Posts Tagged ‘practice management’
Hard decisions
You know the feeling. You come to the office and get stuck into your “To Do” list. You focus on addressing those day-to-day business issues – but lurking in the corner like a bad smell are those things that you know that you need to do but you just can’t bring yourself to do it.…
Read MoreSoft Skills – the Future for Successful Accountants
If you have been working for several years in the accounting industry or maybe just a few, you would have noticed that successful team members know more than technical accounting skills. They know how to manage a meeting, put clients at ease, deal with difficult clients and scenarios, persuade and negotiate, and make themselves known…
Read MoreUnlocking the Secret of Being a Gun Leader
Leadership skills are essential to progressing your career for a wide range of reasons including: You already know that and will undoubtedly be looking forward to discovering more about this (and other insights) at the 2023 Young Guns Workshop. There is one leadership skill that isn’t often mentioned that truly is a critical one. It’s…
Read MoreTime for some New Year’s resolutions?
Happy New Year! I hope that your year has been a great success and that you’re not getting lapped. Hopefully your 2022 work is cleared away and ready for the 2023 work to start. If you’ve been on holiday with the kids I hope you haven’t been caught up in the airport chaos. Whether or…
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 MoreHow to get started with marketing in your accounting firm.
Fairly regularly I come across firms who for one reason or another have engaged a marketing consultancy. For many, this is entirely the wrong move. Few marketing consultancies understand the nuances of professional service firms. Many focus on things which might have some merit like brand and website but miss the core matters to be…
Read MoreAre You Targeting Your Ideal Client?
I have long spoken to many accounting firm partners and team members about defining and agreeing on their ideal client profile. In my mind, an ideal client is someone who finds the perfect solution to their problems or needs in the services that your firm provides. The ideal client will be loyal to your firm,…
Read MoreStaff Impact on Succession Planning
Many accounting practitioners would agree that it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract and retain good staff that can assist not only in compliance procession but also in business advisory service delivery. There is increased reporting on the skills shortage in various industries and there are no immediate signs that this is going to change.…
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…
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