High-income accounting firms aren’t working harder, they’re working smarter. Being busy isn’t necessarily the barometer to which these firms thrive. It’s about nurturing systems, executing discipline, and knowing when to delegate work to improve their capacity. The ones expanding their revenue, hiring talented staff, attracting well-matched clients, and still allowing their team to have a life outside of their firm aren’t unicorns. They share a set of habits, decisions, and principles that allow them to thrive.

Jump to:

• They treat compliance as the floor, not the ceiling
• They invest in the team that they have
• They treat time as their most valuable asset
• They make a habit of reviewing and adjusting

In order to shift your focus and integrate these principles into your own firm, there needs to be an honest discussion about what needs to change. If there’s consistently been a culture of burnout, easy mistakes, overwhelm around tax time, and tasks piling up due to poor delegation; it might be time to reassess. Each and every Australian firm wants to get the most out of the work they put in. We’ve come up with a list of what sets these high-income firms apart from the rest, and how you can put these strategies to the test.

They treat compliance as the floor, not the ceiling

Compliance is the entry point for clients. The basics of what each client will come to you to onboard for. Business Activity Statements (BAS), tax returns, bookkeeping – these are what keeps the partnership ticking over. Accountants are used to achieving results in the compliance sector and well-versed in what that takes to be successful. Each firm has this on offer and it’s rarely what differentiates them from others.

The ceiling is business advisory services. Client management, business advice, financial strategy, succession planning, and translating data into meaningful storytelling. You don’t have to abandon compliance in order to execute these new services either. Use it as the foundation of developing stronger business advisory relationships with your clients by presenting them with your findings about their finances and how you can help them grow. This isn’t a small shift however. It takes dedication to develop stronger client relationships, the confidence to charge higher fees for complex work, and training senior staff to take on the job. 

They invest in the team that they have

Instead of reaching for the latest new recruit or looking to expand their team each time there’s a significant period of growth, high-income firms invest in the staff they already have. Their team is their growth strategy, rather than the cogs that keep a machine simply working as usual. They hire carefully, develop deliberately, and retain proactively. Some ways this works in practice are:

• Investing in a culture that fosters growth, a healthy work/life balance, and teamwork. They prioritize upskilling their staff to handle client relationships using soft skills and the latest technology, and are curious about each individual staff member’s career goals
• They challenge their team to take on new responsibilities while providing a landing pad to fall back on. Senior staff are able to mentor junior workers and are proactive in handing out advice to improve the firm’s success
• Team members feel safe to ask questions and provide feedback. Improving the confidence of the team begins with being able to have open and honest conversations about issues that come up, clients who need extra work, and when staff are feeling overwhelmed
• They check-in with their team regularly through monthly one-on-ones to discuss what went right last month, what could be improved, and how to get there. A team that feels supported and heard is more confident to handle client concerns. It also frees up senior staff’s time to work on high-value income streams.

They treat time as their most valuable asset

High-income firms aren’t reactive with their time. Instead of waiting until peak season appears, firms such as these are strategic with how their time is deliberately managed. Aim to have  a strict time-management schedule for all levels of staff, moments for strategic thinking and collaboration, and the capacity to handle client concerns with a clear mind. Senior staff are working within their skillset while junior team members are efficiently handling tasks within their own scope. 

Managing time effectively for high-income firms can come in a number of ways. Here are some examples of how you can implement them in your firm to expand your capacity:

• Standardise how you answer emails. Instead of treating your inbox like a live feed of questions and concerns, work to prioritise urgent matters, set times to check and respond to emails during mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and notify clients when the team is out of office
• Before peak season hits, assess your capacity and engage with companies who are able to allow you to gain your time back. If your staff is consistently working overtime and tasks are piling up, reach out to outsourcing partners who can help shoulder the workload and give your firm more time back to manage deeper work
• Mark out time within the week to work on strategy. Either for your own firm, or for your clients. High-income firms are making a habit of planning, forecasting, and improving their growth regularly
• Say ‘no’ to out of scope work or tasks that are simply not of high enough value. Having the ability to decline or delegate low-commitment tasks is a skill that helps manage time and reduce overwhelm
• Track time and report on your findings. Look to diagnose how many hours are spent on which tasks and assess how valuable that time is versus the value it brings to the firm.

They make a habit of reviewing and adjusting

No firm runs smoothly all the time. High-income firms know this well and are able to review their practices and adjust regularly. Instead of focusing only on annual reviews, these firms check-in quarterly to evaluate the numbers, assess the data, and amend their strategies based on the evidence they find.

They complete an end of financial year (EOFY) briefing annually to address with the team what caused pressure points, what issues arose, and what went well. They identify gaps in services for individual clients and use this to provide more value whether that be through business strategy or additional services. They track which services are providing the most profit and work toward utilising those for a broader reach. They use the review and adjustment process as a building block for growth, and work with their team to collaborate together to craft a successful, long-term future.