Posts by andreaives
Helping those that need it most
In a recently published survey conducted in the US by research house Greenwald Research on behalf of Edelman Financial Engines, there were some interesting insights regarding consumer attitudes to financial advice. I suspect that the results in Australia would be very similar. The survey sampled “affluent” Americans defined as being 45 to 70 with household…
Read MoreWe need a mental health plan
At our recent Young Guns event, we invited Petris Lapis (www.artisanofchange.com) to talk about Mental Health in accounting firms. For us older practitioners, this is quite a different world from the world we grew up in and established our careers. Mental health was not something that was really discussed. It was like there was a…
Read MoreHow to Create Sustainable Opportunities
Accountants are fortunate (although not all may agree). Legislation dictates the annual demand for accounting services. This, along with the inconvenience of moving accountants, has provided some degree of disincentive for clients to shift from their incumbent accountant. However, the impact of this disincentive is diminishing. With compliance services increasingly commoditised, a reduced fee is…
Read MoreLeadership – Unleashing the Key to your Career Superpower
As an ambitious professional, you’re on the lookout for opportunities to step up and stand out. Bigger clients. More complex work. Sitting in the big meetings. Conversations with the senior practitioner. Leadership is one factor that you must address to be truly successful. It’s something that not every finance professional gets right and therefore when…
Read MoreBDMs hiding in your midst
The concept of a team of business development managers running around knocking on doors to sell your firm’s services would be an anathema to most firm owners. We all also know that most new business in most firms, comes from referrals and personal relationships. Increasingly, some are having some success with digital marketing but for…
Read MoreHarnessing the power of marketing data for your clients
As a financial advisor, you understand the importance of using data to guide the strategic direction of your clients’ businesses. Where traditionally this may have been limited to utilising certain data sets, some of Australia’s leading financial firms are now harnessing the power of marketing data to assist their clients even further. This shift has…
Read MoreCan’t find staff? An efficient team will help
No one needs to be reminded how hard it is to find good “producer” people these days. It’s gone from bad to worse as we move into the “Coping with COVID” world. In other articles, we have canvassed the various rocks that should be looked under to try to find people but it’s not easy.…
Read MoreHow’s that capacity plan going?
As many readers may be aware, I have long advocated that every firm needs a production manager. Part of that job is to ensure that the business has sufficient capacity to get the work done and develop new work. In these resource constrained times, this is no easy challenge. While, before COVID, there were still…
Read MoreThe end of the supplier centric integrated suite; Now the client centric best of breed suites.
One of the defining differences between the approach taken by North American accounting firms and their technology suppliers compared with Australian/New Zealand firms and their suppliers is the integrated suite. Those of my vintage can recall the birth of technology for the accounting profession in the late 1970s. Companies like Hartley Computer, O’Reilly Computer, Anpac…
Read MoreMillennials Rising
In late July we conducted our popular Young Guns workshop for emerging leaders. It is now clearly the domain of the Millennials (born 1981-1996). How exciting is that! It was wonderful to see this cohort being so engaged in building their careers and taking leadership roles in their firms. The challenge now for the Boomers…
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