​The Business Growth
Accounta​​​​​nt

The Business Growth Accountant is a treasure trove of advice on how to move your firm up the value curve – by giving your customers the services they need and want. In addition to Paul Shrimpling’s sage advice – and here I will reveal my bias – be sure to pay particular attention to three more Pauls quoted in the book: the late Paul O’Byrne, RIP, and his partner, Paul Kennedy, who continues to run what I believe is the most innovative accounting firm in the world, O’Byrne & Kennedy; and, of course, Paul Dunn, the man who blazed the trail and helped thousands of firms fulfill the transformational journey that is energetically articulated throughout this book.

‘If you’re serious about growing and developing your accounting business, then Paul Shrimpling’s book is essential reading. Don’t just read it, take action. Do nothing at your own peril.’

“For any firm that is looking at staying ahead of the inevitable ‘march of automation’, this is the book for you.

Sharing knowledge and facts is no longer the role of the advisor, Google will do that far better. Your ability to remain relevant in the new digital age will depend on your skills in questioning, building rapport and connecting with your clients at a far deeper level.

As machines get better at answering questions… you need to get better at asking them. Paul’s book shows you just how to do that.”

The Business Growth Accountant is a comprehensive, plain-speaking guide to profitability and advisory business growth. Many theorise about this – Paul tells you how!

Paul provides many answers to the mysteries of how to deliver advisory services in his book, The Business Growth Accountant. Accounting professionals have been being told for years to be an advisor, with no real training on the path to get there.

Paul provides the steps with his "Higher-Value Route Map" in his book, as well as, real life scenarios from experienced accountants that deliver advisory services from around the world. This book will help you take the steps needed to be comfortable with the critical conversations that are necessary to be a truly value-added strategic partner to your client that they couldn’t imagine living without.

Paul highlights in his book how the accountancy profession is changing and changing at a rapid pace. He highlights that fact that to be a successful accountant in the ever-changing technological world, that you will need to adapt quickly or you will become extinct. As a profession, we have to reinvent ourselves to be more valuable to our clients. His book takes you on a journey of how to embrace technology and utilize it together with a mindset of developing great questions to be an invaluable resource and advisor to your clients. The age of compliance as a value service to a client is coming to an end. However, the age of our true value is just beginning if you want to embrace technology, are forward thinking and enjoy helping your clients become really successful. If you want to be an accountant of the future, Paul’s book is a must read to help you on that journey.

In this book Paul brilliantly articulates the key issues facing our industry and the most effective solutions to them from people who have done it already.

“This is the book that the Accountancy Profession needs to wake itself up to what clients want.

It’s all in the book - how you start and deliver Business Growth Consultancy to your clients. It’s simply invaluable for those accountants that want to BE the change.

Well done Paul and this book needs to be read by every team member.”

“If you want off the hamster wheel of endless tax returns for unappreciative clients, and if you want to make a real difference in the lives and businesses of your clients, read this book.

While there’s plenty of buzz out there that accountants need to add advisory services to their firms, there aren’t too many sources that actually demonstrate how to do that.

Based on real world examples of accountants and advisors from around the world who are doing this work and on Paul’s years of experience guiding firms, this book lays out the steps you’ll need to take to transform your firm into Business Growth Accountants.”

“In my opinion this book is essential reading for any owner of an accountancy practice in these times where the pace of change is the fastest it has ever been. I have read a few books on the current issues facing the accountancy profession by different authors. The way this book has been put together, pooling a vast range of resources, ideas and research, provides a very good framework for re-modelling a traditional accountancy practice into a relevant advisory service business.

Paul’s undoubted knowledge, experience and passion to help improve the accountant’s role comes across in every chapter of this book.”

Having read Paul’s book this has opened my eyes to the clear challenges that the profession faces. New technology and new competition mean firms need to seriously review what they do and how they do it.

The book clearly identifies these issues and provides guidance on how you can turn these into opportunities for the practice. This has inspired me to make the necessary changes in my practice to ensure its future and the exciting growth that can be achieved.

If you want to safeguard what you have and build on it, this book is a must read.”

Having worked with Paul for a number of years and read many of the books, which are referred to here, it’s great to see how Paul has pulled so much of this stuff together in one place. What is crystal clear and connected with me, is the importance of changing your mindset and being that advisor first, and an accountant second. We have already taken steps to reflect this and are changing our branding.”

“The effort, energy and passion that Paul has put into creating this go-to book for any serious accountant has been clear to see over the last year or so.

We meet with Paul every quarter and feel his inspiration! His enthusiasm transports itself across our team and fills us all with joy, anticipation and most importantly of all…drive. This is what the book does too. Paul’s book is full of inspiring, yes, literally awe-inspiring thought and insight into how you can make your accountancy business a better business by helping your clients, by caring.

Top tip, once you have read the book, pick one thing, just one thing and do it…this will make you feel good and will encourage you to pick another one thing to do, before you know where you are you will have done lots! Small steps!”

I have just read your fantastic book and have been inspired to re-write completely our internal business advisory manual.

The firm has 58 staff now and we are attacking the MTD market at the moment with a training package for clients using Quickbooks, Sage and Xero together with an in-housed data processing solution using the same software but within LP.

We have been providing outsourced FD services for over 12 years with 80% of the practice now providing higher level tax planning (30%), business advisory(30%) and financial services advice (20%) to the client base.We are exploring creating two brands/practices - one for compliance services and the other Business Advisory first and accountancy a close second.

I am really inspired by your book and thank you so much for writing it, it has been a life changing experience.

“Paul’s timely book – very readable and well presented – is another wake up call to the accountancy profession.

Change fast or become irrelevant. Your call. Simple as.

And Paul shows you how you can make significant change quickly so you will thrive. His guidance and advice has always been first class.”

“Paul has interviewed some remarkably smart practitioners, and blended their remarkably practical insights with his own, to produce a remarkably useful book”

"Paul has an enviable reputation as a thought leader in the accounting world, and this book just goes to show why that is the case. He makes a compelling case for all accountants, large and small, demonstrating why they need to be looking at being advisors, not bean counters or tax return filers. What's more, he gives some simple nuggets of advice that are priceless."

"Paul Shrimpling has done an awesome job of identifying what it takes to be a Business Growth Accountant and how important it is as accountants to embrace the change from compliance work to business advisory. Whilst it's easy to read, it's packed full of detailed information. This is essential reading if you want your accounting practice to thrive in the future."