What are accounting advisory services – consulting & advisory services explained

In our profession, the term “advisory services” is used frequently, but there is little consensus about what it actually means. When we ask multi-service firms which advisory services they offer, the spectrum of responses is incredibly broad and often overlaps with traditional compliance services.

View a quick grid that details the differences between “Compliance” and “Advisory Services – Learn more

Why does it matter?

Compliance services are required, and there is very little differentiation in the deliverable between practitioners. A tax return or financial statement usually looks the same no matter who prepared it. The fact that most firms include the exact same compliance description on client invoices reinforces that there is nothing special about the compliance report.

Conversely, the advice, expertise, planning and strategy that went into the process before the report was created are very differentiated. Advisory services grow from our unique experiences and expertise, and are the secret sauce that creates value for our clients.

We know this intuitively, but many firms do a poor job of separating advisory from compliance, and communicating their advisory expertise to clients. Advisory supports specialization, which leads to higher-value services and separation from the sea of generalists. However, if we can’t articulate our advisory expertise, it’s a certainty that clients won’t be able to untangle our compliance services from higher-value advisory services.

Defining advisory services

The AICPA defines advisory services as those services where the practitioner “develops findings, conclusions, and recommendations for client consideration and decision making.” AICPA further provides examples of advisory services that include “an operational review and improvement study, analysis of an accounting system, assistance with strategic planning, and definition of requirements for an information system.” This is helpful, but this definition feels more formal and narrower than how practitioners describe advisory services in their firms.

In a recent Intuit® Tax Council roundtable, firm owners defined advisory services as “taking client challenges and applying strategies to create opportunities in service to their growth.” This definition feels more outcome-oriented than the AICPA definition, and still aligns with the AICPA’s recommendations for client consideration and decision making.

Compliance and advisory services are interdependent — advisory services requiring a foundation of current, accurate books to provide actionable insights. While the suite of compliance services is constant across firms, the offering of advisory services tends to be personalized for each firm. Without a clear line of demarcation between services, some firms deliver advisory services while getting paid for compliance work.

To better define advisory services, here’s a comparative analysis to illustrate where compliance ends and advisory begins.

What are compliance services in accounting?

Compliance services in accounting simply means ensuring the company’s financial records, reports, and filings comply with the applicable regulations and standards for the type of business. Accountants are experts who can identify the applicable regulations and standards, and then assist with preparing the required reports and filings. Examples of external stakeholders that impose tax and reporting requirements on businesses include federal, state, and local governments; banks or lending institutions; the SEC; accounting standards boards; workers compensation underwriters; and many more. Accountants help business owners stay compliant by providing compliance services, such as bookkeeping, financial statement preparation, income tax preparation, payroll processing, sales tax collection and remittance, and more.

What are advisory services in accounting?

Advisory services in accounting means the accountant provides expert recommendations, options, and strategies to help business owners achieve their financial and operational goals. Often, accountants bring industry experience, accounting technology and process expertise, financial acumen, and an understanding of the client to develop personalized recommendations. Accountants help business owners prosper by providing advisory services, such as tax planning, technology implementation and maintenance, management reporting, cash flow forecasting, key performance indicator dashboards, industry benchmarking, business performance reviews, process automation, budgeting and goal tracking, strategic planning, product price testing, profitability consulting, wealth management, and more.

Create your own advisory journey

To avoid scope creep and help shine a spotlight on your advisory expertise, carefully define your menu of services. Advisory services and your financial acumen are what set you apart from every other firm. Also consider creating packages of bundled services to supersize your compliance services with more planning and advisory services. Bundled services can help transition annual compliance engagements into monthly or quarterly advisory engagements, where you can communicate your advisory expertise.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on March 4, 2020, and republished on Feb. 24, 2022 with additional content. The Intuit Tax Pro Center has many articles on how to structure your advisory services for a variety of industries and services.