The modern accountant: A business orientated acrobat

Being an accountant working with the SME community, the range of sectors you’ll be covering will no doubt be enormous. Consequently, in order to provide the quality of service that your clients demand, making your skillset as versatile as possible is essential. As well as managing their accounts and finances, you’re now a trusted source of advice. A far cry from the traditional notion of accountancy, your knowledge, understanding and experience in a broad range of sectors will be what makes you stand apart from your competitors. To succeed as a modern accountant and bring the results that satisfy client expectation, you need to be a business orientated acrobat.

The modern accountant  

You’ll need supernatural business reflexes, enabling you to react at a moment’s notice in order to keep pace with modern business practices and the rate of change. Since the early 2000’s, there’s been a rapid rise in the number of UK residents choosing to abandon full-time employment to become self-employed, a trend that hasn’t bucked since. With so many SMEs now looking to you for counsel, adapting your services for every sector is an absolute must. However, the only way you’re going to achieve this level of knowledge and expertise is through access to reliable sources of information, guidance and advice. That’s why the Access to Finance team at Rangewell are offering you our 4 tops tips to get your journey started.

1. Reduce red tape

To offer your clients the highest level of service and advice, developing a thorough understanding of their sector is a prerequisite that can’t be overlooked. Each sector works in its own way and is subject to differing forms of regulation that must be factored into every decision that you suggest. Armed with the correct and most through tools available, you can allow your SME clients to successfully push through any red tape that may have hindered them otherwise. Establish an information centre for your clients and either create content yourself or present sources that can help guide them to a sustainable, profit-rich future. Discuss everything from SME expansion and data to asset acquisition and employment regulation. Accountancy is now more competitive than ever before, become the source of information your clients seek in order to keep up.

2. Suggest finance

If there’s one thing that allows any business from any sector to reach and push beyond their limits, it’s business finance. Since the 2008 UK banking crisis, many high street banks have become reluctant to lend to SME businesses. For a considerable time, SME business felt cut off from key funds, and even those that once seemed promising investments found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. That’s why the alternative finance industry is so intrinsic to SME development and success.

With the rise and developing prominence of this sector, SMEs no longer have to rely solely on their traditional high street bank for external funding. Plus, with the continued rapid growth of this industry, there are now thousands upon thousands of business products on offer. The only obstacle in their way is a lack of knowledge. This is where you, as their business accountant, can step in and guide your clients to a brighter future.

At Rangewell, we work with over 300 business lenders to provide access to more than 23,000 alternative finance products. With our services and expertise, we can find SME business owners the perfect finance solution to meet their exact requirements, including packages such as Asset Finance, Premises Finance, Invoice Finance and more. By working with us, you and your clients will have access to a wealth of resources, informing and educating you in every finance option available to your clients.

Do you want to add an additional income stream to your practice? Do you want the skills to offer your clients a business finance finding service? Find out more about the benefits of becoming a partner

3. Become an introducer

Relationships are what provide SME businesses with a strong, workable foundation to build on and develop from. It is the forging of these relationships that define and determine how far a business can potentially stretch. As a business accountant, it is up to you to present your clients with the most beneficial and reliable relationships attainable in their chosen sector. That’s exactly why becoming an introducer and ensuring that your clientele is able to form the strongest of links is so vital.

As an introducer, it’s your duty and responsibility to present your clients in the most relevant circles. They’ll want to you display their potential fellow business owners, investors, financiers and any other beneficial parties. But, to be a truly great introducer, you’ll need access to quality information that can be trusted. Armed with such, you can guide business owners towards beneficial relationships in business finance, for example, allowing them to receive the most suitable product with terms to match.

4. Expand your knowledge

The role of business accountants is now adapting, becoming broader and more dynamic, making it true that you have to be a business orientated acrobat. Admittedly, you may not be alone in feeling this is unchartered territory, compared to the traditional role of an accountant. But with a developing role in technology and finance, keeping up with the change is essential for both you and your clients. Expanding your knowledge is now imperative.

Your client will always value your input, viewing you as a well-informed means of support. However, developing the array of knowledge that they now expect can take time and is certain to push you outside of your comfort zone. But all the same, you must persist, endure and find the tools you’ll need for success.

Thankfully, at Rangewell, we have you sorted in terms of business finance. As well as sourcing finance solutions for your clients, we are also producing a wealth of educational resources. Endeavouring to deliver an ever more transparent service, we aim to better inform our clients and associates of the possibilities that lie within the alternative finance sector, including finance guides, product summaries, resource libraries, business tips and much more.

Why Rangewell?

Our values are simple – We’re on your side. Our services are clear and transparent. We support a wide range of SME businesses of every shape and size, for finding every type of finance. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for business tips and tricks, and feel free to call us on 0203 637 2340 if you’d like to chat about what we can do for you, including adding a new income stream to your business by partnering with us.