There’s something many SME owners think about but never say out loud: the frustration they feel with their lawyers and accountants for giving generic advice, rather than advice that is honed to their business. It would be far more helpful if lawyers and accountants took the time to understand the risk appetite of their clients, what businesses are and aren’t bothered about, and provided tailored advice instead.
So, what can businesses do to get the most out of the lawyers and accountants they instruct? Simon Walsh, Partner at Oury Clark offers some useful tips:
- Choose a lawyer / accountant that understands the sector in which your business operates. You can do this by asking them questions to demonstrate they have knowledge / experience in the sector. (NB you also need to make sure they have the technical skill to do what you are asking them to do – which is normally apparent if you ask them a few detailed questions.)
- Choose a lawyer / accountant that you feel comfortable with and that you relate to – even though this isn’t a dating game, a personality match is equally as important as the technical skill. You need to trust them and, if their style makes you doubt their skill, you probably won’t have a long-term connection…
- Invest time in developing a relationship with your lawyer / accountant, as building a trusted long-term relationship ultimately means that you will benefit.
- Where you choose to seek advice from a lawyer / accountant, you are paying for their skill and expertise, so you do need to be prepared to listen to their advice.
- Make sure you’re clear on what it is you want advice on (e.g. be clear and concise in your request for assistance). You will need to appreciate that professional services charge on a time basis, so if you change your requirements and they need to re-advise you, they are going to charge for that.
- Understand that they earn a living by charging you for their expertise and, if you have a budget or cost expectation in mind, share that budget with them and be open and transparent about your expectations. But also understand that they may have a more realistic idea of the cost than you do – a good rule of thumb, if 2 or more lawyers or accountants tell you that something will cost roughly the same, they are probably right about the time it will take, even if you think it will be quicker.
- Admit when you don’t know something, or don’t understand something, as it’s important you understand the advice that is being given – professional advisers like explaining things!
- Have a bit of fun. Law and accounting can be a bit dry, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a bit of a laugh along the way (but ideally laugh with, not at, your professional advisers).
- Be open and don’t hide anything from them, even if you think you may not have done something quite right – if you don’t give advisers all the information, they will not reach the right conclusion.
- Take advice early on in your business, and don’t wait until things go wrong, as it’s more difficult and costly to undo things, than it is to take a bit of advice and get it right from the beginning.
- If you’re a products business, share your products with them, so they can see / touch / feel / taste what you produce – they may well become great advocates for your product!
By keeping the above in mind, SME owners can help ensure that the advice they receive from lawyers and accountants is the very best for their business.