The Importance of Communication

Becoming a Trusted Advisor Through Communication.

The most common challenges in accounting can be resolved through improved communication.  Leveraging technology can facilitate better communication and faster, more accurate numbers, allowing an accountant to provide more value through analysis and process improvement.  Ensuring that clients understand the numbers they see and have a good handle on the company’s finances helps build knowledge, comfort and trust, positioning the accountant to become the company’s trusted advisor.

Facilitating Communication – The Accountant’s Most Important Skill.

At KATA Accounting, we use Apps and business processes (habits) to improve the flow of documents and communication with our clients while maintaining regular personal contact to build relationships.

Challenge:  Payments or funds are received, and the accountant doesn’t know what they represent.  Documentation has not flowed properly and is unavailable for the accountant or bookkeeper to associate with the transaction it represents.  This can create significant headaches if your company gets selected for a review or audit and you must go back and find the supporting documentation.

Examples include:

  • A large payment is made, but no bills relating to it sit in accounts payable.
  • A payment has been received, but no corresponding invoice has been issued.

Solution:  In today’s environment of Apps, APIs (Application Program Interface – the way the Apps talk to each other), mobile devices and tablets, entering bills, creating invoices and accepting payments can be done anywhere an internet connection is available.  Whether you’re at a trade show, farmer’s market, flea market, on the road or on the shop floor, being able to create invoices, accept payment and enter bills is at your fingertips. Leveraging this technology to facilitate communication solves these problems.

Charles Beauchamp of Performance Envy (2235 Royal Windsor Drive) uses his tablet to do everything from the shop floor or while on the road.  Customer invoices are created in AllData (software specific to the garage industry) and sent to QuickBooks Online (QBO). He then accepts payment by credit card right there by accessing QBO through his Google Chrome web browser and handing the tablet to the client to complete the payment.  Customers who don’t live nearby can be emailed an invoice and pay from their home computer, laptop, tablet or phone.

When picking up parts or paying bills, he has to take a picture with Receipt Bank, ensure it’s focused, and send it into the process.  A couple of times a month, he has a brief call with his accountant to clear up any questions.

There will always be odd item that requires a phone call or e-mail, and maintaining personal contact with clients is the most important part of building a trusting relationship.  The beautiful benefit of leveraging Apps is that an electronic copy of the document can be attached to the transaction to which it relates, making audit-proofing possible. Charles’ example of using technology to spend less time on his books and more time on his cars can eliminate the vast majority of document-flow-related communication issues.

Key Success Factor:  The most important thing is to build habits.  Taking a clear picture of the bill or receipt with Receipt Bank and filing it right away, sending the invoice to the customer and accepting payment immediately are the habits that need to be built to successfully leverage the technologies Charles is using.

Financial Knowledge – Built Through Communication

At KATA Accounting, we use various tools to have face-to-face meetings, collaborate and communicate with our clients.  We regularly schedule these meetings to build financial literacy, understanding, and comfort and earn the client’s trust.

Challenge:  Management is not paying sufficient attention to company finances or does not possess the knowledge to understand the numbers they’re looking at.

Examples Include:

  • Understanding the difference between accrual-based accounting systems and the realities of cash flow.
  • Failing to understand cash flow and getting into a cash crunch.
  • Thinking the business is worth more than it is.

Solution:  Personal communication with a client to go over numbers and ensure they understand company finances is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of a good accountant.  In today’s technology environment, you can have face-to-face meetings around the world at any time, use walkie-talkie apps across continents and communicate with your staff and partners with various tools.

UJ Ramdas, of Intelligent Change (intelligentchange.com) uses tools such as Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts and Voxer to communicate with staff and partners of Intelligent Change.

During the regular meetings with his accountant on Skype or Zoom, UJ can give a final stamp of approval to the numbers, identify potential errors, and get a deeper understanding of what the numbers mean.  He can ask any questions he likes and give directions about areas where he wants a deeper understanding.

Always on the go, UJ uses Voxer, a walkie-talkie app, to communicate when bills are being paid or any questions he has that he wants to follow up on in the next meeting.

Whether the client prefers Skype, text messages or good old telephone calls, maintaining personal communication is vital to providing higher levels of value and becoming a trusted advisor.  By maintaining regular communication with the client, the accountant can build comfort and trust with the client while educating the client to avoid the abovementioned examples.

Trust – Built Through Communication

We use the tools mentioned in this article, and others, to communicate with our clients regularly.  We do this to build and reinforce good habits and processes, to develop knowledge and understanding, and to create comfort and trust with the client.

Challenge:  Management makes a major business decision without consulting the accountant.  This often happens because the accountant has not become a trusted advisor for the client, and the client doesn’t think to speak to the accountant first.

Examples include:

  • Entering into a purchase agreement (buying a business).
  • Starting to offer a new service or product without due consideration.  In other words, not adequately review the fixed versus variable costs, break-even points and pricing.
  • Making unrealistic assumptions when reviewing potential business models.
  • Failing to understand the tax consequences of a business decision.

Solution:  Using the Apps available within today’s accounting ecosystems provides useful tools to clearly communicate and document transactions, allowing the accountant to spend more time reviewing numbers with the client and providing value through analysis and process improvement.  Ongoing communication builds comfort and trust between the accountant and the client. It makes it more likely that the client will consult with the accountant before making a major business decision, ultimately allowing the accountant to become a trusted advisor.

Have you signed up to receive our monthly newsletter with blog posts, inside news and more? It’s easy to join!

* indicates required