Should you offer business advisory services?

Offering business advisory services to your clients will not only add value to the success of their business, it will also drive revenue to your firm and prevent you from competing on price. AICPA recently posted an infographic that shows 87 percent of business decision makers respect CPAs as valuable assets to their organizations and 52 percent rank their CPAs as their most trusted advisor.

Your business owner gets bombarded with many day-to-day operations, leaving little time, if any, to stop and decipher their finances. Even if they have the time to examine the numbers, most people who start a business don’t have the financial background to analyze quickly and thoroughly their strengths and weakness. Although your clients may be highly motivated and hard working, if they aren’t sure how to manage their finances properly and where to spot their weaknesses, they need your help. 

If you’ve been interested in offering business advisory services, but have struggled with how to get started, choose a few key clients and develop a strategy for approaching them with this new service. Another approach is to use client meetings and the many phone calls you receive to look for keywords that can help you identify your client’s struggles and successes. Use those to uncover additional service offering opportunities. Before any meeting, do some research on the client’s industry and look through their financials so you are prepared to ask the right questions and build a plan together that includes follow-up and execution. Offering this level of service will not only deepen client relationships, but it will also generate more firm revenue and earn you the title of “trusted advisor.”

For more ideas and best practices on offering advisory services, visit the Business Advisory Forum for CPAs and Accountants.