Andrew Rhodes, Managing Partner of Sobell Rhodes

Andrew Rhodes is the Managing Partner of Sobell Rhodes, a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. He is passionate about helping clients and other accounting firms improve their profits and the quality of their working lives. His strategic and business advisory tools are used by accountants globally to provide structured business advice to their clients. He is passionate about people and is committed to the highest standards of technical and business skills competencies. His firm, Sobell Rhodes, has achieved the prestigious Gold Standard of Investor in People. Andrew is an extensive networker and has formed several business referral and mastermind groups, including INAA, which is the world’s 14th largest association of independent accountancy firms. His firm has won many of the UK’s major accounting and business awards, and he himself was voted UK Managing Partner of the Year. He is frequently asked to speak at ICAEW Practice Conferences, national and international accountants’ conferences, financial institutions and business forums on business improvement and leadership. Shownotes: It’s actually easy for an accounting firm to differentiate themselves if they know how to Some accounting firms are to complacent and need to change more, but they won’t Why MTD is a great opportunity for accountants to serve clients better Complacent accountants make way for the more strategic, advisory led accountant Being an advisory led firm proves you don’t just look historically but look to the future for accounting clients How a structured approach to accounting advisory works in a successful firm Compliance still has a place for accounting firms but has many more challenges on value and price than advisory The benefits of winning awards to an accounting firm, particularly with the marketing opportunities and inner firm confidence Many accounting firms struggle more to find good talent than good clients The secrets of winning accountancy awards and how they can help your accounting firm Shout out to the accounting legend Paul Dunn who inspired many accountants to run outstanding accountancy practices The power of Monday Morning Awesome Service Meetings for staff in a client centred accounting firm The best way accountants can attract the kind of clients they want is by referral There are three things an accounting firm needs in place to attract ‘A-Category Entrepreneurial Clients’ How a focus on specialist industry niche allows accountants to give better service, win more referrals and get more advisory business How power circle work to generate new clients in particular accounting niches How the International Accountants Association generates referrals on a global scale for smaller accounting firms Referrals are not like good wine – they don’t mature and improve, so accountants must keep in touch with referral source sover time It’s powerful for accountants to give referrals as a great way of getting referrals back Value pricing for accountants differentiates them against competitors and serves clients better Shout out to accounting pricing guru Mark Wickersham (https://wp.me/p9RNgp-uT (who appeared on this podcast here)) on price anchoring Before accountants offer business advisory services, they should be doing business plans on themselves to walk the talk Remaining passionate and excited about what you do is what accountants need to be successful Feedback from accounting firm clients is essential, particularly with a tool like Net Promoter Score The value of peer groups and masterminding with other accounting leaders and influencers Shout out to Richard Walters, https://wp.me/p9RNgp-GM (Steve Pipe), Mark Wickersham and Andy Bounds for their services to the accounting profession Accounting firms can get together to bring in trainers to share best practice and deliver CPD training Money and knowledge should be shared, else they are like manure – if you pile it all up, it...

Om Podcasten

What's it like leading a large or progressive accounting firm? Whether you head up a specific function (like BD, marketing, IT, HR etc), a location (office, city, region), a department (team, project) or the whole organisation, you know what it's like to be in charge. The Accounting Leaders Podcast features Insightful interviews with leaders in large accountancy or CPA firms. Topics of discussion include vision, strategy, value, leadership, succession, growth, success, legacy, culture, positioning, branding, differentiation, mindset, technology, recruitment, trends, disrupters, opportunities. engagement, influence and reputation. Questions include ✓ What makes a top performer or promotable accountant in a large firm? ✓ How are the leading accounting firms winning work, doing BD and achieving growth? ✓ What are the trends, stats and critical issues shaping large accounting firms? Firm-wide leaders, managing partners, CEOs, heads of functions and similar don't always have a voice outside their firms. Very few people know or ask them about their journey, their philosophies, their influences and their goals. This is an opportunity for them to share their story, who has influenced them, what they've learned from both successes and failures, and what keeps them going. Show host Rob Brown is founder of the Business Development Academy, which trains accountants to be more confident, effective and strategic work winners. More at https://bdacademy.pro He is the creator the 90 Day Accounting BD Accelerator™ which transforms experienced, new & prospective partners in accounting firms to win more business using Choice Based Business Development™ - an unusual but extremely effective BD coaching method for accountants. He is the bestselling author of Build Your Reputation (Wiley) and his TED talk ‘The Personal Brand of You' has been viewed over 200K times on Youtube. Rob is also host of another accountancy show - the popular Accounting Influencers podcast. With over 100 episodes recorded, this show interviews top accounting global influencers about particular areas of expertise that are relevant to accountants in practice. Some guests are experts serving accounting firms (commentators, authors, coaches, trainers and consultants). Others are suppliers, vendors or strategic partners to accounting. To learn more about these podcasts, go to https://bdacademy.pro/podcasts/ Personally, Rob is based in Nottingham UK, home of Robin Hood. he lives with his wife Amanda and two daughters Georgia and Madison. He a committed Christian, a black belt in kickboxing, enjoys backgammon, loves chocolate orange and is allergic to grapefruit. To talk about being a guest on the Accounting Leaders podcast or explore how the BD Academy might help your firm, reach out to Rob Brown on LinkedIn or Twitter @therobbrown.