When acquiring an Accounting practice, one of the highest priorities for Buyers is ensuring that the practice’s key assets—its staff and clients—are looked after during the transition and into the future. These long-standing relationships are crucial to the practice’s ongoing success, and maintaining trust and continuity with both clients and staff is key to achieving a seamless handover. By planning carefully and communicating clearly, you can help ease concerns and set the stage for a successful acquisition.
Communicating with Clients
Clients are the lifeblood of any Accounting practice, and how they perceive the transition can have a direct impact on their loyalty to your newly acquired business. Clear communication is essential to reassure them about the continuity of service.
Introducing Yourself: After settlement, it’s recommended that you, as the new owner, are introduced to key clients gradually over the transition period. Ideally, the Vendor is around during this process to personally introduce you to clients and provide them with confidence in the quality of service they will continue to receive.
Notifying Clients: Clients are typically not informed of the ownership change until settlement, which is often publicised as a merger to ensure continuity. This approach helps ease concerns by focusing on stability rather than disruption.
Emphasise Continuity: Reassure clients that the level of service they’re accustomed to will remain consistent, and that their needs will continue to be met with the same professionalism. While the personnel managing their accounts may change, the last thing clients want is a sudden increase in fees or an unexpected invoice from a new firm without reference to their previous Accountant.
Managing Staff Reactions
Staff are often the backbone of the practice, and retaining them is key to maintaining operational continuity. As a Buyer, you’ll want to ensure that the team remains engaged and reassured during the transition.
Being Transparent: Open and transparent communication about the timeline and expectations for the transition will go a long way in easing any concerns among staff. It is particularly important to highlight the value of staff relationships with clients, as these connections are often central to the practice’s success. If a particular staff member has a strong relationship with a client, it may be worth involving them in the handover meeting, as this can provide continuity for the client and help ease the transition.
Involving Staff at the Right Time: Staff are usually not informed about the sale until an indicative offer has been made and accepted by the Vendor. This approach helps to prevent unnecessary uncertainty and ensures that staff are only involved once the sale is certain to go ahead.
Job Security and Growth Opportunities: Reassure staff that their roles will remain secure, and where possible, highlight any new opportunities that your acquisition may bring. For example, you may be able to offer broader experience through exposure to a wider range of clients or more advanced services. Ensuring that salaries and benefits remain intact, while promoting potential growth, will help retain key employees and smooth the transition.
Working Closely with the Seller
A strong partnership with the Vendor is often the foundation of a smooth acquisition. Together, you and the Seller can ensure that key clients and staff are introduced to you in a way that feels natural and supportive.
Phased Handover: Consider a phased handover where the Seller remains involved for a period after the sale. This continued presence can provide reassurance to both clients and staff, and help resolve any concerns that may arise during the transition.
Joint Meetings: Organising joint meetings with the Seller allows both staff and clients to get comfortable with the new leadership. This shows that the Seller supports the transition and has confidence in your ability to take the business forward.
Conclusion
As a Buyer, ensuring that the staff and clients of your newly acquired Accounting practice are looked after is key to a smooth and successful transition. By maintaining clear communication, providing reassurance, and working closely with the Vendor, you can help create a seamless handover that sets the stage for long-term success. At Abacus, we have extensive experience in advising Buyers through the complete acquisition process, with the aim that the Buyer ends up with what they wanted in the first place.
If you’re thinking about buying a practice and want advice from a trusted, experienced team, we’re here to help.
Call us on 1300 121 013.