I was meeting some potential clients the other day and during these initial meetings I routinely ask if there is anything they would change about their relationship with their existing accountant. This husband and wife team exchanged knowing glances and then proceeded to unfold before me a tale of a relationship with their existing accountant that beggars believe.

First they produced an email, which I couldn’t believe could be sent from a “professional” to a client. One line in particular sticks in my mind, “Please don’t waste time sending me unnecessary paperwork”.

The paperwork in question happened to be a routine piece of tax info that could of been safely ignored by the client but that’s not the point. The client didn’t know this and wanted to keep the accountant abreast of all information and wanted some reassurance. The accountant in question forgot about the needs of the client and focussed on their own needs.

This potential client of mine told me stories about being shouted at down the phone, of being made to feel stupid by someone who they had employed to help them. This all added up to the client being reluctant to call their most trusted adviser and ultimately switching. 

As an accountant it goes with the territory that we get to know a lot about how business works, about what you need to do to set up and run a business from a legal and accounting point of view, in short, as you would imagine, we get to be knowledgeable on this subject. However, it’s not what you know it’s how we deliver the information to our clients that makes a difference. You either apply your knowledge to make things better or, as in the case above, you try and make yourself feel better by treating others badly and lording your knowledge over them.  

I am pleased to say there is a happy ending to this story as the client signed up with me and we will work together to get their business back on track. I encourage my clients to send me every piece of correspondence they receive whether they think it’s important or not. I foster a positive collaborative working relationship with all my clients so that together we can grow heir businesses. 

If you haven’t got a great relationship with your accountant, or you feel that your accountant doesn’t get your business then please give us a call we can help. Tel: 01622 671835