which of the five types will you deploy?
coming soon:
profit in disruption
a special report by gary bolinger.
click here to be notified when it’s ready.
by gary bolinger
profit in disruption
an annual strategic review is key to a structured advisory services practice. the review provides an annual event where everyone’s attention is focused.
more: if you can’t explain it, no one will buy it | the three types of advisory services clients need today | you can’t separate the business from the client | tell managers what ownership means | clients: what accountants don’t understand | why accountants fail at consulting
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
the review can follow the annual financial report or precede when budgets are being put together. the annual strategic review articulates and confirms your strategic role. and make no mistake, the annual strategic review delivers a process to secure recurring fees and upon which to hang your advisory hat. the client receives a copy of the plan and then the fun starts when you support them in the implementation of their plans, one project at a time and one action at a time. billable time.
the annual strategic review is a powerful collaborative tool to highlight your client-centric, whole of client structured advisory services. there are significant benefits of facilitation, and this is especially true with the annual strategic review.
to facilitate a plan, you need all owners present and only owners. as an independent facilitator, you are perfectly positioned to lead the change process, at little risk to yourself and with the best chance to pick up on the myriad of advisory opportunities that develop. people who share their goals are 48 percent more likely to achieve these goals than those who don’t share.
the annual facilitated strategic review is key to providing client-centric structured advisory services. now consider what makes up a wide-ranging advisory offering. there are essentially five types of advisory services that match an advisory process:
- facilitated discovery: short meetings of under one hour that are structured and provide copies of the meeting notes as a deliverable. these are exploratory discovery meetings to establish what matters to the client. they are essentially high-level reviews and typically delivered free by accountants because so much potential advisory work derives from such meetings. accountants find that these types of meetings are highly engaging and collaborative, impress clients and demonstrate a high level of understanding, all of which create client satisfaction and improve retention.
- facilitated annual strategic reviews: delivered annually in three- to four-hour meetings, either over one, two or three sessions and chargeable at an accountant’s highest premium charging rate (value bill).
- facilitated implementation support: probably quarterly one-hour meetings to support clients with the implementation of their plans and encourage them to maintain momentum and keep on track and fully chargeable.
- facilitated drill-down planning: when specific areas of performance are identified, you can drill down to plan for improvement in focused areas. these planning sessions are likely to constitute two- to three-hour meetings and be fully chargeable, at top premium rates (value bill).
- technical consulting: fee-paying advisory projects or instructions, very often highlighted by the planning process. the sort of technical advisory services you offer will depend upon the resources and capabilities within your firm.
the following might be a typical wish list:
-
- tax planning, reviews and advice
- accounting reviews and advice
- funding and cash flow advice and management
- key performance management advice and reviews
- advice on business structures and regulations
- business valuations
- financial services advice and wealth management
- succession planning
- merger and acquisition work
- valuation work
- other services in your advisory stack