conflict of interest

System
System Posts: 100,537 🤖 Admin 🤖
edited June 9 in General accounting discussion
I have worked as a self employed bookkeeper for the past two years for about 8 clients. I am considering taking another client whose business is such that they would be in direct competition with one of my existing clients. This is a highly competitive, sales driven, sector. Whilst I obviously do not discuss the business details of my clients with anyone else, I wonder what I should do in this situation. I feel I need to mention my previous experience to my prospective new client in order to help me win the new business, and a feel I should tell my existing client if I am offered the new work - the existing client would probably be quite disgruntled if she found out "through the grapevine". <BR>Any advice greatly appreciated.

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  • System
    System Posts: 100,537 🤖 Admin 🤖
    conflict of interest

    Difficult one, Mary.<BR><BR>You're right. Neither of the two clients are likely to be happy. But you know this already! :o)<BR><BR>You need to decide the risk of your current client finding out if you take this further with the prospective client. Which you may or may not succeed in getting. Chances are if they find out you work for a competitor under the circumstances you've discribed they wont take you on. Paranoia is a powerful force.<BR><BR>However, if accepted by prospective client you then need to decide if you're going to be up front with existing client and ask them if they are happy for you to take on their competitor. <BR><BR>How much you'd earn from new client versus what you currently earn from old client is also a factor.<BR><BR>There's a few variables in this, but good luck.<BR>
  • System
    System Posts: 100,537 🤖 Admin 🤖
    conflict of interest

    I work for a motor dealer in Lancashire. We recently had the same cenario where the accountant who comes it at month end to look at my final accounts had been approaced by a rival firm to perform their accounts duties as-well. To make the problem worse the rival company used to own our company before we bought it back in 2002 (very mixed up). <BR><BR>Although at first glance this item could be seen as a conflict of interest you have to take the view about how often would you discuss another companies affairs with another company? (rival or not).<BR><BR>Although I do not want to sway your decision in any way on what to do in the matter I will let you know that ours was settled by both companies agreeing that the accountant SHOULD carry out the accounts for both companies. So far we have not had any problems & the accountant remains happy with his extra income.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,537 🤖 Admin 🤖
    conflict of interest

    I have three clients that are competitors. They all know about the other two, but know that the service I provide is confidential and they are all quite happy with that. If any of them had doubts about my integrity there could be a problem, but so far everything has been fine.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,537 🤖 Admin 🤖
    conflict of interest

    Thank you everyone for your comments.<BR>As it happens, I decided not to take on the second client. Being in the same type of business, it turned out that both clients required the same tasks to be carried out on the same day each week! <BR>I might have been able to work out the conflict of interest, but I couldn't be in two places at once.<BR>

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