Episode 33

Smart Ways Accountants Can Use Data for More Advisory Work

Phil Hobden

Phil Hobden is the Head Of Partnerships at Futrli. With over 40,000 users globally, Futrli is the market-leading forecasting & reporting platform for both accountants and SMBs. The winner of Xero Practice App of the Year for 2018, Futrli secured Series A funding in 2018 to continue to develop innovative solutions to support SMBs and empower financial decision-making.

Before Futrli, Phil worked in senior positions in the RBS Group, in both asset finance and direct SMB lending teams, and previous to that ran a successful media production business. Shownotes include:

  • What separates the good accounting firms from the great ones is culture – that desire to embed the change required to be great
  • The reasons why accounting firms should be changing the culture in their
  • Why price is a massive factor in the compliance vz advisory debate for accountants
  • For accountants, advisory is simply consulting and finding out what your clients need
  • Good advisors have a coaching element to their advisory skills
  • How can technical accountants develop the sales skills required to position and win advisory work?
  • The one logical place that accounting firms should start when it comes to jumping into the advisory space
  • An example of a winning strategy for introducing advisory to business owners
  • How accountants can lay out the software adoption process to show clients the advisory journey
  • Why reporting technology like Futrli is crucial (and much better than excel) to help accountants deliver advisory work
  • Why it’s important to look at the accountant-client relationship before focusing on the sale when it comes to winning advisory work
  • Why banks and bankers have lost their trusted advisor status and how accountants are now in prime position to take advantage
  • The importance to accountants of advisory services to help with client retention
  • The impact of the diminishing loyalty across the world due to us all becoming more value sensitive consumers
  • Value is completely bespoke from one client to another, which is why accountants need to personalise
  • In the best accounting firms, advisory is a firm wide strategic roll-out vz ‘loose cannons’ doing their own thing
  • The three qualities that make a good accountant great.

Outside of work, Phil plays roller Derby and hosts his own film based podcast. Find out more at www.futrli.com or to contact Phil directly:

Twitter: @DashboardPhil

Phil on LinkedIn

07985 684760

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About the Podcast

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Accounting Voices Podcast
Accounting Voices helps people in the accounting world stay relevant visible and vocal. Host Rob Brown interprets trends reshaping the profession and gives listeners insight to build authority influence and a stronger voice in firms and markets.

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Rob Brown

Rob Brown is the founder and host of the Accounting Voices Podcast, the flagship solo show of the Accounting Voices Network. Each episode offers sharp analysis and commentary on the trends, ideas and people shaping the global accounting profession.

Through this Accounting Voices Podcast, Rob helps accounting firm leaders, decision makers and professionals stay relevant and make sense of disruption in areas like AI, automation, M&A, private equity and soft skills beyond the tech. His perspective blends clarity, insight and curiosity, making complex issues relevant and practical for professionals and decision makers across accounting and finance.

He also leads two monthly panel shows, Accounting M&A and Accounting AI, which bring together senior voices to explore consolidation, strategy and the impact of technology on firms and people.

Rob is the author of the bestselling book Build Your Reputation (Wiley) and a TEDx speaker whose talk The Personal Brand of You has more than 400,000 views. Over his career he has hosted and moderated more than 1,000 conversations with accounting and fintech leaders worldwide.

Based in Nottingham UK, Rob is a stroke survivor living with epilepsy, a black belt in kickboxing, a decent chess player and an average player of four musical instruments.