Latest Articles
Are you fully meeting the needs of your clients?
In considering this I want to break those needs into four categories: Needs the client has identified and is having met by you (Example – annual accounts and tax returns) Needs the client has identified and is having met by another provider (Example – bookkeeping or...
The value of a shareholder agreement for a multi owner accounting firm and 11 key things to put in it
I’ve been working in and with accounting firms for thirty plus years and one of the things I’ve observed is just how important having a good shareholder agreement is. For some firms this will be known as a partnership agreement because they operate as a partnership,...
When and who to hire next in your accounting firm
Recently I’ve had quite a few conversations with clients about when to hire the next person into their accounting firm and what role it should be. I hold the view that as a business owner you should always know what role your next hire will be and roughly when that...
Are you using your time wisely?
I’ve regularly observed within accounting and other professional firms that some people just seem to have the knack for getting more things done. Each person has the same number of hours in the day and yet some are clearly kicking more goals and seen as high...
Elite athletes, coaching and business
Many of us were looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics this year but sadly that is not to be. Have you noticed that stories about the Olympics are not just about the athletes? We also regularly hear about the coaches too. So what exactly does a coach do and why is...
Five ways to attract and retain great people for your firm
I wrote an article comparing accounting firm management to wine making and finished by saying: Your team and your clients are like the grapes in wine making. You source the best quality you can and then cultivate them and care for them. The result is season after...
Four ways to help your clients and your firm during COVID
The ongoing pandemic has provided both challenges and opportunities for business and your accounting firm is no different. I hold the view that if we are doing good things for our clients and delivering value to them, then our own businesses will prosper. Here are...
What accountants and their clients could learn from Qantas about adaption in tough times
I recently had the pleasure of taking a joy ride on the last Qantas Boeing 747 left in the fleet, before it was to head off to the plane graveyard in the Mohave Desert. We flew out of Brisbane and did a lap over the Brisbane CBD, Gold Coast, islands in the Bay and...
What’s next for accounting firms post Coronavirus?
The title of this article was the title of a webinar I recently delivered and I wanted to share with you a few of the highlights from it. While any form of prediction is fraught, I did quite a bit of reading and thinking about what I see unfolding. I also talked to...
The future of the professions – applying a COVID-19 lens
The title of this article was the title of a webinar recently hosted by CAANZ, in which father and son Richard and Daniel Susskind shared some insights from their research on the future of the professions and more recently, the impact that COVID-19 is having....
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