The accounting profession is undergoing a transformation, driven largely by technological advancements, the uptake of software within business and the demands of a reforming tax administration.
Where once ‘compliance’ was the buzz word and so much at the heart of what so many practices had to offer, now enter stage left ‘advisory’.
For some firms, this is a new and unfamiliar concept but, for us, this is a natural extension of what we do and has been an important part of our offering for as long as we can remember.
Compliance will always be important, but businesses needs have evolved too. Increasingly, businesses want proactive and practical advice from their accountant, and a collaborative relationship whereby they can rely on us to be an honest sounding board for their ideas.
We strongly believe that the service we provide to every client is made up of accountancy and advisory in equal measure (if that is what the client wants, and if we feel it is appropriate for the business), and that sets us apart from our competition.
We have moved with the times, diversified and adapted our business model to ensure we can answer to the demand for analytical input, unrivalled expertise and a worthwhile partnership.
It can be difficult for businesses to recognise the advisory element of what we do as real ‘added value’ when it isn’t itemised on an invoice, but it’s always there.
We crunch the numbers, true, but we also interpret the numbers and turn them into actionable insights.
The role that automation plays in the future of accountancy
When we talk about Making Tax Digital, for example, and the automation of associated compliance tasks we often promote the benefits to our clients as being a lesser chance of human error, availability of and access to accurate, real-time data and improved efficiencies across the business.
Automation offers all of those things, without doubt, but it also allows us to support you better. It frees up some of the time we would have spent poring through spreadsheets and paperwork and allows us time to deep-dive into the data and guide and support you to achieve your business-related objectives.
Having the numbers in front of you on the screen is all well and good, but without the knowledge to turn them into a useful tool for your business, they can be meaningless.
We question, we listen, and we advise
When it comes to being business advisers, at George Hay we pride ourselves on an ability to tune into our client’s needs, to get to know their businesses inside-out, to question intuitively, to listen carefully and to give considered, pragmatic and tailored guidance that achieves results.
Our range of accountancy and business advisory services are delivered by a team of friendly and professional chartered accountants and business advisers from offices in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, but we work with businesses throughout the UK.
If you’d like to find out more about how we could support you contact us today or fill in one of our online enquiry forms and we’ll be in touch.
