I just participated in a panel discussion on management accounting for professional photographers. Well I was invited, but my contribution was zero (I'll explain in a minute). However the experience brought something to mind that I think is important, so here goes. Having an accountant (and keeping regular management accounts) is like having one leg. A damn sight better than none. But two is much better. The first leg is the data, keeping score. The second leg is analysis: strategising, playing what-if with the numbers, thinking through your options and how they might impact your bottom line. Unfortunately your accountant probably knows very little about your business, so you'll have to grow that second leg yourself. That doesn't mean you can't get ideas from people, or that there aren't tools out there to help you. In fact that's what the two webinars we did recently are about (you can read about them here and here). Years ago my accountant told me that if I wanted to improve my bottom line I should try eating beans instead of steak for a year – I'd save a lot. It's good advice as far as it goes, which is not far enough. Beyond that, however, it's not just that your accountant may not know enough about your business or our industry to offer you strategic advice, they seem very reluctant as a profession to do so. Cheers, Ian PS The reason I never participated in the panel discussion was that the morning seminar program ran late, suddenly it was lunchtime - so "Hey, we'd better end it there". Hmm.