IDA Episode 34, Sam interviews Richard McArtney from Bentleys Newcastle about his reflections on the last 20 years and future predictions for the Australian Accounting Industry.

Sam and Richard discuss his career journey from Industrial Chemistry to Retail Business to Accounting Partner, and how his prior business experience helped his work as an accountant. They then cover the range of digitalisation changes in the last 20+ years in the Australian Accounting Industry, from Y2K compliance to GST to cloud-based accounting to STP.

Richard and Sam explore why the industry needs to get proactive and stop waiting for legislation to force technology take-up and digitalisation, the opportunities we as an industry missed in the last 20 years to help clients avoid ATO debt and improve cashflow and how we can learn from that and grab those opportunities presented to us now.

Connect with Richard at https://www.bentleysnewcastle.com.au

Here at BlueprintHQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

IDA Episode 33, Sam explores the concept of Brave Leadership. She covers what brave leadership is, how to get started and why it's such a crucial part of being an In Demand Accountant.

Sam explains why you are a leader even if you don't have a leadership role at work, plus the 5 attributes of brave leadership. These 5 attributes of a brave leader are: being accountable, having difficult conversations, never compromising values, putting resources where your mouth is and giving your job away.

Sam drills down on each of the 5 attributes individually and works through what each means, plus shares some everyday examples of what they look like in accounting firms. Finally, Sam poses some powerful questions to help you reflect on your own bravery and leadership and offers some steps to take to work towards brave leadership in your life and work.

Here at BlueprintHQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

IDA Episode 32, Sam reflects on 20 years of disruption in the accounting industry, since the introduction of the GST 2 decades ago, plus what's important for accountants and advisors in the future of the industry.

Here at BlueprintHQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

IDA Episode 31, Sam covers another element of the In Demand Accountant: emotional intelligence and empathy. But this is not your usual emotional intelligence and empathy training!

Sam covers the fact that these two skills can actually be learned, and how they will make you a better accountant and advisor. She explains definitions of both emotional intelligence and empathy, plus the sub skills that you need and how you can develop them.

Sam also shares a number of personal examples and real life stories of how she has applied and developed this in her life and work. She finishes the episode covering some common ways accountants get empathy wrong, why it matters, and what to do instead.

Here at BlueprintHQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

IDA Episode 30, Sam interviews Annette Tasker, the owner of ALT Tax+. Sam and Annette have been working together for the past 4 years and Annette really demonstrates the In Demand Accountant attributes, particularly around the empathy and emotional intelligence piece. Annette also brings a vast range of business experience to the job, and not only does she generously work with her clients, she gives back to the industry as well. She is the Deputy President of the IPA and Treasurer of the Cronulla Chamber of Commerce, as well as a number of other community roles.

In this episode, Sam and Annette discuss how Annette reinvented herself at 40 and why that prior life experience is such a part of her success as an accountant. They cover what's been working for her and how she's actually grown her business during the pandemic, plus why your marketing needs to speak to clients where they are at (instead of being slick and highly produced).

Sam and Annette explore the fundamental skills of empathy and emotional intelligence in the future of accounting, and how we can get structured in order to prioritise these skills. Plus, Annette shares a brilliant story about the challenges and opportunities of engaging and retaining younger members in the accounting industry.

Connect with Annette on LinkedIn or https://alttax.com.au

Here at BlueprintHQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

IDA Episode 29, Sam covers another characteristic of the In Demand Accountant: being ambitious. This is so important, especially at this time when many of us are feeling fatigue and the fallout from the last 3 months implementing the government stimulus package and responding to COVID-19. It starts with getting clarity around your vision and values, and is a key piece of being an In Demand Accountant going forwards.

Sam explains some of the blocks accountants have around getting clarity on their goals and vision and the questions you need to ask yourself to overcome that, plus what we as an accounting industry can learn from the younger generation about life and work. Sam also explores why you and your staff need 'mistake safe zones', what she actually means by mistake, and the 3 elements to making it happen.

Here at BlueprintHQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

IDA Episode 28, Sam explores how being highly efficient is not only key to effectiveness, but it's also one of the main elements to saying In Demand. In previous episodes we did a series covering efficiency in terms of End of Year processes, so go back and listen to Episodes 16 - 20 which were released from 27th February through to 26th March 2020.

In this episode, we're talking about efficiency loops and the habits you can set up around efficiency in what you do every day. These include the conversations that you have, how you set up your day, the decisions that you make throughout the day, the rest that's required for efficiency, and also knowing your 'efficiency magic'.

Here at BlueprintHQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

IDA Episode 27, Sam has a brilliant conversation with Amanda Kenafake, the CEO of Power Tynan, an In Demand Accounting firm in Toowoomba, QLD. Sam and Amanda talk about Amanda's background and career progression, and the challenges of running a business the size of Power Tynan.

They dive into how Power Tynan proactively supports their staff, engages with their clients and measures the challenging lead indicators around productivity and efficiency. Amanda and Sam discuss the changes in the industry in the last 30 years and what that means for graduates entering the industry now.

They finish their chat covering the importance of collaboration and Amanda's top 3 tips for accountants.

Connect with Amanda at Power Tynan https://www.powertynan.com.au

Here at BlueprintHQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

IDA Episode 26, Sam explores part 1 of being the In Demand Accountant, which is all about mastering our craft. This involves getting clear on what you do and why you're doing it, which you may not have done recently and is a powerful activity.

Sam also discusses what you can ask clients in order to figure out how you can best communicate with them the problem you are solving for them. Finally, Sam covers why it's so important to be curious and innovative with our craft going forward to make sure we remain relevant into the future.

Here at Blueprint HQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

IDA Episode 25, Sam announces the change of name of the podcast from 'Conversations with Sam Dean' to 'In Demand Accountant'. There's a couple of reasons for this, which Sam covers in this episode, as well as what Covid-19 has highlighted for our industry over the last few months.

Sam covers what it means to be an In Demand Accountant and gives an overview of the 7 characteristics, as well as sharing a bit about what's coming up on the podcast going forwards.

Here at Blueprint HQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me [email protected]

We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au

This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to start the conversation.

The In Demand Accountant Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.