Case Study 1 – National Training, Research and Consulting Group

A small owner managed business, the Book-keeping for this Company had for several years been maintained in house mostly using spreadsheets, and was time intensive for the Director himself. The clients systems did not allow for enough basic controls, and the year end accounts production often through out difference which needed to be resolved, so that this process was time consuming and costly. In addition the client had very little in the way of management information or costing systems.

We demonstrated to our client that there could be significant efficiency savings by using an accounting system. On discussion we identified that his admin staff could find time for much of the basic inputting into the system. We implemented costing systems and trained the admin assistant, partly using remote access in order to provide regular small amounts of off site support during the first few months.

Some of the highlights to our client of the benefits associated with our work have been as follows;

• The annual Accounting/Book-keeping cost is now actually lower overall than it was previously
• The Client now has access to costing and management accounts information, giving greater insight into the performance of the business
• We have been able to tailor the service to minimise cost. In this case the client had staff available and did not want formal management accounts, and this has enabled us to give a low cost solution
• A by-product of the process has been that the staff in the business have felt more involved and benefitted because of the training and professional input we have given
• The Director himself has freed a significant amount of time which has allowed him to focus more on income generation
• Through our regular contact we have understood our client’s personal circumstances and longer term aims. In adhoc conversations and without adding cost we have been able to direct on exit strategy, retirement planning and IHT advice. We also picked up potentially significant Vat problem

As well as the reliability and convenience that our flexible approach has given the company, we have been able to add significant value through our professional expertise.