Do your current advisors think they’ve outgrown you?

“I was made to feel like a small fish in a big pond”

The accountancy sector has seen a great deal of consolidation in recent years, with many local, traditional practices being acquired by national firms. Often business owners will have had a strong relationship with an independent practice, only to find that through various mergers and acquisitions they are now being serviced by a national firm. They are frequently left questioning whether this is right for them.

Here are some of the key indicators that your current advisors may not value your business highly enough:

Lack of personal touch – feeling that you’re ‘just a number’
Unpleasant surprises on fees – especially for any additional work
Lack of partner attention
Calls not returned promptly
Poor staff continuity – different people coming out each year, with the frustration of having to repeat the same things
Contact mainly with junior staff who sometimes lack experience
Fees continue to rise regardless of business results
Outsourcing services seen to be low value, such as personal tax and payroll
Long delays between completion of the work on site and delivery of finalised accounts
A feeling that the accountants ‘don’t want to get their hands dirty’ by helping to put matters right when they go wrong
Too many people involved in your affairs – often in different departments which fail to communicate with each other

The partners at Kirk Newsholme have all worked at large international firms, so they appreciate the level of training and expertise such firms can provide. However, within the SME sector, we believe we can offer something different and would welcome the opportunity to speak to you – especially if you’ve experienced any of the ‘warning signs’ above…

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