3 lessons accountants can learn from an engineer

In this series, we speak with professionals across various sectors about the challenges they face in their roles, and bring lessons back to accounting based on the solutions they have implemented. This is the first instalment – in the coming months keep watch for lessons from HR, defence and more.

Engineer and business owner Liam Highmore believes that anyone who doesn’t cringe a little about the ways they worked 12 months ago is likely part of a business that isn’t improving.

“Somebody told me that once, and I completely believe it,” says Highmore, whose business, Homeable, designs and implements smart home technology solutions for for older Australians and people with disability.

1 Turn a negative into a positive

The challenges posed for accountants by compliance with regulations and standards is matched in Highmore’s business by compliance with electrical engineering standards and with strict practice standards required to be a registered NDIS provider.

“Often, we’ll find out about a new standard or a new NDIS procedure that forces us to rethink and implement processes, policies, or ways of working with our clients,” Highmore says.

“When this happens, our business models sometimes pivot, but our commitment to the cause does not. As a result, the work that we do now is a lot better than the work we were even doing six months ago. The fact that we need to constantly adapt, analyse and update makes us better at what we do.”

The lesson: Identify your business’s core purpose. When regulations and standards change, and the compliance requirements shift, take the opportunity to refine your processes to improve quality and the outcomes you can deliver, aligned to your purpose.

2 Communicate the reasons for your processes

Adherence to NDIS processes can be particularly challenging for both his business and its clients, Highmore says, causing long timelines for the installation of equipment.

“From when we are first engaged by a client it can take up to six months for us to install the smart home solution, because of long approval processes,” Highmore says.

“That part of the policy and the process was a bit of a nightmare for us because it was very hard to predict when revenues would land. Plus, our clients would often get frustrated because they never imagined they would have to wait this long. That has definitely been a pain point.”

The development of a solution began only when those timelines were recognised and identified.

“To be honest, 12 months ago we didn’t even fully recognise that these delays existed,” Highmore says.

“Once we identified the issue, we became a lot more realistic in terms of planning ahead.”

The clear identification of the problem helped the business to:

• Manage client expectations during original discussions
• Fine tune the business’s marketing and advertising
• Utilise the extra time within the now-expected ‘rolling backlog of clients’ to add relevant quality checks and find new efficiencies

“We’d identify parts of the process where we could have better conversations with occupational therapists, have extra meetings with clients, and generally talk to various people and organisations who are part of the process to figure out how we can all do things better.”

The lesson: Examine and understand the impact of compliance processes on your clients. Due diligence and, where necessary, enhanced due diligence processes can’t be set aside so use the information you have gathered to streamline them as much as possible, minimise delays and set clients’ reasonable expectations. 

3 Advocate for clients

Members of the Homeable team don’t simply roll with all of the punches by accepting whatever demands are heaped upon them, but advocate for their clients when needed.

Homeable staff invest a great deal of time into understanding their clients, developing a clear image of the wishes of the client’s families, their support networks, their challenges and desired lifestyles, and more.

“We’re not just selling them a coffee,” Highmore says. “We’ll continue dealing with them year after year.”

Recently the business recently worked with a client and identified a solution that, over a six-month assessment process, was not approved. Highmore’s team “pushed back” on that decision and won approval.

“Right now, we’re in the process of doing the install. It’s a win for the client and should be a broader win as it means a precedent has been set,” Highmore says.

“We are extremely values-driven, but we’re also governed by a lot of standards and procedures, so there are two driving forces. By regularly reviewing standards and procedures and figuring out how we can work most efficiently in that framework, and by constantly discussing solutions with clients and other stakeholders, it makes us better at both.”

The lesson: When values and standards or regulations contradict each other, carefully consider next steps. Compliance with regulations and standards must not be sacrificed, but transparent negotiation may allow you to win a positive outcome for clients and maintain regulatory compliance.