MYOB ProfitOptimiser has been around a long time and at one time had much of the business advisory tool space on it’s own. As it has taken time for the software to get to the web a variety of other sophisticated and visually attractive cloud solutions such as Cash Flow Story, Fathom, PANALITIX and Profit Guardian, just to name a few…are now available. There has literally been an explosion is new and innovative cloud based advisory applications and I expect more in the next 12 months.

I’m sure you must be wondering – what do I need to do? How do I position myself to build my business advisory practice in 2015? What tools should I be using?

In order to build a successful business advisory practice I have found that firms need to have a plan to address the following issues:

What processes should I follow? How do I engage clients and my team? How do I create capacity and still manage everything else that is going on? How do I sell and market my advisory services? What training do I need to provide, both technical and soft skills to my team? All these questions relate back into the process that needs to be followed. They are key steps to success. To be honest, reflecting back on the past ten years, it was never about MYOB ProfitOptimiser – never about software. It is the process that dictates success in implementing business advisory services in an accounting firm, not the software. The software is just a nice way of presenting financial information in a visual sense – in essence turning numbers into knowledge. With all the training I have provided accounting firms on MYOB ProfitOptimiser, it was always about how to implement the software into a key service offering. How to conduct an ideal client consultation meeting. How not to kill the client with kindness. How to explain formulas in a manner that the client can actually understand. How to measure lending covenants to bank requirements. All these points and many more are requirements for successful business operation, not how to drive software. Firms that have had success in implementing business advisory services have started with developing a sustainable and realistic business advisory implementation plan. Working out where they are today, where they want to be tomorrow and how to get there. They build in key milestones and measure for success and when this happens they celebrate. So where is your firm now? Have you taken the first step forward to preparing your implementation plan? Are you looking for guidance, systems and processes, templates and ideas? The first step is attending the Smithink 2020 Business Advisory Conference on February 12 and 13, 2015 at Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast. Don’t wait for other firms to pass you by. The time for action is now!!

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