Insights - Scale Up

Running a business is a not a one-person game. We all need support and advice from time to time whether that be accounting and tax support or sales. There is a wealth of advisors available to business and people alike, all with their own slant on why they are different and why you should use them.

To stand a chance of adapting to meet future client challenges, Progressive Accountancy Firms have to make a break with the past. Either through design, apathy or happenstance, most organizations look at the world from the inside out.

A research-based publication or campaign on a subject of current interest, produced with the aim attracting media coverage, building a firm’s brand and providing opportunities to engage a wider range of external and internal audiences including clients, prospects and colleagues.

Buyers are usually interested in businesses that can demonstrate a growth record and the potential for future growth. Sometimes they may purchase for tactical reasons. In this article we consider the growth record for acquiring.

Selling a business can be a lengthy process in our experience possibly up to 3 years from appointing an adviser.

Initially, professional service firms hired marketing people. Increasingly, they are seeking business development people. So what is the difference between marketing and business development? And can the two roles be effectively combined? And where does selling fit in?

We have seen Boards come under scrutiny in recent years – particularly in the wake of some major corporate governance failings. In response to this, our trust in the boardroom publication explores how important the role of the Board is in ensuring that an organisation has a future – and more importantly – a sustainable one.

Progressive Accountants and Lawyers recommend to growing businesses that they should all have a Non-Executive Director on board to accelerate growth. A growing client, therefore higher fees.

Non-executive directors are in demand more than they ever have been before. This could in part be down to the UK Corporate Governance code, which applies to premium listed organisations, stating that half a Board should be made up of non-executive directors.

What do leaders in professional service firms do? What makes a good CEO/leader? How do they manage alignment? How do you measure the CEO’s success? How does a leader of a professional service firm survive the intense daily demands?

KPIs ensure the viability and overall health of a business. They are both guides to future growth and failsafe early warning systems within a company. If you’re not properly tracking KPIs, then there’s a real danger a business is flying blind.

Before we answer this question, let’s take a moment to answer another very basic one: what is corporate governance and what is its purpose?

Don’t hunt among the sparrows.

No, this is not about Xmas (I am the first to mention it though, sorry).

Increasingly, Accountants are facing greater competition; regulation; technology and more demanding Clients. To survive and thrive in this environment, you need to embrace the challenges that you face and differentiate.

The Progressive Academy is specifically for High Growth Businesses and Scale-Ups who turnover between £1m – £3m and want to grow or have the potential to; this can include Start
Ups.

Open Banking is coming soon, and Banks are beginning to offer your clients free software to enable them to input their financial data into the software.

Added value is not about just doing a good job. Get it right and it can boost profitability levels and lead to a more loyal client base

In trying to distinguish themselves from the competition, accountancy firms often promise ‘added value’ somewhere in their sales approach.

Finding a non-executive director for your business doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Below is a checklist approach to identifying, approaching and securing the support of a non-executive
director for your business.

In turn, the brand, and what it represents, should penetrate the DNA of the firm and its culture. It should be integral to the firms marketing, business development and communications strategies.

PROGRESSIVE INSIGHT Spread the Love Capital | Consultancy | Corporate rwprogressive.co.uk

In order to perform and grow, organisations need to have the capacity for change. They need to be able to support market developments and design products and services that meet the requirements of their customers. If focus is on only remedying current issues, there is a real danger an organisation will always be underprepared.

Accountants tell me that they do marketing and someone in the office deals with their Facebook or other such social media activity. I ask, Is that attracting the type of clients that you genuinely want?

To stand a chance of adapting to meet future client challenges, firms have to take a break with the past. Either through design, apathy or happenstance, most organisations look at the world from the inside out. Prospects are likely to read something if they are recommended to do so by someone within their network.