From “classic” accountant to “360 degrees” consultant!

Introdution

Unlike in the past, the Professional who works in today’s context of SMEs must “undress” from the role of the classic accountant and “take on the role of “360 degree consultant“, that is, one who does not limit his / her activity to simple checks of administrative, accounting and fiscal nature, but which goes far beyond, implementing internal control systems on multiple dimensions, capable of monitoring the performance of the company and the market in which it operates, as well as systems for assessing company performance.
This consultant is therefore required to have a multifaceted professionalism, the result of the right mix of experience, skills and abilities not only in the economic, statistical and management fields, but also in the organizational, commercial, marketing and communication fields.

Therefore, this consultant is required to have a multifaceted professionalism, the result of the right mix of experience, skills and abilities not only in the economic, statistical and management fields, but also in the organizational, commercial, marketing and communication fields.

What are the reasons for this radical change?

In addition to the strong economic instability and the profound changes in the current market scenario, the need to make use of eclectic and trained professionals is also motivated by the fact that in an SME it is no longer sufficient for the entrepreneur to have access to intuition and knowledge of their sector, but today requires clear, precise and structured information “in real time” on management and business trends.
Furthermore, companies are now required to produce not only economic-financial reports, but also related to the market, social relations and the impact generated on the environment: this has meant that the communication flow has taken on ever greater scope and timeliness/selectivity of information have become essential elements in order to provide the decision-maker with cognitive inputs on the basis of which to set up the “PS-DM” (“Problem Solving-Decision Making”) activities.

What is “B.O.A.” (“Business Owner Assistant”)?

The acronym “B.O.A.” stands for “Business Owner Assistant“, or a new figure of “advanced” professional, who assists the entrepreneur in the delicate phase of analyzing, evaluating and implementing corporate strategies.
To better describe it, we can recall the image of a large “buoy” visible in the middle of the sea: it is a very clear reference point for sailors (companies) who have to face storms (markets).
In addition to possessing “D.S.” (“Data Scientist“), ie “analyst of the data produced by information systems” transforming them into understandable and useful information in the adoption of decisions in the Problem Solving process, must be able to transform into “B.C.” (“Business Consultant“), or “business consultant” of the entrepreneur, developing skills of “reading” market trends through not only analysis but with the interpretation of company events, more or less correctly measurable by the system internal information.

Finally, the Professional must also cover the role of “facilitator” for SMEs, favoring the contact of the latter with other Professional Organizations that may present various Opportunities for the survival or growth of the same Companies.