{"id":107525,"date":"2025-02-24T17:33:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T17:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/accounting\/are-you-a-specialist-or-a-generalist-accountant-should-you-stick-or-switch\/"},"modified":"2025-02-24T17:33:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T17:33:30","slug":"are-you-a-specialist-or-a-generalist-accountant-should-you-stick-or-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=107525","title":{"rendered":"Are you a specialist or a generalist accountant? Should You Stick or Switch?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Most general practitioner accountants I talk with (and I talk with a lot of them) are, obviously, generalists rather than specialists.<br \/>They typically started out as general practitioners and often stay that way as their client base has always been quite disparate.<\/p>\n<p>Many accountants who develop a\u00a0 specialisation do so only because they originally trained in firms that encouraged them to specialise \u2013 often quite early in their career.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most common specialism is \u2018tax\u2019 \u2013 which is actually a pretty wide subject in it\u2019s own right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s wrong with being a generalist?<\/strong><br \/>Absolutely nothing at all. Some of the happiest and most successful accountants I know are generalists. Most of the accountants I have supported and mentored have been generalists. As are all of the members of my Sole Practice Club.<\/p>\n<p>Mind you, some of the saddest and least successful accountants I see online are also generalists.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does being a specialist mean?<\/strong><br \/>It means you have some specialist expertise, experience or area of focus. This can mean lots of things. It doesn\u2019t have to mean that you only do one thing though.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s just a few of the specialisms that are practiced by accountants I know:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>UK Tax advice<\/li>\n<li>French tax advice<\/li>\n<li>Probate<\/li>\n<li>Inheritance tax<\/li>\n<li>Capital gains tax<\/li>\n<li>R&amp;D tax credits<\/li>\n<li>Salon based businesses<\/li>\n<li>Restaurants<\/li>\n<li>Contractors<\/li>\n<li>Charities<\/li>\n<li>Franchises<\/li>\n<li>Medical practitioners<\/li>\n<li>Funded tech start-ups<\/li>\n<li>Older entrepreneurs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And so the list goes on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why specialise?<\/strong><br \/>The starting point is that it becomes easier to attract more clients. This is because it is easier for people to recognise when to choose you or to recommend you, as against any other more generalist accountant.<\/p>\n<p>Having a clear specialism also makes it easier to attract PR. In simple terms accountants who are known for a specialism stand out from the other accountants they and others might previously have seen as their competition.<\/p>\n<p>When you try to be all things to all people you end up being seen to be the same as everyone else. You are \u2018just another accountant\u2019. This is something I work hard to help accountants avoid \u2013 even if they choose to remain generalists. And again, I want to stress, there is NOTHING wrong with being a generalist.<\/p>\n<p>If you seek new clients though you may want to consider why should anyone recommend or refer clients to YOU as distinct from the accountant down the street? Why should anyone who meets you remember you as distinct from the other accountants they have met or might meet in the future?<\/p>\n<p>For most general practitioners the answer comes down to their personal qualities, the way they present themselves, their confidence, their empathy and how they evidence their relevant expertise.<\/p>\n<p>Having a clear focus or niche also helps your ranking on search engines. The key point here is to rank highly for what prospective clients are searching for.<\/p>\n<p>Being number one for \u2018Accountants in London\u2019 is a tough ask. Being number one for \u2018accountant for taxi drivers in London\u2019 is easier. And easier still when referencing more specific local areas than a huge city like \u2018London\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Does it matter?<\/strong><br \/>Don\u2019t misunderstand me. As I have tried to make clear I see nothing wrong in being a generalist and serving a wide range of client types.<br \/>I know many hundreds, possibly thousands, of accountants who do just this. Some even secure a continuing stream of new client introductions through referrals from existing clients. Proof, if it were needed, that this model works as well as it ever did.<\/p>\n<p>Equally though I can see that the fastest growing firms, the ones able to charge premium fees and the ones winning more new clients faster than others, and the ones who run a \u2018wait-list\u2019 are typically specialising to one degree or another.<\/p>\n<p>Where the specialism is a niche market sector it needs to be specific. Not something generic such as SMEs or even \u2018owner managed businesses\u2019. These aren\u2019t real niches because everyone \u2018specialises\u2019 in them and also because they are insufficiently specific. Claiming them as a specialism \u2018ticks\u2019 the box in theory but has little impact in real life.<\/p>\n<p>I would also stress that claiming to \u2018specialise\u2019 in a long list of business types (that match your current client list) doesn\u2019t fool anyone. You simply come across as the same as the next firm that also claims to specialise in a similar list of client types.<\/p>\n<p>How many client types can one accountant reasonably \u2018specialise\u2019 in serving anyway? 3? 7? 20?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cloud bookkeeping software<\/strong><br \/>I used to doubt the validity of accountants suggesting that their choice of cloud bookkeeping software was a genuine specialism. But I have, on a number of occasions, been asked if I could recommend an accountant who is an expert in dealing with the bookkeeping software that a business already uses.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond this though, your choice of bookkeeping software does NOT really matter to business start-ups or to those businesses who have yet to migrate into the cloud.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, you may be able to explain how clients benefit from your choice of bookkeeping software. But few prospects and referrers are really fussed about how you do your stuff. They just want confidence that you do it well and that you do it in a way that suits them. (I appreciate the benefits of cloud over traditional bookkeeping, but that\u2019s as far as it goes for me).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What about my \u2018other\u2019 clients?<\/strong><br \/>I often hear accountants claim that they cannot start referencing a specialism or niche as they do not want to risk alienating clients who do not fit. My advice is always the same. You don\u2019t need to worry about them.<\/p>\n<p>Nowhere have I ever suggested that you move exclusively into a niche or specialist area. Even specialists have some clients who do not \u2018fit\u2019. As long as those clients are being well served they don\u2019t care either. Indeed, unless you tell them they may not even become aware of your newly promoted specialism. Treat them as individuals and only tell them on a \u2018need to know\u2019 basis.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whether you choose to remain a generalist or carve out a specialism, the key is to play to your strengths and ensure you\u2019re memorable for the right reasons. The most successful accountants aren\u2019t necessarily specialists \u2013 they\u2019re the ones who stand out and serve their clients best.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most general practitioner accountants I talk with (and I talk with a lot of them) are, obviously, generalists rather than specialists.They typically started out as general practitioners and often stay that way as their client base has always been quite disparate. 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