Working in the Midlands and London as a business coach and mentor working, one of the key challenges that my clients have is having good independent advisers, advisers who are professional, advisers who won’t overcharge, advisers who will give good value for money and know what they are talking about i.e give good advice. Although this might seem obvious and simple it can be difficult to achieve. This article gives some tips and ideas about what to look for and questions to ask – financial, accountant, solicitor or banker.

After reading this tip sheet, you will:

• have a good idea of the sort of questions that you need to ask an advisor
• understand the need to discover what their values are and if they fit yours
• be able to discover if there is a fit between your company and the advisor in terms of size and focus
• have an idea of costs to expect from the advisor i.e. the example provided is for an accountant

Independant Advisor selection criteria and costs

Personal Values
Advisers, like all of us have a set of values, attitudes and opinions, which will obviously influence how they make decisions. Unfortunately it is not always apparent on the outside to the unwary what these are on the inside.

Therefore when one is starting out in business or just selecting an adviser for ones personal life one thinks that advisers are exactly what the plate and title on the door of their office states – accountant, solicitor, banker, pension adviser – and one has a rosy picture that this person will be able to answer all your questions exactly like you would want them to.

Unfortunately some will and some won’t. This is because they will take into consideration what you want but they will present it around their experiences of life, their values system, their frame of the world and their needs, which may or may not match yours.

So “FIND OUT WHAT THEIR VALUES ARE” by asking them interview type questions, like:-

• what is important to them in life
• what are their hobbies
• what do they do with their family
• why are they doing this job
• what attracted them to this type of work
• maybe even ask about their childhood
• what are their dreams and goals in life?

You will find many advisers who find these questions very strange and if they don’t want to co-operate the chances are that they are more concerned and worried about themselves, than they are about you and your needs. If their values match yours and you feel comfortable then go on to the next stage.

NOTE:
It is always best to start with someone who has been recommended to you by a friend or colleague, who has similar values and needs. Also it is best to interview three potential candidates or at least two.

Rapport and Language
You will know during the course of the first part of your interview if you have a sufficient level of rapport with the person concerned to warrant putting your affairs in their hands. This will mean that you are willing to trust them to follow your instructions. Obviously if you don’t understand what they are talking about because they use technical terminology as a way of showing off or to defend themselves, this is the time to excuse yourself and leave. This way you are not wasting your time or theirs.

Knowledge and experience – product/service, market,
It is an important part of the interview process to discover what their knowledge of your market is and their interest level. Due to more and more legislation and intricacies in every market it is crucial that you find an adviser who has experience of your market. You will need to discover that not can they talk about their knowledge and they are able to “walk their talk”. For example I find when talking to my accountant about future plans for our property company, that as he has other clients involved with property he is able to talk knowledgeably, know what the market is doing and what costs and returns his other clients are getting, without betraying any confidences.

Attention shown to you
One of the key aspects of having an adviser is obviously how much attention do they give you. This was brought home to me by an accountant friend of mine, we sat on the same board of trustees and I was needing a new accountant and he said “look William I’d love to help but we are really set up for larger companies with a turnover of at least three times yours. Best to find someone who is smaller, a lower fee structure and one who can give you the proper attention you deserve”. Wise words and ones that we all need to take into consideration. It’s all about horses for courses and you need to find an adviser who recognises where you are at with your business – embryonic, incubating, just starting, first year, second year, taking off, flying, growing like the clappers, etc. Be aware that you don’t want someone who only has start-ups as you will need someone who has experience of seeing through to the future.

Size of company
This is related to the above and it is crucial to have an adviser who has experience of your size of company, has other clients at the same stage and recognises the difficulties that you will be facing as you grow. Some advisers are so far removed from the reality of real life, especially start-ups that it becomes more an academic exercise than a real life one. The result is that they do not understand urgency, do not understand costs, only deal in £10,000’s and £100,000’s and certainly do not work evenings or weekends.

NOTE:
There is quite a lot of information on choosing an adviser on www.businesslink.gov.uk

Cost example for an Accountant
Accountants, like solicitors have a graded scale of charges per hour based on seniority, experience and training:-

NOTE:
1. Accountants charges for a set of monthly or annual accounts are obviously based on time spent and work carried out. Therefore the more data entries that they have to do the more that will be charged and correspondingly the less you have the less you will pay.

2. The initial calculation is based around the amount of monthly activity that your company has and the number of:-
a. invoices you send out
b. invoices you receive
c. direct debits, cheques that you have
d. entries in the bank account

3. It is crucial right at the beginning to ask for a breakdown of the charges in terms of time spent by everyone. This breakdown of charges will end up with the partner spending only about 1 to 2 hours going over the final figures that have been prepared by their staff.

4. Sole trader costs are lower as less work has to be done for the authorities

5. Charges vary on location but annual costs are roughly:

©William Barron Creating Insight