How do you start offering advisory services without disrupting your firm?

In this episode, Peter Towers explains why advisory services are too important to ignore – and how accounting firms, bookkeepers, and business advisory firms can begin with a simple, practical step-by-step approach. Discover how to start small, deepen client relationships, and position your firm as a true Key Strategic Partner with the support of proven tools, training, and client communication resources from ESS BIZTOOLS.

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In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast, Peter Towers of ESS BIZTOOLS and Darren Gleeson of TaxFitness discuss the growing need for accounting firms to move beyond compliance and deliver real advisory services. They explore benchmarking, business improvement opportunities, and practical ways accountants, bookkeepers and advisory firms can strengthen client value and work towards becoming a true Key Strategic Partner.

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Advisory services can create significant value for clients, but they do not sell themselves.

In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast, Peter Towers of ESS BIZTOOLS explains why accounting firms, bookkeepers and business advisors need to actively position, communicate and sell advisory services if they want to be seen as true Key Strategic Partners. Featuring insights from the Intuit QuickBooks SMB 2025 Survey and The Boss Factor Library, this discussion highlights how firms can strengthen client relationships, build new revenue opportunities and deliver the forward-looking advice SMEs need.

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Only 15% of SMEs rate their accountant as a Key Strategic Partner. Why is that – and how do we change it?

In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast, Peter Towers (ESS BIZTOOLS) and Trevor Marchant (The Boss Factor Library) unpack what it truly means to move beyond compliance and become your client's go-to advisor for growth, strategy and innovation. From debtors management and cash flow forecasting, to R&D Tax Incentives and capital raising, this episode explores the missed opportunities sitting inside most accounting firms – and how to confidently communicate, package and deliver them.

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In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast, Peter Towers (ESS BIZTOOLS) and Darren Gleeson (TaxFitness) explore how benchmarking transforms client conversations, drives behavioural change, and unlocks measurable profit growth. Discover why comparing clients to the top 20% in their industry provides the clarity, context, and commercial focus that traditional financial reports often miss.

If you want to increase client profitability, strengthen advisory revenue, and reposition your firm as a forward-looking strategic partner — this discussion will show you where to start.

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Only 15% of Aussie SMEs see their accountant as a Key Strategic Partner — the go-to advisor driving growth and success.

In this episode of Accountants Minute Podcast, Peter Towers, Managing Director of ESS BIZTOOLS, is joined by Darren Gleeson (Founder, Tax Fitness) to show how top 20% benchmarking turns "advisory" into a repeatable system – fast, evidence-based, and built for quarterly client conversations that improve profit and performance.

SPECIAL OFFER: Use code ESS100 to get Tax Fitness for $1,000 + GST (save $200) plus 12 months FREE access to the ESS BIZTOOLS Starter Package.

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In this episode of the Accountants Minute Podcast, Peter Towers explores how predictive accounting reports turn a business plan into a live early-warning radar for SMEs — with budgets by operation, key drivers, cashflow forecasts, projected balance sheets and KPIs all working together. You'll hear real stories of how weak communication, poor debtor and creditor management, and hidden inventory or capex blowouts can quietly destroy cash flow — and how accountants, acting as Virtual CFOs, can step in, monitor the numbers weekly, and protect profitability. Peter also highlights the role of benchmarking with the top 20% of performers and best-practice Trades Charge-Out Rate Calculators as powerful tools to help your clients scale with confidence.

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In this final Accountants Minute Podcast episode for 2025, Peter Towers is joined by Darren Gleeson, Managing Director of TaxFitness, to explore how benchmarking and virtual CFO services can transform struggling SMEs into top-performing businesses. They discuss why benchmarking against the top 20% (not the average) is critical, how to turn profit gaps into advisory opportunities, and why accountants and bookkeepers must move beyond compliance if they want to stay relevant in an AI-driven world. Perfect for firms ready to lead clients—and their own team—into 2026 with stronger profitability and sharper advisory services.

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