All accountancy firm owners and future owners.

IGNITE Practice Management is a comprehensive course that provides an introduction in which we look at some really important areas to help challenge but also bring insight and deep thinking.

In this insightful Course we will look at how firm owner performance can be improved, profits increased and how an accountancy business can chart a course to achieve far more. But that is only a brief introduction. Read on to discover the length and breadth of IGNITE and its 7 Modules.

63 separate sessions

Twenty four hours of video training

A comprehensive 300 page manual

Over 15 high impact downloadable files

A certificate of graduation

1. Introduction
2. The profession is changing
3. Future accounting firm service model
4. LUBRM and TUBR – our high impact and insightful partner performance models
5. LUBRM-based strategies for improving firm profitability
6. Make sure your firm sidesteps these snakes of complacency
7. The rungs on the ladder of a truly successful firm
8. Spotlight on essential firm profit improving strategies
9. Firm owners – are you delivering to your maximum potential?
10. Firm owners – developing your personal development plan
11. Accounting firm trends, benchmarks and insights
12. Strategic planning that works

• Your role as an expert
• Your role as a business advisor 
• The massive importance of owner ‘visible’ time with clients
• The essentials of delivering outstanding quality
• We ask the question of who our best client is – and the answer may surprise you unless you have attended one of my practice management seminars
• High impact communication essentials
• What insights can you gain from the ‘future accounting firm model’?
• Increasing profitability - the LUBRM model adds insight and understanding to growing your bottom line
• 21 high impact LUBRM strategies for profit improvement
• The 8 snakes of a firm that is complacent – this will most likely challenge you to climb the…
• …Ladders of success. 8 areas where truly successful and leading-edge firms concentrate their management focus and performance
• Some partners under report their client time – check out the 7 habits of a truly effective and successful partner
• Going beyond compliance CPD is essential – here are some valuable insights into the opportunities for development
• Benchmarks – how do we compare? Here is your answer as we look at 62 essential benchmarks
• Strategic planning insights complete with key points and checklist

1. The cost of poor service and value of outstanding service
2. Service in accordance with your client-centric priorities
3. Leveraging your client meetings
4. Outstanding service – the rewards are substantial
5. Moments of truth and moments of magic
6. How to improve the effectiveness of your financial statements (all in less than 60 minutes per client)
7. Enhancing the value of what you deliver
8. Your report card and how to improve your ratings
9. Projecting a high-quality image
10. High impact client care KPIs
11. What does your reception look like? Time for an upgrade?
12. A look at some outstanding service case studies
13. Developing your firm’s service portfolio

• Calculate the cost of lost clients and the value of retaining clients – the ones you wish to keep
• What are we really selling?
• The impactful value of the iceberg of time proposition 
• The jaw dropping case of the dentist’s receptionist
• Developing an intentional annual client meeting plan – a plan that will motivate you and assist in improving the value you deliver to clients
• Rear view mirrors - a massively important recommend 
• How your own skill development enhances your value to clients 
• Being famous in your marketplace
• 12 ways to strengthen client relationships
• Moments of truth. What are yours? Then turn these into ‘moments of magic’
• Your financial statements significantly improved 
• Avoid the dangerous trap of PDFs
• Better managing client expectations
• Beware the causes of these service failures
• The 8 areas where clients judge quality – and they are not the ones you think of as quality
• How do you score on this client report card?
• Image is important – yours, your firm, your office, your reception, your ambassadors – areas you may wish to improve
• How to institutionalise client feedback without doing a formal survey – the six questions you MUST have answers to
• Learn the lessons from great companies outside of the accountancy profession including a video of one of the UK’s most profitable independent car dealer. So many transferable lessons
• Your firm’s service portfolio – you will find pages of great opportunities in your manual.

1. Introduction and the three reasons why firms do not earn enough
2. Billing myths
3. Top line management
4. Setting prices that deliver a higher return
5. The emerging role of the pricing director and how you can take advantage now – at no additional cost
6. Agreeing [higher] prices with clients
7. Effective strategies for improving your billing
8. The powerful case for downsizing your lock up 
9. How to effectively downsize your firm’s lock up
10. The job is not complete until the bill is paid

• The three main reasons why accountants do not earn enough
• Side-step these 21 billing myths – they cost many firms a lot of money
• The five limiters that affect the amount you can charge for your services
• How to maximise price and close the value gap
• Questions to ask clients to assist them in understanding the value you deliver
• When and how to use results pricing
• Essential steps to take when agreeing a fixed price – or losses might ensue 
• The cost of risk reversal
• Training clients to pay you promptly
• Lloydbottom’s law and corollary and how to avoid losing out on underquoting
• 15 ways to improve your billing
• The harmful effect of excess lock up and the steps to take to reduce lock up
• New approaches to billing and collection - do it the modern way
• Massively reduce your lock up
• How a guerrilla billing strategy may be a good starting point

1. Introduction
2. Millennials and how to be an even better [and more profitable] millennial firm
3. Getting better results from all your meetings 
4. Improving staff management
5. Improving job profitability
6. The cost of the ego trip
7. Nuggets of gold to improve staff performance 

• Managing from the H.E.A.R.T. – the 5 lessons that enabled me to turn the corner and better manage my teams
• The wisdom of the geese – 5 need to know lessons in team management
• Better understanding millennials and Gen Z
• Do you end up doing the talking when you lead meetings? Not after watching the third session!
• Offsite meeting checklist
• It’s time to stop taking minutes
• The keys to personal and staff motivation
• Helping employees take ‘emotional ownership’ of the firm
• Improving budgeting and stopping managers creating ‘optimistic’ budgets
• Learn the lesson from the car dealership service reception
• Saying goodbye to write downs
• Having a better process for extras or client caused problems
• Navigating client expectations
• Fixing the disconnect between manager and partner – maybe the number one key to reducing write downs

1. Introduction
2. The client planning meeting – high impact focused on adding value
3. The power of questions – real service power
4. Widening your service reach
5. The four roles of management
6. The organisational life cycle
7. The aging of an organisation and how to get back to being successful
8. Essential consulting insights
9. Helping clients increase their profitability
10. Starting and running an effective client mentoring group
11. A focus on your core services – how to expand what you offer clients
12. A focus on your options for specialist services 

• Looking at the value of financial statements
• Finding the time for non-compliance services
• Protect the firm with triple lock service
• Debeloping the expertise and confidence to deliver extension services
• The invaluable lesson from the mime artist
• Client planning needs and your service opportunities
• The five essential plans that clients all need
• Over 100 questions to pepper into client conversations in areas such as the future of the business, their marketplace, their planning, funding, operations, profitability and cash flow, value driven questions and much more
• Service areas that almost all clients need over a 10-year period including business structures, conflict and dispute resolution, divorce, estate planning, and many other key areas
• How the four roles of management can help your understanding of your clients’ businesses’ including how to work with each of the four types of roles
• An in-depth look at the characteristics and challenges of businesses in the courtship, infant, Go Go, adolescent, phases of business growth and development
• Business success principles - master these and reap the rewards
• How to apply the profit game and help clients uncover profit robbers – activities that restrict profitability – yours and your clients

1. Introduction – why this is so very important
2. Planning the marketing activities and your events calendar
3. Essential core business development strategies
4. A focus on relationship building and referral development
5. A focus on reputation and brand development
6. What award winning firms do to achieve extraordinary success
7. Really great and effective marketing tactics 

• How much should you invest in marketing?
• The essential planning stages of the marketing plan
• Your plans for gaining new clients
• A personal marketing survey template
• The personal marketing plan – we are all different so let’s make our plans owner specific
• The essential role of advisory literature
• Owner marketing essentials
• Social media requirements
• Blogs – to blog or not to blog?
• Client seminars 
• Websites that work
• 25 plus options in relationship building
• 25 plus options in reputation building
• What award winning firms do that you can replicate
• Over 20 great marketing ideas that can help you win new business
• Making sure you gain prospects appointments
• The four ‘P’s of marketing
• Impact questions you can use to great effect
• What buying signals look like and when to start your close

1. Making it happen
2. The power of words
3. Your implementation plan

• Recognise your change limitations and seek to focus your energy where you will gain the greatest reward
• Starting with small tasks rather than the big ones
• Team based decision making. 
• Active problem solving – your key steps on this journey
• Armouring – this is so, so very important. You must not lose that which you have gained.
• Words that have impacted me – discover your own inner energy and motivation as you consider those words that uniquely motivate you
• And finally, you will find an implementation template to lead you through your own decision making 

1. Accounting firm business owner survey
2. Report on profit sharing – using profit sharing to increase profits
3. Managing partner job description
4. Firm billing philosophy
5. Firm service specialisations
6. The profitability blueprint - a step by step process to increase firm profitability
7. Client satisfaction survey
8. Core services portfolio
9. Client meeting agenda (sample)
10. Confidential partner questionnaire
11. Relationship building - strategies for building the firm and increasing referrals
12. Mark Lloydbottom book recommends
13. Creating cultural change
14. Our business - staff member survey
15. Insights for firm leaders - essential insights from managing partner conferences
16. Strategic planning questionnaire
17. The power of question – more than 75 highly insightful client questions
18. Accounting firm business owner survey
19. Reputation building - strategies to enhance the firm’s reputation
20. Staff survey
21. Questions that demand an answer

Mark is unquestionably a globally recognised practice management expert for accountants. Over the last 25 years based on his unique insights as partner in practice and his subsequent roles as an advisor and consultant to the profession, he has provided meaningful and transformative support to hundreds of accountants and their practices. 

One of the difficulties with practice management is that there is a lot of common sense and no magic formula. If there is no magic why isn’t everyone doing it? The difference between Mark and some gurus in the field is that he acknowledges that there is no ‘get-rich-quick approach’ for accountants. Mark works from a place of integrity and honesty to create meaningful change in how we work and think. He helps firms develop the personal relationships that form the basis of our profession. 

As the world changes how clients interact with their accountants evolves. Mark keeps ahead of the field and his core values remain at the heart of true success. When Mark speaks accountants should listen.

Des O’Neill, Founder, OmniPro, Ireland

Mark’s curiosity, entrepreneurial insight and commonsense approach to business has made him a powerful force in the management of public accounting firms all across the globe. He brings over 30 years of practical experience and keen observation to the profession, and hundreds – if not thousands – of firms have benefitted from his ideas. I’ve known Mark for most of his consulting career, have learned a tremendous amount from him and am proud to call him a friend.

Mike Platt, Inside Public Accounting, USA

Mark Lloydbottom is one of the most creative minds in the management and marketing of professional service firms. I have had the privilege of working with him for over 20 years and I learn something useful from every interaction. I endorse him whole-heartedly, unreservedly and enthusiastically.

David W. Cottle, Practice Management Consultant 

I have worked with Mark for more years than either of us might care to mention. Mark’s knowledge and experience in the profession is superb and his connections in the UK and USA ensure that he is well placed to identify the latest trends and ideas. 

Mike Sturgess, Chairman, SWAT UK 

Wow – it seems like yesterday when I met Mark as he led a marketing retreat that I attended early in my career. From the start he inspired me with his depth of knowledge, cutting edge insight and positive energy. He continues to amaze me with his wisdom, creativity and love of the profession. I am proud to call him a role model, mentor and friend. Oh, how thankful I am for that meeting and lecture in Seattle 25 years ago.

Tracy Crevar Warren, The Crevar Group, USA and Switzerland

Having worked with Mark over many years, I know that his wise counsel is greatly appreciated by all who have been privileged to experience it. His unique style has enabled many to see that improvement is readily achievable.

Ken McManus, [Former] Assistant Director, Practice Support, ICAS