”We feel we’re unique in the market,” said Joey Boland, business advisory partner for RBK. “We’re a large indigenous firm with local services but with all the sophisticated skills and services from having key people in the team who have those special skills.”
Having been around for more than 60 years, it’s safe to say that RBK is doing something right. Joey puts that down to going above and beyond the basic bookkeeping and accounting service.
With just under 200 staff located in offices in Athlone, Dublin and Roscommon, RBK manages to offer wide-ranging services that cater for both the smallest business and the biggest multinational. The most crucial part, Joey mentions, is that its staff go beyond their defined roles to help clients.
“We’re more than just accountants and bookkeepers. We come to see ourselves - and believe the clients have come to see us – as trusted advisers, and partners in their business,” he explained.
“That’s the key to our longevity and our success. We go beyond the call of duty. We’re supplying a service. We look at the people behind the service, not just the company but the shareholders and their families.
“We look at what’s important from their perspective in terms of their future - is the business going to be handed down to the next generation? Will there be a transition or will the next generation not need it or want it?”
Joey heads up the firm's SME offerings and a big part of that is SME AllServ, its integrated business service for small and medium-sized businesses. Allowing them to pick and choose a tailored service that suits their needs, it gives them the flexibility to create whatever bundle meets their business aims.
“Whatever important objectives our clients wish to achieve, we work closely with them to reach those goals and we feel we go well beyond what’s expected of us,” he said. “Instead of just saying here’s your set of accounts . . . we go well beyond that in giving support and advice and how better to run their business and how to structure the business which meets their key objectives.”
Having used Big Red Cloud for the last number of years, Joey says the great advantage of using it is “its sheer simplicity and its short learning curve”. The straightforward nature means it is easy to operate and its cloud connectivity means that both accountants and clients can enjoy instant access to their accounts.
“We can go in remotely and make adjustments or whatever else needs to be done, and interrogate their figures without interrupting the ongoing recording of their transactions,” he said. “It’s a great feature and simple to work and very efficient.” The way in which it pulls together this information is a major help for clients, allowing them to spot trends and developments more easily. If you notice that, for example, your gross margin has dropped, you can track back and see what the cause of it is. That clearer picture makes it easier for Joey and his team at RBK to give recommendations to clients.
“Big Red Cloud helps in terms of pulling information together, and we can give advice on how clients should make changes to their business,” he said. “There’s less time needed now to pull information together, it’s there automatically and more time can be put towards interrogating the information and offering advices. “We can look at where we’re going, what’s wrong, what’s right, and what’s the action for the next period.
“All of this combined with the vast range of experiences RBK has, allows us to be able to become the entity we are today. Our success wouldn’t be possible unless we took those experiences and incorporated them into our day-to-day working lives and long-term strategy.
“Every day you go out, you’re learning,” he said. “It’s the university of life, as you’re learning through experiences . . . and what you can bring to the next scenario, because no two situations are the same. “We’ve dealt with similar situations in the past, which is certainly a big help to us and we would be aware of options that clients are not aware of, so we can bring structure to their affairs.”
Sunday Business Post - Published 18 August 2019
Big Red Cloud Commercial Profile
