Basic problem is we have too many people earning university degrees who do not need them and have no valuable use for them. They have invented new administrative functions to be relevant and then need to cover their arses. Best done with online training (of extremely variable quality) and checklists.

Accounting standards, where do I start. In 1978 there was one standard and we prided ourselves on substance over form. Legal documents were impenetrable. We started drafting standards to cover up loopholes a very small minority exploited, and the lawyers went for plain English drafting.

Standards are gibberish, mind bending to read, and I have stopped trying decades ago. I cannot make much sense of most public company sets of accounts, I suppose they prefer it that way. A well drafted legal document is easier to read than a childrens book while form over substance rules the waves, and charlatans are untouchable.

An elderly friend of mine had a recruitment business. His mantra; hire for attitude, train for skills, promote on integrity.

I am aware of another private company in SA which has a philosophy of hire slow and fire fast. They start with a long list but stage manage the first step. They are in the suburbs so they check if they use the inconvenient visitors spaces instead of a handy empty employee space. How do they treat the receptionist? Every applicant is then interviewed for five minutes by one of three principals, and then a short interview with someone in HR. Then they cull most of the list. The short list then goes through the process.

NPS; the book goes through many of the simple ways various programs have been rorted, and identify how much effort, double checking, audit etc is required to keep the system honest. No Australian firm is going to do any of that. It suits executives to get high scores because I guarantee their bonuses are weighted more towards it than actual sales and forecast quality.

I agree, it is hard to work out the strategy of some of the incumbent suppliers. It does then become a time consuming tasks to the put together your own solution based on a variety of applications/suppliers and making sure that they can be successfully and effectly integrated.

Yes, 1976 was quite early. My firm bought an Anpac system circa 1977. Converted to 2022 $ those systems in the 1970s were incredibly expensive.

(You were too young then, Mr Smith! )

Well done.

It’s the crucial message from COVID.

And the AICPA has a brilliant ‘take’ on it in their HUMAN SIGNALS report.

It is stunning stuff that I never thought I’d see — the AICPA recommending to Members that they work on HUMANITY as a purpose. Truly amazing. And I’ve sent you the report via email, Mark.

Of course, very happy to come online to your members and talk about the inferences here — it is profoundly important. A defining moment actually.

Thanks Aurora, glad you found it useful. No problem at all to share on your social media channels.

You could say that – the planner is Crescere’s planner under Crescere’s AFSL. One planner can support 3 to 4 firms. When they’re working with a firm they do so under the firm’s branded financial planning arm. Crescere’s planner meets the clients from the accountant’s office and works alongside the accountant in providing the service. Hope that makes sense.