Sustainable growth: how accountants can prepare for the ultimate climb

Reaching the next level. It can intimidate even the most experienced accounting firm. Experience tells you there’s often a long, mountainous climb before getting to the next peak.

But you know it’s worth it if it means sustainable growth that will realise your firm’s vision. Others have made the ascent before you, after all, and achieved success beyond expectations.

The question is: what’s their secret? Like mountain climbing, it’s thanks to teamwork, navigation, and bringing the right equipment.

The great news is there’s a management practice tailored to all three. It’s called Operational Excellence.

Why Operational Excellence equips firms for success

Operational Excellence transforms businesses for the better – for nearly a century, it has helped companies in all sectors hit meaningful targets. It gives you the tools, teamwork and insights to move past obstacles and keep momentum upward.

IBM has described Operational Excellence as being about:

• Ongoing improvement that’s mapped out
• Being dedicated to customer service
• Defining roles and encouraging collaboration
• Ensuring change can happen at all levels

Let’s discover more about how the best performing companies make use of Operational Excellence – and imagine how it can be applied to your firm.

Overcoming any obstacle: how to embed Operational Excellence into your firm

What’s the secret to creating a culture of Operational Excellence?  McKinsey has done the research. It explored how businesses were using Operational Excellence as part of modernising their digital systems.

The most successful all had something in common. At the core of these businesses was a clear sense of purpose. This was tempered by behaviours and strong, efficient systems.

These companies enjoyed better productivity and proved very resilient.

Every firm needs a purpose, what’s yours?

Start by identifying the reason your company exists for your customers – this is your main goal.

Then, define objectives that align with this. You might use the Hoshin Kanri method, where no more than five objectives stem from your main goal and link into every level of your organisation. This ensures everyone stays focused and helps eliminate wasted time and resources.

While stats are valuable, they should track progress toward customer-centric aims. Evaluate, map, and compare performance to set realistic, attainable targets.

It’s important to remember one thing. Operational Excellence is led from the top, but it’s essential that everybody in your firm feels like they can contribute.

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How systems and processes can drive continuous improvement in your firm

This is an opportunity to achieve more with less effort. Good people-based and digital systems should boost efficiency, support improvement, and address issues early.

Manage your teams with powerful workflows

We’ll start with an important foundation. Whatever practice management tools you use, make sure they always capture:

• All created tasks
• The assigned person for each job
• The current status of every task
• Compliance actions dependent on others (such as KYC checks and signatures)
• Items approaching their deadlines
• Frequently recurring documents

Your continuous improvement checklist for workflows:

• What proportion of tasks are being tracked?
• Each quarter, how many tasks are overlooked or almost forgotten?
• What improvements can be made to keep track of deadlines more effectively?
• How frequently are projects initiated too long before their due dates?
• How often are tasks missed?
• How many times a day do employees need to switch between different tasks?

Automation: delivering a “gold standard” experience for clients (and your staff)

Chasing people for information can be a nightmare, but the reason behind it is one we all empathise with. Clients are often busy and may forget to reply when you ask for information. Automating this process can simplify the task of following up with them.

But automation doesn’t have to stop there. With top-tier software, it can enhance the entire client experience – from onboarding and AML to compliance work and overall client management.

Explore how we do this.

Your continuous improvement checklist for automation:

• How much of your workflow is automated?
• How fast is onboarding?
• Does onboarding include AML?
• How much time do you spend emailing or following up with clients for information?

The magic “source”: why data brings everything together

Disjointed data is a constant trip hazard for firms, leading to unnecessary waste and inefficiency. Quality cloud software addresses this problem by offering a unified, highly secure client list, eliminating the need to re-enter information.

Your continuous improvement checklist for data:

• How frequently is data re-entered across our systems?
• How often are users required to log in to multiple software platforms?
• How frequent is data loss within your processes?

Unlock your accounting firm’s potential: download the complete guide to Operational Excellence today

Discover how accounting firms can drive sustainable growth, boost efficiency, and deliver outstanding client experiences. This essential guide is packed with actionable insights and strategies to help your practice thrive.

Brought to you by accounting and systems experts, you get:

• A clear roadmap for achieving Operational Excellence in your firm.
• Practical steps for streamlining workflows and leveraging automation.
• Expert advice on integrating digital systems for greater accuracy and efficiency.
• Tools to assess your firm’s strengths and areas for improvement.
• Read-to-go KPIs that can help you measure your progress.

Download your FREE copy and start your journey to Operational Excellence today!