Episode 15: Takeaways From My Conversation with Mark Calleja
“We are going to be a relationship business going forward. But we are in such a great position to be there because still today, unlike any other of the advice style businesses, our clients still need come in at least once a year to see us. So we do actually have that trigger to have great conversations.”
In this episode, Sam dives into the takeaways from her conversation with Mark Calleja in Episode 14. If you haven’t yet, go and listen to that episodes before this one.
Sam looks at the lesson from Mark in the opportunities being missed by accountants by not freeing up space and systematising our businesses, and why the biggest opportunity is the EOY tax processes. Sam explains the difference between a process and a system, as well as how the industry can be the disruptors through becoming relationship businesses, rather than being disrupted by technology.
This is the first in a series, so stay tuned for coming weeks when Sam will drill down into the practical tips to start implementing these mindset shifts and action steps in your practice.
Listen to a snippet
What we cover in this epsisode
Sam’s observations on the disruption coming in the accounting industry
Why accountants need to be driving these shifts, not be dictated to by tech companies
Sam’s takeaways from the interview with Mark Calleja
The absolute importance of creating space in business and not working crazy hours
The opportunities being missed due to this lack of space, and why this happens
What processes and systems are, and why we need them
What makes a good process
The benefits of starting with streamlining the End of Year Process in your firm
How the Job Workflow Blueprint can help with this
The advantages of empowering your staff to take ownership of various tasks and processes
Mindset changes and conversation tweaks needed to implement this shift
Why the accounting industry needs to be the disruptors (or be disrupted)
The series coming up on how to go about applying this to your End of Year Processes
Other quotes
“I think [Mark] is a very good example of where we need to focus our efforts. Right now in the accounting industry, the domination of all the articles and information out there is really being driven by technology companies who are offering us advice on how and what and where we need to be going. While some of the points are absolutely valid, I can't see any focus from us as practitioners on where we think it needs to go.”
“Another great thing about working on the end of year process, because it is still the most significant part of our firms at the moment, is when you get efficiency in here, you create a lot more space and time within the firm, for everybody, not just yourself.”
“You need to find time within your day, small amounts of time, and we find it so powerful to actually work on the End of Year processes…and then when you empower your staff to actually be involved in the process, they take ownership of it, and again, it decreases the reliance on you.”
“If we aren't clear on the processes and what we actually want to deliver on the first place, adding technology into the mix…actually makes us less efficient because we don't have a clear understanding of the processes in the first place.”
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