The debate raging around industry convergence is pointless. Will the territory of accountants and financial advisers begin to converge? That ship has sailed.
The reality is accounting and wealth management should never have been separate in the first place. They are one and the same.
Clients want it
People’s lives are busy and they no longer want to spend their time dealing with just a bank or just a financial adviser or just an accountant. And yet they are having the same style of conversation with a whole series of service providers and repeating themselves over and over.
It all comes back to what people want to do with their lives and what kind of lifestyle they want. Why should they have three separate conversations about this topic with three different specialists when they could be having just one conversation with a single group that delivers everything they need?
If I am a client, I want to consult with one group, go to one location and have one conversation and know that someone in that organisation will be able to connect it all up for me.
Without good advice, people make bad decisions
The best thing a financial services group can do is have really well qualified people managing the financial affairs of their clients and empowering them to make good decisions.
People want complete advice across their total affairs as part of one plan for the life and lifestyle they want. How can you do that in a fragmented way?
What ends up happening is the client doesn’t receive complete, integrated, well-rounded advice and as a result, they are forced to make decisions themselves without the benefit of professional expertise as part of the total picture.
Accountants are in a trusted and privileged position and hold knowledge about their clients’ structures, strategies, wants and needs so if they are not getting involved in financial advice or banking, for example, they are actually doing their clients a disservice – they could be driving better outcomes for their clients.
It’s up to accounting firms, financial advisers, banking and finance providers, and other service providers to decide whether they want to be a specialist, providing only a single piece of the puzzle; or if they would rather connect their clients to the full suite of services that will meet all of their needs in one place.
It’s about relationship; not just numbers
Expertise alone isn’t enough now, people want a connected relationship and service. Ultimately they will develop a relationship with the service providers they see most frequently and who add the most value.
Accountants hold a privileged position as historically the most trusted adviser. This means they are uniquely placed to be the architect who brings it all together.
Accountants don’t have to do it themselves but they do need to create an environment where they are able to offer a total service.
Clients want service providers who understand their circumstances and say: “it doesn’t matter whether your issue is in this particular area or another one; come and talk to us first and we will be able to deliver a solution.”
Convergence is and has always been inevitable because that’s what clients want and it’s what they need.
In a client-centric environment, if clients want it, it’s your responsibility as a service provider to deliver it.
The reality for accountants is, if you don’t do something about it, others will and you’ll end up being a pure compliance tool.
Simon has 14 years’ experience in wealth management and accounting Services across operations, strategy and acquisitions. He is the co-founder and managing director and chief executive of Prime Financial Group Ltd (ASX:PFG).
Simon is also a people expert in the No More Practice Transformation Series and features in the No More Practice 30 Day Business Challenge.
