My wife Thelma and I recently celebrated our ruby wedding anniversary.
We spent a wonderful weekend in Wales together with our family, as well as friends of ours from Australia. The wife, Lisa, was one of Thelma’s bridesmaids, and we’ve all remained close for all these years.
It feels like a lifetime since we tied the knot 40 years ago. Didn’t we look young!?
Now, if you asked me what has made it work so well (and to be fair, no one ever has…), I’d say that from the outset, we wanted to build a true partnership.
We complement each other nicely – I was always keen on building up the business, while Thelma wanted to build the family while our children were young. And we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can support each other – including knowing when to get out of the way and when not to 🙂
All of which makes me think about a very different type of relationship – our relationships here at Insight with our clients.
Our longest-standing client has now been with us for 20 years, and we have several other clients who have been with us for nearly as long.
It’s not quite as long as Thelma and I, but it’s a very substantial achievement. There are not that many businesses who get to celebrate an emerald anniversary with their clients…
And the secret to our success here, too, comes down to partnerships.
You see, a standard accountant will have hundreds of clients. For them it’s a numbers game, which is one of the reasons why they can’t give any individual client too much time or attention.
We have a much smaller number of clients, and get deeply involved with their businesses.
Just like a (good) marriage, we see this as a long-term relationship right from the start, so we invest in it. We get to know the people behind the business and get to know the business itself, so we can add substantial value rather than sitting on the sidelines as a supplier.
This enables us not only to manage your day-to-day financial transactions and to institute the systems necessary to manage your finances smoothly…
…But to continually suggest ways to improve your profitability and to grow faster…
…To offer an objective view of whether your plans will be financially rewarding and to challenge you when they’re not (or when there may be a better way of doing things)…
…And to work personally with you, the owner, to ensure you have a deep understanding of your company’s finances and of the potential financial consequences of all your big decisions – so you can lead your company with complete confidence.
That’s not to say that every client always works with us forever.
There have been a handful of instances where for various reasons, this partnership model didn’t work. Occasionally there is a change of circumstances, for example where the business is sold or their model changes substantially, which can also end the relationship. If you so desire, you can check out and leave!
But on the whole, we stay very relevant to the businesses we work with and continually add value, which is why these relationships last so long.
Business owners always talk about how they want a “proactive” accountant. I believe we’ve created the model for that with our Outsourced Financial Management.
If that’s the kind of relationship you’d like with your accountants, please get in touch with me today.
Simply hit ‘reply’ to this blog or call us on 01279 647 447 to arrange a no-obligation chat, where we can start finding out more about you and your business – and talk about how we can help you.
Warmly,
Garry
