Regional accountant Gary Mitchell realised his practice needed to change when revenues kept increasing, but profits did not.
| Entrepreneur |
Gary Mitchell |
| Company |
Mitchell Lynch Freestone |
| Business type |
Accountancy |
| Founded |
1976 |
| Head office |
Albury, New South Wales |
| Contact details |
+61 2 6024 4988 |
Key Learning Points |
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Beginning change
Put your own house in order first. Develop and refine systems for every aspect of your business. Look at the entire business - who does what, how and why. Consult your team on every aspect, listen to their ideas and put them into effect. Watch morale and productivity rise.
Performance improvement
Establish key performance indicators for each part of your business, so that success can be measured. Plan strategically with a business vision and mission, linking accountability for specific responsibilities to specific individuals. Appoint a “re-engineering sustainer” to keep the change program on track.
Service objectives
Educate yourself and your staff towards “awesome service” that “wows” the client (gives more than you promised) and brings in new business by referrals. Develop service systems and manuals, hire client-oriented staff and train them both in-house and externally to deliver excellent service.
Business investment
Invest time and money in improving your systems, systems documentation, team member skills and the work environment. Ensure your equipment is state-of-the-art. Watch the rewards recoup the investment many times over.
Improvement philosophy
See improving your business as a life-long process. This means keeping in mind the whole practice, continuously developing every team member, and sharing the workload and the potential of each client to maximise the benefits of the whole business. Let business improvement become part of the way you do business.
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The Mitchell Lynch Freestone Story
When a business is growing but profitability is static or falling, something is wrong. Albury-based chartered accountant Gary Mitchell realised that without effective business systems, his traditionally structured, 15-partner, cross-border practice was running off the rails.
Partnership pressures mounted as each partner did his own thing. No one worried about administration and there were no progress assessments of individual productivity. Financial troubles began to emerge and morale sank.
Three of the partners decided that they wanted to make more money, work fewer hours and enjoy better lifestyles. They resolved to change direction by offering business development and financial planning services, which would complement their basic compliance work.
They attended a “boot camp” for accountants - a three-day, highly intensive business development seminar, which taught them the skills needed to change their business. They learnt how to build a team, consolidate their resources, specialise, systematise and become personally accountable for their whole business.
They developed their business to meet a series of goals and objectives that took the best part of a year to develop and implement. Profitability has improved.