Why the Human Element is Your Biggest Asset as a Business Advisor

Looking for a way to give your firm a competitive advantage over the hundreds of thousands of licensed CPAs, experienced EAs, and talented business advisors in the U.S.?

The answer is desk-side manner.

Every one of the 671,000 CPAs that have passed the exam have the knowledge and ability to help their clients be compliant. But what leads to lasting relationships, raving reviews, awards, a fulfilling career, and a solid margin on your engagements is the way you treat your clients and make them feel about your professional relationship.

Desk-Side Manner is the 'Secret Sauce' to Building a Firm of the Future

Long gone are the days when accounting was the field for people who preferred to put their head down and work. The CPA of tomorrow is an interactive partner in their clients' businesses. 

To better understand what I mean, let’s look at the analogy of a medical professional and their bedside manner.

Consider your best experience at the doctor's office — what made it special? They likely actively listened to your concerns, were empathetic, gave clear directions and explanations, provided reassurance, and made you feel understood – perhaps they shared alternative treatment options to help you make a well-informed decision. And being such a rare experience, you shared this experience with everyone close to you in search of a doctor.  

Our financial health and security are as personal as our physical health. CPAs hold the keys to some of a client's most personal information; information they may be uncomfortable even discussing with family or friends. By applying the principles of great desk-side manner, you can secure this year's work while potentially landing a client (and referral source) for life.  

Defining and Understanding Desk-Side Manner 

• Active Listening: Just as a doctor carefully listens to a patient's concerns without interrupting, we show we care by listening to our client's perspective and ensuring we capture all their concerns and goals. This is the foundation for understanding what they need today, and in the future, and what will be required in between to help them accomplish it.  

• Empathy: Before delivering difficult news, a doctor uses body language and tact to show they understand the weight of what they’re about to say. On the flip side, they show excitement for patients who have beaten an illness. As experts, we may have 'seen this before' and know all the answers - but bulldozing conversations can make clients feel like transactions. Delivery matters.  

• • Tip: We can show understanding in very few words. Ex: "I know this is unexpected and frustrating, but let's walk through this together and formulate a plan to get ahead of next year."    

• Clear Explanations: Taxes are hard. Surgery is hard. And yet, the best doctors explain complex procedures in simple terms to ensure the patient understands what will occur and put their minds at ease. Creating buffers in our workflow to connect with clients and explain circumstances and be true advisors will make them feel taken care of and secure.   

• • Tip: Skip eye-glazing technical jargon and share highlights that matter to your client. "You're eligible for a tax credit that will save you $X. What would you do with an extra $X?" And by linking this win to the new experience they can now afford, you now officially become their favorite CPA.    

• Reassurance: "I'll help you get through this" is invaluable to a client going through an audit, financial mess, or stressful period. Communicating that you are there for them year-round, taking the initiative to check in, and keeping them accountable to their (engagement) responsibilities are all ways to reassure clients they are on the right track to course correct and/or reach their goals.  

• • Tip: Outline 'Client Responsibilities' in engagements so they have the reassurance of knowing what's required of them. This also provides security and clarity.    

How to Become a Proactive, Non-Transactional Firm

Discussing finances at a traditional CPA firm often feels like visiting a walk-in clinic. It’s transactional – and you neither know what you're going to get nor how much you'll be billed. Avoid this scenario at all costs. Instead, give your clients the “private practice” experience. Know them, understand them, and take the time to teach them financial literacy so they can become a productive part of the conversation and make well-informed decisions.  

Trust equity is a requisite of running a non-transactional firm, and we achieve this by implementing the core principles of desk-side manner.  Listening takes time. Empathy takes time. Explaining clearly takes time. But by providing more, firms of the future can demand higher fees.  

Note that this premium isn't charged simply for being a passive listening ear. Effective desk-side manner accomplishes several things:  

1. Actively understanding your client's concerns and goals can help them chart a multi-year path forward,  
2. Allows you to uncover a diagnosis, perhaps one unseen to the transactional eye,  
3. Knowing they have an expert in their corners provides comfort to clients,  
4. The more you learn, the more you can help. 

A Personal Anecdote Showcasing Desk-Side Manner in Action

Every summer, I personally check in with all our business clients. The purpose of this short meeting is to understand their current circumstances, follow up on recent conversations, ask what's keeping them up at night right now, inquire about any opportunities they're considering, uncover what friction they're experiencing, and find out what things they're looking forward to.

It’s a great way to connect, and show I care, while also seeking out ways to expand our engagement in a way that is mutually beneficial.

With one monthly CAS client, new information surfaced during one of these summer check-ins. They were looking to expand their business to a second location and were debating buying out the equipment from the former tenant. This led to conversations around financing vs. self-funding, proceeding this year vs. next, cash flow planning, the impact of a second location (on operations, profits, liabilities, and time), and helping him understand the valuation of the second location’s business. 

While we don't make management decisions, being in his corner to help him understand the impact from our perspective built trust equity. And this trust equity led to the client doubling the size of our ongoing engagement from what it was before that summer check-in. 

Desk-Side Manner Must Be Part of Your Roadmap

When we focus on helping people, genuinely and proactively, the margins will come. Whereas process is logistics, desk-side manner is how you build the relationships that drive your firm forward. 

Times change. Desk-side manner is a mark of the firm of the future.