You can’t deliver advisory on top of broken workflows. 

For years now, the profession has talked about “moving up the value chain”. Compliance is commoditised. Advisory is the future. Technology will free up time. Relationships will deepen. Margins will improve. 

On paper, it makes perfect sense. 

In practice, many firms are still wrestling with the fundamentals. 

Because advisory isn’t simply something you decide to start offering. It’s something your operational model either supports, or quietly undermines. 

The Advisory Ambition Is Real 

There’s no doubt client expectations have shifted. Business owners want more than historical accounts and tax returns. They expect timely insights, forward-looking projections and guidance that helps them make decisions, not just stay compliant. 

At the same time, regulatory workload has increased. Making Tax Digital, Basis Period Reform, ongoing payroll obligations and tighter reporting requirements have made compliance more frequent and more demanding. 

The natural response is to try and automate compliance so there’s room to advise. 

But that’s where reality often intervenes. 

Automation Hasn’t Always Delivered Capacity 

Most firms have invested in cloud software over the past decade. Bank feeds, digital record-keeping, automated VAT returns, integrated payroll journals, all sensible improvements. 

Yet many partners will admit that the time saved hasn’t translated neatly into advisory capacity. 

Why? 

Because automation has often been layered onto existing processes rather than used to redesign them. 

If bookkeeping sits in one system, tax in another and payroll somewhere else, automation still requires reconciliation. Data still needs checking. Exceptions still need handling. Staff still spend time bridging gaps between platforms. 

The result is incremental efficiency, not structural change. 

And advisory requires structural change. 

Clean Data Is the Starting Point 

Meaningful advisory depends on confidence in the numbers. 

If bookkeeping is behind schedule, payroll figures need adjusting, or tax projections require manual consolidation from different systems, conversations with clients become cautious. Instead of discussing strategy, you’re clarifying discrepancies. 

In that environment, advisory feels risky and time-consuming. Partners double-check. Managers review again. Time that could be spent analysing trends is spent validating data. 

For advisory to become routine rather than occasional, firms need reliable, timely information flowing consistently across service lines. 

That is an infrastructure question as much as a technical one. 

The Capacity Question No One Likes to Ask 

There’s also a human reality. 

Many firms are operating under sustained pressure. Recruitment remains challenging. Experienced staff are expensive and in short supply. Meanwhile, compliance obligations have become more frequent and more complex. 

Quarterly submissions under MTD IT alone alter the rhythm of the year. Payroll continues to run monthly, without pause. Year-end work hasn’t disappeared. Basis Period adjustments have added further complexity. 

Advisory requires headspace. It requires time to think, prepare and engage properly with clients. 

If teams are moving from one deadline to the next, advisory becomes something that happens reactively, if at all. 

It’s difficult to talk about growth strategy when you’re still closing the last compliance cycle. 

Not Every Client Wants Advisory 

Another uncomfortable truth is that advisory isn’t universally demanded. 

Some clients want efficiency and certainty. Others are willing to pay for forward planning and regular strategic input. Many sit somewhere in between. 

Firms that succeed in building advisory services usually become more deliberate about segmentation. They identify which clients are advisory-ready, define clear service tiers and align pricing accordingly. 

Firms that struggle often attempt to offer advisory broadly, without adjusting their structure or expectations. 

The result is blurred boundaries and underpriced work. 

Technology Alone Won’t Create Advisory 

There’s a tendency to assume that the right dashboard or forecasting tool will unlock advisory opportunities. 

In reality, those tools only work well when the underlying systems are connected and processes are consistent. 

Integrated platforms reduce duplication and improve visibility, but they don’t replace the need for defined workflows. Someone still needs ownership of data quality. Someone still needs responsibility for reviewing trends. Someone still needs time allocated for proactive conversations. 

Advisory is not a feature you switch on. It’s the outcome of operational clarity. 

The Commercial Reality 

There’s also a pricing issue running beneath the surface. 

Compliance has become more complex and more frequent, yet many firms have been slow to reprice. If compliance margins are already tight, advisory work often ends up squeezed into existing fee structures. 

That isn’t sustainable. 

High-quality advisory requires preparation and expertise. It needs to be priced accordingly, or it risks becoming an unpaid add-on delivered in spare moments that no longer exist. 

So, Are Firms Ready? 

Some are clearly making the transition. They have streamlined systems, standardised processes and realistic pricing models. Their compliance work runs predictably, which creates the space to focus on insight rather than administration. 

Others are still partway through the journey. The ambition to deliver advisory is there, but the operational foundations are still evolving. 

The real shift required is not from compliance to advisory. 

It is from fragmented workflows to integrated ones. 

Because advisory doesn’t sit on top of chaos. It sits on top of control. 

As regulatory reporting becomes more frequent and digital requirements continue to expand, firms that want to advise more will need to design more deliberately. 

Advisory isn’t a departure from compliance. It’s what becomes possible when compliance is properly structured. 

And that may be the more challenging transformation of the two. 

To see how Capium’s Integrated Cloud Accounting Software can help your practice, book a demo today or sign up to a FREE trial.

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Most firms agree that accounting services fall into three main levels: compliance, performance and advisory. 

Compliance sits at the foundation; it involves offering the necessary services to keep clients compliant with the law. The majority of accountancy firms still operate at this level, providing services like tax, financial reporting and bookkeeping. 

The second level on the pyramid, performance, focuses on monitoring the health of clients’ businesses. It involves assessing profitability and providing the underlying narrative behind the business’ financials. 

It’s about looking at the “here and now” of the business, and in this sense performance can be seen as a stepping stone towards true advisory.

Moving towards an advisory proposition

The top of the pyramid, advisory, relates to firms who offer strategic services to clients. 

These firms don’t just provide performance analysis but advise on the best next steps in terms of financial strategy. 

The shift within the accountancy sector from compliance towards an integrated advisory proposition is well documented and discussed. 

A growing number of accountancy firms are adopting an advisory approach, providing business clients with access to value-added services like strategy and consulting. 

Compliance-only firms, on the other hand, face revenue squeezes as the efficiencies of technology-enabled automation create an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Until the emergence of cloud computing, hundreds of hours were allocated to time intensive tasks like bank reconciliation and data cleanup. 

Today, these tasks can be accomplished in just a few minutes by cloud accounting software. 

As a forward thinking accountancy firm, you should aim to move away from being valued for your time to being valued for your expertise by becoming a trusted advisor to your clients. 

Utilise the latest technology to eliminate time-consuming compliance tasks from your working day and use that time to help mould your clients’ strategic outlook, and create a framework for implementation so they can meet their goals. 

Kickstarting the digital journey

The rollout of Making Tax Digital (MTD) by HMRC ensured that all firms had to use compatible software to manage their tax and their clients’ tax affairs.

MTD currently covers VAT submissions, however it will be rolled out for income tax and corporation tax in the years to come.

The degree to which firms have taken the opportunity to digitise beyond the regulations required varies. 

As a minimum, all VAT records must be held digitally and accountants must hold digital software capable of transferring client’s financial records across to HMRC. 

The days of piles of paperwork to sort through are past us; now, accountants have more time to focus on their role as an advisor to their clients. 

MTD provided some accountancy practices with the impetus to innovate. 

Instead of just meeting the minimum requirements, they’ve embedded their digital proposition at the heart of their firm. 

These firms are utilising digital tools to the best of their ability to meet those compliance tasks that were traditionally manual, monotonous and time consuming. 

For example, in preparation for MTD covering Corporation Tax, some firms have decided to stay ahead of the curve by implementing software that handles corporation tax returns and facilitates fast, efficient and accurate calculations and submissions direct to HMRC. 

Cloud bookkeeping software allows accountants to access clients’ financial information at the touch of a button, and use that information to automatically produce a client’s annual accounts to submit to Companies House.

Meanwhile, accountants are using cloud payroll software to automate payroll calculation and submission, as well as to automatically generate payslips and offer reporting capabilities.

Why use Capium?

The benefit of using a full suite accountancy management software package, such as Capium, is that you only have to enter your data once, saving you hours on admin. 

Let’s say you run payroll.

The data you input into Capium feeds through to bookkeeping, which then feeds through into accounts production, which also then feeds into corporate tax where applicable. 

In other words, there’s no need to waste time entering the same data across different modules. 

You can wave goodbye to spreadsheets too because Capium lets you compare reports such as P&L, Balance Sheet, Cashflow and Trial Balance easily across different time frames.

Another huge benefit is that everything is hosted in the Cloud, so you and your team can access important client data anywhere using secure two factor authentication. 

START YOUR CAPIUM TRIAL TODAY

Funding and other advisory services

By outsourcing time consuming compliance tasks to technology, accountancy firms can reallocate the time they save to more strategic, value-added work for their clients. 

Automating routine tasks like data entry and complex calculations lets you and your team do more of what your clients value most – providing insight and supporting their business ambitions to help them reach the next level. 

Through offering your advice and expertise, you have the potential to become your clients’ trusted go-to advisor. Businesses naturally require additional services and advice as they continue to grow, and by offering these you’ll have the opportunity to grow alongside them. 

When offering advisory services, it’s important to take a strategic approach that prioritises execution and implementation. 

Like everything in life, we can find ourselves setting ambitious goals without giving proper thought to how we’re going to achieve them.

As an accountant, your value lies in your ability to sit down with a client – either virtually or in-person – and guide them through how they’ll reach their goal and how quickly, whether they want to open another cafe or expand their online business. 

More often than not, companies require funding to fuel their growth plans. For example, let’s say your client is a hairdresser who wants to double their revenue. External funding can provide them with the capital that is required to expand from two salons to four. This will provide the capacity to generate that additional revenue. 

Or, if your client is a manufacturing business who has taken on a large contract as part of their expansion plans, working capital products such as invoice finance or revolving credit facilities can help protect cash flow while production is ramped up. 

Why use Funding Options?

Funding Options, work directly with businesses and their trusted advisors to secure vital business finance. Through an in-depth understanding of the business finance market mixed with technology, you will find financial solutions that fit your business needs.

From short-term cash flow loans to asset finance, joining an advisory platform like Funding Options’ Connect can help you find finance for growth on behalf of your clients.

As long as the amount your client requires finance is between £1000 up to £15M, Funding Options can help. Compare over 120 lenders specialising in different types of finance, including funding that is designed for specific sectors of the economy. 

APPLY FOR FUNDING TODAY

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