James Hickey, CEO of PKF International, has been featured in leading trade publication Accountancy Age, discussing how accountants can move from a focus on compliance to an advisory role – and what this means for international accountancy networks.

The article looks at how to understand who your potential clients are and what they really want from you, and how to help small businesses with the issues they care about.

Marketing and technology are the two main issues for businesses where they could work smarter or de-risk. James explains how technology provides opportunities by freeing up time, and that it is important to control the language used within marketing to allow for greater access to the marketplace.

James concludes by saying that accountancy firms need to believe in themselves, and also to have value-added conversations with their clients in order to become trusted advisors, rather than simply providing accounting, tax and audit services.

• Read the article in Accountancy Age
• Read James’s previous article in International Accounting Bulletin