Keep calm but maybe don’t just carry on?
Richard Brewin • June 30, 2020
From the global economy to the desk of the small business owner, we are hearing a lot of talk now about the need for change as we all move forward from lockdown and the immediate impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
From an accounting perspective there is plenty of discussion about whether you need an office or not, flexible working for your team, online services for your clients, shifting meetings onto Zoom.
Pivoting your firm seems to be the buzz phrase. I’m usually the first one who’s up for change but we need to be a little careful.
When you plan a wedding you choose your venue, your theme, your style and, of course, your partner very carefully. Some of these things have been years in the making, your partner is a lifetime goal.
So, if you saw a horrendous weather forecast for the next few months, rain every day ( I write this from England, remember!) would you just bin the idea? Would you dump the venue, throw out your theme and style, decide to drop your partner and go for a different one? A little facetious maybe but whilst there may be things that you have to change, like at an outside venue for instance, most of your changes would be to adapt to the situation. An umbrella here and there, a change of location for the photos. You certainly wouldn’t change your goal of getting married.
Pivoting your business can mean going for a different market. Why would we change our target market as a result of the pandemic, unless you’re niched in a heavily impacted sector. Changing strategies for the sake of change, or because it’s seen as the ‘in thing’ to do makes no sense. If you liked meeting clients face to face why do you need to drop that option now?
There are many valuable lessons to learn, from both the period in lockdown and from society’s reaction to the virus itself. It’s sensible to look at how your business, your team and your systems have performed, online and offline, during the lockdown and to build on the positives from that experience.
Its’ sensible to look at what our teams and our clients want as we move forwards. How much direct social contact? How much travelling? How much flexibility?
But, remember what your goals are. When you are considering changes, ask yourself why you are making them. Do they take you closer to your goals or is it merely a fashionable response, one pushed upon you by a tide of change?
Question… Should accountants charge for the additional work and obligations they will have when MTD ITSA finally comes into play next April? Not sure? Let me ask another one… Should business owners and taxpayers be expected to pay for the work that their accountant does for them and for the expertise that they receive? Put down in black and white, the answer seems obvious but there are many in the profession who are losing sleep over this issue.
Accountants selling to their clients is a topic as old as the profession itself. I regularly hear criticism from those looking to monetise the accountants’ relationships with their clients that “accountants can’t sell”. I also come across an attitude within the profession that “accountants shouldn’t sell to their clients…it’s unprofessional…it’s not what my clients expect”. Let’s tackle the issue.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s, when I was a lad, doing the family laundry was a time consuming chore. Mum would disappear into the kitchen and close the door so that the noise around the rest of the house was at least manageable. She would be in there for hours, swapping between washing, rinsing and squeezing out. Every so often the noise level would resemble a fighter jet taking off on an aircraft carrier as the tumbler element kicked in and then she’d reappear, wooden tongs in hand, to ask for help to reposition the twin tub that had danced across the kitchen floor.