Although the process of choosing a new adviser can vary due to the specific circumstances in any case, we set out below the usual steps that you are likely to go through:
 

Step 1:
You will have undertaken your own “homework” to draw up a shortlist of potential advisers. We would recommend that you look through the checklist “Things to ask a potential adviser” when doing this. It is sensible to have reviewed each candidate’s website and asked local banks and legal firms about them in this process.
 
 

Step 2: 
You will probably want to meet someone from the shortlisted firms. We certainly like to meet our prospective clients as early in the process as possible. At that meeting you can explain what it is that you are looking for from the relationship with your advisers. We will want to find out as much as we can about the business, or your financial affairs if you are a private client.
 

So that we do not waste your time, we make the effort to ensure that the person you meet is someone who is appropriate for your needs. This is not always possible, and the initial meeting may give us a very good idea that someone else within Rabjohns would be the right person to take the process further. This will depend on a number of factors but mainly it is down to who we think would be best suited to act as your Client Manager if we are successfully appointed as your advisers.
 

We will always try and fit the location of this meeting around what is convenient to you. Sometimes people want to see what we are all about in our offices, and that sometimes fits with confidentiality issues on their own site. We are delighted to welcome visitors to College Yard. However, our preference is for us to see you on your “home patch” be it an office, factory or whatever. We can get a much better sense of what makes a business tick by walking around it.
 
 

Step 3:
We are often asked at this stage to quote for the work that is proposed, having defined the work at Step 2. With relatively small jobs, or with some specialist projects, we may have enough information available to produce such a quote from the initial meeting. However, for larger jobs, and for audit and accountancy work, it is likely that we will need to arrange a visit your premises to assess your accounting systems with your accounts staff. This visit will normally involved one or two of our Business Solutions team and will rarely last more than half a day.
 
 

Step 4:
Once we have analysed the information from Step 3, we are in a position to present our service and fee proposal to you. In some instances we are asked to send this in writing, in others we are ask to formally present our proposals (in a so called “beauty parade”). Our proposal will usually give a number of referees (clients and other professionals) who you are welcome to contact to ask their opinion of us.
 
 

Step 5:
The next step is down to you, as it is for you to decide whether our proposal will be successful. At this stage, we are very happy providing whatever other information you need to make that decision.
 

We hope that we are successful and we move onto Step 6. However, if we are not, then we will ask you what we could have done better. Very often that conversation will be with someone from Rabjohns who was not directly involved in the proposal process. We really do want you to be absolutely honest with us at that stage.
 
 

Step 6:
On the assumption that we are successful, we now have to deal with the previous advisers. You will need to inform them of your decision to move your account and give them the authority to disclose information to us. We need to know when you have done this. We will then write to the previous advisers asking for professional clearance to act on your behalf and asking for certain hand-over information.

It is likely that they will issue you with a disengagement letter clearly setting out what they are no longer responsible for. It is worth clarifying with them the position with their costs at this stage, and we will be happy to advise you on this.

 

Step 7:
Like all organisations involved in the financial industry, there are some procedures we need to go through to meet the Money Laundering regulations whenever we take on a new client. We try to simplify this as much as possible, it does not take very long and is relatively painless. (Our engagement letter sets out our obligations under this legislation).
 
 

Step 8.
We will then issue you with a Welcome Pack which guides you through how we will look after you as a Rabjohns client and an Engagement Letter which formally sets out the terms of the work for which you have engaged us. We will not be able to start the work before you have signed and returned a copy of this to us.
 

And that is it. We are then in a position to start working with you and building up a working relationship which we hope will last many years.