Greg Sheehan (FCA)

This policy by the Opposition is positive news for accountants and our clients who see us as their trusted advisor. Shadow assistant treasurer and shadow minister for financial services, Hon. Luke Howarth MP Luke Howarth, has said he would be open to considering how accountants could provide some form of financial advice and would also look to reduce the number of regulations currently imposed on the accounting profession. The SMSF Association stated last month that accountants could be given a defined advice role which would help consumers access the advice they need and when they need it from their choice of trusted adviser. Accountants were previously able to provide certain types of limited financial advice under the accountants' exemption which was removed in 2016. The limited AFSL regime, which replaced the exemption, has largely been deemed unworkable by the accounting profession with the number of accountants operating under the regime continuing to dwindle. Mr Howarth said he would also like to see greater collaboration between financial advisers and accountants. "Financial advisers shouldn't fear accountants. Accountants are good people, they're well qualified and we want to try to get more people into financial advice as well." "There's plenty of work for them at the moment. We want to reduce their regulations so let's work together."

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Xerocon all done and dusted! As usual a massive event and occasion. A demonstration of the immense influence of Xero in our profession and particularly in Australia and New Zealand. A few thoughts of mine from my experience over the past couple of days: - Although a tech driven event, the magic is in the human connection. New connections, reconnections, hopefully no disconnections. - Xero & all of the amazing app partners continue to drive innovation & efficiency for us & our clients hard which is welcomed & important for us to address the profession's continued capacity challenges. - AI is everywhere & we all need to get into it now. It takes leadership, trust & we need to be ready to constantly adapt. We also need to keep our eye on the security challenges & make sure that we retain our human authenticity in the sea of AI sameness. - There are an enormous amount of opportunities for accountants out there. Advisory is perhaps one. Perhaps a bigger one is the rising need for SMEs to have a complete, frictionless & consistent accounting function. They need it but just want to run their businesses without the hassle. Fully outsourced accounting leading into specialist advisory services has a big future in the profession. - There is chronic under pricing in accounting. We need to be far bolder about our worth and articulating our value to clients. Willingness to take a bath to win work is a fools game doing harm to everyone including ourselves. We need to change the way we price & get better at it. There are a few sleeper issues in accounting that we are not talking about enough. A couple increasingly urgent things are how we are going to address compliance with AML & how we are going to handle the ESG & particularly the mandatory sustainability reporting needs for businesses. AML is on our doorstep and in only a couple of years sustainability reporting will fall into our world with clients in the reporting threshold. These issues along with the continued and increasing demand on our services will only increase the pressure on the capacity challenges that exist across the profession. From where I sit, despite the tech, despite AI, there is one common message I hear: we need more people! Seems like a paradox that there is a perception that we are going to lose our jobs while at the same time we can't seem to find the people we need. At Walker Wayland Australasia Limited, we can see this problem now and looking forward 5 or 10 years can see that it will only get worse without action with interest in accounting as a career dropping off a cliff in high schools. It is just a numbers game: more work, less people to do it. Tech and AI will definitely help but I can't see this equation being balanced just by that alone. We plan to continue to take action to encourage an increased supply of accounting talent into our profession from the grass roots. Considering the influence of Xero in our profession, I hope they can help.

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Business owners should know that debt is not a static figure; it can be managed and reduced. ^ This is often a surprise. Debt can be restructured. It can be refinanced. And, it can be renegotiated. The purpose is to satisfy your creditors based on a budget you can realistically afford in an effort to hopefully avoid lawsuits and bankruptcy. There’s sometimes more flexibility than you think.

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1 Comment

Over the years of working with professionals and businesses, I’ve come to realise that financial success doesn’t come from big wins alone—it comes from consistently doing the small things right. At PayBench, we often remind our clients that lasting financial progress depends more on discipline and clarity than on income levels. These are five habits we regularly encourage: 1. Invest in yourself—learning, growing, and improving your mindset. 2. Make a budget—not just to restrict, but to take control. 3. Keep saving, even if it’s small. It builds resilience over time. 4. Understand investing—not just where to invest, but how it works. 5. Choose your financial decisions carefully—be it your advisor, bank, or plan. Whether you're managing personal finances or running a company, these basics still apply. If you’re serious about improving your financial habits or setting up a stronger financial system for your business, we’re happy to help. Visit www.paybenchindia.com to learn more. #Finance #FinancialSuccess #BusinessSupport #TaxAndAccounting #ProfessionalGrowth

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There are about 79,900,000 results when you search for accounting software. But which one is the best? Here's one of the many I swear by: I’m talking about QuickBooks Company. As a service-based entrepreneur in Australia, you know how overwhelming it can be to manage billable hours, track expenses, and ensure timely invoicing. But QuickBooks can make it effortless. Why should you care? QuickBooks isn’t just software; it’s your all-in-one solution for seamless business management. Here are the Top 5 Features QuickBooks offers for time tracking and invoicing: 1/ One-Tap Time Tracking Say goodbye to manual effort. With QuickBooks, log every billable hour effortlessly—even on the go using the mobile app. 2/ Professional Invoicing Made Easy Convert tracked hours into branded invoices instantly. Need payment reminders? QuickBooks has you covered with automated follow-ups. 3/ Streamlined Expense Management From categorizing project costs to monitoring incidental expenses, QuickBooks keeps every dollar accounted for, boosting profitability. 4/ Built-In GST Compliance Automatically calculate and track GST, ensuring smooth and accurate reporting tailored for Australian businesses. 5/ Powerful Financial Insights Gain real-time visibility into cash flow, profits, and losses. Make informed decisions with QuickBooks’ advanced reporting tools. —--------------- At VNC Australia , we specialize in helping service entrepreneurs integrate QuickBooks. If you need help with this, our team at VNC is happy to assist you. Our team is regularly trained and updated on software changes, which helps us stay current and provide you with the best support. CPA. Dhara Vadera, CA Sumegha Mehta Borar, Aamir Shaikh, and CA Rupali Parikh, Siabh O'Mara, Collett Mathieson #quickbooks #accounting #business #finance

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Businesses in NZ need a competitor for Xero. I have always been strongly pro-Xero for businesses of all sizes. It was easy to use for non-accountants, wasn’t too expensive, and made life easy for accountants. But with regular price increases, the gap between the value it provides, and the cost, is decreasing. Opportunity exists for something leaner and faster where bank reconciliations aren’t the choke point. 

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48 Comments

Listen, learn, and connect with the 🫶 heart of bookkeeping. If you're in the bookkeeping space, I highly recommend subscribing to Heart of the Bookkeeper ... the #ICBAustralia podcast hosted by Rob Marshall. Rob recently had me on as a guest (episode 42), but whether or not you listen to my episode, I encourage you to dive into the entire series. There are 42 episodes — that's 42 hours of insights from real human bookkeepers. You'll hear their journeys, challenges, and what matters most to them. It'll help you better understand the bookkeeping profession and, hopefully, resonate with your own journey. And if you work with or sell into the bookkeeping industry, it's essential listening. You'll gain valuable insights into how bookkeepers think and operate. So, go on — subscribe to Heart of the Bookkeeper with Rob Marshall. My episode has just dropped. I believe it's a monthly show, but either way — listen, learn, and connect with the heart of bookkeeping. What is your favourite bookkeeping podcast? _________________________________________________ 👉 Like insights like this? I share more conversations, tools, and tech tips for accountants and bookkeepers in my Accounting Apps newsletter. Sign up via the link in my bio. #AccountingAndAccountants

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3 Comments