How to set your accounting firm's goals | Karbon Magazine
How to set your accounting firm's goals
Are you setting clear goals to grow your accounting firm? Here are some suggestions to make sure you're ticking the right boxes.
No matter how long you've been running your accounting firm, you still likely have exciting ambitions you're working towards.
Maybe you want to increase revenue, help more clients, grow to a team of 1,000, buy a vacation home in Hawaii, or a combination of all four.
Whatever your ambitions, you need to design a plan to get there. Setting goals is the first step in that journey.
Most accounting firm owners know the importance of setting goals—it’s probably something you talk about with clients every day. But a surprisingly small proportion practice what they preach when it comes to setting goals for their own business.
The most common reasons for this is that it’s not easy to know what goals to set, it can be challenging to get buy-in from the team, and tracking progress and success along the way can be difficult.
Here's some guidance to help you break through these barriers so you can set and achieve your goals.
Karbon is our rocket booster that’s allowing us to grow at 40% to 50% year‑over‑year.
Before you can create a goal, having a grasp on the above can help you. And creating a goal isn't merely writing down the things you want. Each goal has several characteristics related to SMART measurements and the four supporting pillars.
So, what would a strong goal look like?
Specific: ‘Grow the firm’ or ‘Increase clients by 30%’?
Measurable: ‘Increase revenue’ or ‘Increase revenue by $75,000’?
Attainable:‘Increase clients by 80%.’ Is that realistic?
Relevant: ‘Increase parking lot by five spaces.’ While that relates to your firm, it doesn't necessarily correlate to its mission or its overall goal. This is more a nice-to-have than an actual goal. Accounting goals should move your firm closer to your overall plan.
Timely: ‘Achieve goals in a few months’ or ‘By July 21, Goal 1, Goal 2, and Goal 3 will be accomplished’? If you can't set concrete deadlines, set dates to evaluate progress. Without evaluation, how can you know when or if you've achieved anything?
In each example, the second option is the SMART goal. If your goals fail to incorporate even one of the above, you may not be able to evaluate them or know if they're achievable.
Short and long-term accounting goals
Both short and long-term goals are important for your firm.
Most of today's accounting firms leverage some form of new tech for improved efficiency and better service. Review your current tech stack and see what could stand improvement, then set a short-term goal for the coming months.
For instance, maybe you decide your team could use a better practice management tool or that you should automate your lead generation activity on your firm's website with a chat bot.
Your firm may run like a well-oiled machine, but how old is the oil? Just because you've always done things a certain way, it doesn't mean you can't make improvements and freshen things up.
For example, you could begin with process improvement in billing or the way your clients get onboarded.
The thing to remember here is that any process improvement changes should be ones that actually help your firm boost efficiency or productivity. Don't make changes just to change.
And, at the same time, don't keep a process just because it's been that way for years.
Perhaps most importantly, throughout your goal-setting make sure you're continuously getting team input. Without your team's buy-in, your firm's goals are going to be difficult to achieve.
Long-term goal example: Growth
Long-term goals include those that not only take longer to implement but also take longer to see results. For example, a common long-term accounting firm goal is to grow the practice. You can measure growth in a variety of ways:
Revenue
Number of clients
Number of new hires
Market expansion
Diversified service offering
New client types
Ask yourself: Where has your firm been, and where do you want to see it down the road? What have other firms like yours done to become more successful?
Specific goals could be:
Increasing revenue by X percentage points or achieving a specific dollar figure
Adding a specific number of new clients or team members
No matter what long-term growth goal you choose, it must be specific and have a well-developed plan for achievement and a method of measurement.
Your firm's goals need prioritizing so any supporting goals receive attention in the order necessary. And aligning your team towards overall goals shouldn't be underestimated.
Have regular meetings with staff to track and report your progress. Going through the motions of change is great, but without a method of measurement, monitoring your progress and reporting, it's difficult to know what's working and what isn’t.
You are the leader. Think of yourself as a steward. Take care of your firm just like you would any other asset. Protect your firm, nurture it, and you'll reap the rewards for your efforts.
If you're seriously looking to grow your firm, you need to adopt the right mindset for selling your services, setting client expectations, and managing your fear of rejection.
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