Accountants EXPOSED
By Michael Edelstein
We speak to some of the best practitioners, aspiring young partners and service providers to the industry to discover what it takes to become a partner, how to successfully run a practice, what keeps partners awake at night and some of the latest trends, tips and tricks in the industry.
Accountants EXPOSEDFeb 09, 2021
Win the War for Talent: the Monetary & Non-Monetary Ways
At this year's Accounting Business Expo in Melbourne, I presented on the ever important topic of talent but with a focus on non-monetary benefits as a retention tool (well, because they’re kind of free and accountants keep asking me, Michael - how can I compete with the big firms that have way more resources to throw around):
Below is a short snippet talking about some of the non-monetary benefits you can incorporate into your firm.
As a recruitment professional and an accountant myself I wanted to present everyone with facts that would aid the remarkable accountants in this industry not just in servicing our clients but also in making sure they can attract the right talent and improve their employee retention,, which in the long run would help us build a much better practice.
For the full speech please go to our Youtube channel.
Title: Win the War for Talent: the Monetary & Non-Monetary Ways
What are the current issues and trends in the marketplace?
Why are some firms doing so much better than others when it comes to recruitment and retention – monetary and non-monetary?
What changes can you make to improve your recruitment and retention strategies?
Speech by:
Michael Edelstein of Accountants Exposed Podcast and Recruitment Expert
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥: https://lnkd.in/g7_QZzE
#AccountingBusinessExpo2024 #ABE #AccountingConference #AccountingExpo
Robotic Process Automation and Digital Transformation: What the Future of Accounting looks like! (Most Viewed Recap)
In this day and age of technology, what does the future hold for the accounting industry? John Waterworth - the managing director of Valenta Australia sits down with us to help us understand more about what robotics for Accounting Firms especially during a time of critical staff shortage.
Join us as you won’t want to miss this episode where John tells all about the backbone of robotic process automation (RPA), and how you can implement in your practice to save costs, find efficiencies and improve client service! We discussed topics such as:
- Getting into robotics in the accounting industry and his journey in automation
- Challenges with automation
- How RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is different from AI and what digital transformation is all about
- Using RPA and how it compares to other software processes
- Cost of building a new process and who benefits the most from it
- Backlash against against robots vs the reality
- Where AI and natural language technologies started and the future of RPA
"One of the biggest hurdles I guess is just freeing up people from being chained to the computer, doing those repetitive tasks.”
Show Notes
John Waterworth, with 25 years of experience in leadership, digital transformation and cyber security is an expert when it comes to all things automation. He is focused on helping businesses adopt RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and Artificial Intelligence to achieve sustainable profitability. His goal: to drive growth and profitability using the emerging technology!
Quick facts:
- Serial Entrepreneur
- Speaker at the Accounting Business Expo 2022
Contact Info
To find out more about how RPA can benefit your firm you can contact John directly at john.waterworth@valenta.io or on his mobile 0403 035 656.
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Mobile: 0421 892 145
Matthew Addison - The Future of Bookkeeping and Why It Will Continue to Survive and Thrive ( Most Viewed Recap )
You don't want to miss this, listen to one of our most clicked and viewed podcast episode right now.
Bookkeeping, just like any other profession, has come a long way. From manual records to all the fancy AI software available nowadays, how will bookkeepers keep up? Is the digital era really a threat to the bookkeeping space or is it an opportunity? Our guest, Matthew Addison from the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers will give us the answer to all these questions.
Join us as Matthew shares why he chose to be a bookkeeping advocate and its importance to the accounting industry. Some more of the topics we discussed include:
- Being a partner in his own accounting/bookkeeping firm whilst being an advocate for the bookkeeping industry
- The ideal accounting and bookkeeping model
- Classic bookkeeping vs modern bookkeeping
- Bookkeeping practice and regulation and the differences with other countries
- Digital bookkeeping and automation and the impact its had on the industry and clients
- Why bookkeeping survived and thrived amidst the rise of automation software
- Biggest threats and opportunities for bookkeeper
- Thoughts on offshoring in the space
"A practical challenge in the bookkeeping space at the moment is narrowing your scope- Becoming an expert in a few, not trying to be an expert in everything available to you.”
Show Notes
Matthew Addison started his accounting journey in a Big 4 firm which he deems as his ‘breeding ground’ but later on chose to be a passionate advocate for the bookkeeping space back in 1990. He’s an all around expert in the industry with years of experience in accounting, tax, payroll, business advisory and software accounting solutions. He aims to bring modern solutions to modern problems and let people know that bookkeeping is here to stay and that Bookkeeping is not a pathway to becoming an accountant, Bookkeeping is a profession of its own.
Quick facts:
- The chair and co-founder of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers in Australia, a professional association for Bookkeepers
- Has been recently appointed as a Director of COSBOA (Council of Small Business Organisations Australia)
- Involved in the development of: Business Accounting Software, Software Company Partner Programs and the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (recognition of Bookkeepers as Registered BAS Agents).
- Co-Chair of the ATO Tax Practitioner Stewardship Group (2018-2021), member of the ATO BAS Agents Advisory Group and the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) Consultative Forum.
Sonia Gibson - When Is The Right Time To Start Your Own Accounting Firm & How To Go About It? (Most Viewed Recap)
A recap of one of our most viewed episode so far:
What a way to start 2023 with our first guest of the year - Sonia Gibson. She is a visionary accounting professional and the Founder of Accounting Heart - which is proudly an all female firm. We get a sneak peek of her accounting journey, her business acumen and her passion for finances and helping smaller businesses achieve their financial goals.
Listen in and to learn more about Sonia and some of the struggles she faced following her path as an accountant and how her commitment to the industry and her clients has helped her build a solid foundation of success.
Some of the topics we talked about are:
- Her inspiration and initial interest in accounting - how does one start?
- Commerce vs Public Practice - going back and forth and her early dream of becoming a Partner
- What would she have done differently and how much experience do you actually need to start your own practice?
- The things you learn as a partner and why she decided to go solo
- Do corporate values actually mean anything?
- Assessing client fees on a macro level and the struggles of charging fees effectively
- Benchmarking salaries and increases - how to make the numbers make sense.
- Reaching firm maturity, how long does it actually take?
- Comparison between solo practice and a multi-partner established firm
- Strategise and Build. The secret to a stable team and how improving staff relationships will help you in the long run
- Networking - Build build build!
- Importance of a good administrator/practice manager and a competent team
- Software talk - the beauty of automation
- Utilising people's values, making better decisions, and highlighting femininity
- Coaching - tips on how to find the right business coach for you and the great thing about reaching out
Contact Info
You can find out more about Sonia Gibson and her firm Accounting Heart from their website: https://www.accountingheart.com.au/
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Mobile: 0421 892 145
Alistair Marshall - Attracting & Retaining Talent through Business Development
I was at the Accountants Business Expo this year and I happened to encounter this remarkable guy, who talked about ‘How to use Business Development for Staff Retention’, and I immediately knew I had to bring him on as a guest. Alistair Marshall, Director of Professional Services BD is here to teach us proven and effective Business Development strategies in Professional Services to grow a practice - from a client and staff perspective.
Here are some of the topics we discussed during this episode:
Staff retention and it’s connection to marketing
Business development and how smaller firms utilizes it
The current struggle of firms when it comes to hiring new employees and keeping them.
The world of the digitally empowered buyers and the strength in client service
Intersection of Accounting and Law - diving into the similarities and cultural differences between the two professions
Negative aspects of the ‘one stop shop accounting firm’ model
Biggest issues the typical SMEs come up against
Growing your practice with proven & effective business development strategies
Client Business Reviews sit downs and Fixed Fees
Why you need a mentor, and the need to start something
Marketing and how to get young people on board
"You don't learn anything by talking.”
Show Notes
Zane Carm? (You both mentioned you follow him)
Profile
Alistair Marshall has a 30 year experience in helping law, engineering, accounting, and other professionals attract clients and is a trusted expert when it comes to Management, Business Development, Marketing and Public Speaking. Being a business consultant for years now, his main goal is to help more professional service firms maximise their growth and has successfully helped more than thousands of professionals and hundreds of firms to build their practice, and achieve their revenue goals. His aim? To transform your business culture.
Some quick facts:
He has worked in national business development roles for multinational corporations, with responsibility for budgets in excess of A$100m.
Past National Board member of the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association.
Keynote speaker for Law & Accounting events
Contact Info
You can find out more about Alistair Marshall and his firm Professional Services BD from their website: https://www.professionalservicesbd.com.au/
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Mobile: 0421 892 145
Peter Lalor - Building a $1 Billion Dollar Accounting Brand whilst sharing the wealth with your staff! (Most Viewed Recap)
A recap of one of our most viewed episode so far:
First of all - you have to check out Blue Rock’s website - it’s out of this world (click on the link below)! This ‘picture’ will paint a thousand words about our guest Peter Lalor from Blue Rock who shares his incredible vision and the journey towards materialising it.
Join us in this episode as Peter shares his insights into leadership and what it takes to build a distinctive brand from nothing to a billion dollar firm, and many more things:
- How a creative person like him thought of joining the accounting industry
- Why he decided to pursue a multidisciplinary accounting form model
- The first year journey of BlueRock and it's temporary setbacks
- Which tools have had the biggest impact on the firm
- Advice on what makes a firm successful, how to add value for your customers and the pillars of growth
- How to set a clear version for your business, and his BlueRock 3030 Vision
- Getting the right people on board
- Designing a successful grad program
- Balance a fast growing business, family and hobbies and his take on working long hours
- Future of technology in the accounting industry
“I'd rather build a legacy where people feel like they've come in well, and they've left well.”
“If you build it they will come. And it's all about building a great ecosystem to excel and the rest will sort itself out.”
Profile
Peter Lalor is an experienced Company Director with a demonstrated history of working with entrepreneurial business owners since his 20’s. He is passionate about thinking differently and about technology in the Accounting industry. His keenness for growth and opportunity to help entrepreneurs and develop a strong client community and his value and purpose are admirable. His vision - to work with smart people to break the rules!
Show Notes
- Blue Rock
- Asana
- My prosperity
- Xero
- APS
- XPM - Xero Practice Manager
- Managing the Professional Service Firm by David Maister
- One Thing You Need to Know: About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham
- The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone
- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Kyelie Baxter - Modern Day Accounting: How to Stand Out and Achieve Utmost Efficiency (Most Viewed Recap)
A recap of one of our most viewed episode so far:
Our fantastic guest this week - Kyelie Baxter - an award winning accounting professional from IQ Accountants who became a partner at a younger age than most - is finally here! In this episode, she passes on her knowledge, experience, and the secrets to standing out in this competitive industry. She also provides useful advice on how we can cope with the overwhelming changes in the industry and more importantly, how to embrace technology.
Join us and take this opportunity to learn more about Kyelie and some of the innovating things she is doing through her commitment to the industry, her firm and her clients. We discussed topics such as:
- What her path was like as an award winning accounting professional
- Standing out in the accounting industry and building a unique process
- Programs that helped improve efficiency and getting into bookkeeping
- Achieving exceptional client growth
- What she loves about accounting
- Being a mother and a practitioner and how to achieve work life balance and why it's important
- Finding the right people - challenges and processes
- Their workflow, client services and her take on automation
- Maintaining culture in a hybrid work set up and rules for engagement
- Increasing fees and letting go of clients
- Her thoughts about offshoring
- Modern era accounting - the biggest changes and the downsides of it
- Timesaving and the 'Zero Email' work habit
"We're not married to anything, we embrace change”
“If you're going to back anyone, back yourself”
Show Notes
- MYOB
- Slack
- Kyber
- Intuit
- Dext
- How I work podcast by Amantha Imber
- ReMarkable
- Lynda Steffens
Kyelie Baxter, packing 20 years of experience in public practice (who actually wanted to work in retail!) is a no nonsense accountant. She is driven and passionate about what she does and has successfully built her own amazing team for all types of business. She specialises in taxation, and has been dedicated to the industry. Her goal - to be able to simplify the accounting process for clients!
Quick facts:
- Back to back winner of Australian Accounting Awards in 2020 and 2019 Partner of the Year (Boutique Firm), MYOB 2019 Certified Consultant of the Year and 2018 MYOB Accountant of the Year and a past Telstra Business Women's Awards finalist
Rob Nixon - Growing your firm to $1m profit per Partner while working less than 500 hours (Most Viewed Recap)
A recap of our most viewed episode so far!
On this episode, we talk about all the things accountants could be doing better and where they're going wrong. Mistakes that are costing them huge potential increases in revenue, profits and lifestyle.
Now, Rob Nixon is not an accountant. Yet he has forged a niche to be one of the world’s foremost authorities on how accounting firms can achieve peak performance and his clients on average see profit increases of 98.4% from revenue increases of only 20.8% while working fewer hours with simple tweaks in workflow and technology.
He is an entrepreneur who has been running successful businesses since 1986. Since 1994 he has been running businesses that specialise in helping Accountants run better, more profitable businesses.
Accountants intrigue Rob and over the years he has trained them, consulted to them, coached them, researched them and visited thousands of them. All in the pursuit of what works and what does not work. He believes accountants are the natural trusted advisor to business and can help their client’s build amazing businesses. He also believes accountants don't earn enough for how smart they are, the value they add and the risks they take.
His speaking work has taken him around the world where he has spoken to in excess of 170,000 accountants. Currently, his products and strategies are used by accountants in over 30 countries. His landmark ideas and strategies are adopted by thousands of large and small firms all over the world.
In 2005 he created the revolutionary coaching model called Coachingclub. The Coachingclub model enabled firms to be accountable, to consistently learn and to share ideas amongst their peers. So far over 800 accounting firms have graduated from his Coachingclub program. The vast majority of firms have doubled or tripled profits because of the program.
He has personally coached over 500 firms and helped them add more nearly $1 Billion of new profit.
He is the author of 4 bestselling books Accounting Practices Don’t Add Up, Remaining Relevant, The Perfect Firm and his most recent book The Wealthy Accountant. All have received rave reviews from Accountants and industry professionals from around the world.
Rob is a keen golfer, adventurer and cyclist. He is ticket holder no. 293 to go into space on Virgin Galactic and he lives in sunny Brisbane, Australia with his lovely wife Natalie and 3 children.
You can find out more about Rob Nixon on his website: www.robnixon.com
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Attracting and Retaining Talent - ABE Melbourne 2023
Aside from meeting and listening to some of the most amazing speakers, I also had the pleasure to present my own speech at the Accounting Business Expo in Melbourne this year.
Some of the topics that I discussed included:
1) What are the commonalities between those that have too many accountants knocking on their door and those that hear crickets!
2) Why do some firms seem to have Remarkable Retention and others have Atrocious Attrition?
3) What changes can you make in your firm to improve your recruiting and retention strategies?
4) Future of the accounting industry when it comes to talent!
𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤?
As a recruitment professional and an accountant myself - I wanted to present everyone with numbers, evidence and questions that would aid us in becoming remarkable industry leaders not just in servicing our clients but in making sure that employee engagement and retention is top notch, which in the long run would help us build a much better practice.
For more videos and interviews please go to our Youtube channel or Linkedin page.
Speech by:
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHgSr19ZA8CTPoQlCbaopJA
𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭:
#AccountingBusinessExpo2023 #ABE #AccountingConference #AccountingExpo
Brett Kelly - Part 1 - How to get motivated and stay motivated in Business, Life And Family (Most Viewed Recap)
A recap of one of our most viewed episode so far. No matter how many times you listen to these episodes, you will surely learn something new every time- don't forget to watch part 2!
Brett Kelly is the Partner of one of the largest accounting firms in Australia , they are BRW Top 25 largest accounting firms in Australia with over 40 Directors and over 200 staff. Brett Kelly has more than twenty years commercial and professional accountancy experience. He specialises in assisting individuals and families who own private businesses. Brett founded Kelly+Partners Chartered Accountants in 2006 and over the past 14 years has grown the business to become the largest private business specialist accounting network in the Greater Sydney area. In June 2017, Kelly+Partners Group Holdings Limited listed on the ASX.
Contact Info You can find out more about Brett Kelly and his firm Kelly+Partners from their website: www.kellypartners.com.au
To find out more about Recruitment Expert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Sonia Gibson - When Is The Right Time To Start Your Own Accounting Firm & How To Go About It?
What a way to start 2023 with our first guest of the year - Sonia Gibson. She is a visionary accounting professional and the Founder of Accounting Heart - which is proudly an all female firm. We get a sneak peek of her accounting journey, her business acumen and her passion for finances and helping smaller businesses achieve their financial goals.
Listen in and to learn more about Sonia and some of the struggles she faced following her path as an accountant and how her commitment to the industry and her clients has helped her build a solid foundation of success.
Some of the topics we talked about are:
- Her inspiration and initial interest in accounting - how does one start?
- Commerce vs Public Practice - going back and forth and her early dream of becoming a Partner
- What would she have done differently and how much experience do you actually need to start your own practice?
- The things you learn as a partner and why she decided to go solo
- Do corporate values actually mean anything?
- Assessing client fees on a macro level and the struggles of charging fees effectively
- Benchmarking salaries and increases - how to make the numbers make sense.
- Reaching firm maturity, how long does it actually take?
- Comparison between solo practice and a multi-partner established firm
- Strategise and Build. The secret to a stable team and how improving staff relationships will help you in the long run
- Networking - Build build build!
- Importance of a good administrator/practice manager and a competent team
- Software talk - the beauty of automation
- Utilising people's values, making better decisions, and highlighting femininity
- Coaching - tips on how to find the right business coach for you and the great thing about reaching out
Contact Info
You can find out more about Sonia Gibson and her firm Accounting Heart from their website: https://www.accountingheart.com.au/
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Mobile: 0421 892 145
Designing Your Firm for Balance: Dealing with Overwhelm & Loving what You Do
Our fantastic guest this week - Amanda Gascoigne with her own coaching business Amanda Gascoigne Consulting is a highly recommended consultant and is currently considered as one of the best practitioners who turned coach - and has many accolades to back it up! In this episode, she shares her knowledge, experience, and the struggles of balancing family life and the demands of public practice especially as a female in the male dominated accounting world.
Join us and do not miss this episode where Amanda tells us where, why and how she started her journey and her shift to consulting. We also discussed topics such as:
- Changes in the accounting world, from being a male dominant industry to having more female accountants
- Reasons for shifting from the traditional career path
- Leaving a firm amicably and building your own
- What made her sell her practice five years ago at a fairly young age and pursue coaching
- The time she knew she wanted to do something different and how to keep up with a changing industry
- Her overwhelm point and the key to proper discipline
- How to run a business with a family member
- Things she does not recommend in a multi partner firm and the ideal model you should use
- The impact of accounting technology
- Finding the right people for your accounting firm
- What will happen next in the accounting industry with more remote workers and offshoring and what to watch out for
"I want people to actually love what they do”
Show Notes
- MYOB
- Ignition
- Xero
- Quickbooks
- Orange IQ
- The Balance Firm Community
- Any Ordinary Day: What Happens After the Worst Day of Your Life? by Leigh Sales
- Untapped: Break through the fear & grow your revenue from existing clients
Amanda Gascoigner started her career in public practice with one of the top firms in NSW and went on to open and sell her own successful practice. She is driven and passionate about what she does, and is a huge advocate of embracing changes and following your dreams no matter where you are in life. She is dedicated to helping small and solo accounting practice owners achieve their goals and help them reach financial freedom. Her motto - Own your journey NOW!
Quick facts:
- Founder of her former practice Gascoigne Consulting Pty Ltd back in 1999
- Voted Top 50 Women in Accounting multiple times
- Currently an Advisor, Advocate and Consultant for Accounting Practices & Small Business with CAANZ & ATO
Why you can't find good staff and what to do about it - Michael Edelstein at the 2022 ABE
Aside from having the chance to interview some of the most amazing speakers during the 2-day conference, I also had the opportunity to speak at the Accounting Business Expo.
Here is a little snippet of my session, titled: 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕.
Some of the topics I touched on include:
1) What are the commonalities between those that have too many accountants knocking on their door and those that hear crickets!
2) Why do some firms seem to have Remarkable Retention and others have Atrocious Attrition?
3) What changes can you make in your firm to improve your recruiting and retention strategies?
4) Future of the accounting industry when it comes to talent!
𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤? As a recruitment professional and an accountant myself - I wanted to present everyone with numbers, evidence and questions that would aid us in becoming remarkable industry leaders not just in servicing our clients but in making sure that employee engagement and retention is top notch, which in the long run would help us build a much better practice.
For more videos and interviews please go to our Youtube channel or Linkedin page.
𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐲: Michael Edelstein Accountants Exposed Podcast Recruitment Expert
𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭:
- Rita Nehme
- Mausumi Barooah
#AccountingBusinessExpo2022 #ABE #AccountingConference #AccountingExpo #AccountantsExposed #RecruitmentExpert
The Future of Bookkeeping and Why It Will Continue to Survive and Thrive
Bookkeeping, just like any other profession, has come a long way. From manual records to all the fancy AI software available nowadays, how will bookkeepers keep up? Is the digital era really a threat to the bookkeeping space or is it an opportunity? Our guest, Matthew Addison from the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers will give us the answer to all these questions.
Join us as Matthew shares why he chose to be a bookkeeping advocate and its importance to the accounting industry. Some more of the topics we discussed include:
- Being a partner in his own accounting/bookkeeping firm whilst being an advocate for the bookkeeping industry
- The ideal accounting and bookkeeping model
- Classic bookkeeping vs modern bookkeeping
- Bookkeeping practice and regulation and the differences with other countries
- Digital bookkeeping and automation and the impact its had on the industry and clients
- Why bookkeeping survived and thrived amidst the rise of automation software
- Biggest threats and opportunities for bookkeeper
- Thoughts on offshoring in the space
"A practical challenge in the bookkeeping space at the moment is narrowing your scope- Becoming an expert in a few, not trying to be an expert in everything available to you.”
Show Notes
Matthew Addison started his accounting journey in a Big 4 firm which he deems as his ‘breeding ground’ but later on chose to be a passionate advocate for the bookkeeping space back in 1990. He’s an all around expert in the industry with years of experience in accounting, tax, payroll, business advisory and software accounting solutions. He aims to bring modern solutions to modern problems and let people know that bookkeeping is here to stay and that Bookkeeping is not a pathway to becoming an accountant, Bookkeeping is a profession of its own.
Quick facts:
- The chair and co-founder of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers in Australia, a professional association for Bookkeepers
- Has been recently appointed as a Director of COSBOA (Council of Small Business Organisations Australia)
- Involved in the development of: Business Accounting Software, Software Company Partner Programs and the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (recognition of Bookkeepers as Registered BAS Agents).
- Co-Chair of the ATO Tax Practitioner Stewardship Group (2018-2021), member of the ATO BAS Agents Advisory Group and the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) Consultative Forum.
Modern Day Accounting: How to Stand Out and Achieve Utmost Efficiency
Our fantastic guest this week - Kyelie Baxter - an award winning accounting professional from IQ Accountants who became a partner at a younger age than most - is finally here! In this episode, she passes on her knowledge, experience, and the secrets to standing out in this competitive industry. She also provides useful advice on how we can cope with the overwhelming changes in the industry and more importantly, how to embrace technology.
Join us and take this opportunity to learn more about Kyelie and some of the innovating things she is doing through her commitment to the industry, her firm and her clients. We discussed topics such as:
- What her path was like as an award winning accounting professional
- Standing out in the accounting industry and building a unique process
- Programs that helped improve efficiency and getting into bookkeeping
- Achieving exceptional client growth
- What she loves about accounting
- Being a mother and a practitioner and how to achieve work life balance and why it's important
- Finding the right people - challenges and processes
- Their workflow, client services and her take on automation
- Maintaining culture in a hybrid work set up and rules for engagement
- Increasing fees and letting go of clients
- Her thoughts about offshoring
- Modern era accounting - the biggest changes and the downsides of it
- Timesaving and the 'Zero Email' work habit
"We're not married to anything, we embrace change”
“If you're going to back anyone, back yourself”
Show Notes
Kyelie Baxter, packing 20 years of experience in public practice (who actually wanted to work in retail!) is a no nonsense accountant. She is driven and passionate about what she does and has successfully built her own amazing team for all types of business. She specialises in taxation, and has been dedicated to the industry. Her goal - to be able to simplify the accounting process for clients!
Quick facts:
- Back to back winner of Australian Accounting Awards in 2020 and 2019 Partner of the Year (Boutique Firm), MYOB 2019 Certified Consultant of the Year and 2018 MYOB Accountant of the Year and a past Telstra Business Women's Awards finalist
Crypto for Accountants
According to analysis, 1 out of 4 Australians hold crypto assets and it's going to increase exponentially in the next few years and currently, not many of us in the accounting industry are knowledgeable about the booming digital asset world- we are getting overwhelmed! But as it's becoming a more popular source of wealth/income for all kinds of people nowadays, it's something that we need to delve into to give proper advice to our clients in need. How do we account for crypto? Is it taxable? Today, we will try to bridge the gap and ensure that accountants walk away knowing what they should be looking for.
This webinar is here to unpack what crypto is all about (not just for criminals or a fad – blockchain is here to stay) – something accountants need to get a handle on as many of their clients will be holding it, but with little guidance and a lot of confusion.
Our expert panel members today are: Danny Talwar of Koinly, Michael Bacina from Piper Alderman and Greg Valles of Valles Accountants
Here are the topics covered on this webinar:
- How our 3 guests got involved in cryptocurrency
- Why we should be paying attention to crypto now
- Common misconceptions when it comes to crypto and blockchain
- The concept of staking, coin wrapping and doxxing
- Scams and criminalities - the problem with anonymity
- Lay of the land when it comes to crypto & tax
- Taxing digital assets (crypto coins, NFT, staking etc…) - income vs capital, CGT issues etc…
- State of regulation right now, ATO Guidance & Board of Taxation Review
- Tax Controversy and protecting your clients
- Issues for Consumers, Accountants, Lawyers/Companies
- What are the issues at the moment – volatility, not fit for purposes, people being stung twice by staking – what are the alternatives?
- What are the various global approaches and how do they compare to Australia?
- What do accountants actually need to know?
- DAO’s
- NFT’s, DAO's, DEFI and all the other acronyms you see
Show Notes:
Robotic Process Automation and Digital Transformation: What the Future of Accounting looks like!
In this day and age of technology, what does the future hold for the accounting industry? John Waterworth - the managing director of Valenta Australia sits down with us to help us understand more about what robotics for Accounting Firms especially during a time of critical staff shortage.
Join us as you won’t want to miss this episode where John tells all about the backbone of robotic process automation (RPA), and how you can implement in your practice to save costs, find efficiencies and improve client service! We discussed topics such as:
- Getting into robotics in the accounting industry and his journey in automation
- Challenges with automation
- How RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is different from AI and what digital transformation is all about
- Using RPA and how it compares to other software processes
- Cost of building a new process and who benefits the most from it
- Backlash against against robots vs the reality
- Where AI and natural language technologies started and the future of RPA
"One of the biggest hurdles I guess is just freeing up people from being chained to the computer, doing those repetitive tasks.”
Show Notes
John Waterworth, with 25 years of experience in leadership, digital transformation and cyber security is an expert when it comes to all things automation. He is focused on helping businesses adopt RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and Artificial Intelligence to achieve sustainable profitability. His goal: to drive growth and profitability using the emerging technology!
Quick facts:
- Serial Entrepreneur
- Speaker at the Accounting Business Expo 2022
Contact Info
To find out more about how RPA can benefit your firm you can contact John directly at john.waterworth@valenta.io or on his mobile 0403 035 656.
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Mobile: 0421 892 145
Business Advisory: What You Think Is Advisory, Isn’t What Your Clients Want!
Struggling to figure out how to add more value to your clients? Retain your staff better? Increase profitability? Our guest today Lynda Steffens from The Small Business Project might just have the solution for you. No it’s not tax returns or cash flows or any kind of fancy dashboards you usually expect when you hear advisory - but a revolutionary way of approaching and implementing advisory as a service in your business.
If that’s got you curious, join us as Lynda uses her experience from practice and coaching methodologies to explain the core of advisory and how you can successfully and systematically implement it in your practice. Some of the topics we discussed include:
- Why advisory won't increase the value of your firm
- The right approach to advisory and moving your firm forward
- The prep work, process and timeframe of offering advisory
- ROI and other benefits of doing advisory
- The struggles with attracting and retaining young accountants
- Falling out of love with the technical aspect of accounting
- Emotional IQ leadership, the four pillars of framework and coaching methodology
- What she would have done differently throughout her career
"Essentially at its core, advisory is anything you don't have to do.”
Show Notes
- The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth Hardcover by Amy Edmonson
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey
- The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
Lynda Steffens fell in love with accounting when she was 14, which is earlier than most people we know. And now with 25 years of experience, she is still passionate in assisting clients achieve their goals and just in general enjoys helping fellow accountants especially the next-generation to do things differently and expand their skill set. Her motto: to always make a difference and embrace progress!
Quick facts:
- Used to have her own firm, LS Accountants which she sold
- The Director of Intuitive Practice alongside with her founded company The Small Business Project
- Author of the book “Accounting Revolution” and wrote the article “Embrace Change Now or Risk Losing Everything”
- A qualified SMJ Speaker
Part 2: Making Accounting Firms Great Again - A Talk About Leadership And Collaboration
Brett Kelly, CEO of one of the fastest growing accounting firms in Australia, is back by popular demand, rated as one of the top podcasts we recorded, we’re glad to have him back for a meaningful conversation that will have you hooked and wanting more.
Sit back and watch as we present our first ever video podcast where Brett opens up about his plans, ideas and worthwhile sentiments about the accounting industry.
- His Covid response and what has been happening for the past 2 years in the industry and how Kelly Partners has proven that his business is recession and pandemic proof
- How to take care of your people with and without a pandemic
- The secret to good teamwork and great leadership
- His take on discrimination - ageism, sexism and homophobia
- Flexibility vs. keeping it status quo
- Prediction for the next 12 months
- Secret sauce to Kelly Partners fast growth - their firm structure and how they compare to the rest of the industry
- Bottom up vs. top down leadership
- Organic growth of firms and acquisitions
- Managing multiple partners and equity
- What you need to do when you take over a firm
- His new 10-year plan
"I said to investors, "I genuinely believe this is a recession proof business", it's very well structured and I took the pandemic as an opportunity to prove the strength and fitness of the business and our people, and prove the business was pandemic proof."
Contact Info
You can find out more about Brett Kelly and his firm Kelly+Partners from their website: www.kellypartners.com.au
To find out more about Recruitment Expert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Steve Meyn - Leadership & Longevity - Lessons Learned Over 30 Years
We’ve heard many stories and advice about leadership, but our guest Steve Meyn - a 30+ year partner of PKF Lawler, helps us uncover what it really takes to get to partnership and what it takes to stay there and lead from the front in this ever changing industry.
Listen in as Steve opens up about his passion, loyalty, hardships and many more topics and plenty of invaluable advice for accountants young and old:
- Finding accounting work exciting and how it has changed over the years
- What it takes to become a partner in a modern firm and how to fast track it
- Impact of tech, automation on client relationships and profitability
- The ecosystem approach to practice management and workflow and his strategic initiatives
- Inter-generational wealth transition and the human aspect of it
- What exactly is succession planning and how to do it well
- What it's like staying in one firm long term and why
- Collaborative leadership and what makes a great leader
- Lawler Partners' journey becoming PKF and how accounting firms shuffle and brand themselves
"You don't have to have all the answers but what you got to do is have the people around you that can help you get the answers”
Show Notes
Steve Meyn is an experienced accountant and leader with over 30 years of experience in the industry. He is passionate about improving businesses and helping the owners. He became a partner at a young age and boasts waking up everyday and loving what he does!
Quick facts:
- Has been with PKF since 1989 and Managing Director for most of that time
- PKF Australia Chair since March 2022
Contact Info
You can find out more about Steve Meyn and his firm PKF from their website: https://www.pkf.com.au/
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Mobile: 0421 892 145
“Connect and profit at Australia’s biggest exhibition and conference for the fast-changing World of Accounting, Business, Finance and Money!
Accounting Business Expo is back and set to take place in-person on 28 & 29 April at the ICC in Sydney. The market is evolving continually at a rapid pace with new solutions, product developments, and trends designed to enhance the way you do business. Don't miss your chance to get up to speed and join Australia’s largest, most comprehensive, and ground-breaking event for savvy, forward thinking accounting and finance.
Visit www.accountingbusiness.com.au to book your FREE spot!”
Kylie Parker - The Twitter Accountant - The Accountant to the Stars, Startups and Superstars!
Our guest, the remarkable Kylie Parker from Lotus Accountants imparts her knowledge and experience as an accountant, a partner, a business founder and a woman on all aspects of her career and personal life. If you are curious on how she built her firm without any marketing within this unique niche, then you won’t want to miss this episode.
- Running a highly profitable sole practitioner firm vs trying to grow for the sake of growth, and which makes you happier
- Reasons for starting her firm and the unique structure she used to organically grow it
- Her journey into the accounting industry, working from small to mid tier to Big 4 firms as as being a sole practitioner and her advice to young accountants
- Being a very structured and organised person and and how she finds and a creative outlet in accounting and in her life
- What she would be doing if she was not an accountant and her side hustles
- Importance of networking and nurturing professional relationships and how she goes about doing that
- Her books and advice on insurance, divorce, and prenups
- Canceling out people and the answer to the question- ‘Do female partners differ in terms of managing the firm?’
- Why she prefers the ‘no marketing and referral only’ type of firm
“If someone's passionate and wants to help and wants to learn, they're a pleasure to work with. Because they always go above and beyond”
“Connect and profit at Australia’s biggest exhibition and conference for the fast-changing World of Accounting, Business, Finance and Money!
Accounting Business Expo is back and set to take place in-person on 28 & 29 April at the ICC in Sydney. The market is evolving continually at a rapid pace with new solutions, product developments, and trends designed to enhance the way you do business. Don't miss your chance to get up to speed and join Australia’s largest, most comprehensive, and ground-breaking event for savvy, forward thinking accounting and finance.
Visit www.accountingbusiness.com.au to book your FREE spot!”
Michelle Knight - The Instagram Accountant - Secrets to Successful Lead Generation!
The self proclaimed ‘millennial accountant’ - our guest, Michelle Knight from Little Miss Bookkeeping shares everything there is to know about growing your own business, following your heart and using social media to drive leads and lifestyle!
Get comfortable as Michelle talks about her passion for business, her profession and just life in general:
- How she handles more than 100 clients with 3 offshore staff
- Dealing with old school clients during this WFH era
- Offshoring and her experience working with a BPO company
- Useful software, SEO and marketing her way through social media and streaming platforms
- Lead generation secrets
- What she would be doing is she was not an accountant or bodybuilder and what made her leave the industry
- Founding and growing her online and bookkeeping business at the same time and finding balance between multiple businesses and life
- Business partnerships and how to maintain good relationships
- Supporting her clients during the pandemic
- Dealing with day to day challenges
- What differentiates a great bookkeeper from an average one and her end goal
"I enjoy helping new business owners and existing business owners to a level where everything is nice and clean.”
Show Notes
- Aura Eve Pty Ltd
- BDO
- Little Miss Bookkeeping
- Practice Ignition
- Xero
- Carbon
- Slack
- Asana
- BlueRock
- Toastmasters
- Finance Yourself Academy
- Dext
- Tax Nuggets Academy by Joyce Ong
- Showpo
- Accounting Business Expo
You can find out more about Michelle Knight and her firm Little Miss Bookkeeping from their website: https://littlemissbookkeeping.com.au/
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Mobile: 0421 892 145
Gary Shamis - Strategy vs Execution: How to build a $100M firm within a single niche
As part of our international expansion we’re pleased to have our first American guest Gary Shamis from Winding River Consulting sharing all there is to know about how to effectively lead a business in the modern era where baby boomers are running firms populated by millenials.
Gary is a global powerhouse when it comes to leadership training for accounting firms and trains partners from all over the world, especially focusing on what it means to be an effective Managing Partner.
Listen in as he reveals the blueprint to successful leadership in an accounting firm and the how to’s that will help you achieve your goals. Here are some of the topics we discussed in this episode:
- Journey from medicine to accounting
- Taking over his father's small fee based firm and growing it to one of the top firms in the US
- Running a tax centric firm as an auditor and the struggles he had to go through
- Picking your niche and his secret to expanding his firm
- The three foundations of his firm that created multiple revenue streams
- Difference between plain strategy and effective execution
- Identifying top talent - what to look for and how to let go of employees
- The baby boomer and millenials of accounting and the cultural differences of partners around the world
- What advice he thinks accounting firms and accounting partners struggle to accept and implement
- The biggest difference and the challenges between being a managing partner and a regular partner and what differentiates a successful Managing Partner from a failing one
- The changes that he thinks had the most impact in the accounting industry
- A few practical tips on hiring virtual staff
"I had a really simple philosophy which was - every year I wanted to be better than I was a year ago and all I wanted to do was continually improve knowing it's never good enough and it could always be better"
“You can't make a bad investment on a great person”
Click the link for more info: https://recruitmentexpert.com.au/podcast/strategy-vs-execution-how-to-build-a-100m-firm-within-a-single-niche/
Natalie Lennon - The ‘TikTok Accountant’ - going out on her own and using the latest tech to deal with rapid growth!
Most people nowadays use social media to promote their business in the most fun and creative ways, and our guest for today is not one to miss out on the opportunity! Meet Natalie, the accountant who gets her clients from Tiktok!
Keep listening as Natalie Lennon from Two Sides Accounting shares her ups and downs of running a fast growing business during a pandemic. Some of the thing we touch on include:
- Coping with burnout like most accountants during Covid, and her techniques to deal with that
- Managing financially struggling clients and why she goes above and beyond in helping them
- Her accounting journey - expanding her client base even during the pandemic and the importance of being a proactive accountant
- How she quickly progressed to an accounting firm manager as a university graduate to getting bored in commerce and then becoming a young equity partner in a firm
- Challenges of returning to Public Practice from Commerce
- Dealing with being sidelined as a junior partner in the boardroom, speaking up, and going her own way
- What her goals were in starting her own firm, and how she got her first clients
- The hard truth of growing your business and subsequent coaching
- Taking advantage of social media in the midst of pandemic and how to be a 'modern' accountant
- The obstacles in getting your ideal employee, tips in hiring and her outsourcing journey
- Automating your process and friends as clients and how bookkeeping was an integral part of her firm
- When to put a break on ‘growing’
“I was never very good at selling before, and I thought it was me. But then I realised that it was what I was selling…I didn't believe in what I was selling, whereas now - Two Sides is me, it's what I want to do”
Show Notes
- Totally bossing It podcast
- Slipstream group
- Hammerjack
- Xero
- Cloud
- Carbon
- MYOB
- Dropbox
- Mailchimp
- Slack
- DocuSign
- Paul Dunn
- Rob Nixon
- Peter Knight
You can find out more about Natalie Lennon and her firm Two Sides Accounting from their website: https://www.twosides.com.au/
Reuben Bergola - 100% Growth YoY through Niching, Recruitment, Outsourcing, Scaling up and Digital Success
Have you ever heard of an accountant who gets his clients from the gym? Our guest today, Reuben Bergola from New Wave Business Solutions surely has unique ways in scaling up his business. In this episode, he shares his journey, vision and tips on how he managed to start young and organically grow to a multi-million dollar accounting firm in a short span of time.
Join us as Reuben shares the how to’s in structuring your accounting firm, from recruitment to marketing and many more things:
- How he has managed to organically grow his accounting firm from $0 to $3.6m TO & 30 staff in 5 years.
- Starting his bookkeeping business while he was still a manager at a firm with 50 staff
- The reason he switched from Quickbooks to Xero
- What makes his firm different from traditional accounting firms and how he effectively deals with service price increases and client attrition
- Starting out alone to partnership constant reinvesting to scale up the business
- How digital marketing enabled the business to really take off
- What it's like working with your wife
- The importance of creating a niche for your firm and the ecommerce space
- What work culture really means, how to recruit people and where to look
- His experience with outsourcing and the issues with work from home employees
- Leadership and how to grow as a person
“Work culture is a collaborative environment that people are happy to be in”
Show Notes
- Rob Nixon
- Ed chan
- WIZE Mentoring
- Molly Pittman courses
- Brad Smith
- Intuit
- Shaneel Pforr
- BlueRock
- Peter Lalor
- Karbon
- Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
- Traction by Gino Wickman
- Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't by Verne Harnish
Peter Lalor - Building a $1 Billion Dollar Accounting Brand whilst sharing the wealth with your staff!
First of all - you have to check out Blue Rock’s website - it’s out of this world (click on the link below)! This ‘picture’ will paint a thousand words about our guest Peter Lalor from Blue Rock who shares his incredible vision and the journey towards materialising it.
Join us in this episode as Peter shares his insights into leadership and what it takes to build a distinctive brand from nothing to a billion dollar firm, and many more things:
- How a creative person like him thought of joining the accounting industry
- Why he decided to pursue a multidisciplinary accounting form model
- The first year journey of BlueRock and it's temporary setbacks
- Which tools have had the biggest impact on the firm
- Advice on what makes a firm successful, how to add value for your customers and the pillars of growth
- How to set a clear version for your business, and his BlueRock 3030 Vision
- Getting the right people on board
- Designing a successful grad program
- Balance a fast growing business, family and hobbies and his take on working long hours
- Future of technology in the accounting industry
“I'd rather build a legacy where people feel like they've come in well, and they've left well.”
“If you build it they will come. And it's all about building a great ecosystem to excel and the rest will sort itself out.”
Profile
Peter Lalor is an experienced Company Director with a demonstrated history of working with entrepreneurial business owners since his 20’s. He is passionate about thinking differently and about technology in the Accounting industry. His keenness for growth and opportunity to help entrepreneurs and develop a strong client community and his value and purpose are admirable. His vision - to work with smart people to break the rules!
Show Notes
- Blue Rock
- Asana
- My prosperity
- Xero
- APS
- XPM - Xero Practice Manager
- Managing the Professional Service Firm by David Maister
- One Thing You Need to Know: About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham
- The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone
- Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Wayne Schmidt - Digital Nomad - Travel, Remote Working & Marketing for Accountants
From working for the top accounting software businesses to starting the Australian operation for Xero, with his wife on their kitchen table, our special guest Wayne Schmidt from PracticeEQ tells it how it is.
Join us as he shares the secrets to marketing, leadership, taking risks, building an accounting business, and many more things:
- What it's like working at the three largest accounting software companies - Reckon, MYOB, and Xero
- His love for travelling and the special lessons he learned through the years of adventure
- Working while travelling - especially during Covid
- Major changes in the accounting industry in times of the pandemic and what we can expect
- How he goes about hiring the right staff and dealing with clients
- Methodology for selling and marketing - the types of advertising you should cross off your list
- Importance of branding and revamping your website
- The future of outsourcing and the technology involved in working remotely
- The 3 main things that all accounting firms should start doing
“The Accounting industry has moved online, the world moved online, whether they like it or not”
Profile
Wayne Schmidt knows accountants and industry inside out, being in the industry for more than 35 years. He is a sales and marketing guru, a traveller who likes blogging, a website designing enthusiast and a business mentor. One word to describe him? - Bold. He likes taking risks and is passionate about life and calls himself a ‘digital nomad’. His goal - to help accountants find out what makes them unique!
Show Notes
- Travel, Dine, Stay
- Practice Succession
- Andrew Van De Beek
- Illumin8
- MYOB
- Reckon
- Xero
- Baked with XOXO
- Paul Dunn
Contact Info
You can find out more about Wayne Schmidt and his firm Practice Paradox from their website: https://www.wayne-schmidt.com/
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Mobile: 0421 892 145
Baidy Laffan - What it takes to be a Partner at 26!
In this episode, we speak with Baidy Laffan, a leader who despite her young age, has been able to achieve so much by following the unconventional path to success.
Sit back and listen to this episode with the amazing Baidy Laffan of Yellow Canary as she shares:
- Advice for young accountants trying to decide which path to follow in their career
- What it takes to be a Partner - balancing the 3 hats of producer, manager and leader.
- Leadership vs management - and developing those skills
- Importance of mentorship for career progression and personal growth
- Biggest challenges and insights in the journey to audit partnership
"Don't ask, Don't get!”
Profile
Baidy Laffan is not just an accountant but a leader who is incredibly passionate about her work, and about getting more women into tech and senior roles. Her spirited goal to bring radical change in the industry by offering new solutions and her big picture thinking is what brought her success. Her goal - to achieve the impossible through creative problem solving!
Some quick facts:
- Former Audit Partner at PKF, one of the top firms in Australia, and a member of Scale investors - the first and only network of Angels investing in exceptional female founders.
- Head of Customer & Growth at at an exciting tech business - Yellow Canary
- Speaker and Coach at Startmate
Show Notes:
- Man's Search for Meaning - Victor Frankl
- Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds - David Goggins
Contact Info
You can find out more about Baidy Laffan and his firm Practice Paradox from their website: https://www.yellowcanary.com.au/
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Greg Hayes - Fundamental Challenges for Accounting Firms
The ever enterprising Greg Hayes of Hayes Knight , a familiar face in the industry, leading one of the top mid-tier accounting firms in Australia, discusses the fundamental challenges facing the baby boomer accounting firms and what they need to do to adapt.
Some of the thing we cover include:
- Fundamental changes & challenges for baby boomer practitioners
- Impact of technology and automation on junior accountants and selection for different skills
- New 'normal' i the post Covid world and remote working
- Being strategic - because turning up to work is no longer enough
- Why a Partner should never have more than 50% chargeable hours
- Relationship between growth and staff & client retention
- Mechanics of valuations for Accounting Firms
- Different structures for bringing in new partners
- CA vs CPA debate
- Challenges of transitioning from small sole practitioner to a national firm
"We have a generation of accountants now who have never had to market, hunt and eat and kill to get their business"
Profile
Greg Hayes is a highly skilled professional who has a wealth of experience in this industry. From running an ASX Listed business to successfully building his own national firm and being well known in both Australia and globally for his achievements - he brings incredible wisdom to every conversation. He is passionate, focused on his goals and what is possible. His belief - “Lateral and innovative thinking sometimes makes the difficult achievable!”
Some quick facts:
- Entrepreneur who has built multiple successful businesses in the accounting and wealth industry
- Former National Chairman of Small Business Centre of Excellence, CPA Australia, and of NSW Public Practice Committee, CPA Australia, Former member of Advisory Panel for the Board of Taxation, the Managing Director of ASX listed Easton Investments Limited, Director, Morison KSi International Asia Pacific
- Author of “A Practical Guide to Business Valuations for SMEs”, “Practice Management for Professionals” Co-author of “STS in Practice, CPA Australia” and “CGT in Practice, CPA Australia”
Contact Info
You can find out more about Greg Hayes and his firm Hayes Knight from their website: https://www.hayesknight.com.au/
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Patrick Sargent - Disrupting the Accounting Industry with a Fintech model
Starting out as a Graduate Accountant and eventually paving his way and co-founding his very own high tech accounting practice, our guest gives us more than a sneak peak of what his journey has been about, how he focused on systems, growth and scaling the business. His business aims to disrupt the traditional accounting model.
Listen in as Patrick Sargent, CEO of Pop Business enlightens us about:
- The journey of Pop Tax and it's Co-Founders
- The trials and tribulations of being a tech a start up in the accounting space
- The impressive tech used to run and scale the business
- Importance of stepping away from the tools in order to quickly scale the business
- Raising funds for an accounting firm business
- Learning about different channels for advertising & marketing
- Challenges and solutions to recruiting staff in a growing practice
- The need for timesheets, KPI's and incentives
- Benefits of using recruitment agencies
“We've tripled last financial year in revenue and staff and looking to double this financial year.”
Profile
Patrick Sargent is a seasoned accounting professional with over 10 years of experience on his hand. He co-founded and currently leads Pop Business - revolutionising how accounting services are delivered to SME’s helping put businesses in the best position to achieve their objectives!
Some quick facts:
- 10+ years experience as a Chartered Accountant
- CEO of POP Business & POP Tax - a leading fintech accounting firm in Australia
- Winner of Tech Innovator of the Year, Business Advisory Firm of the Year, Fast Growing Firm of the Year and Firm of the Year
Show Notes
- Podcast with Nick Sinclair - new website to follow
- Podcast with Shaye Thyer - new website to follow
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
- Tribes by Seth Godin
Contact Info
You can find out more about Patrick Sargent and his firm Pop Business from their website: https://popbusiness.com.au/
Impact Driven Accounting with Paul Dunn
Our special guest today provides us with an in-depth knowledge of what it means for an accountant to follow their North Star, be truly aligned to their purpose and the key strategies on how to become an Impact-Driven Accountant and how it translates to profit and staff
In this podcast with Paul Dunn from B1G1, we discussed everything from leadership, purpose and many more topics:
- Maintaining passion and energy at any age
- Finding meaning in your work and the importance of having a North Star
- Transforming your firm from Standard to Stand Out - and how that drives client attraction and staff retention
- How Purpose powers Profit
- Socratic method to business advisory
- Evolution of pricing models in accounting
“When you force people to account for their time in 6 minute units, what you have to understand is you're killing them.”
Profile
Paul Dunn is one of the most well known guru’s in the accounting industry around the world. His Accountants’ Boot Camp had been attended by close to 20,000 accountants & his book The Firm of the Future has become standard text for leading accounting businesses around the world. Paul helps clients create a huge impact, connect to their customers, achieve their business goals and reach their full potential. His goal - to give businesses the power to change lives!
Some quick facts:
- Speaker at TEDx, and holds a Lifetime Service Award to the Accounting Profession in the UK and the recipient of the ‘Outstanding Contributor to the Profession’ award.
- Created Results Corporation that has trained nearly 20,000 accountants around the world
- Co-Author of the book The Firm of the Future’ along with Ron Baker
- Featured in Forbes Magazine alongside Sir Richard Branson in a global piece on ‘disrupters’ in business.
Show Notes
Peter Knight - Step by Step Process to Growing your Practice from scratch and offering Business Advisory Services
The ‘Tax Guy’ and founder of Franchise Accounting and Tax - Peter Knight, lets us in his journey as he lays down the blueprint on how to build up your practice effectively from square one and how to maintain your good financial position in the long run.
Join us in this worthwhile episode with the influential Peter Knight of Franchise Accounting and Tax as he shares more about:
- His journey from Psychology & Accounting to Sales & Creating a Top 30 in less than 8 years
- Process to generate leads on LinkedIn
- Insight into the best marketing strategies that work today (on and offline) for SME's
- Proven tactics to grow an accounting firm from scratch and some unique marketing hacks
- Why you should niche and how it will add to your bottom line
- Top 3 reasons why clients leave & the right approach to ending a client relationship
- The definition of advisory, pricing models, and how to go about it step by step to become a trusted advisor
“There is a remarkable sameness about us as accountants. “
“Marketing is like a wheelbarrow - it's all in there but you still have to push it.”
Profile
Peter Knight is an expert when it comes to franchise accounting and taxation. He speaks budget and planning and his aim is to help business owners reach the top of their game and make sure that they are on the right track to becoming an efficient and profitable industry model. His aim - to help you run your business better!
Some Quick facts:
- Co-founder of Franchise Accountants Network and founding partner of Smart Franchise and Knight Partners
- Former President of CPA Australia (NSW)
- A National Judge for the prestigious Small Business Awards
- Has been a lecturer at Macquarie University, where he was a tutor as well for a number of years.
- Was one of the founding Partners of Hayes Knight established in 1994 and was a National Marketing Director with PKF before establishing his own firm
Show Notes:
Making yourself obsolete with David Smith
Technology and innovation is undeniably changing our lives, David Smith is passionate about creating new opportunities for Accountants and the Accounting industry, reveals how we can take advantage of it and the secrets to building a highly efficient and profitable accounting firm.
In this podcast with David Smith from Smithink, we discussed everything from innovation, networking, finding passion in your work and many more topics::
- Top things accounting firms are doing wrong
- Biggest opportunities for accounting firms right now
- Powerful/effective ways of doing performance and job reviews
- Interviewing tactics David uses to identify great talent
- Best strategies for retaining and developing your staff
- His journey from accountant to programmer and how he revolutionised the accounting industry with the software he created
- How tech and innovation changed the industry
- Power of building a network and relationships for your career and specific tips to use at networking events
- Delegating your clients to your staff
- Most impactful innovations in the profession in the last 50 years
- Importance of mindset in moving to a paperless office
- Most powerful things accounting firms can do for their firm, and how to do it
- Importance of using recruiters to get stars
- Remote working and productivity - especially with junior staff
Profile
David Smith is an experienced professional with more than 40 years in the Accounting industry. He aims to help fellow accountants by providing consulting services that aids with their drawbacks in practice, challenging and guiding them into building a firm that’s focused on being proactive and opening doors that will help them be closer to their clients.
He believes that technology creates numerous possibilities and growth. His mission - to solve issues relating to the future of the Accounting Industry!
Some quick facts:
- Founder of Smithink
- He was managing partner of PKF, Sydney; he created PKF CRS and Superfund software, and coached many small firms.
- Chairman of Patronus Risk Specialists, and the advisor to a number of suppliers to the accounting industry.
- 2003 President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, was an initial director on the listing of Countplus, the ASX listed aggregator of many accounting and related businesses.
- He was managing partner of PKF, Sydney; he created PKF CRS and Superfund software, and coached many small firms.
- Creator of the major ATSA technology event for the accounting industry which was sold to National Media in 2017.
Creating a Future Fit Accounting Firm with Shaye Thyer
Being a popular guest in publications and interviews, we were lucky enough to have Shaye as our own guest as she reveals her journey on how she started with a double degree, aspired a different profession but later switched to Accounting, and how she started as a Tax undergraduate in a Mid tier firm while finishing her studies and be where she is today.
Join in on our enjoyable and illuminating podcast with Shaye Thyer, Head of Mindbridge as she shares:
- Her journey into Accounting from Practice to Internal Finance for a firm, to selling Accounting Tech
- Tips and tricks for keeping herself inspired and motivated
- How to fix staff and capacity issues in practices today
- Importance of cadetships and how perception is reality in the corporate environment
- Navigating the ‘boys club’ as a female
- Impact of cloud accounting and automation inside an accounting firm
- What would she do if she only had a week to transform an accounting firm?
- The controversial topics of pros and cons of timesheets
- Best way to go about change management inside your firm
- What does Mindbridge do and how valuable it is to the audit process
- Importance of mentors in life and career
“If it's not f** yes then it's a f** no.”
Profile
Shaye Thyer is the Director of Sales for Mindbridge Ai. With more than 15 years of Accounting experience and her passion for advocacy, her goal is to innovate and bring forward new tech that will assist accountants and business owners alike to have an improved flow of business and adapt to a more efficient way of running a practice.
Her passion and avidity to change the industry by offering new solutions is what led her to build a ground-breaking AI platform that leverages advanced machine intelligence and AI techniques to supplement human capacity and manage the vast amounts of financial data that exist within organizations.
Some quick facts:
- An activator for SheEO, a global community of women radically transforming how we finance, support, and celebrate female innovators.
- A speaker at Accounting Business Expo 2021. Business Depot “Rebound”
- Names as one of the “Bold CA entrepreneurs stepping into start-ups”
Michael Carter - Marketing for Accounting Firms - Part 2 - Strategies & Tactics
On this second part of our podcast with MC Carter, he provides us with a more in-depth understanding of strategies and tactics with regards to marketing and scaling advisory services, his perspective on leadership, and what and how to offer additional help to your clients.
We catch up with Michael Carter, Founder and CEO of Practice Paradox as he shares:
- Exploring the reasons for choosing to do advisory vs pure compliance in your practice
- Most effective marketing strategies for accounting firms
- How Practice Paradox can create and implement your marketing strategy and ROI on that
- How to value price your services
- Importance of SEO for your business and how to go about improving your client attraction strategy
- Marketing automation tactics and tech stack
- Do you need a marketing person in house?
“People are silently begging to be led”
Profile
Michael Carter is the founder and director of Practice Paradox. He loves innovation, creating systems, solving business problems and strategizing. His focus is teaching Accounting firms proper marketing and fruitful communication, helping them bring about a thriving life for their clients.
He successfully managed multiple businesses in the past and to him - business is a game with players, rules, strategies and ways to win and ways to lose. And it’s a game he enjoys playing!
Some quick facts:
- A speaker at MYOB Partner Connect 2019 and Accounting Business Expo 2020.
- Founder of Spinalsensa, and Co-Founder of Business Fitness
- Has a degree in Industrial Design (Product Design) and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Management
Show Notes
Contact Info
You can find out more about Michael Carter and his firm Practice Paradox from their website: https://practiceparadox.com.au/
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Carter - Part 1 - Marketing for Accounting Firms - Your ability to Communicate and Deliver Value
A marketing pro, innovator and a problem solver, Michael Carter gives us his insights - both personal and business wise - on how a practice can achieve the utmost growth and apply strategic thinking to your marketing.
We catch up with Michael Carter, Founder and CEO of Practice Paradox as he shares:
- Where the idea of the firm's name originated from, his favorite paradoxes in life and how it relates to the Accounting profession
- How Accounting is about people instead of numbers and to engage your staff
- The differentiators between the top 5% and the remaining 95%
- The compliance vs advisory business and how to effectively help your clients
- Caring about your branding and design as part of strategic marketing
- How to attract minders and finders vs just just grinders
- The proper approach to marketing, digital content and the multiple levels of delegation
- How practices can deliver and scale advisory services quickly and why a lot of practices fail
Some quick facts:
- A speaker in MYOB Partner Connect 2019, Accounting Business Expo 2020,
- Founder of Spinalsensa, and So-Founder of Business Fitness
- Has a degree in Industrial Design (Product Design) and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Management
Profile
Michael Carter is the founder and director of Practice Paradox. He loves innovation, creating systems, solving business problems and strategizing. His focus is teaching Accounting firms proper marketing and fruitful communication, helping them bring about a thriving life for their clients.
He successfully managed multiple businesses in the past and to him - business is a game with players, rules, strategies and ways to win and ways to lose. And it’s a game he enjoys playing!
Show Notes
- The Three Signs of a Miserable Job
- The 4 Disciplines of Execution
- Nick Sinclair
- Business Fitness
- HowNow
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Paul Meisner
- From the Trenches podcast
- John Knight
- businessDEPOT
- Growthwise
- Steph Hinds
Nick Sinclair - Part 2 - Secrets to success in outsourcing for Accounting Firms
Managing a Global firm that is currently active in 5 countries with over 650 clients and growing, Nick reveals the secrets on how to provide an effective leadership while still working closely with your peers and his insights on the reality of the outsourcing industry.
We catch up with Nick Sinclair, Founder and CEO of TOA Global as he shares:
- How to build and maintain culture across borders as an International company and how to inspire and care genuinely for your people
- Adapting to the different cultures as an international company, building connections and what it takes to attract exceptional employees
- His experience and process in offshoring and outsourcing globally
- His route and approach to outsourcing effectively
- What he would have done differently in his career and business
- Slow growth vs. Fast growth
- What his downtime looks like
- How Covid affected his business and his team from the most affected countries
- His love for snowboarding and the people he'd love to have a drink with.
I often look back and go, "If I did things differently I wouldn't have gotten the result I got. and I wouldn't get the results I'm doing now by doing things differently"
Profile
Nick Sinclair is an experienced professional advisor, speaker and a leader when it comes to revolutionising the outsourcing industry for accountants. He is a passionate pathfinder who likes making an impact on the people he works with and currently leads about 1800 offshore team members providing services for their clients globally. His goal - to help Accounting firms make a difference!
Nick has been nominated for numerous industry and leadership awards throughout the years and has been one of the leading speakers when it comes to accounting outsourcing. He has spoken to thousands of accountants from around the world and aims to do more to help them be better in serving their clients and avoid pitfalls.
Some quick facts:
- Has been featured in Accountants Daily, SmartPayroll, Public Accountant: The Official Journal of The Institute of Public Accountants, IntuitQuickbooks, The Financial Observer and many other digital media outlets.
- Popular public speaker at the Accounting Business Expo, Xerocon, Accountants Technology Showcase and NAB Breakfast.
- A member of the Entrepreneurs Organisation
Show Notes
Contact Info
You can find out more about Nick Sinclair and his firm TOA Global from their website: https://theoutsourcedaccountant.com/
Nick Sinclair - Part 1 - The King of Outsourcing talks about his sensational journey
From realizing his desire to be an advisor at an early age to successfully running his own accounting and financial planning firm and then working enormous hours to create the sensational growth of TOA Global - a business that emerged from a service he needed himself and scaled it globally to nearly 2000 staff.
We catch up with Nick Sinclair, Founder of TOA Global as he shares:
- His journey with his first Financial Planning and Accounting firm 'Wealthfarm' from Zero to one of the largest planning businesses in Qld at the age of 20.
- His struggles using an outsourced provider and how he started a business from his own need
- Realizing need to delegate in order to scale vs control
- Self Awareness, knowing your limits, having the right people on the bus and being organised with your time.
- Work/life balance with 2 growing businesses, taking care of his family and the need to take a break from work.
- Importance of learning from others - reading, coaching and mentoring
- Inspiring and caring for your people and how he attracts exceptional employees
Profile
Nick Sinclair is an experienced professional advisor, speaker and a leader when it comes to revolutionising the outsourcing industry for accountants. He is a passionate pathfinder who likes making an impact on the people he works with and currently leads about 1800 offshore team members providing services for their clients globally. His goal - to help Accounting firms make a difference!
Nick has been nominated for numerous industry and leadership awards throughout the years and has been one of the leading speakers when it comes to accounting outsourcing. He has spoken to thousands of accountants from around the world and aims to do more to help them be better in serving their clients and avoid pitfalls.
Some quick facts:
- Has been featured in Accountants Daily, SmartPayroll, Public Accountant: The Official Journal of The Institute of Public Accountants, IntuitQuickbooks, The Financial Observer and many other digital media outlets.
- Popular public speaker at the Accounting Business Expo, Xerocon, Accountants Technology Showcase and NAB Breakfast.
- A member of the Entrepreneurs Organisation
You can find out more about Nick Sinclair and his firm TOA Global from their website: https://theoutsourcedaccountant.com/
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Andrew Van De Beek - Starting a Firm at a young age and Maintaining Culture through Fast Growth
He started as a Cadet in a Big 4 firm and within 6 years, he established his own practice at an early age of 26. Andrew has a knack of attracting the right people giving him the opportunity, along with his own skills to create something unlike any other accounting firm we’ve heard of.
We catch up with Andrew Van De Beek, Founder and Head of Purpose of Illumin8 as he speaks about:
- Importance of community and collaboration of accountants working together to improve their business
- Impetus for getting into accounting and deciding to open your own firm at 26 as a junior in Big 4
- Importance of relationships in this business
- The biggest challenges in his career, disputes, business separations, bad decisions and the consequences of hiring people at the wrong time
- The truth about bookkeeping, the reason he opened a bookkeeping firm and the pitfalls of outsourcing
- Structuring equity for your staff and how to decide who gets it and when
- How he keeps up personally with the growth of the firm, realizing his vision and creating an incredible workplace full of culture
- The importance of branding and marketing and breaking the barrier of being a sole practitioner
- Value of an advisory board for your business
- His most effective marketing tool
- His perspective on branding, tattoos, his downtime and his love for whiskey!
Profile
Andrew Van De Beek is an accountant with more than 15 years of experience, a business founder and a passionate professional who shows that accountants can have a personality and be successful at the same time.. But don’t be fooled - his fun loving side contradicts his seriousness in helping and supporting business owners to achieve their personal and business goals. Proven by the frequently heard phrase from his client “If only I found you guys earlier, I’ve been looking for someone like you my whole life.” - over and over again!
His goal is to make sure that they are not just accountants, but people who are open, authentic and whom clients not only connect with, but also have a whiskey with!
Some quick facts:
- Australian Accounting Thought Leader of the Year - 2018
- Australian Xero Practice Advisory Council Member - 2018 to current
- Winner of 2017 - Xero’s Accounting Partner of the Year (VIC)
Contact Info
You can find out more about Andrew Van De Beek and his firm Illumin8 from their website: https://www.illumin8.com.au/
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
John Knight - Growing, learning and leading - a how to guide on marketing your practice & managing the people in a fast growing national firm
From the traditional trajectory of starting cadetship in an Accounting firm close to his hometown to becoming a partner at an early age of 30 then founding and directing his own fast growing national practice with a very unique model.
We catch up with John Knight, Founder and Director of BusinessDepot to discuss:
- His Advice for young accountants on the fastest path to partnership
- Views on Commerce vs Practice
- MBTI profiling of accountants, EQ vs IQ and how to manage different personalities in a firm through self awareness.
- Recruitment process that's been refined over 7 years and the importance of developing your employer brand.
- Pros and Cons of Pooling vs Pod team structures
- How to know when it's time to move on from a Partnership
- Benefits of a multi disciplinary model - digital marketing, legal, accounting
- What does leadership mean and importance of living the values of the business on a daily basis.
- Most effective marketing tactics to grow brand awareness and attract clients
- Growth Plans and tactics to stay focused and avoid burnout
- Fragmentation, licensing arrangement and the future of the profession
Profile
John Knight is a seasoned accountant and business owner who became a Partner back in 2004 and has been in the accounting industry for more than 20 years. His experience and expertise in broader business strategy provides for a unique perspective and strategic planning skills to help his client improve their position. His objective – to empower small to medium businesses, and the people behind them to reach their potential.
John is an expert in a broad range of things and has built a reputation for being more than just an accountant.
Some quick facts:
- Winner of Xero Accounting Partner of the Year 2017, Xero Platinum Partner 2017, Australian Accounting Awards Diversified Firm of the Year 2017, Cool Company Award Winner 2015, and Finalist Brisbane Young Entrepreneur Awards for the year 2014 and 2015
- Nominated as Executive of the Year in 2016
- Has a background in business valuation and is well known within the real estate industry.
Show Notes
Contact Info
You can find out more about John Knight and his firm BusinessDepot from their website: www.businessdepot.com.au
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Chris Hooper - The Accounting Futurist & Innovator of the Year who has gone through the rise and fall of a fast growing global firm
From starting his side hustles such as the WWF wrestling business as a 13 year old to becoming an accountant in a reputable Adelaide firm and then starting his own practice with his best friend in his early 20s to creating an innovative platform for sole practitioners in accounting to work for clients across the globe.
We catch up with Chris Hooper, Founder and CEO of Accodex
- How his fascination with accounting began and the people behind it.
- How he explored and progressed his career and what sparked his interest to establish his own practice
- His advice for Young Accountants and for people who are considering Accounting as a career path
- Tips in navigating your Accounting career, weighing your options and the Pros and Cons of settling in the Big 4 vs Mid-tier vs Small firms & CA vs CPA & Commerce vs Practice
- His approach in setting up his own Practice with his best friend, how they secured Clients and Finding your Niche
- The future of Bookkeeping
- Getting help from other Proactive Accountants and Business Coaches and the challenges of growing your own firm
- What he would have done differently and the biggest impact on his life
Profile
Chris Hooper is an experienced accountant of 14 years having worked in a reputable Adelaide firm, a CEO and an Accounting Futurist who has the aptitude to predict the future of the Accounting Profession. He believes that Accountants have the ability to change the world and his mission - Change the Accounting Game forever! Chris helps fellow Accountants, mentors Business Students and believes that his job is to make sure everyone succeeds.
He claims that the biggest challenge will always be technology and his way of adapting to it was to evolve the Accounting Industry by designing a progressive network that allows freelance accountants and other professionals to collaborate on projects, no matter where they are in the world.
Some quick facts:
- Accountant with 14 years experience having worked in practice and grown his own at a very fast pace on a global scale.
- Popular public speaker at AIESEC, TEDx, Pecha Kucha, XeroCon and GoldenKey
- Winner of 30 Managers under 30 in 2015, 40 Under 40 in 2018, and Achievement Award in the Young Business Leaders Program for 2013.
Show Notes
- Rob Nixon - Business Coach
- LodgeiT
- Xero
- Practice Ignition
- Carbon Accounting Software
Contact Info
You can find out more about Chris Hooper here
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Sarah Lawrence – CFO of the Year Talks about Starting and Scaling a CFO Advisory Firm
From humble beginnings in country NSW starting her career as a cadet in Audit to becoming a CFO and Financial Controller at some well know movie production businesses in her early 20’s and now running an award winning and technologically advanced CFO Advisory Firm.
Sarah Lawrence, Founder & Chief Dreamer at Hot Toast joins us to share her:
✔ Journey from cadet in a regional firm to a Financial Controller/CFO in some film production and creative industries to scaling a CFO Advisory Firm in Sydney.✔ What marketing and lead generation tools have helped her the most
✔ Advantages and disadvantages of being a female in business and in Board Rooms.
✔ How she balances running a growing business and downtime to keep her sanity
✔ Her experience with offshoring
✔ Establishing yourself in a particular niche and getting referrals
✔ Importance of staying disciplined and getting the right people around you.
Profile
Sarah an industry disruptor and the Founder of Hot Toast, a new breed of accounting firm that focuses on growing companies in the creative and tech start up industries specialising in compliance and reporting, process automation, CFO advisory, tracking financial metrics and technology automation. She comes with over 17 years of experience in the accounting industry having started as a cadet and worked her way to a CFO before going out on her own.
Some quick facts:
⭐ Fellow CPA
⭐ Bookkeeper & CFO Advisor
⭐ Winner of the 2019 & 2020 CFO of the Year Awards
Show Notes
RecruitmentExpert
We are one of the largest Public Practice Recruiters in Australia and New Zealand and have access to most of the clients and candidates on the market. We thrive on delivering the best quality candidates to accounting firms so that you have the right people on the bus to grow your firm.
Contact Info
You can find out more about Sarah Lawrence and her firm Hot Toast from their website: www.hottoast.com.au
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Brad Eisenhuth & Aidan Parsons - How to Successfully Deliver Business Advisory to your Clients and 5x your Fees
They have partnered with the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand to provide leaders in public practice the opportunity to take part in a hands-on, highly practical program which can successfully transition your practice into a sustainable and impactful Business Advisory practice.
We catch up with Brad Eisenhuth and Aidan Parsons to discuss:
✔ Why they felt accounting firms struggle to offer this much needed service to clients
✔ Powerful insights on how other accounting firms engage and pitch the service to their clients.
✔ What advisory means and how to deliver it and sell it
✔ Some of the challenges practitioners face in implementing and delivering the offering
✔ How it can 5x or even 10x your fees for a SME client you already have
✔ Steps to take to build and successfully grow a successful advisory practice
✔ And finally…how the program is structured and why it’s different to anything else you’ve seen or done.
Profile
Brad Eisenhuth is the CEO of The Outperformer – they design, integrate and facilitate performance and change-focused programs for accounting and finance teams, many who are heavily impacted by structural change, technology advancements and the need to be ‘relevant’ in the way they work with their business and help business leaders to play a bigger game through people, capability and technology.
Aidan Parsons is an experienced businessman and the CEO of Keystone Executive Coaching with a demonstrated history of working with businesses in a variety of field and using his skills in sales, marketing and management to create a solid foundation for strong and profitable growth and financial security.
Show Notes
RecruitmentExpert
We are one of the largest Public Practice Recruiters in Australia and New Zealand and have access to most of the clients and candidates on the market. We thrive on delivering the best quality candidates to accounting firms so that you have the right people on the bus to grow your firm.
Contact Info
You can find out more about Brad Eisenhuth and his Company The Outperformerfrom their website: www.theoutperformer.co;
Aidan Parsons and this Company The Keystone Executive from their website: www.keystoneexecutivecoaching.com
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Aly Garrett – Part 2 – Maximizing Growth through Technology and Outsourcing while Raising a Young Family
Aly Garrett, Founder of All In Advisory joins us to DISCUSS:
- Working in a Big 4 vs a small firm
- Shares her message of what it’s like to be a female in the accounting industry and challenges she had to overcome
- Tech stack that she uses for her firm
- Leveraging your time as a business owner AND SETTING BOUNDARIES
- Outsourcing work overseas - how to set it up effectively and scale it
- Managing growth and using technology to scale
- Focusing on profitability vs chasing revenue when growing
- How to future proof yourself as an accountant (especially if you're just getting into the industry)
Some quick facts:
⭐ Fellow Chartered Accountant
⭐ Tax Agent & Virtual CFO
⭐ Winner of the 2019 Women in Finance Small Business Adviser & Principal of the year awards + Top 50 Woman in Accounting & 2018 SA SMSF & Accounting Professional of the Year, Partner of the Year and Overall Excellence Awards and Founder of one of the Top 50 Cloud Accountants in Australia, All In Advisory,
Contact Info
You can find out more about Aly Garrett and his firm All In Advisory from their website: www.allinadvisory.com.au
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Aly Garrett - Part 1 – Secret Recipe to Starting and Scaling a Profitable Accounting Firm
Aly Garrett, Founder of All In Advisory joins us to share her:
✔ Amazing journey from cadet to Big 4 Director and now Boutique Accounting Firm Owner and ✔What advisory means and commoditise it and pitch it. ✔Challenges of being a female in the accounting industry and gaining credibility as a female business owner. ✔Balancing being a mum and running an accounting firm ✔Steps she took to build and successfully grow a successful accounting firm in less than 2 years. ✔Communicating with clients during COVID ✔Establishing yourself in a particular niche and getting referrals ✔Powerful insights is how she engages with CLIENTS and pitches her firm. ProfileAly has As a leader and innovator in the cloud accounting space, Aly helps her clients re-engineer their processes and transform their bottom line. Her mantra - All in or all out there is no halfway! She comes with 25 years of experience in the accounting industry having started as a cadet and worked her way to a Director at Deloitte before going out on her own.
Some quick facts: ⭐ Fellow Chartered Accountant ⭐ Tax Agent & Virtual CFO ⭐ Winner of the 2019 Women in Finance Small Business Adviser & Principal of the year awards + Top 50 Woman in Accounting & 2018 SA SMSF & Accounting Professional of the Year, Partner of the Year and Overall Excellence Awards and Foun
Contact Info
You can find out more about Aly Garrett and his firm All In Advisory from their website: www.allinadvisory.com.au
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Brett Kelly - Part 1 - How to get motivated and stay motivated in Business, Life And Family
Brett founded Kelly+Partners Chartered Accountants in 2006 and over the past 14 years has grown the business to become the largest private business specialist accounting network in the Greater Sydney area. In June 2017, Kelly+Partners Group Holdings Limited listed on the ASX.
Contact Info
You can find out more about Brett Kelly and his firm Kelly+Partners from their website: www.kellypartners.com.au
To find out more about Recruitment Expert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Aaron Lavell – Creating one of the Largest Regional Firms, Succession Planning and Building a Strong Culture of Unity
Running a firm is hard enough. Being a Managing Partner at a young age and building a firm into the largest tax and advisory practice on the Gold Coast is even harder (and it hasn’t all been smooth sailing)!
Today we catch up with Aaron Lavell to discuss his journey from a young accountant at EY to dominating the accounting space and the challenges that went along with that. Some of the things we discussed were:
- Succession planning and what to look for in a new partner
- KPI’s for the firm and how he manages salary expectations and sets salaries for staff
- How to create a strong culture in a firm and more importantly how to uphold it?
- How they handled the response to COVID to reassure clients and staff
- Post COVID policy changes for staff
- How to maintain unity in a multi partner firm
- Learning from the GFC and applying it to the current COVID situation
- Remunerating Partners - Hunters vs Farmers
- How to start a firm and build your client base if you're starting from scratch
Profile
Aaron Lavell is the Managing Partner of one of the largest accounting firms on the Gold Coast called WMS, they are the 7th largest regional firm in Australia with 7 partners and over 60 staff. He has over twenty-five years’ experience in the accounting industry and heads up the corporate finance and business valuation team. He was one of the founding staff members of WMS where he quickly progressed to Partner and soon after Managing Partner and has been successfully leading the firm since 2003.
RecruitmentExpert
We are one of the largest Public Practice Recruiters in Australia and New Zealand and have access to most of the clients and candidates on the market. We thrive on delivering the best quality candidates to accounting firms so that you have the right people on the bus to grow your firm.
Why You Should Work With Us:
- Retained Executive Search Service with delivery on average within 4-8 weeks - or your money back
- Full Money Back guarantees up to 12 months as per our TOB's
- Split payment options to help you with your cash flow as per our TOB's; and
- Discounts for graduates, retainers, admin staff and referrals to your client base
Our Services:
- Succession Planning - Finding a new Partner for your firm
- Growing your Firm's Capabilities and Service Offerings with New/Additional Partners
- Resourcing your Existing Teams with Juniors (CadetsGrads) and Senior Accountants/Auditors
- Contractors to help you through the busy period
- Remote Staff
Contact Info
You can find out more about Aaron Lavell and his firm WMS Chartered Accountants from their website: www.wmssolutions.com.au
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
DMY - Best approach to selling and preparing your Accounting Firm for Sale
COVID has had a tremendous impact on accounting firm and practitioners over the last couple of months. Today we talk with the Directors of DMY - Mark Emney and Daniel Jones where we discuss:
- Impact of COVID on firms and the level of M&A activity in the Accounting Firm space
- How to prepare for a future sale and what you should do now - you'll be surprised how long and when you should start
- What buyers are looking for
- How to maximise your valuations
- What to watch out for and mistakes to avoid
- The ideal mix of advisory vs compliance in your firm
- Special tips for buying and selling during COVID times
Profiles
DMY who are the Leaders in Selling Accounting Practices across Australia.
Mark Emney comes with a rare mix of large corporate, consulting and entrepreneurial start-up experience where as a ex-PwC Partner he has guided organisations, large and small, around improving performance and boosting profitability and has been a senior executive in household names such as Wesfarmers and Bankwest to name a few.
Daniel Jones is an accountant that has a 20 year history working with accounting firms around the globe, and has advised on a large number of M&A transactions. He is a regular speaker at industry events across Australia and has been featured in the media for his insights on the accounting sector.
Contacts
You can find out more about DMY from their website: www.dmyassoc.com.au
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au
Rob Nixon - Growing your firm to $1m profit per Partner while working less than 500 hours
On this episode, we talk about all the things accountants could be doing better and where they're going wrong. Mistakes that are costing them huge potential increases in revenue, profits and lifestyle.
Now, Rob Nixon is not an accountant. Yet he has forged a niche to be one of the world’s foremost authorities on how accounting firms can achieve peak performance and his clients on average see profit increases of 98.4% from revenue increases of only 20.8% while working fewer hours with simple tweaks in workflow and technology.
He is an entrepreneur who has been running successful businesses since 1986. Since 1994 he has been running businesses that specialise in helping Accountants run better, more profitable businesses.
Accountants intrigue Rob and over the years he has trained them, consulted to them, coached them, researched them and visited thousands of them. All in the pursuit of what works and what does not work. He believes accountants are the natural trusted advisor to business and can help their client’s build amazing businesses. He also believes accountants don't earn enough for how smart they are, the value they add and the risks they take.
His speaking work has taken him around the world where he has spoken to in excess of 170,000 accountants. Currently, his products and strategies are used by accountants in over 30 countries. His landmark ideas and strategies are adopted by thousands of large and small firms all over the world.
In 2005 he created the revolutionary coaching model called Coachingclub. The Coachingclub model enabled firms to be accountable, to consistently learn and to share ideas amongst their peers. So far over 800 accounting firms have graduated from his Coachingclub program. The vast majority of firms have doubled or tripled profits because of the program.
He has personally coached over 500 firms and helped them add more nearly $1 Billion of new profit.
He is the author of 4 bestselling books Accounting Practices Don’t Add Up, Remaining Relevant, The Perfect Firm and his most recent book The Wealthy Accountant. All have received rave reviews from Accountants and industry professionals from around the world.
Rob is a keen golfer, adventurer and cyclist. He is ticket holder no. 293 to go into space on Virgin Galactic and he lives in sunny Brisbane, Australia with his lovely wife Natalie and 3 children.
You can find out more about Rob Nixon on his website: www.robnixon.com
To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email
Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au