|
|
10 Feb 2011
THE JANUARY DEADLINE has passed. Those accountants who still have some money left on the overdraft are probably on the ski slopes while they read this on their iPad.
What’s your secret guys? (Or gals, of course).
Further reading
I despise January. It is the month where accountants neglect the good clients and bend over backwards to look after the bad clients. What other industry would dedicate a whole month to dealing with no-one but late, unreliable customers?
To rub salt in the wounds, the bad clients never thank you for it, and also take an unacceptable amount of time to pay you.
It is the neglecting of the good clients though that really gets me cross.
Every year I say I won’t get dragged into actually doing a tax return myself and I will continue to concentrate on the client care and business development tasks.
But every year when the office manager breaks down under the pressure and begs me to assist I give in and roll my sleeves up. It is when this happens that I really start to feel like I am neglecting the worthy clients.
Maybe the real problem is that my feeling of client neglect has been present for the past three months, not just January. We lost a senior member of staff last summer and never replaced her.
It is in busy times such as January that you really start to notice the staff shortage.
I have a very guilty conscience even if I am innocent, but recently when a major client has been on the phone I have sensed in his voice that he feels neglected – and I fear he is only a breath away from cutting his £5k a month retainer in half.
This is my worst nightmare. Disaster would strike the office in a big way! There would be no more Friday donuts, or water cooler. Serious cuts would have
to be made!
Surely the bad, late, unreliable clients are not worth spending any more time on?
If the alternative is losing the good clients, why do we bother?
Maybe cancelling January and tax returns is the way to go?
The Practitioner’s uncensored thoughts come from the coalface of a regional firm in the heart of England
You may also like
Search thousands of financial jobs:
Search thousands of financial jobs:
Careers
Search for jobs
Click to search our database of all the latest accountancy roles
Create a profile
Click to set up your profile and let the best recruiters find you
Jobs by email
Sign up to receive regular updates with the latest roles suitable for you
Briefings
By looking at the reasons supplier statements became unfashionable, and the reasons why it is different today, this paper delves into the many benefits that can be obtained by automating the process.
Having a real and true view of your organisation’s current financial position, and having the right systems and processes in place, will ensure that you can make strong choices and are ready to capitalise on opportunities
AccountancyAgeInsight is a frequently updated resource centre for finance professionals, offering a free and easy-to-use digital library of briefings, white papers and other information resources. 
Visitor comments Add your comment
Isn't it just like doctors treating fat people and smokers?
You can't turn people in need away, just because they're to blame for the condition they're in, it goes with the territory. Shouldn't we deal with whatever walks in the door, in order of their need? The rest is down to education and good communication.
Posted by: Stephen Youngs, 10 Feb 2011 | 23:33