I attended this on 24 February in Sydney. This was very different to the Xero Roadshow in that it was less focused on the MYP software and more on management topics presented by various speakers including Michael Sherlock, one of the founders of Brumbys Bakery.
Steven Eager, the MD of MYP presented a couple of short sessions and one of the things he asked participants to consider was this. What have you done today/this week/this month to:
- Increase revenue
- Reduce costs
- Improve the client experience
- Improve team performance
- Improve efficiency
These are good questions because they go to the heart of what drives a successful business, whether it be an accounting firm or any other. If someone in your business has not done something meaningful to achieve one of the outcomes above in February then I’d suggest you take action. I believe each and every month progress should be made in at least one or two of these areas. And when I mean progress I mean something that has created a sustainable positive difference.
Steven Eager also made an interesting comment about dealing with situations we are not happy with. He noted that there really are only three options:
- Change it
- Accept it
- Leave it
I think one of his key points about this was that as humans we sometimes stress about stuff we cannot change. Stuff that we must leave behind, knowing that we are unable to change it. Some things are beyond our control. Having said that challenge you to look closely first at whether you might be able to change something.
One other point that I thought was particularly relevant to accountants was about systems. We were challenged to consider whether the systems in our businesses are alive or dead. A dead system is one that is based on pre-computer era thinking and is probably not being used or followed properly anyway. Time to bury it and start afresh. When I do firms reviews I certainly see evidence of dead systems which represent a great opportunity to achieve improvements in both the efficiency and effectiveness of work practices.
MYP is not nearly as well known as some other software providers for accountants but they do have some interesting and genuinely useful products, including a CRM system, which you can see here: https://home.mypcorp.com/