Top tips that Financial Planners can learn from Accountants about running their firms

2. Top tips that Financial Plannerscan learn from Accountants about running their firms • Ian Pickford • Partner Mazars LLP • Director Mazars Financial Planning Ltd • Mazars Employee Benefits Ltd

3. In some ways, accountants run similar businesses to financial planners, especially in the new adviser charging world. • Accepting the important differences in their professions, this session considers what we can learn from accountants’ business practices.

4. Content • Structures, teams and people • Succession planning • The ‘Business Model’ and how to charge • Professional ethos and training • Client retention • What do accountants do right and what to avoid

5. Structures, teams and people • Do you have the right people doing the right job?

6. Structures, teams and people • Your structure should define your team . . .not your team define the structure • The best goalkeepers don’t usually make the best centre forwards

7. Structures, teams and people • The inverted pyramid Numberof staff Highest Staff Cost

8. Structures, teams and people • The ‘professional services ‘pyramid’ Highest Staff Cost Numberof staff

9. Structures, teams and people • High cost people should be undertakinghigh value functions • Do you have high cost staff undertaking functions that lower cost staffcould deliver? • Push as many low cost functions down the team • Do your high cost staff deliver value to the business? • Low cost staff should be highly utilised • Where do your high cost staff spend their time and what are the results? • What KPI’s run your business and how are they communicated to staff? • What does your business structure do that stops individuals maximisingtheir output? • Productise high frequency and low value processes

10. Succession Planning • What are you and your business about? • Custodian • Are you looking to cash in your ‘chips’ • Choice may lead to a different course of action • Although there will be a lot of similarities: • Build a brand • Succession structure • Have something to sell!!!

11. Succession Planning • What are you and your business about? • Have a business that is dynamic • Streamline your business • Remove waste and in-efficiencies • Maintain and demonstrate good cash flow • Show improving profit and growth • Be place people want to join • Training plan and graduate/new starter scheme

12. Business model and how to charge • What are your KPI’s? • New works wins • Manage uninvested cash • Debt control • Billing • Identify the KPI’s that make your business work and manage them religiously

13. Business model and how to charge • You need to know what it costs to deliver your client work • HOW MUCH DOES IT COST YOU TO GIVE ADVICE? • Do you know?

14. Business model and how to charge • Fees • Have a model that suits your proposition • Time cost • Fixed • % FUM • Contingency • Success • Or a combination

15. Business model and how to charge • VAT • Rule of thumb • Advice only VAT-able • Implementation of financial productsnon VAT-able • Get professional advice on your client service agreements and fees

16. Business model and how to charge • Do not start work without a service/fee agreement in place, which states explicitly: • What you will do • What the client is responsible for • What the fee is and the basis of calculation • Don’t do anything outside this without amending the fee

17. Business model and how to charge • Debtors • Businesses close down not because of a lackof business but a lack of cash flow • Collect your debts • You are not a charity……. a non payeris not a good client

18. Business model and how to charge • Manage your debtors • Have an agreed debtor policy • Don’t be afraid to go legal • Use tools to collect feese.g. DDM’s, platforms etc.

19. Professional Ethos and Training • Are you a ‘Professional Adviser’ or ‘Knowledgeable Salesman’? • Selling is at the ‘heart’ of what you do, but don’t give away your Intellectual Property • Do the right thing………….if you do why shouldn’t the client pay!!!

20. Professional Ethos and Training • Training • Past focus has been on Qualifications • New world these are a given!!!!!!!

21. Professional Ethos and Training • Maintenance and growth training plan for your team which fits your business objectives • Important to train ‘soft skills’ • Fee negotiation • Marketing • Proposition consultancy • Meeting skills • Technology

22. Client Retention • Value ‘2 way’ relationships • Free clients are not ‘2 way’ • People tend to value what they pay for • Have service agreements and deliver to them

23. Client Retention • Professional Clearance • Should IFA’s operate this approach?

24. What do Accountants do right and what to avoid • Right • Hierarchy • Manage utilisation and cash flow • Emphasis on doing the right thing • Recognise ‘graduate training’

25. What do Accountants do right and what to avoid • Avoid • Can have a narrow view of the world • Advice ‘comfort zones’ • Can have ‘silo’ mentality • Underestimate the value of soft skills training

26. Questions