Advisory and management accounts
Annual accounts tell you what happened. By the time you see them the year is over and there is nothing left to change.
Advisory work is the opposite. Current numbers, regular conversations and decisions made while they can still affect the outcome.
What is included
Monthly or quarterly. Profit and loss, balance sheet, and a short commentary explaining what has moved and why. Not a spreadsheet dump, a readable summary of how the business is performing.
What is coming in, what is going out and where the pinch points are. Most businesses that fail are profitable on paper. They run out of cash.
A plan for the year with actual performance measured against it, so you find out you are off track in month three rather than month twelve.
Timing of purchases, pension contributions, dividend planning, capital allowances. Almost all of it has to happen before your year end. Once the year closes, the options narrow sharply.
An hour, four times a year, going through the numbers and what they mean for what you do next.
When it is worth it
Advisory work earns its fee when there is a decision to make. Taking on staff. Buying equipment or a vehicle. Moving premises. Taking on debt. Buying another business. Planning your exit.
If the business is steady and you are happy with it, compliance may be all you need, and we will say so. Nobody should be paying for management accounts they do not read.
What you get out of it
What It Costs
Usually a tier above the compliance package. Specify frequency of reporting and meetings at each level.
Your fee can include:
- Annual accounts
- Corporation tax
- Personal tax return
- Bookkeeping and VAT
- Payroll