Building Advisory Capabilities in Accounting Firms
There is no doubt accounting firms are under pressure for both fees and service delivery. This can be considered disruption. There are a few reasons for this pressure and it will only intensify. Here are some reasons:
- Businesses are questioning the amount of fees they pay annually for compliance services against the perceived value they receive from these services.
- Accounting firms are facing a technology tidal wave that will shift much of the compliance work to ‘bots’ that deliver higher accuracy and cost a fraction of a qualified accountant.
- The complex operating environment facing companies is encouraging them to seek outside expertise to remain competitive and sustainable; unfortunately they rarely look at their accountants to provide such services.
These disruptive changes are compelling proactive firms to focus on developing other capabilities to maintain and grow revenue. The most common focus is on building revenue from advisory services. One would normally think accounting firms are well positioned to delivery advisory services. They may be well positioned, but many lack the competencies needed to uncover opportunities, scope advisory projects and execute the delivery phase for a successful result.
Building a firm’s advisory capability without increasing the headcount.
We were engaged to help a firm build an advisory capability without increasing the headcount. Our project including a number of phases that included strategic planning, business model development, behavioural competency assessment, training and coaching. Our process included a small digital transformation with the inclusion of work to improve use of the incumbent information management system, CRM and the introduction of a learning management system (LMS).
Key outcomes achieved with LMS
We implemented a learning management system to support our transition strategy as well as sustain competency development across the firm. Below are some of the key outcomes we have achieved thus far with the LMS.
- Communities of practice to foster sharing of ideas, best practices and content.
- Learning linked to performance reviews and career planning.
- Tracking learning and participation in communities of practice.
- Self-publishing content using standard tools like PowerPoint, Sway, audio and video.
- Team publishing by practice teams to share with teams in other locations and colleagues.
Our ongoing strategic focus for the LMS includes:
- Eliminate knowledge drain.
- Replicate the learning across the organisation at lower cost.
- Develop individual learning pathways for advisors based on subject matter expertise and market sector focus.
ALSO READ: How Consultants Use WorkPlan Learning To Grow Their Practice
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How much does an LMS cost?
The SaaS model is now pervasive and learning management systems are predominantly ‘cloud’ based on servers within a data centre. In the SaaS pricing model, the subscription fees are usually based on user numbers and includes the hosting and ongoing maintenance costs in one monthly fee. You can check out our pricing for WorkPlan LMS here.
Once you have a subscription for an LMS, there are some ongoing costs that you need to consider as well. Whether there are ongoing costs or not depends on your requirements and the vendors service models under the subscription agreement. I will look at the most common ongoing costs.
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In the spirit of reconciliation WorkPlan acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
