How outsourcing audits helps Gooding Accounts boost client retention, profitability, and market reach
About Gooding Accounts
Founded 10 years ago, today Gooding Accounts employs 35 staff across three offices in Wiltshire.
They serve around 2,500 clients each year, including completing 1,700 self-assessment tax returns and 750 company accounts. The company’s other services include payroll, bookkeeping, capital gains tax, and general accounting advice.
Clients per year
Increased turnover projected
Saved by not hiring in-house auditor
The challenge: Inability to provide audit services posed a risk to client retention and attraction
Gooding Accounts acts as an external accounts department for many of its small-to-medium-sized business clients, providing all required accounting services and functions.
Sam Gooding, founder and partner, explored several solutions. But all had drawbacks:
Outsourcing locally: No local accounting firms were interested in providing audit services alone to Gooding Accounts’ clients.
Retraining an existing employee: None of Gooding Accounts’ staff were able to commit to retraining to specialise in audits.
Employing a permanent, full-time auditor: This would require considerable investment due to high market demand, yet Gooding Accounts was unlikely to have enough audit work to occupy that person full-time.
We faced the potential of losing some really good client relationships, really good fee accounts, because we couldn’t offer an audit facility. But none of our staff had the capacity to retrain to provide auditing.
We'd talked to a couple of larger local firms about outsourcing audit work, but none ticked the right boxes. They wanted to deal with the client exclusively, or didn’t want to build a relationship with us. And there just wasn’t a good culture fit.
The solution: Outsourcing audits to a reliable, independent audit specialist
Gooding Accounts formed a strategic partnership with audit specialists Byrd + Link, who provide audit services to Gooding Accounts’ clients. Gooding Accounts remains the main point of contact for the client.
Because Byrd + Link exclusively offers auditing services, there is no risk of competing to take over the non-audit accounting services that Gooding Accounts provides its clients.
Byrd + Link’s clearly explained their processes, timelines, deliverables, and pricing. This made it easy for Sam and his team to plan and brief clients on what to expect.
Byrd + Link’s modern approach to conducting audits remotely through video calls, emails, and secure document sharing minimises disruption for the audited companies, allowing business as usual without the need for physical auditor presence.
Byrd + Link gave us the solution we were desperately looking for, because they purely focus on audit work and aren’t interested in providing the accountancy services we offer. So there is no potential for competition. And their modern, remote-first approach is a seamless fit for us — hardworking but not stuffy.
The results: Satisfied clients, greater market reach, and projected £190k increased turnover
Entering a strategic partnership with Byrd + Link has been transformative for Gooding Accounts’ ability to retain and attract clients, while boosting profitability.
It allows Gooding Accounts to serve larger clients without needing to invest in in house audit capabilities or the extra costs associated with compliance and resources.
The first audit conducted under this partnership was executed smoothly, with the client expressing satisfaction over the minimal disruption caused by the remote audit process. Sam and his team commended Byrd + Link’s excellent communications, ability to meet tight deadlines, and the overall quality of the audit conducted.
Gooding Accounts is now actively targeting prospective clients who want a comprehensive package of accountancy services including audits — opening up new markets to fuel business growth.
The tangible benefits are substantial, with Gooding Accounts projecting an annual turnover increase of approximately £190,000, with higher profit margins for audit work. Even better, this can be achieved without the financial burden of employing a full-time, in-house auditor at £65,000+ annually.
This partnership has essentially created a virtual, cost-effective audit department for Gooding Accounts, offering peace of mind and enabling the firm to focus on growth and client service excellence.
The relationship with Byrd + Link helps us twofold. We don’t have to worry about losing clients as they grow, because we can instantly deal with any audit requirements. And it helps us grow our business because we can attract companies that require audits as well as our main services.
Partnering with Byrd + Link means I've effectively got an audit department that’s available whenever I need them, yet I'm not paying for it 24/7. The process is so easy and cost-effective for both the client and us. It’s taken a lot of stress off my shoulders.
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Are you looking to expand your accountancy firm's offerings and attract larger clients without the hassle and expense of establishing an in-house audit department?
Contact Byrd + Link to explore how partnering with us can help drive your firm’s growth.