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The dream of every accounting firm is to have a client base that supplies perfect information on a timely basis. Achieving this dream is akin to searching for the elusive holy grail. You’re sure it exists but it’s almost impossible to find. Enter the cloud and the promise gets a whole lot closer to reality.…

Recently I attended a five-day Company Directors training course run by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Each of the days covered a related topic such as strategy, risk, finance, governance and the like. The days were very well run with great interactive facilitation and practical case studies that related to both corporate, small business…

We are all guilty of procrastinating on particular issues, but I’m sure everyone would agree that in the end, it doesn’t do us any favours. In business, we may miss an opportunity, lose a client or not achieve as much as we could in terms of day to day and ultimate success. Business Insider Australia…

If someone was to ask me what is the most valuable asset within an accounting practice, my answer would be that it’s a combination of our expertise, our systems and our processes. These things make us different from our competitors. How often have you heard firms say it’s their people or their processes that make…

One of the great opportunities in business advisory service delivery is to develop a niche market with clients or prospects. Wikipedia defines a niche market as: “The subset of the market on which a specific product is focused. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the…

The world has moved on from PC based advisory tools and solutions. The time has come for change! Many of the PC loaded business advisory tools in the accountant’s space have now been overtaken by more sophisticated and visually attractive cloud solutions such as Cash Flow Story, FUTRLI, Fathom, Panalitix and Spotlight Reporting just to…

As you may be aware, following the completion of ATSA 2017 we sold the event to National Media, the owners of the Accounting Business Expo. It has been most satisfying the see ATSA grow from a handful of exhibitors and about 100 people in 2007 to over 70 exhibitors and 800 attendees in 2017. The…

With every technology change, the criminal element comes running in working out ways to exploit it. The cloud then is such a wonderful opportunity for the crooks. Without leaving their lair they are presented to the door of almost every piece of data on the planet. All they need are the keys to open the…

Automation of accounting is a constant discussion. All sort of predictions are being made, all sorts of technologies are being discussed. It’s hard to sort out what is real and what is fantasy. At ATSA, to be held on October 16-17 at Sydney’s Hyatt Regency, various speakers will bring the issues into sharp focus. The…

In part 1 of this series, I outlined some thoughts in relation to machine learning and big data and the impact on the accounting profession. These are just some of the technologies that are mooted to transform the world of accounting. Now in part 2, we’ll consider whether the promise may be delivered and other…