How accountants and banks can work together with Allica Bank

Event information

In today’s economic environment, SMEs face increasing challenges in managing cash flow, securing financing and navigating business banking. Traditional banks are withdrawing support, with over 140,000 business accounts closed in 2023, leaving many business owners struggling to access essential banking services.

Over the last 10 years the closure of high street branches and retrenching of the relationship managers has meant established SMEs depend on their accountants for help. Accountants are stepping up to fill this gap, guiding businesses on their financial health and banking decisions, however they need support too.

Despite the importance of banking conversations, our recent webinar poll with ICAEW showed that only 8% of accountants proactively discuss banking with clients (source: Allica Bank and ICAEW webinar, October 2024). Meanwhile, 46% admitted to not having these discussions at all due to a lack of confidence. This highlights a significant opportunity for accountants to deepen client relationships by offering guidance on banking decisions.

Allica Bank, the UK’s only full-service bank dedicated to established businesses, is addressing this gap with three webinars throughout 2025. In this first session, Sophie Hossack, Head of Partnerships at Allica Bank, will provide actionable insights into how accountants can strengthen their role in banking conversations, collaborate effectively with banks, and enhance their advisory services to better support clients.

You will learn

• Why established SMEs are struggling to access banking services and how this impacts their business.
• How accountants can partner with banks to secure better financial solutions for their clients.
• Practical ways to add value to your client relationships by discussing banking.

Other webinar topics:

• July - From onboarding to risk management: elevate your client services
• November - Financing growth: from savings strategies to lending solutions

About the speaker

Sophie Hossack, Head of Partnerships, Allica Bank Sophie is the Head of Partnerships at Allica Bank, recently named by Deloitte as the UK’s fastest-growing fintech ever. Previously Sophie was part of the founding team at Receipt Bank (Dext), the leading automated bookkeeping platform for accountants and bookkeepers. Sophie spent considerable time working with accountants in the UK and Australia.

CPD hours

ICAEW's revised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Regulations bring in new CPD requirements. This includes a minimum number of hours and an ethics requirement. Attending this webinar could contribute up to 1 hour of verifiable CPD, providing you can demonstrate that the content is relevant to your role.

A copy of the webinar booking confirmation email is accepted as evidence of verifiable CPD. You will need to save the email as a JPEG or PDF before uploading it to your record. Click here to use ICAEW’s self-assessment tool to help you work out how much CPD you will need to fulfil each year.

Costs

There is no charge to attend this event.