measures that are in place and whether the current structure is relevant and will continue to be so.
Investment plans: Review and discuss the client’s investment and development plans, considering taxation and investment benefits. Be mindful of your local regulations regarding what “advice” can be given here.
Succession: Consider annually what the client intends to do regarding their succession. Include the timing of their progressive withdrawal from the business, and the relative position of the business in light of taxation issues, stamp duty, etc.
Estate: Confidentially discuss and consider the legal wills of the client and the client’s intentions regarding their estate planning, from a financial and taxation perspective.
Insurance coverage: Review insurance coverage in place to ensure it is appropriate for the current and ongoing needs of the client.
Insurance broker: Meet with the client’s business insurance broker annually to discuss the current level of insurance coverage and provide an update as to future plans and expectations. These meetings should coincide with one of the regular business management meetings.
Staff salaries and bonus structures: Review and discuss staff salaries and bonus structures annually.
Risk assessment: Conduct a formal risk assessment of the client’s business annually to ensure key areas of risk are identified. Also ensure that appropriate risk mitigation strategies are identified and recommended.
Profitability analysis: Conduct client profitability analysis and product profitability analysis to ensure that the clients and product lines that your client deals with are profitable. If not, review their continuation.
Key clients: Meet the key clients of your client to discuss their financial terms and arrangements. Gain an understanding of their dealings with and expectations of the client’s business.
Key suppliers: Meet with the client’s key suppliers to discuss their financial terms and arrangements and seek to negotiate better terms.
Business Plans: Review or prepare business plans for the client to be presented to banks or financiers.
Assets physical inventory reconciliation: Assist the client in setting up a periodic physical inventory of assets and make a comparison between assets accounting records and data issued from assets physical inventory in order to find discrepancies and correct errors.
When considering which other services to introduce, subject of course to your client’s openness to embrace these new offerings, you should be aware of ethical considerations and any local restrictions that may apply in your jurisdiction
Conclusion
In summary, maintaining a good relationship with your clients is not just about providing excellent accounting services. It involves building trust, offering personalised advice, communicating effectively, being reliable, adding value, and upholding professionalism and integrity. By prioritising these aspects, you can foster strong client relationships that lead to sustained success for both your clients and your practice.
