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au courant
January 2016
Welcome to the Summer edition of our quarterly newsletter ‘Au Courant’, our 12th edition. For those new to our mailing list, this name is French, and means 'up to date'. Its literal translation is 'In the current'.
Christmas and New Year celebrations are now a distant memory, and we are well into another year.
2015 was a very exciting year for us. We employed two new staff members, doubled our office space, added 324 new clients and won the ‘Excellence in Small Business’ award at the Illawarra Business Awards...it’s not much wonder we were a bit worn out at the end of the year!
We have some big plans again for 2016 and a few exciting developments so far, which we would like to share.
We hope you enjoy.
Regards
Andrew
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Welcome Karen!
We are very pleased to welcome Karen Claridge to our expanding team.
Karen is re-entering the profession after taking several years off to raise her family. She has over ten years of experience in public accounting in her native Tasmania, and in a senior position with a well-respected local firm. Since joining us, Karen has been able to pick up where she left off, and is very much enjoying being back in the office.
Karen is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from The University of Tasmania with a double major in accounting and management.
Welcome aboard Karen!
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Welcome Diane...and welcome back Jade!
When we started our practice in 2013, the plan was for both Jade and I to be in the office full time. Five months after we opened however, we got a pleasant surprise, which also threw a bit of a spanner in the works...her name is Molly, and she’s eighteen months old now.
Needless to say, Jade has had her hands full this past eighteen months, and has not been in the office near as much as we had planned, until now.
In January, Diane (pictured above with our brood) joined our team as well, although she is managing the 'very junior staff'. This will allow Jade to resume her role as Practice Manager.
We have known Dianne for a number of years, as she managed the pre-school which both of our boys attended. She has known and looked after both Callum and Charlie since each turned two, and will now look after Molly during the days, and the boys after school. We feel very lucky that she accepted our offer to join the team!
Our growth since we started in August 2013, has been rapid, and we needed a capable office manager on board. It also helps when you have a vested interest in a well run business...so Jade is back in the office 4 days a week.
Welcome aboard Di, and welcome back to the 'paid' workforce, Jade!
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Our View on Referrals
Accountants are often seen as the ‘trusted advisor’ to many clients, and are expected to be able to advise on a wide range of topics. Sometimes, these topics are outside our expertise and we require outside assistance.
When asked to provide guidance on a topic outside our field, simply saying ‘We can’t help you with that’ is not adequate. The correct answer should be ‘We can’t help you with that, though we know someone who can’.
We have spent a large amount of time and effort developing a local network of high quality professionals to whom we happily refer our clients. These referrals most commonly relate to lending, legal advice, financial planning and insurance. On occasion, we even refer work to other accountants!
These referral relationships are guided by the following key principles:
- We do not pay or accept commissions or any form of remuneration for any referrals made or received;
- We do not have any exclusive arrangements and refer to multiple people in the same industry;
- Our referrals are usually made to an particular individual rather than to an organisation as a whole;
- We match our referrals based on expertise and personality;
- Every provider is only as good as their last referral!
The referral process often involves us collaborating with another adviser and providing them with information. We take responsibility for, and seek to manage this process on your behalf.
Accountants on the whole are not always the best referrers and many either don’t make referrals when they should, or even worse, try to deliver work outside their expertise putting themselves and their clients at risk. This reluctance by some accountants to make referrals stems, I believe, from the following factors:
- A lack of confidence in their ability and a perception that not being able to assist on a particular issue will make them appear incapable;
- Not having a decent network of people to refer to; or
- Paranoia that the accountant will be supplanted if their clients are introduced to someone new.
Each of these factors are, in my opinion, irrational and very misguided. Referring to qualified people to solve problems for our clients has, in my experience, only ever lead to positive outcomes and strengthens our client relationships.
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New Year's Resolutions
Early in a new year is the time many of us take the opportunity to ‘make a fresh start’ within our personal lives. Common goals are to exercise more, eat better, relax more, spend more time with our families etc.
In a similar style, it is also a good opportunity to do the same with our business and/or finances. If you’re struggling for ideas, here are our top ten ‘fresh start’ ideas:
- Update your website
When was the last time you looked at your website? Too many business owners treat their website, and general online presence, as a one off task, then forget all about it. A website whose last item in the updates section is dated May 2009 does not leave a good impression.
Ideally, a website will be regularly updated with original and relevant content. Updating your site does not need to be expensive, though it does require a decent time commitment.
- Review your branding
Your business brand is a bit like your wardrobe, both should be updated and refreshed from time to time. If your brand was last updated when stonewash jeans were fashionable, it’s time for a change! This process does not necessarily involve scrapping the old and starting again, and is often more of an evolutionary process.
We definitely recommend that you use a professional with a strong track record to assist with this process.
- Review your personal insurances
This was a topic we wrote about in a previous newsletter, where we noted that many Australians are largely under-insured. A simple review of your personal insurances could make a dramatic difference to your family should something unexpected happen.
- Review your business insurances
Do you understand what insurance policies you need for your business? Do you have the right level of cover? Are you paying too much? Often business insurances are a ‘set and forget’ exercise and we automatically pay the yearly premium when it rolls around, without asking these questions. As your business grows and evolves, so too should your insurance cover and mix. The best approach, we believe, is to get an independent broker to review your business, determine what you need and determine if you have any gaps and/or could get a better deal.
- Review your wills and estate planning
This is the classic rainy day job that far too many people (including myself) put off. Proper estate planning includes a lot more than just having a will. There are many important decisions that you can make now that will make the life of those you leave behind much easier and more certain.
This process should always be conducted by a legal professional with estate planning experience. We know some good ones, which we would happily recommend.
- Review your business structure
As your business grows and evolves, so to should your business structure. I often see new clients who set up a simple structure in the beginning, though have outgrown this structure as their business gets bigger and their needs change.
Our tax system can be quite fair when it comes to rolling over into a new business structure, though it needs to be planned and executed properly. We can certainly assist with this process.
- Review your pricing structure
When was the last time you reviewed your pricing structure? I am sure most of your suppliers increased their prices last year, so why shouldn’t your prices increase as well? I often find that business owners are very reluctant to increase prices and agonize over pricing decisions. If you offer a quality product or service, you should charge a consummate price.
- Add a new product line and/or service
Growing your business by adding new customers is much more difficult than simply selling more to your existing customers. Adding more products/services to your existing line up should be a well-considered decision, and not detract from your existing core business.
- Review your loans
When was the last time you reviewed your loans? Interest rates are at historically low levels in our country at the moment. Often, getting a better deal is simply a matter of asking for it, or shopping around. We know plenty of good lenders and brokers we can happily refer you to.
- Review your workload
When you start a business by yourself, every job has to be done by you as the owner...I have been there! Over time, and as the business grows, you gain the ability to hand over various tasks to staff and external providers. This allows you to focus on other important jobs (ie bringing in new customers, setting the business direction and managing risk). Delegation comes easier for some people however, than others. If you are constantly flat out, and stretched for time, you may not necessarily need to be. Take stock of all the tasks you complete each day and ask yourself ‘is this the best use of my time?’.
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Focus on the 99%
I have found myself having a similar conversation with a number of people recently that I thought I would share. It is focused on maintaining your confidence in the face of negativity. I call it the 99% rule.
Essentially, I believe that 99% of people are fair, decent and reasonable and will respond to situations and outcomes in a fair, decent and reasonable manner. The remaining 1% however are inherently unfair, indecent and unreasonable. This minority are virtually impossible to please, no matter what you do.
This statistic can be applied to most human interactions eg businesses, sports clubs, schools...large families etc. Think of any groups that you might be a part of, and I am sure you can identify at least one individual who represents the 1%. Better yet, have a look at any online restaurant review page. The most prestigious, award winning, high quality restaurants in the country who receive rave reviews from hundreds and hundreds of diners, will always have at least one peanut give them a ‘one star’ rating.
Acceptance of this inherit human statistic will allow you, as the business owner, to expect that given enough interactions, you will encounter a difficult customer situation from time to time. As the business owner, it is your responsibility to take ownership of this situation, respond accordingly, limit the damage, and get back to focusing on the 99%.
I am not advocating that you ignore criticisms and certainly not that you ignore customer and client feedback. Nor am I suggesting that you deal with a difficult situation in a dismissive or flippant manner. We can often learn from and improve ourselves and our businesses by learning from mistakes.
What I do advise however, is that if you are confident that your output is of a high quality, that you receive a large amount of positive feedback and accolades from the overwhelming majority of peers, customers and people you interact with, you can often attribute the single dissenting voice to the 99% rule.
Too often however, I see business owners spend more time focusing on the 1% than the 99%. Even worse, I see some people who let the 1% shake their confidence and make them doubt their own strengths and abilities.
So, the next time than you face criticism from a ‘one percenter’, my recommendation is to follow the advice given by Taylor Swift in her insanely annoying, though wildly successful and catchy tune...and just shake it off!
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