There is much talk in the Accounting profession about business advisory. Accountants must do more advisory or they will not survive, so the rhetoric goes. Well, it's not that simple.
Compliance is not going away; it is changing, but it's not going away. To unlock capacity so that you can, if you choose, pursue business advisory with clients, it's critically important to get the basics right in your firm. And for an Accounting business, workflow management absolutely must be a core competency.
So how do you tackle the age-old problems that plague the profession?
- Too many open jobs
- Not enough jobs being closed
- Slow job turnaround
- Budgets missed, resulting in write-downs
- Unhappy clients and unhappy team members
Panalitix's best practices in workflow management include the following key strategies:
- Identify and prioritize clients: Use Panalitix's software to identify profitable clients and decide when to increase prices or manage out certain clients.
- Delight clients: Improve team performance and communicate better with clients to enhance satisfaction and retention.
- Increase referrals: Encourage clients to refer others by providing excellent workflow processes that lead to client satisfaction.
- Utilize mentoring programs: Work with experienced mentors who have managed large portfolios of clients to tailor engagement strategies.
- Implement workflow management techniques: Break down large task sequences into smaller ones and allocate resources to achieve project objectives.
These practices help organizations streamline their processes, improve efficiency, and enhance client satisfaction.
Panalitix is engaged in workflow management projects with firms around the world. Colin will share data collected from surveys of team members in those firms, shining a light on where the real problems lie – and highlighting differences in perception of the firms' performance amongst differing team members. Armed with that data, you can take clear and focused action to address the issues that are holding you back.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
