Comment - Scoring goals for clients

What a performance by England against Argentina the other week.

l of accountancy’, making adoring fans of their clients by delivering that personal touch. What team spirit. And what a bright future England has with young players like Michael Owen.

Just think what would happen if we accountants could unleash some of that sort of energy, passion and enthusiasm in ourselves and in our teams.

And just think what we could achieve if our clients were as fanatically loyal as the true fans in France.

Sounds impossible? Not at all. I believe passionately that being an accountant can become the most exciting thing we do with our clothes on. I believe passionately that we can massively improve our clients, businesses, profits and lives. And I believe wholeheartedly that, when we do, we will be richly rewarded.

For me it is summed up by what happened to Derek Williams of Stephens & Co – a small practice rising to the challenge of becoming added-value business advisers.

A few months ago, one of the firms’ clients brought his 12-year-old daughter to a meeting. Nothing too unusual about that – especially for a practice which has its own ‘kiddies’ corner’. But it was what happened next that left the entire office speechless.

Turning to his young daughter, the client said: ‘Sit and watch this closely.

You won’t see service like this anywhere else in the world.’ That father is not just a client, he is a raving fan. And to him Derek and his entire team are heroes.

Just imagine how that makes that team feel. Just imagine the effect it has on their performance. And just imagine the impact it has on their future results.

So who says accountants can’t be heroes? Who says we can’t having raving fans? And who says we can’t achieve extraordinary things?

Clients don’t want plain-vanilla accountants anymore (or, at least, they don’t want to pay much for plain-vanilla accounting). They want committed business advisers who help them achieve their business goals. Quite simply, that’s what we must become.

Just as England’s footballing future is dependent on new players like Michael Owen, so the future of this great profession depends on new ideas, new ways of doing things and new success strategies.

In short, it depends on our becoming added-value business advisers.

And that is precisely why the General Practitioners Board has launched the 2005 Challenge Group – to give busy practitioners the resources, tools, information, support and training they need to add more value than ever before. My advice to anyone in practice who wants to secure a successful and profitable future for themselves is join the 2005 Challenge Group now.

Steve Pipe is chairman of the 2005 Challenge Group.