Accountant - how to generate new business

Purple said:
You are better positioned to comment so here’s a question for you as a practicing accountant who , based on the posts you make on AAM, is competent and good at their you. Do you think that there is a substantial number of (at best) mediocre accountants out there selling their services?
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Of course I do. (Obviously, I'm not going to start naming names...)

There are also a lot of good ones who (in my estimation) try to provide a good service to their clients, who make a point of keeping up with the incessant changes in tax, company law, regulatory issues and technology, and who charge fair levels of fees.
 
Folks,

Thanks for all the replies. I have professional indemnity insurance but not practising cert yet.

As you have noticed I am unable to leave the job at the minute with the level of cash outlay I have. I suppose I am hoping for a wonder client i.e. a significant bill and good to pay. If I got that then I think I would take the risk, herself has a secure job and would keep the ship afloat for a bit.

Its early days in this process but the desire is there as is the skill. I have had great experiences in the past (construction predominantly) and am good at pro-active work, I would not plan to simply file tax returns, I wish to delve into business and have them make disposable cash. That to me is the key. If I could make my name on that initially then business would come, I know that.

I suppose the question is really how did the successful accountants here get going?

Thanks
 
trg said:
I suppose the question is really how did the successful accountants here get going?
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In my case, I obtained a commission to write a grant-aided business plan and that kept me going for about 3 months after I opened. After that, I built up a portfolio of clients over a period of a number of years.
 
Thanks T McGibney, I will give the CEB a call and see is there anything available for a services business. Its basically the living expenses that I need to cover for a few months as the set up costs would not be massive.

Am getting cracking on the business plan tonight anyway
 
Just to clarify, the business plan task I got was to write one for another business. The CEB may be able to refer you to one or more of their clients who need a business plan for grant or other purposes. If the business plan itself qualified for grant aid, this would be ideal for you as then you will at least get paid once the job is done.
 
Purple said:
.....The advice I would expect is "You need to get "X" issue sorted out. I suggest you talk to an investment advisor/solicitor etc" with a recommendation as to who you should talk to. That’s what I mean about being proactive.
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According to the CPD courses I've been on this is deemed to be investment advice and requires investment business authorisation from your institute.
 
trg said:
Folks,

Thanks for all the replies. I have professional indemnity insurance but not practising cert yet.
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Be very careful what assignments you take on before you get that cert.

trg said:
As you have noticed I am unable to leave the job at the minute with the level of cash outlay I have. I suppose I am hoping for a wonder client i.e. a significant bill and good to pay. If I got that then I think I would take the risk, herself has a secure job and would keep the ship afloat for a bit.
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Again the institutes don't like you being reliant on any one client, even if you have an accountants practicing cert rather than an audit practicing cert.

trg said:
Its early days in this process but the desire is there as is the skill. I have had great experiences in the past (construction predominantly) and am good at pro-active work, I would not plan to simply file tax returns, I wish to delve into business and have them make disposable cash. That to me is the key. If I could make my name on that initially then business would come, I know that.

I suppose the question is really how did the successful accountants here get going?

Thanks
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That is more consultancy, than accountancy and it sounds like you want to do it for other people before doing it for your own business.


Why not approach the directors in your current job and start there
 
Niall M said:
What are you trying to say about me?
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Niall M said:
I agree, i am also an accountant and am amazed that an "accountant" could not tell yo uthe basic information. To qualify as an accountant one has to do continous training to keep informed on various updates, etc. Every single proper accountant should be able to answer the original question off the top of his head.
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18 May 2006
 
Have you ever heard of an accountant needing an auditor/accountant? I explained my position to Brendan and he has no issues with my post. I dont understand what ye are trying to suggest.
 
Niall M said:
Have you ever heard of an accountant needing an auditor/accountant?
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I have never heard of a practising accountant engaging a fellow accountant or auditor for services on the basis of a spam email.

In relation to audits, all practising accountants will be well aware of the limitation of scope implications of cut-price audit engagement deals.

You didn't mention any of this in the earlier thread. This is why I suggest that posters shouldn't pay much heed to it.
 
J.Ryan said:
According to the CPD courses I've been on this is deemed to be investment advice and requires investment business authorisation from your institute.
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Its also extremely risky for the accountant as they can in certain circumstances be deemed to be secondarily accountable for the consequences of bad advice or malpractice by a recommended third party. That's why most accountants will be reluctant to give specific third party recommendations to clients.
 
I don't think people appreciate how difficult the accountants job is. If there is one profession that has risen to the challenge of the Celtic crash it is the accountancy profession. I can name literally hundreds of accountants still helping clients with their affairs even though they haven't been paid their fees. This is a terrible way to conduct a business, but still they do it out of decency.

As for the delay in getting advice, in tax the first thing I was thought is that there is nothing so dangerous as knowing the answer. Even when you are 100% sure, you are trained to double-check before answering in case some obsure judgement has changed the rules since you last looked.
 
Just bringing this up again.

What techniques to accountants generally use aside from referrals?

Has anyone used a marketing or business consultant?

Does a good website, and good click rate actually generate business?

Thoughts appreciated
 
Hi

Just to give my penny's worth. I started up a small(very small) accountancy practice from my home just over a year ago. I literally started from noting no clients etc,(was made redundant and had to make quick decisions) and in the first year i had a turnover of alomst €30k. I advertised in local papers, and on facebook. I advertised in particular to my niche area by post and email and used all my contacts both professionally and personally. In total in year 1 after advert, insurance, institute fees and software i had profits of almost €25k.
Previous posters have said that they wouldnt charge low fees, but my theory was/is, i was unemployed and am happy to make a weeks wage. A set of unaudited company accounts should in total take no longer than 1 week all in especially if they are already completed to reconciliation so i would feel a sum of €500-€1000 is appropriate for this work. When working full time in practice i was bringing home over €600 a week so my fees take this into account.

Yes my practice is never going to take over the world but how many existing practices out there can say they grow their fees last year by almost €30k???
 
Hi Goldie81, you don't seem to be able to receive PM's, just wanted to ask you a couple of questions in private if possible. Can you try PM me please.
 
Hi MoM

Cant seem to send pms either.What am i doing wrong?
 
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