Strategic Growth & Client Acquisition Reset for an Accountancy Firm
Sector: Accountancy
Role: Strategic Advisor
Service Areas: Growth Strategy · Client Acquisition · Proposition Design · Leadership Support · Commercial Planning
The Challenge
A growing accountancy firm had built a solid client base through reputation and referrals, but growth had begun to stall. New client acquisition was inconsistent, the firm’s proposition lacked clarity, and partners were unclear on where future growth should come from.
Despite being busy, the firm had limited visibility over which clients were most valuable, which services were driving growth, and where time was being spent. Partners were heavily involved in delivery and reactive client work, leaving little space for strategic thinking or business development.
There was also a lack of alignment around growth. Different partners had different views on the firm’s direction, target clients, and appetite for expansion. Without a clear strategy, opportunities were being missed and effort was fragmented.
What was needed was clarity on positioning, a focused approach to client acquisition, and a growth plan the partners could genuinely commit to.
Our Approach
Bonner-Murray Consulting was engaged to help the firm step back from day-to-day delivery, align partners around a shared direction, and build a credible strategy for sustainable growth.
The engagement began with structured strategic discussions designed to surface differing views and create alignment.
This included:
Clarifying the firm’s core strengths, services, and commercial priorities
Reviewing the existing client base to understand profitability, effort, and growth potential
Identifying where the firm was undercharging, over-servicing, or misaligned with its ideal clients
Challenging assumptions around “good” clients and desirable growth
This phase created a clearer picture of where the firm should focus its energy - and where it should not.
With clarity established, attention turned to refining the firm’s proposition and approach to growth.
This involved:
Sharpening the firm’s positioning to clearly articulate who it served best
Identifying priority client segments and service lines for growth
Clarifying pricing and engagement boundaries to support profitability
Reducing reliance on ad hoc referrals by defining a more intentional acquisition strategy
The emphasis was on focus and simplicity rather than chasing volume.
With direction agreed, a practical and achievable growth plan was developed.
This included:
Defining clear growth objectives and success measures
Identifying realistic client acquisition channels aligned to partner capacity
Supporting partners to shift time and attention toward higher-value activity
Acting as an external sounding board as priorities and behaviours were reset
The focus was on momentum without disruption to core delivery.
The Outcome
The firm moved from unfocused effort to a clearer, more confident growth position.
The outcome included:
A shared and clearly articulated growth strategy
Greater alignment between partners on direction and priorities
Improved clarity over target clients and service lines
Increased confidence in pricing and client selection
More intentional and consistent client acquisition activity
Partners with greater focus on strategic and commercial leadership
“This helped us step back and properly think about where we wanted the firm to go. Having clarity on our proposition and growth priorities has made decision making far more focused and less reactive”
Partner (anonymous)
