Sara Lewis is the Communications Director for IRIS Software Group and is responsible audience engagement across its accountancy, HR and education sectors. Her background is in technology public relations, delivering essential and successful communications campaigns to directly support business and marketing objectives. Shownotes:

What attracted Sara to work for IRIS and the kind of people she works with

IRIS has been in accounting for 40 years and has software solutions for the HR and education sectors

While compliance is the core offering for IIRIS, they offer much in the advisory space for accountants

Accountants need the very best insights possible to really help their clients with advisory

The importance for IRIS of sharing stories that will resonate with accountancy professionals

The Iris strategy for success – a blend of acquisitions and organic growth

Many accounting practices are looking to nail MTD and then push for growth

The best accountants offer rock solid advice to clients that positions them as an advisor, not a mere supplier

The first steps in advisory for accountants wanting to get started

The importance for accountants of really getting to know clients rather than see them as a database to be serviced

When accountant productise their services, they can best deliver value to their clients

Accountants should be having conversations with clients about personal as well as commercial stuff

Many accountants struggle to step out of the comfort zone that is basic accounting

The real buzz in advisory is being able to make a difference to another business

The importance of a team approach in managing clients day to day and offering strategic consulting

Why accountants struggle to see advisory as valuable, and thus don’t feel comfortable charging for it

What the exceptional accounting people do that the rest don’t

Pushing yourself to get better and challenge the status quo is what avoids complacency in any industry

We are on the cusp of using artificial intelligence really well

You can’t build a strong advisory based accounting practice without having the right people in place

Not every accountant is a natural consultant or advisor, but almost all can be trained and coached to do it better

IRIS helps accountants obtain the best intelligence and insights from the data available

The best accountancy professionals are data story-tellers

Iris are as much about the education as the software itself in getting firms to adopt and integrate it into their firms

The future of the accounting profession will be vibrant and varied, with many kinds of firms and approaches

Accountants – approach everything with passionate authenticity and do the very best for your clients.

When not working, Sara runs her local amateur dramatics society, directing pantomimes, plays and murder mystery evenings. She is also involved in organising her parish fete. She loves walking in the Cotswolds and was part of the first choir in the world to sing in Les Invalides in Paris. She’s had tea in the Cabinet Office and once spent a month volunteering for a charity in Phnom Pen, Cambodia. Contact Sara directly:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/saralewis/ (Sara on LinkedIn)

https://twitter.com/saralewis (Sara on Twitter)