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How we built flinder’s advisory-first offer
Advisory was a clear, logical fit for flinder from the start. But building it right took time. We had to learn about clients and earn their trust. So let’s take it back to the beginning: what did we prioritise and why?
Alastair Barlow
January 24, 2026
With two ex-PwC co-founders and a background in consulting, flinder was always going to be an advisory-focused firm.
But the reason it worked so well as a strategy was that it resonated with clients. We knew our niche sectors well, we learned what clients cared about, and we earned ourselves the position of proactive partner, rather than reactive resource.
Advisory allows you to sit with your clients, rather than opposite them as other firms do. At flinder, this helped reinforce our deep understanding of their business and forged long-lasting retention.
Early followers of my newsletter would have received my mini-series on CIMs. (If you didn’t see it, head to the website and type ‘CIM’ in the search bar to come across all three.)
The CIM that sold flinder engaged rationally and emotionally. (Yep, emotion matters in accounting - and for advisory, in particular.) It showcased why we built the model the way we did: why our service was ‘sticky’, why we’d developed the right pricing strategy, and why the business had longevity and the potential for growing demand.
So let’s rewind back from 2024 when flinder was sold and return to 2017 when flinder was formed as an idea for a business based on mine and Luke’s experiences to date.
What are the key elements to consider when building an advisory-focused firm?