Blogs are where you express yourself on topics of interest. Think about it. Each time a new directive from the Institute comes through or a new interpretation on an important tax point comes through what's your first thought (other than bugger it) ?
"I'd best send an email word with others who are impacted by this."
Within 10 minutes the senior partner's banging on the door, the topic manager (say tax) is in hot pursuit and very soon you're all deep in conversation about how it will impact clients.
"Our clients with offshore investments are going to be well cheesed off with this latest threat aren't they? How many are they? Who's got the biggest problem? What's their fee status and do we need to consult with them?" says the senior partner."
You could send out a letter or make a call to a few of your best client where you try and explain the problem, explaining you'll get back to them with some sort of answer. At this point you've got a choice. You could write one of those:
"Dear John, We've just been informed....We believe the impact on you will be £xxxx. We're looking at the problem and will advise you in due course"
letters. Or...you could blog it out to a notification list of people you already know are impacted by this. The post might go something like this:
"You might have heard that the Inland Revenge has issued yet another edict. As your wealth protection partner I can tell you this is a problem. We don't know all the answers at the moment. We believe a number of our customers are affected. We're taking evasive action on your behalf. Our tax specialists are beavering away with this for you.
We'll have a solution in 7 days and we ask that you earmark the date in your calendar for a 1 hour presentation where we'll outline the problem and our solution. The presentation will be held at our offices 11am, xxth September. We'll have refreshments available and invite you to stay for a buffet lunch during which we can have an informal chat about anything that's on your mind. We should be done by 1.30pm but we'll have people on hand if you have other questions."
We'd encourage you to tell anyone else you know about this - we can cater for them as well. It would help us if you can confirm you'll be coming then we will know how many to cater for. All you need do is click on the comment box below and leave us a message. We'll get it."
These may not be your words but I hope you see the difference in style. It's conversational, designed to 'sound' as you might on a call or when you meet. It's informal (I know, it hurts!) but it works.
So what choice are you going to make?
- Waste 45 minutes on three non-productive calls or...
- Spend ten minutes writing a post while you're having coffee
You've all been trained in management accounting, you've all been steeped in cost accounting. Work out the cost/benefit of making the wrong choice. I already have.
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