Accountants EXPOSED

Accountants EXPOSED

By Michael EdelsteinBusinessEntrepreneurship
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Accountants EXPOSED episodes

  • Kylie Parker - The Twitter Accountant - The Accountant to the Stars, Startups and Superstars!

    Our guest, the remarkable Kylie Parker from Lotus Accountants imparts her knowledge and experience as an accountant, a partner, a business founder and a woman on all aspects of her career and personal life. If you are curious on how she built her firm without any marketing within this unique niche, then you won’t want to miss this episode.

    • Running a highly profitable sole practitioner firm vs trying to grow for the sake of growth, and which makes you happier
    • Reasons for starting her firm and the unique structure she used to organically grow it
    • Her journey into the accounting industry, working from small to mid tier to Big 4 firms as as being a sole practitioner and her advice to young accountants
    • Being a very structured and organised person and and how she finds and a creative outlet in accounting and in her life
    • What she would be doing if she was not an accountant and her side hustles
    • Importance of networking and nurturing professional relationships and how she goes about doing that
    • Her books and advice on insurance, divorce, and prenups
    • Canceling out people and the answer to the question- ‘Do female partners differ in terms of managing the firm?’
    • Why she prefers the ‘no marketing and referral only’ type of firm

      • “If someone's passionate and wants to help and wants to learn, they're a pleasure to work with. Because they always go above and beyond”


      “Connect and profit at Australia’s biggest exhibition and conference for the fast-changing World of Accounting, Business, Finance and Money!

      Accounting Business Expo is back and set to take place in-person on 28 & 29 April at the ICC in Sydney.  The market is evolving continually at a rapid pace with new solutions, product developments, and trends designed to enhance the way you do business. Don't miss your chance to get up to speed and join Australia’s largest, most comprehensive, and ground-breaking event for savvy, forward thinking accounting and finance.

      Visit www.accountingbusiness.com.au to book your FREE spot!”


      1 hr 29 min
    • Michelle Knight - The Instagram Accountant - Secrets to Successful Lead Generation!

      The self proclaimed ‘millennial accountant’ - our guest, Michelle Knight from Little Miss Bookkeeping shares everything there is to know about growing your own business, following your heart and using social media to drive leads and lifestyle!

      Get comfortable as Michelle talks about her passion for business, her profession and just life in general:

      • How she handles more than 100 clients with 3 offshore staff
      • Dealing with old school clients during this WFH era
      • Offshoring and her experience working with a BPO company
      • Useful software, SEO and marketing her way through social media and streaming platforms
      • Lead generation secrets
      • What she would be doing is she was not an accountant or bodybuilder and what made her leave the industry
      • Founding and growing her online and bookkeeping business at the same time and finding balance between multiple businesses and life
      • Business partnerships and how to maintain good relationships
      • Supporting her clients during the pandemic
      • Dealing with day to day challenges
      • What differentiates a great bookkeeper from an average one and her end goal

        • "I enjoy helping new business owners and existing business owners to a level where everything is nice and clean.”

        Show Notes

        • Aura Eve Pty Ltd
        • BDO
        • Little Miss Bookkeeping
        • Practice Ignition
        • Xero
        • Carbon
        • Slack 
        • Asana
        • BlueRock
        • Toastmasters
        • Finance Yourself Academy
        • Dext
        • Tax Nuggets Academy by Joyce Ong
        • Showpo
        • Accounting Business Expo


          • You can find out more about Michelle Knight   and her firm Little Miss Bookkeeping from their website: https://littlemissbookkeeping.com.au/

          Michael Edelstein: [email protected]

          Mobile: 0421 892 145


          1 hr 40 min
        • Gary Shamis - Strategy vs Execution: How to build a $100M firm within a single niche

          As part of our international expansion we’re pleased to have our first American guest Gary Shamis from Winding River Consulting sharing all there is to know about how to effectively lead a business in the modern era where baby boomers are running firms populated by millenials.

          Gary is a global powerhouse when it comes to leadership training for accounting firms and trains partners from all over the world, especially focusing on what it means to be an effective Managing Partner.

          Listen in as he reveals the blueprint to successful leadership in an accounting firm and the how to’s that will help you achieve your goals. Here are some of the topics we discussed in this episode:

          • Journey from medicine to accounting
          • Taking over his father's small fee based firm and growing it to one of the top firms in the US
          • Running a tax centric firm as an auditor and the struggles he had to go through
          • Picking your niche and his secret to expanding his firm
          • The three foundations of his firm that created multiple revenue streams
          • Difference between plain strategy and effective execution
          • Identifying top talent - what to look for and how to let go of employees
          • The baby boomer and millenials of accounting and the cultural differences of partners around the world
          • What advice he thinks accounting firms and accounting partners struggle to accept and implement
          • The biggest difference and the challenges between being a managing partner and a regular partner and what differentiates a successful Managing Partner from a failing one
          • The changes that he thinks had the most impact in the accounting industry
          • A few practical tips on hiring virtual staff

            • "I had a really simple philosophy which was - every year I wanted to be better than I was a year ago and all I wanted to do was continually improve knowing it's never good enough and it could always be better"

            “You can't make a bad investment on a great person”

            Click the link for more info: https://recruitmentexpert.com.au/podcast/strategy-vs-execution-how-to-build-a-100m-firm-within-a-single-niche/

            1 hr 28 min
          • Natalie Lennon - The ‘TikTok Accountant’ - going out on her own and using the latest tech to deal with rapid growth!

            Most people nowadays use social media to promote their business in the most fun and creative ways, and our guest for today is not one to miss out on the opportunity! Meet Natalie, the accountant who gets her clients from Tiktok!

            Keep listening as Natalie Lennon from Two Sides Accounting shares her ups and downs of running a fast growing business during a pandemic. Some of the thing we touch on include:

            • Coping with burnout like most accountants during Covid, and her techniques to deal with that
            • Managing financially struggling clients and why she goes above and beyond in helping them
            • Her accounting journey - expanding her client base even during the pandemic and the importance of being a proactive accountant
            • How she quickly progressed to an accounting firm manager as a university graduate to getting bored in commerce and then becoming a young equity partner in a firm
            • Challenges of returning to Public Practice from Commerce
            • Dealing with being sidelined as a junior partner in the boardroom, speaking up, and going her own way
            • What her goals were in starting her own firm, and how she got her first clients
            • The hard truth of growing your business and subsequent coaching
            • Taking advantage of social media in the midst of pandemic and how to be a 'modern' accountant
            • The obstacles in getting your ideal employee, tips in hiring and her outsourcing journey
            • Automating your process and friends as clients and how bookkeeping was an integral part of her firm
            • When to put a break on ‘growing’

              • “I was never very good at selling before, and I thought it was me. But then I realised that it was what I was selling…I didn't believe in what I was selling, whereas now - Two Sides is me, it's what I want to do”

              Show Notes

              • Totally bossing It podcast
              • Slipstream group
              • Hammerjack
              • Xero
              • Cloud
              • Carbon
              • MYOB
              • Dropbox
              • Mailchimp
              • Slack
              • DocuSign
              • Paul Dunn
              • Rob Nixon
              • Peter Knight

                • You can find out more about Natalie Lennon and her firm Two Sides Accounting from their website: https://www.twosides.com.au/

                1 hr 48 min
              • Reuben Bergola - 100% Growth YoY through Niching, Recruitment, Outsourcing, Scaling up and Digital Success

                Have you ever heard of an accountant who gets his clients from the gym? Our guest today, Reuben Bergola from New Wave Business Solutions surely has unique ways in scaling up his business. In this episode, he shares his journey, vision and tips on how he managed to start young and organically grow to a multi-million dollar accounting firm in a short span of time.

                Join us as Reuben shares the how to’s in structuring your accounting firm, from recruitment to marketing and many more things:

                • How he has managed to organically grow his accounting firm from $0 to $3.6m TO & 30 staff in 5 years.
                • Starting his bookkeeping business while he was still a manager at a firm with 50 staff
                • The reason he switched from Quickbooks to Xero
                • What makes his firm different from traditional accounting firms and how he effectively deals with service price increases and client attrition
                • Starting out alone to partnership constant reinvesting to scale up the business
                • How digital marketing enabled the business to really take off
                • What it's like working with your wife
                • The importance of creating a niche for your firm and the ecommerce space
                • What work culture really means, how to recruit people and where to look
                • His experience with outsourcing and the issues with work from home employees
                • Leadership and how to grow as a person

                  • “Work culture is a collaborative environment that people are happy to be in”

                  Show Notes

                  • Rob Nixon
                  • Ed chan
                  • WIZE Mentoring
                  • Molly Pittman courses
                  • Brad Smith 
                  • Intuit
                  • Shaneel Pforr
                  • BlueRock
                  • Peter Lalor 
                  • Karbon
                  • Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight
                  • Traction by Gino Wickman
                  • Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't by Verne Harnish


                    • 2 hr 4 min
                  • Peter Lalor - Building a $1 Billion Dollar Accounting Brand whilst sharing the wealth with your staff!

                    First of all - you have to check out Blue Rock’s website - it’s out of this world (click on the link below)! This ‘picture’ will paint a thousand words about our guest Peter Lalor from Blue Rock who shares his incredible vision and the journey towards materialising it.

                    Join us in this episode as Peter shares his insights into leadership and what it takes to build a distinctive brand from nothing to a billion dollar firm, and many more things:

                    • How a creative person like him thought of joining the accounting industry
                    • Why he decided to pursue a multidisciplinary accounting form model
                    • The first year journey of BlueRock and it's temporary setbacks
                    • Which tools have had the biggest impact on the firm
                    • Advice on what makes a firm successful, how to add value for your customers and the pillars of growth
                    • How to set a clear version for your business, and his BlueRock 3030 Vision
                    • Getting the right people on board
                    • Designing a successful grad program
                    • Balance a fast growing business, family and hobbies and his take on working long hours
                    • Future of technology in the accounting industry

                      • “I'd rather build a legacy where people feel like they've come in well, and they've left well.”

                      “If you build it they will come. And it's all about building a great ecosystem to excel and the rest will sort itself out.”

                      Profile

                      Peter Lalor is an experienced Company Director with a demonstrated history of working with entrepreneurial business owners since his 20’s. He is passionate about thinking differently and about technology in the Accounting industry. His keenness for growth and opportunity to help entrepreneurs and develop a strong client community and his value and purpose are admirable. His vision - to work with smart people to break the rules!

                      Show Notes

                      • Blue Rock
                      • Asana
                      • My prosperity
                      • Xero
                      • APS
                      • XPM - Xero Practice Manager
                      • Managing the Professional Service Firm by David Maister
                      • One Thing You Need to Know: About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham
                      • The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone
                      • Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl


                        • 1 hr 45 min
                      • Wayne Schmidt - Digital Nomad - Travel, Remote Working & Marketing for Accountants

                        From working for the top accounting software businesses to starting the Australian operation for Xero, with his wife on their kitchen table, our special guest Wayne Schmidt from PracticeEQ tells it how it is.

                        Join us as he shares the secrets to marketing, leadership, taking risks, building an accounting business, and many more things:

                        • What it's like working at the three largest accounting software companies - Reckon, MYOB, and Xero
                        • His love for travelling and the special lessons he learned through the years of adventure
                        • Working while travelling - especially during Covid
                        • Major changes in the accounting industry in times of the pandemic and what we can expect
                        • How he goes about hiring the right staff and dealing with clients
                        • Methodology for selling and marketing - the types of advertising you should cross off your list
                        • Importance of branding and revamping your website
                        • The future of outsourcing and the technology involved in working remotely
                        • The 3 main things that all accounting firms should start doing

                          • “The Accounting industry has moved online, the world moved online, whether they like it or not”

                          Profile

                          Wayne Schmidt knows accountants and industry inside out, being in the industry for more than 35 years. He is a sales and marketing guru, a traveller who likes blogging, a website designing enthusiast and a business mentor. One word to describe him? - Bold. He likes taking risks and is passionate about life and calls himself a ‘digital nomad’. His goal - to help accountants find out what makes them unique!

                          Show Notes

                          • Travel, Dine, Stay
                          • Practice Succession 
                          • Andrew Van De Beek
                          • Illumin8
                          • MYOB
                          • Reckon
                          • Xero
                          • Baked with XOXO
                          • Paul Dunn

                            • Contact Info

                            You can find out more about Wayne Schmidt and his firm Practice Paradox from their website: https://www.wayne-schmidt.com/

                            Michael Edelstein: [email protected]

                            Mobile: 0421 892 145

                            2 hr 3 min
                          • Baidy Laffan - What it takes to be a Partner at 26!

                            In this episode, we speak with Baidy Laffan, a leader who despite her young age, has been able to achieve so much by following the unconventional path to success.

                            Sit back and listen to this episode with the amazing Baidy Laffan of Yellow Canary as she shares:

                            • Advice for young accountants trying to decide which path to follow in their career
                            • What it takes to be a Partner - balancing the 3 hats of producer, manager and leader.
                            • Leadership vs management - and developing those skills
                            • Importance of mentorship for career progression and personal growth
                            • Biggest challenges and insights in the journey to audit partnership


                              • "Don't ask, Don't get!”


                              Profile

                              Baidy Laffan is not just an accountant but a leader who is incredibly passionate about her work, and about getting more women into tech and senior roles. Her spirited goal to bring radical change in the industry by offering new solutions and her big picture thinking is what brought her success. Her goal - to achieve the impossible through creative problem solving!

                              Some quick facts:

                              • Former Audit Partner at PKF, one of the top firms in Australia, and a member of Scale investors - the first and only network of Angels investing in exceptional female founders.
                              • Head of Customer & Growth at at an exciting tech business - Yellow Canary
                              • Speaker and Coach at Startmate

                                • Show Notes:

                                • Man's Search for Meaning  - Victor Frankl
                                • Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds - David Goggins


                                  • Contact Info

                                  You can find out more about Baidy Laffan and his firm Practice Paradox from their website: https://www.yellowcanary.com.au/

                                  To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email

                                  Michael Edelstein: [email protected]

                                  59 min
                                • Greg Hayes - Fundamental Challenges for Accounting Firms

                                  The ever enterprising Greg Hayes of Hayes Knight , a familiar face in the industry, leading one of the top mid-tier accounting firms in Australia, discusses the fundamental challenges facing the baby boomer accounting firms and what they need to do to adapt.

                                  Some of the thing we cover include:

                                  • Fundamental changes & challenges for baby boomer practitioners
                                  • Impact of technology and automation on junior accountants and selection for different skills
                                  • New 'normal' i the post Covid world and remote working
                                  • Being strategic - because turning up to work is no longer enough
                                  • Why a Partner should never have more than 50% chargeable hours
                                  • Relationship between growth and staff & client retention
                                  • Mechanics of valuations for Accounting Firms
                                  • Different structures for bringing in new partners
                                  • CA vs CPA debate
                                  • Challenges of transitioning from small sole practitioner to a national firm


                                    • "We have a generation of accountants now who have never had to market, hunt and eat and kill to get their business"


                                    Profile

                                    Greg Hayes is a highly skilled professional who has a wealth of experience in this industry. From running an ASX Listed business to successfully building his own national firm and being well known in both Australia and globally for his achievements - he brings incredible wisdom to every conversation. He is passionate, focused on his goals and what is possible. His belief - “Lateral and innovative thinking sometimes makes the difficult achievable!”

                                    Some quick facts:

                                    • Entrepreneur who has built multiple successful businesses in the accounting and wealth industry
                                    • Former National Chairman of Small Business Centre of Excellence, CPA Australia, and of NSW Public Practice Committee, CPA Australia, Former member of Advisory Panel for the Board of Taxation, the Managing Director of ASX listed Easton Investments Limited, Director, Morison KSi International Asia Pacific
                                    • Author of “A Practical Guide to Business Valuations for SMEs”, “Practice Management for Professionals” Co-author of “STS in Practice, CPA Australia” and “CGT in Practice, CPA Australia”


                                      • Contact Info

                                      You can find out more about Greg Hayes and his firm Hayes Knight from their website: https://www.hayesknight.com.au/

                                      To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email

                                      Michael Edelstein: [email protected]

                                      1 hr 41 min
                                    • Patrick Sargent - Disrupting the Accounting Industry with a Fintech model

                                      Starting out as a Graduate Accountant and eventually paving his way and co-founding his very own high tech accounting practice, our guest gives us more than a sneak peak of what his journey has been about, how he focused on systems, growth and scaling the business. His business aims to disrupt the traditional accounting model.

                                      Listen in as Patrick Sargent, CEO of Pop Business enlightens us about:

                                      • The journey of Pop Tax and it's Co-Founders
                                      • The trials and tribulations of being a tech a start up in the accounting space
                                      • The impressive tech used to run and scale the business
                                      • Importance of stepping away from the tools in order to quickly scale the business
                                      • Raising funds for an accounting firm business
                                      • Learning about different channels for advertising & marketing
                                      • Challenges and solutions to recruiting staff in a growing practice
                                      • The need for timesheets, KPI's and incentives
                                      • Benefits of using recruitment agencies

                                        • “We've tripled last financial year in revenue and staff and looking to double this financial year.”

                                        Profile

                                        Patrick Sargent is a seasoned accounting professional with over 10 years of experience on his hand. He co-founded and currently leads Pop Business - revolutionising how accounting services are delivered to SME’s helping put businesses in the best position to achieve their objectives!

                                        Some quick facts:

                                        • 10+ years experience as a Chartered Accountant
                                        • CEO of POP Business & POP Tax - a leading fintech accounting firm in Australia
                                        • Winner of Tech Innovator of the Year, Business Advisory Firm of the Year, Fast Growing Firm of the Year and Firm of the Year

                                          • Show Notes

                                          • Podcast with Nick Sinclair - new website to follow
                                          • Podcast with Shaye Thyer - new website to follow
                                          • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
                                          • How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
                                          • Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
                                          • Tribes by Seth Godin

                                            • Contact Info

                                            You can find out more about Patrick Sargent and his firm Pop Business from their website: https://popbusiness.com.au/

                                            1 hr 56 min

                                          About Accountants EXPOSED

                                          From the publisher's feed

                                          Creating lightbulb moments - unravelling the secrets to success of top performers in the accounting space, in Australia and beyond.