Q&A: Behind the scenes with our Accounts team

MAPP’s Accounts teams aren’t always in the spotlight, but their diligence and impeccable eye for detail has not gone unnoticed by our clients.

In this Q&A, Natalie Daley and Danny Johnson, both integral members of the MAPP Accounts team, take us through the ins and outs of successfully managing service charges and delivering exceptional results.

1

MAPP has received some great external feedback about our service charge closures statistics. What led to this?

ND: Our service charge closure statistics are some of the best in the industry – we’ve been able to consistently achieve a completion rate of over 90% within four months of the year end, across all of MAPP’s 500+ service charge properties. We work very closely with our external advisors to ensure our service charges are of a high quality and delivered in a timely manner, which reduces risk and exposure for our clients and gives transparency and clarity to their occupiers.

Working together as one team across the business helps us achieve these high standards repeatedly, and we’re delighted that the statistics and the feedback from our clients reflect all the hard work the teams have put in.

DJ: On the collections side, making sure everything is reconciled in a transparent and timely fashion and keeping a constant chain of communication is really important to make sure our clients and occupiers know we’re all on the same page.

If there is an overspend, or if budgets need amending, it’s critical to engage with all parties as soon as possible to ensure a full understanding of the reasons behind the changes, making sure that occupiers continue to pay on time and the building stays operational. It’s a team effort, not just within MAPP, but with our clients and occupiers as well – that mindset is really important, because it creates great results.

2

With over 500 service charge properties to keep track of, how does your team’s approach to staffing resources ensure that every client, occupier and property gets a level of service that fits the brief?

ND: A considerable advantage of our service charge accounting team is that we are based alongside our surveyors. Whilst the majority of the team is in London, we also have Service Charge Accountants in Manchester and Glasgow, so we can collaborate effectively with all our regional property management teams. Whether there’s a tonne of work to get through or there’s an issue with a particular property, we’re able to get together in a room to take care of it.

MAPP’s numbers have grown hugely, and we now have a really great mix of people on our team who’ve given us a lot more capacity and experience. Many of the team are specialists who have been working in this area for a number of years and know our properties and clients inside and out. The range of skills and experience is a huge asset for us when we’re shooting for those high-nineties percentages whilst sticking to the RICS code of best practice.

Working in close proximity to our property management teams means we can quickly resolve any question relating to a service charge and get back to our clients and auditors. We can grab a director, surveyor, facilities manager, or one of the site team, whoever is best placed to answer that particular question right away, and get in a room to work things out. That makes the process much more efficient.

3

What are the most common questions you hear from clients during the closure and collection processes? What about occupiers?

ND: Of course, clients are keen to ensure that we can deliver fair and accurate service charges to their occupiers and that we can do so in a timely manner. Accurate and prompt budgeting helps to head off many of the questions that might come up. We often get questions relating to life cycle or sustainability works, asking how these will affect the service charge, as well as general questions on how we can continually improve the occupier experience.

DJ: Occupiers are equally interested in getting quality, transparency and timeliness, so that they can manage their cash flows efficiently, and finalise their accounts at the earliest possible opportunity. We engage with occupiers both ahead of collections to ensure they have everything they require, and after, to check that everyone is up-to-date and able to see where their money is going.

4

Wherever money is changing hands, communication is naturally key. What procedures does your team follow to keep all stakeholders in the loop and prevent any information about the service charge process from falling through the cracks?

ND: It starts on our own side, within MAPP. We meet with directors weekly to keep them updated on cash flow from all the different properties we manage and make financial decisions. We also meet regularly with portfolio heads and our internal Data team to monitor trackers and scorecards for every client and property that we manage. Having this data allows us to have a clear idea of how any given scenario may play out and identify what questions might come up before they are even asked.

DJ: We’ve developed tools that smooth out the process for all parties. The detailed client packs that we produce at both the budget and the year-end reconciliation stage are a huge help. They provide the required information in a clear and consistent fashion, year after year.

We are always conscious that we are handling other people’s money, so it’s really important that nobody ever feels like they’re getting billed for something that comes out of nowhere. We get in touch with occupiers off the back of all communications relating to service charge budgets and reconciliations, as they’re most likely to have questions about any changes. We speak to occupiers as part of our quarterly collection process to prepare them for what’s coming, then afterwards to catch up on how things went. We also make this information available to anyone else in the business who has a point of contact with those occupiers, giving everyone full visibility of the financial side of keeping properties operational.

"Acting proactively and decisively is key"

5

What advice would you give to prospective clients to make the service charge process as smooth as possible? Are there any common issues you run into that could have a quick solution?

ND: Acting proactively and decisively is key. A lot of issues that we deal with happen because someone wasn’t comfortable making a decision. Our job is to create solutions and provide options for our clients. The best way to make sure everything is addressed is to pick up the phone as soon as possible, even if it’s a difficult conversation.

DJ: It’s all about clarity, transparency and maintaining communications. We need to provide insight and information into the money that keeps these properties operational and safe. When everyone feels like an equal partner and we have client and occupier buy-in, that level of good faith and trust makes all of our jobs much easier.