Discovering the Path from Compliance to Reliance

For the most part, clients may very well be satisfied with the traditional services their accountants are currently providing. At the same time, many of these same accountants are missing out on the greater business requirements of their clients.

Most clients have expectations and clearly defined needs that are beyond the scope of what their accountants are addressing. These needs fall into the niches of overall business development, management consulting services, strategic planning, systems analysis, and the development of more meaningful measurement systems.
This need is not only for the measurement of traditional financial information, but also productivity and performance indicators within a company that provide clients with a more accurate real-time view of the company’s performance.

For many accounting firms, the goal in creating a consulting practice (esp. - an online accounting one) is to shift the focus from traditional compliance-oriented to reliance-oriented services. The reason is basic: In addition to providing financial information about where a company has been (what may be termed “lagging indicators or “failing indicators”), companies are asking their accountants to provide “leading indicators”. Clients want access to timely, critical information needed to navigate their business with the use of a telescope or at least a windshield, instead of trying to steer their business into the future by relying on the rear-view mirror.

So listen up Beancounters, go beyond traditional accounting and take your practice to the next level. Your clients will love you for it.

Excerpt from Building an Online Accounting Practice – by Jack Fox