Posts by andreaives
Finding The Right Balance
This month we are looking at something a bit different. I have again asked my daughter Jessica (Jess) Holton, a 34-year-old skilled graduate journalist working in digital media to comment on the work-life balance of the new generation of employees, particularly in the accounting industry and how to manage them. Here are some of Jess’s…
Read MoreSo, will AI be the end of the world (or at least the accounting profession)?
You’d have to be a hermit without an internet connection to have missed all the noise being made about ChatGPT and other AI bots. In some people’s minds, they are harbingers of the end of the world. They are certainly interesting. It is that interest that has seen the fastest take-up of a technology in…
Read MoreLeading the new generation of accountants
This month we are looking at something a bit different. I have asked my daughter Jessica (Jess) Holton, a 34-year-old skilled graduate journalist working in digital media and fiercely independent, as only a father would know, to comment on the new generation of employees, particularly in the accounting industry, and how to manage them. Here…
Read MoreInsight from your peers
One of the challenges when running your own business is that it can be a lonely place. You’re making decisions based on your own experience and those of your partners if you’re in partnership. The insights and decisions you make can be self-reinforcing as they’re based on what is already happening and past experience in…
Read MoreHelping 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…
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