The modern-day role of the accountant

The role of the accountant has evolved considerably over time. In today’s highly competitive environment where organisations jostle for the attention of customers, accountants play a vital role in overall commercial wellbeing of a company.

 

Today the responsibilities of accountants range from business analysis to legal compliance and reporting. They are more intertwined with the commercial and financial success of their clients and not only here to fulfil the traditional roles of preparing financial statements, tax planning and auditing. This article will discuss the multitude of ways in which your accountant can support your business aside from more traditional services.

Traditional Roles:

The traditional roles of accountants include preparing financial statements, tax planning & auditing (INCLUDE LINKS TO RELEVANT PAGES ON SITE) these services are well known, and you can find out more about how we approach these services on their dedicated pages linked above. We pride ourselves not only on the quality of our more traditional work but on how we work with our clients; it isn’t rare to find us picking up groceries on the way to an in-home visit for a client that isn’t currently mobile.

Modern Roles:

As business, technology and society changes so has the role of the accountant. We are in a unique position working with our clients at C-Suite levels, with business owners and new Start Up businesses. We see it all every day. As such we have amassed a huge amount of experience and knowledge seeing the latest strategies, business opportunities and techniques across a vast range of sectors. We can see what is working and where opportunity lies. Modern day accountants share this information and combine technology, advisory and financial services to provide a more full and valuable experience for clients.

Here are some of the ways that we support our clients aside from more traditional offerings that other firms provide:

Cloud accounting & accounting systems experts

The rise of cloud accounting has meant faster and more accurate reporting. It has given up to date information to our clients at the click of a button giving real-time data for real-time decisions. Swindells has partnered with Quickbooks to help your business, set up, use and take advantage of this technology.

Raising finance & investor relations

Raising finance in today’s climate has become a much more detailed and discerning process. We help Start Ups and established businesses to raise finance for a multitude of reasons. We can advise whether debt or equity is the right step for your business’ specific situation; we can help you prepare business plans and forecasts and discuss other options to debt such as credit control and using working capital more effectively. We also have a network of relationships with various investors that we can connect to so we can aid businesses in this way when appropriate

Due diligence

When buying a business, it’s essential to have a 360 degree view of the financials and to discern any issues that may not be immediately obvious at the outset. We provide valuations, viability reports, management information and forecasts to give an overview of the target company’s position as a whole, not just the financials.

Acquisitions & disposals

Buying or selling a business is a complex, personal and unique task. Our corporate finance team can help you identify and navigate legal and financial challenges before they become an issue. We have an experienced team at Swindells that can help:

• prepare your business for sale
• identify potential targets or purchasers
• carry out due diligence to identify areas of concern
• assist with negotiations
• advise on raising capital and providing introductions to contacts that may help
• manage taxation issues
• develop a robust business structure
• advise on & implement succession plans

Teaching & learning (our seminar series)

One of the roles we feel is essential for our clients is the spread of knowledge. We stand by our line ‘taking care of business.’ Part of that is our free seminar series that we run to help our clients understand specific topics in more depth.

Taking Care of Business: Empathy in accounting

Accountants focused solely on the figures can be emotionally detached from their clients, the ability to understand at a deeper level what our client needs, not only what the figures say the business needs is important to use here at Swindells. The role of a modern accountant includes technical ability, advisor, bookkeeper/accountant, impartial sounding board and a friend. Taking care of business is what we do.

If you are interested in learning more about how Swindells can support your business with our range of services,

please get in touch with our Managing Partner Melanie Richardson using the contact details below:

Email: melanier@swindellsaccounting.co.uk

Tel: 01825 763366