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Tom Fitzpatrick:“Increased demand for insolvency services” buoyant, as individuals and companies seek to ensure that their existing structures are fit for purpose following the credit crash and the significant taxation changes of recent years. At OSK, clients are focused on costeffective compliance services and valueadded services like tax planning and business advisory, according to managing partner Tadhg O’Sullivan. “The practice traded well over the past year, with some areas of growth compensating for the decreasing areas,” says O’Sullivan. “The areas that are resilient and showing growth are the niche areas of expertise. The market for accountancy services is very competitive at present and there is pressure on fee levels and cash collections. However, clients are still willing to pay reasonable fees for services where they can see a direct cost or tax saving.” Tom Fitzpatrick, managing partner at chartered accountants FMB, says that practice fee income in 2011 held its own against the 2010 outcome. “I expect that in 2012 we will continue to make progress, 56 <strong>Business</strong> <strong>Plus</strong> March 2012 notwithstanding the difficult challenges ahead,” says Fitzpatrick. “We are spending more time working with clients dealing with the business strategies to counter the effects of the recession, and are putting more resources into dealing with the increased demand for insolvency services.” Fiztpatrick adds that requests for fee reductions by clients, which were a feature of 2009 and 2010, appear to have reduced somewhat. “In general our fees are at a very competitive level and, oddly enough, it is only at the very small business level that we have noticed competitors offering fees at what we view to be an uneconomic level.” Gerry McInerney of McInerney Saunders says his firm is targeting growth for 2012 through a combination of business from new clients and an increase in corporate services and insolvency business. He adds: “Traditional compliance services continue to dominate and we have focused on offering our clients an opportunity to control their costs though assisting them in being more self-reliant, while at the same time being there to support them when required. “We have also become more involved with our clients in providing them with advisory and support services around defining their goals, identifying the barriers preventing their achievement and facilitating them in unblocking these barriers. We find that clients expect value for money services from their trusted business advisers and that is the market that we serve.” Jim Stafford, partner at insolvency specialist Friel Stafford, says there is buoyant demand for the firm’s receivership and personal bankruptcy services. He adds: “One service that we always provided was tracing assets that debtors may have hidden. There is now a massive demand from banks for assettracing services. We completed a recruitment drive late last year and we recently added 60% of office space to cope with the extra staff. We will recruit more staff as soon as the new personal insolvency legislation is implemented, as there is a pent-up demand for solutions to the massive borrowings that many people have.” Tony Carey, one of the principals at Cooney Carey, expects that business activity for most accountants should increase in 2012 and the firm is in recruitment mode. “We are investing in new hires and have done so throughout the last couple of years,” says Carey. “Despite a tightening of liquidity, more advice and service is required by clients. A few years ago, advisory services were focused on development. Now they are focused on restructure and recovery. The roots of our firm are in this area and we were well equipped to adjust.” Carey’s view is that the market is overly competitive in the recurring service areas such as audit and compliance taxation. However, the market for consultancy services is less price sensitive. He adds: “Care has to be taken by business to obtain good value from competent service providers, but not to jeopardise a relationship that provides excellent, relevant advice when needed, based on a thorough understanding gained over many years. A wise business will recognise that the best advice, rather than the lowest price, is the cheapest option.” The growth in cloud computing is enabling accountancy firms to get closer to their clients. There are many accountancy software solutions available now that allow companies and their accountants to view financial information simultaneously. Chartered accountants Anne Brady McQuillans DFK was the first Irish practice to go fully virtual in 2010. According to William Kingston, corporate governance and IT manager: “This has had a positive impact on our costs and business model and we have been pleasantly surprised by the range of benefits cloud computing has provided. “Firstly, it gives our staff fantastic flexibility by being able to access their applications and data from any location using almost any device. It has also removed a number of headaches from the organisation such as backups, anti-virus, disaster recovery and the general vulnerability associated with running our servers on-site. This also frees up time for us to focus on core business activities, which directly impact our bottom line. The cost of running IT has been dramatically reduced because we have replaced cyclical capital expenditure with a lower operating expense.” Survey continued on page 58
In times when most are concerned is it possible to swim harder Spotting new opportunities struggling to maintain challenging. Our Growing Beyond programme reveals how the most successful organisations are expanding innovation and nurturing talent to help them grow — even in the toughest conditions. Find out more at ey.com/growingbeyond. See More | Growth © 2012 Ernst & Young Ireland. All Rights Reserved.
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