Episode 30. In today's interview, "Customer Success in Accounting & Fintech with Hugh Walker."

Hugh has worked in accounting tech for 7+ years, first at Receipt Bank/Dext in Sydney and then the last 3 years at Practice Ignition. Practice Ignition is a client engagement and commerce platform for professional services businesses to streamline how they engage clients and get paid. Hugh focuses on customer success and change management. Key takeaways from this episode include:

➜ what companies and accounting firms get wrong with customer service and client experience

➜ the benefits for professional firms of getting customer/client service right

➜ the importance of mindset and culture in creating a strong customer experience and success

➜ the kind of data points that can be analysed to determine customer success

➜ the major impacts of Covid and digitisation on remote working and accounting processes

➜ striking a balance with mental wellbeing and culture/productivity for accounting firms

➜ the biggest roadblock to making change happen and successful project management in professional working environments

➜ the fallacy of waiting for the perfect time to get things done and making projects work

➜ how to effectively manage change and implement software in accounting firms

➜ ways for accountants to automate admin and save time to focus on what really matters (examples given...)

➜ tips to help accountants avoid scope creep and make sure they get paid on time, every time

➜ what Practice Ignition does for accounting practitioners and how it does a lot of things that usually require different software

➜ the importance for accounting practitioners of first impressions, especially when trying to grow client base

➜ AIP listeners offer: code 'air21' to receive 25% off all plans for your first 6 months at https://info.ignitionapp.com/aip

Outside of work, Hugh rock climbs, does board games, enjoys red wine or whiskey and is big into football. You can reach him here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugh-walker

https://twitter.com/hugh_s_walker

Nearly 5,000 accounting and professional services firms around the world use Practice Ignition to win new business with impressive digital proposals, engage clients with a clear scope of work, and get paid on time by automating payment collection. PI integrates with leading business apps such as Gusto, QuickBooks, Xero and Zapier to automate time-consuming tasks allowing you to run your business on autopilot and automate time-consuming tasks, such as client onboarding or invoicing. That means less admin and more time for clients.

Listeners can go to https://info.ignitionapp.com/aip and use the code 'air21' to receive 25% off all plans for your first 6 months.

NOTE TO LISTENERS:

The Accounting Influencers Podcast is a CPE-accredited daily radio-style show with four segments coming out every Monday which are repeated on the other 4 weekdays as standalone episodes, plus a bonus 'from the client's perspective' episode on Saturdays. On Sundays, listeners get a short min trailer for the coming week's episodes.

Every Tuesday the show gives you a relevant news topic from the accounting and fintech world with a direct application to accountants, CPAs and bookkeepers. Great to stay informed and build your commercial acumen.

Every Wednesday and Friday, we feature an uncut interview with top authors, leaders, thinkers and performers in the accounting and fintech world.

Every Thursday the show gives you a practical 'here's what works' tips concerning a key challenge, need or strategy for accountants, CPAs and bookkeepers. Great to stay current and keep your skills topped up.

Finally, every Saturday gives listeners a bonus episode which focuses on the buyers of accounting services - the clients themselves. In particular how they feel, react to and experience their interactions with accountants. That includes why they buy or don't buy, why they move or stay and why they think how they think about you, your firm, your prices and your offerings.

Martin and Rob love to hear from the show's 20,000 unique listeners in 144 countries around the world. If you like the show, leave a review wherever you listen, and please recommend the show to your friends and colleagues.