Brad Walker, founder of Adaptive Accountancy

Adaptive Accountancy, based in Yorkshire, is not your typical accountancy firm. Under the leadership of Brad Walker, the company strives to adapt to the constant evolution of today’s business world.

In an industry under­going dramatic change, Adaptive Accoun­tancy has positioned itself at the forefront by adopting cutting-edge technologies and innov­ative practices that help small businesses leverage better data to drive growth.

Unlike tradi­tional accoun­tants who focus on financial state­ments and quarterly accounting, Adaptive Accoun­tancy provides day-to-day financial management and acts as a true business partner for its clients. The company’s approach shifts the conver­sation from mere accounting to strategic discus­sions about sales, marketing, industry trends and future planning, ensuring its clients are always prepared for what lies ahead.

In this Q&A session, Brad shares the inspi­ration behind Adaptive Accoun­tancy, the challenges of reshaping the industry, and the forward-thinking approach that has led to the company’s impressive annual growth.

What was the inspiration for your company?

The inspi­ration for Adaptive Accoun­tancy came from my personal experi­ences and frustra­tions in the tradi­tional accounting industry. Ten years ago, I worked at a tradi­tional accounting firm, and the service small businesses received from their accoun­tants was far below what I imagined.

As accoun­tants who work with businesses with a turnover between £100,000 and £500,000, we have experience with hundreds of clients across almost every industry imaginable. This pool of knowledge can be shared with other business owners to help them avoid common pitfalls. We are in a truly privi­leged position and can make a massive difference to people’s lives by helping them navigate the trials and tribu­la­tions of the business world.

I realized that small businesses needed more than just annual accounting services; They needed real-time financial insights and proactive advice to be successful. I wanted to start a company that not only offered world-class accounting, but also acted as a strategic partner. Rapid advances in technology, partic­u­larly AI, have allowed us to double our consulting work as we have to spend less time on everyday tasks.

Who do you admire?

Richard Branson — he looks at indus­tries with a fresh eye, looks at frustra­tions from a customer perspective and sets out to drive change.

James Clear — Author of Atomic Habits, a life-changing book that shows how small efforts lead to amazing results over time.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

If I were to start over, I would be much clearer about my target customers. It’s easy to get any customer at any cost to generate revenue, especially in the beginning. The problems come later when I serve clients with companies that don’t excite me or where I can’t add real value.

There is a place for the standard accountant, but this type of work fills me with dread. Offer me ambitious, exciting conver­sa­tions with my clients every day of the week. This gives me my “why.” It’s no surprise that after nearly 15 years in accounting, filling out an accounting no longer lights up my world. But if you have the data, yes. Now I have real facts and figures that tell a story. The story of a company whose book is not yet fully written, and together we can get to the end.

What defines your way of doing business?

Customer benefit.

Because every customer values ​​different things, we tailor our approach individ­ually. For example, when I respond to a customer email, instead of a long written response, I turn on the camera and send them a video response because it’s a much more personal response.

Albert Mehrabian concluded that only 7% of commu­ni­cation consists of words, which is 93% of the remaining service. If we want to build a closer relationship with our customers, we need to know their goals and desires and help them achieve them. That’s why we have to look at the world from their perspective and cater to their prefer­ences. Some people love old-fashioned email and that’s fine, but we adapt our approach to each customer.

A tool you can use to be clear about this is the Business Model Canvas. I learned this model when I took the Help to Grow: Management course – a 12-week program designed to help business leaders and senior managers increase their resilience, innovation and growth. It helped me artic­ulate who my target customers are and the value I provide to them.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

Price right.

All too often we see new businesses initially charging too low a price to attract their first customers, then later running into problems with profitability and being stuck with a low-fee customer base. They work more, are under­es­ti­mated and receive less. So make sure you price correctly in the beginning and get help from an expert if necessary. Don’t just set the same prices as a competitor.

Start with the end in mind.

There are two ways to exit a company: either by selling or in a 6‑foot-long wooden box. Unfor­tu­nately, statis­ti­cally there is a high proba­bility that you will choose the boxing route. This is because most small businesses rely on the business owner. Without them there is no business. Take the time at the beginning to plan how the business will grow so that your team can seamlessly take over when you are no longer able.

If you don’t plan, you plan to fail.

Use resources like the Business Model Canvas I refer­enced earlier to create a vision of what your business looks like. You can elaborate each section in terms of policies and proce­dures to create your plan for training your employees.

Two heads are better than one.

If you can, get involved in some kind of peer group. One of the best aspects of the Help to Grow: Management course, aside from the practical business knowledge, expert advice and networking, was the support I received from other partic­i­pants. Business can be lonely, and even though the people around you think they under­stand your feelings, they often don’t. They never had their own business.

My peer group had a wealth of experience. I was able to share my struggles and get advice from like-minded small business owners who had been there and done that, and that was invaluable.