General vs Specialised Consultancy – which one should your CA firm choose?

Chartered Accountants in India offer a range of services, which can be general consultancy or specialised services. General consultancy may involve basic accounting, preparing financial statements, and maintaining the books. Specialised services fall under categories such as accounting, auditing, taxation, cost accountancy, trusteeship, directorship work, company secretarial work, managerial accounting, and share valuation. Deciding on whether to set up a general consultancy or a specialised consultancy that you will have to take after careful consideration.

General consultancy

A general consultancy would be ideal if you are looking at expanding your business and having a wider client base. You need to have a wider professional network to get the most out of general consultancy.

Some of the advantages of running a generalised consultancy are as follows:

• As a generalist, you can cater to a larger client base, which would mean higher revenues.
• Since you have more services to offer, the same clients may approach you for other services as well.
• You have the flexibility to add on more services according to the market demand.
• Due to the variety of services offered and broader client base, a generalised consultancy can survive an economic slowdown.

Though a general consultancy seems to be a sounder business proposition, you need to make provisions for growth to move forward. To expand, you will need funds to hire professionals, set up offices, and upgrade your infrastructure. Bajaj Finance provides personal loan for chartered accountants up to Rs. 80 lakh. With minimum documentation, you can get the funds within 48 hours* of approval.

Specialised consultancy

A specialised consultancy has several advantages. You can become an expert in your field. Once you have established yourself in the field, it is easy to retain your clientele. You can streamline your work process. Also, as a specialist, you can charge more for your services.

However, a specialised consultancy may run out of work when there is an economic slowdown. It is too risky to rely on a narrow client base. You are also limiting your growth opportunities by refusing to explore newer areas.

Apart from these specialised functions, there are management consultancy services that CA firms can offer. Such services include-

• developing a management information system
• designing a budgetary control system
• assisting management in the effective utilisation of working capital
• assisting in enhancing productivity
• advising management on effective delegation and planning of work
• offering advice on international taxation and joint ventures
• offering advice on Corporate Law
• helping with mergers and acquisitions
• providing advice on system analysis and design
• acting as registrar for the transfer of shares

To conclude, both general consultancy and specialised consultancy have their pros and cons. You could adopt a ‘Master of one and jack of all’ approach. With this, you always have a deep know-how of that one skill which helps you differentiate yourself from other firms and makes your clients return to you for that specialised consultancy you give.

You can also diversify your services into different fields of accounting and finance rather than banking on just one area of expertise. Implementing such an approach, would come at a cost. You need to have the right resources, hire people from diverse areas, or be ready to outsource certain services. For example, hiring a corporate legal consultant can add an additional cost of over Rs. 10 lakh annually. You may need to employ a client servicing team to cater to the requirements of your customers.

To grow your CA firm, choose finance options such as a loan for chartered accountants. It can help to minimise your cost of lending and get the most out of your borrowing operations with the Flexi Loan facility. Say, you have an approved loan limit of Rs. 25 lakh. If you withdraw Rs. 10 lakh from loan account, you will just have to pay interest on that withdrawn amount with the Flexi Loan facility. Basically, you pay interest only on what you borrow.

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