Transforming How Accountants Deliver Advisory Services
New Product Launch at Accountex Sydney
An innovate solution designed to transform the way accountants deliver business advisory services will be launched at Accountex Sydney 2023. Inspired by the improvements to student education, motivation, and academic performance through the introduction of the Flipped Classroom, Accountex Sydney exhibitor buildabetterbusiness.com has created ProfitSURGE® – a unique blend of business advice and tuition.
Effective Advice Results in a Change in Management Behaviour
buildabetterbusiness.com founder, Chartered Accountant Philip Arnfield, believes effective advice results in a change in management behaviour. He suggests this is not always the result of advisory meetings – even if the information delivered is of the highest quality.
People retain only 8% of what they hear, in terms of the traditional way accountants consult, what this means is that much of the knowledge transfer will be lost.
Retention rates increase to 21% of the material we read, 82% of what we put into practice and 96% of what we teach others. ProfitSURGE captures these dramatic increments in recall to drive a more effective advisory service benefiting both the client and advisor.
Direct Instruction is an Inefficient way to Transfer Knowledge
The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University assert that direct instruction is not the best use of class time, instead suggesting students should encounter information prior to attending lectures, freeing the time spent with teachers for activities involving higher order thinking.
ProfitSURGE® on buildabetterbusiness.com adopts the same approach to advisory assignments. Prior to a meeting the accountant refers the client to a series of learning resources on buildabetterbusiness.com in order for the client to gain a solid understanding of the subject matter. During the subsequent meeting with their accountant the time is devoted to adapting strategies to suit the particular circumstances of the client’s business and establishing a pathway for their implementation.
Positioning the Accountant as a Facilitator
What Arnfield expects his fellow accountants will see as the greatest benefit is the fact that the ProfitSURGE® program positions the accountant as the facilitator of processes – the person assisting with the implementation of ideas as opposed to the accountant being the subject matter expert. And what this means is that accountants at all levels can deliver the advisory service, not just partners.
In most business/advisor relationships says Arnfield, the client is the expert, not the accountant.
“Clients almost always know the solution to challenges they face; the function of the advisor is to facilitate a process to elucidate the correct response to the dilemma or opportunity. Reframing the accountant’s role from expert to facilitator is the secret to business advisory success. It widens the scope of the engagements you are comfortable performing thus making you a more valuable resource which then leads to growth in fees. It also removes much of the stress associated with advisory assignments as you do not feel the pressure of having to know the answer to every question. It allows you to comfortably say to your client “I don’t know the answer to that, I will find out and get back to you.”
The material available through ProfitSURGE® covers the full array of business development topics including Strengthening Cash Flow and Profitability; Financial Management Basics; Advanced Financial Management, Planning & Strategy, Recruiting Training & Retaining Great Teams, Systemising Key Processes; Winning More A Class Customers; Product Service & Customer Segmentation; Management Advisory Boards; Customer Service Excellence; Developing Performance Standards; Succession Plans & Exit Strategies.
In addition to providing the means by which business owners are able to learn how to build a better business, buildabetterbusiness.com provides accountants with the process to ensure clients implement what they learn as well as offering back-office support and advice to assist accountants with their business advisory assignments.
Special Accountex Offer
Accountants that commit to a free no obligation trial of the program during the two days of Accountex Sydney 2023 will be entitled to a 45% discount on their first year’s subscription should they decide to proceed anytime within the following three months.
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