A Smarter Way to Help Your Clients: New Tool from IFAC

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Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are facing more pressure than ever, due to competition, uncertainty, or changing regulations. For accountants of SMEs, this means an increasing need to offer more than just tax and compliance. Clients are looking for advice, insight, and support to help grow and protect their businesses. To help with this shift, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released a new tool: the Business Health Check Question Bank.

What does the new tool do?

This tool helps accountants have better conversations with their clients. Instead of only asking about tax deadlines or financial statements, you can ask broader, smarter questions that show you understand the whole business. It includes questions like:

• “What keeps you awake at night when it comes to your business?”

• “Do you have a clear plan for retirement or succession?”

• “How well is your current tech setup working for you?”

These types of questions can open the door to advisory services, without sounding like a sales pitch. They help you understand your client’s challenges and show them how you can support their growth.

What’s Included?

The tool covers eight key areas of business health:

What’s Included?

The tool covers eight key areas of business health:

1. Risk management
   → Can lead to services like risk assessments or insurance reviews

2. Business strategy and direction
   → Ideal for strategic planning sessions or goal-setting support

3. Compliance and legal obligations
   → Opens the door for creating compliance calendars or training staff

4. Technology and cybersecurity
   → Allows you to offer tech reviews or recommend system upgrades

5. Finance and tax
   → Helps identify areas for cash flow analysis or tax planning

6. Customer relations
   → May uncover the need for pricing reviews or customer retention strategies

7. HR and staff engagement
   → Useful for creating onboarding templates or HR process advice

8. Succession and retirement planning
   → Leads to exit planning, business valuations, or retirement savings strategies.

You don’t have to ask every question at once. Use what’s relevant, during client onboarding, in quarterly reviews, or when you notice a client struggling in a particular area.

Why it Works

This isn’t just a checklist. It’s a new way of thinking about client service. It gives you:

• A natural way to start deeper conversations

• A better understanding of your client’s business

• More opportunities to offer meaningful advice

• A stronger, long-term relationship with your client

Plus, it helps position your firm as more than a compliance provider—you become a trusted business partner.

Built to Fit Your Practice

The tool is flexible. It’s meant to be adapted based on your client’s size, industry, and local context. Whether you're working with a growing startup or a family-run business, you can pick and choose the questions that fit.

How to Get Started

The Business Health Check Question Bank is available for free on the IFAC website. Download it here and start using it today!