A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of chatting with Graeme Jennings on a visit to Perth. Having already spoken with Australia’s most client-focused engineer and most client-focussed lawyer for 2015, I was intrigued to find out what similarities, if any, I would find in Australia’s most client-focused accountant.
I met Graeme at the offices of Accru Page Kirk & Jennings in West Perth. What became immediately apparent was that there are two things he has in common with both Mark Woolley and Grant Holman: he refuses to accept the win as a personal win but as a team win, and his loyalty to his firm. Where Mark and Grant have both been with a single employer their entire career, Graeme is slightly different. He’s worked for two firms; the most recent one for 26 years.
Here are the highlights from my chat with Graeme:
Keith: Congratulations on the award, Graeme. Tell me how it all came about?
Graeme: It was a real surprise. The first I knew that the award existed, let alone that I was being considered for it, was when I received the email saying I was a finalist. Personally, I’ve always operated with the client being my centre of focus, but the award is really about what the whole firm does and not just what I do. It’s nice to get my five minutes in the sun, but it’s a really good recognition for everyone in the business.
Keith: It’s great to hear that the whole firm works with the same ethos. Did they all get a kick out of your win?
Graeme: Absolutely. They even surprised me with a balloon festival in the office!
Keith: So tell me a bit about your history and how you got to where you are.
Graeme: I started life in Deloitte back in the early 1980s. In those days relationships were all new, and working in audit you had to learn how to talk to people. As the firm grew larger and merged they made a decision that with their processes and cost structure they could not afford to keep the smaller clients, especially with the way the client relationships had to be nurtured. So I made the conscious decision with two others from Deloitte to leave and start our own practice where relationships were the focus. And here I am over 25 years later still doing it. Very often with the same clients from when we started.
Keith: Tell me a bit about what you mean by relationships being the focus?
Graeme: To really build trust with a client you need to always add value. What that means to me is you need to be always thinking about AND: ‘And what else can I do to help?’
That help is rarely anything we would charge for, but it’s something that really helps that person. They pay me for doing their tax return and preparing their financial statements, but the greatest value may be when I give them an insight that helps their business or their life, or when I connect them to someone who can help in a different area.
Keith: Could you give me an example?
Graeme: To be able to truly add value I need to really understand that client’s world. It would be presumptuous of me to walk into a business and just assume I could help them. I may have insights based on other similar businesses, but I have no understanding of what is happening in that person’s world – what is happening in their family, the business trends, work-life balance etc. Until I understand all that I cannot provide real value. Yes I can do their tax return and financial statements but that may not add value.
For example if someone comes to me for help with the financials on a new business opportunity. As I look into the business it becomes clear that to make this business succeed the client and his wife will have to work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week for probably a decade before they repay the purchase price. I know they have a small child. I then think to myself ‘If I was the client what would I want to be told?’ So the onus is on me to hold the mirror up to them and explain the world as I see it – based on understanding their whole world. They can still decide to go ahead if they want, but if I do not point out the family risks, I am not really adding value. If I don’t point them to other business owners who have been through the same cycle, I am not really adding value.
Keith: I guess then that links back to one of your first points. If you are now seen as their ‘ financial counsel’ it is unlikely they will take their tax return anywhere else and hence why many of your clients have been with you for over 30 years.
Graeme: Absolutely.
Keith: And what do you do to ensure the team follow the same principles both now and when you move on?
Graeme: I expose them to the behaviour. The junior staff sit in my office and listen to my phone calls with clients. They attend meetings. In addition, we do have more formal events. For example recently we held an away day specifically to come up with ideas for how we can add value to clients.
Keith: So if you were to summarise your key three principles for client service, what would they be?
Graeme:
- Don’t assume you know the client.
- You need to understand the client’s whole word.
- Always look for opportunities to add value in the client’s whole world.
When Graeme talks about understanding his client’s whole world, and looking for opportunities to add value, this is at the heart of the intimacy element of the trust equation – you can tell that he genuinely cares about his clients and the outcomes for them. It’s no wonder they voted him Australia’s most client focused accountant.
Graeme is a Partner at Accru Page Kirk & Jennings in West Perth. You can find him on LinkedIn here.