Why there has never been a better time to start an accounting practice

If there’s one thing the events of the last year have shown, it’s that businesses need the services of a quality accountant like never before.

Here at TaxAssist Accountants, this last year has been the busiest for a number of years. It’s clear that the demands and needs of clients are increasing and changing, and Covid-19 has accelerated these changes.

It can be a tough, lonely place being a business owner, or an individual managing your own tax affairs, and we have seen a real need amongst clients to reach out for help and support.

Change is all around us, and a key take away from my almost 30 years of being an accountant, is that the main driver of opportunity is change. Change always creates uncertainty from a client/prospective client’s perspective, which in turn drives a need for help and support – and that’s what we are going to see – not just through the coronavirus pandemic but on an ongoing basis.

Historically the accounting profession has always been focused on looking at the past, helping businesses and individuals deal with their filing and compliance needs. While this type of work has always been a big part of the TaxAssist business model, business owners now need extra support from their accountant to help them to understand how their business is performing and to look ahead. They need to protect their business, plan for growth, consider accessing finance, make key decisions and to plan for their own and their family’s future. A good accountant should be able to provide support in all of these areas.

And in these exceptional times, businesses and individuals need more help than ever. They are faced with an ever more confusing range of funding options, new schemes, grants and tax changes being announced by the Government. It is vital that they do not miss opportunities to access these funds and benefit from the support available. We are likely to see more Government intervention before we hopefully put Covid behind us, so it’s important for clients to stay close to their accountant so that they’re aware of what’s out there. The accountant’s role is to help translate all of the schemes, initiatives and general confusion into ideas for their clients and to spot opportunities - many of which are completely unfamiliar to small businesses.

TaxAssist practices are local, operate through highly visible premises and importantly, are relationship based. Our accountants are ideally placed to support clients, to get to know them and their business, work with them, to understand them and help them through these difficult times. We have a very broad offering in terms of what we can do – a real one-stop-shop.

We are all trying to adjust to a very different world around us and the true cost of the pandemic has been horrific, with so many lives lost and large parts of the economy struggling. But what history has shown us is how resilient we are as a society and how our small business community and entrepreneurial drive can help us cope with and recover from adversity. We have our part to play, so even in these unprecedented times, I truly believe that there has never been a better time to be running a TaxAssist accounting practice.

If you’re thinking about running your own practice for small business and you’re interested in the TaxAssist model, visit the website www.taxassistfranchise.co.uk and contact us on 0800 0188297. We still have many prime territories available.