by Rob Pillans | June 16, 2022 

As an accounting firm coach, mentor and consultant I consume content from Australia and around the world to keep up with developments affecting the profession. I was listening to a podcast from the USA recently and on it the host was interviewing the “Chief Metaverse Officer” for a Top 100 American accounting firm called Prager Metis.

So what is the Metaverse and why might it be of interest to accounting firms?

It seems to me that “the Metaverse” is a term used to describe any number of virtual reality spaces where users can interact with a computer generated environment and other users. Many sources online including Wikipedia quote the source of the term as being the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

You will probably be aware that Facebook changed its name in October 2021 to Meta and reckons the combination of real and online worlds will be a big deal. Popular games such as Fortnite and Roblox are considered part of the Metaverse.

Confused? Gartner has a really good explanation here: What Is a Metaverse? (gartner.com)

Here are some examples of things Gartner says take place in a Metaverse:

• Purchasing outfits and accessories for online avatars
• Buying digital land and constructing virtual homes
• Participating in a virtual social experience
• Shopping in virtual malls via immersive commerce
• Using virtual classrooms to experience immersive learning
• Buying digital art, collectibles and assets (NFTs)
• Interacting with digital humans for onboarding employees, customer service, sales and other business interactions

Gartner further says: “It is expected that a Metaverse will provide persistent, decentralized, collaborative and interoperable opportunities and business models that will enable organizations to extend digital business.”

It’s pretty early days but things are moving fast as they tend to do in the world of digital technology and the partners of Prager Metis have decided that as an accounting firm they need to understand this new world. In essence they see it as a responsibility to be able to advise clients and also as an opportunity to enhance their own business.

In addition to having a CMO, Prager Metis has set up an office in the virtual world called Decentraland. In other words, they’ve purchased some virtual real estate. They see this as part of building their understanding of the Metaverse and as a result being much more able to assist clients. Decentraland is described by itself as follows. “Decentraland is a decentralized virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Within the Decentraland platform, users can create, experience, and monetize their content and applications.”

Still with me?! Perhaps this quote from quytech.com will help:

“Imagine studying, working, interacting, attending concerts, earning money, and playing games in an online realm that is both an extension and a fusion of the real world.

Besides, meetings with clients, digital entertainment, work training, and even online study are all expected to be available online in the future, thanks to the Metaverse. This is why so many businesses are investing in the Metaverse: the network’s ability to change the world is undeniable.”

See here for some further comments from deeds.com on buying virtual real estate.

The currencies of the Metaverse and the many virtual worlds already in existence are crypto currencies. If, as an accountant, you don’t yet understand crypto and feel confident in helping clients with the accounting and tax implications of treading it, then you are not alone. I have a couple of clients who have strong niches in this area and one in particular says he gets a regular flow of new clients as a result of other accountants being unable to help.

You might decide crypto is not for you and to stay away from it which is your choice. I’ve seen reports that perhaps 15% to 20% of Australians own crypto and that this could be as high as 30% for Generation Z Australians. Cryptocurrency in Australia – statistics & facts | Statista That’s a decent sized market to be served by accountants if you have a business model that allows you to serve them profitably.

If you’d like to listen to the podcast or read a transcript of the discussion that caught my attention you can find it here: Why the Metaverse matters to you | Accounting Today

Published with the permission of Planet Consulting 
www.planetconsulting.com.au

by Rob Pillans | June 16, 2022 

The Accounting Business Expo was held in Sydney at the International Convention Centre on 28 and 29 April. For those of you who didn’t make it let me give you a taste of what you missed. This was the first ABE since 2019 and it is effectively a combination of suppliers to the accounting industry (dominated by software vendors) showing their wares and short (20 minute) education sessions running concurrently in multiple mini theatres.

For me it was a great opportunity to catch up face to face with people in our profession that I’ve not seen for some time. And of course, in my role as an accounting firm coach, mentor and consultant, to keep uptodate with what’s going on.

There were a few pretty obvious themes coming through in both exhibitors and education sessions:

• Crypto currencies
• Automation
• People challenges

I made reference to cryptocurrencies in another article on the Metaverse which you can read here. One observation worth making is that a large number of firms report getting queries about crypto currency. Whether you believe it is a good thing or not, it seems to me it is something that accountants now need to have at least a basic understanding of so they can have conversations with clients.

I was a panel with Shaye Thyer (Intuit), Olwyn Connolly (Inflo) and Tyler Caskey (The Bean Counters) exploring the use of Robotic Process Automation, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. In 20 minutes we really couldn’t cover much ground, but all agreed that automation is and will have a significant impact on how accounting firms operate and bring opportunities to be more efficient. We also agreed it won’t solve all your problems!

I also did a fireside chat with Daniel West of MYOB who asked me some questions about getting the most from existing clients rather than always chasing new clients. Many firms I speak with readily acknowledge they have significant unmet needs in their client base. Many also note their challenge in meeting those needs due to a lack of capacity. I dare say some of that is due to the challenges in finding and keeping people but also in some firms I’m convinced there remain significant inefficiencies chewing up valuable capacity. If you haven’t had a critical look at how you manage workflow and complete key tasks in your firm for more than say 18 months, then I suggest you schedule to do that before you get into FY22 work in a big way.

There were a number of sessions on the challenges of finding and keeping good people and also on the gender imbalance at senior levels in our profession. Both current and important topics.

I bumped into a recruiter called Michael Edelstein who recorded this chat with me:

Short Interview with Rob Pillans – Accounting Business Expo 2022

This was a free event and as a result a large number of the education sessions were run by businesses who had paid to have a stand or to speak. The quality was variable with some just thinly veiled sales pitches. That said, I do think if you are in the city where this event is held it is worth the effort to attend. Most accountants I spoke with said there was at least one or two things they saw or experienced that were enough to make it worthwhile. I understand it will be in Melbourne on 14 and 15 March 2023. See more here.

Published with the permission of Planet Consulting 
www.planetconsulting.com.au

by Rob Pillans | June 16, 2022 

I daresay that to many people most accounting firms are perceived as being very similar. So let me start by saying that positioning is important because it gives you the ability to cut through and separate your firm from the bunch. It makes it easier for you to win and keep the clients you want. It also makes it easier for you to attract and retain the right team members for your firm. So what is it?

Wikipedia has a good definition as follows:

Positioning refers to the place that a brand occupies in the minds of the customers and how it is distinguished from the products of the competitors…

Primarily, positioning is about “the place a brand occupies in the mind of its target audience”

In order to position products or brands, companies may emphasize the distinguishing features of their brand (what it is, what it does and how, etc.) or they may try to create a suitable image (inexpensive or premium, utilitarian or luxurious, entry-level or high-end, etc.) through the marketing mix.

I’ve added the emphasis to highlight the key part of the definition. I’ve spoken at length on the importance of identifying your ideal client (target audience) so that your marketing and business development efforts can be targeted for maximum effect. See a previous article here for more detail.

You will see that the definition of positioning talks about emphasizing the distinguishing features through “the marketing mix” The marketing mix is usually defined as Product, Place, Price and Promotion. Let me unpack each of these a little.

Product

This is your product or service that is going to satisfy client needs or wants. This includes the features and quality, product range and product mix and branding. It could also include any guarantees or warranties offered. For example some firms are very clear that they are business focused firms and offer the products that businesses need, as opposed to others that may focus on individuals. And Some firms might have a money back guarantee (although this is pretty rare.) Some firms have a strong niche, or specialisation, which is a key part of their positioning.

Price

This is what the client pays. I think of it as pricing and packaging – for example does the client pay a proportion up front and the balance on completion. Or perhaps it is 12 equal monthly instalments. This is also about payment terms – when an invoice issued what is the expectation of timing and what payment methods are accepted. Some firms are still a bit reluctant to accept credit card payments for example. Historically I reckon accountants have been inclined to under value what they do and therefore not price high enough. If that’s you, now is a great time to be looking to correct that.

Place

Generically this is about how customers get access to the products. For accounting firms this includes the location of offices and what services might be delivered online and what are delivered face to face, or perhaps a combination of these. Although technology now supports firms to have clients pretty much anywhere, I still see that for a majority of firms a majority of their clients will be in their local area. Do clients visit you in your office or do you visit them? These considerations are all a part of this element of positioning.

Promotion

This is about your marketing communication including the channels you use and message being communicated. It is about how you reach your target audience. For accounting firms some elements of promotion will include website and social media activity, traditional media, public relations, pro bono work, events, networking and making it easy for existing clients to refer new clients.

It is the combination of these four elements, and the choices you make about each, that builds your positioning.

Sometimes you might be able to distill your positioning down to a simple word of phrase. For example I reckon for Qantas, historically the positioning has been about a single word “SAFETY”. Watch the movie Rain Man to understand more about this! When Qantas wanted to be able to compete with Virgin it knew it needed a different brand with a different positioning and so Jetstar was born with a positioning of “CHEAP”. Luxury fashion brands are fantastic at positioning themselves as exclusive and there are a few who tightly control entry into their retails stores as part of managing this. (Think queues you might have seen outside a few of these stores in your local CBD.)

Remember that every interaction a client, prospect or other third party has with your firm is shaping their perception of your firm. Knowing that you want to be very intentional in how those interactions occur and be in control as much as possible of the messages being delivered through those interactions.

Also remember that decision about positioning are high level strategic decisions that should be made before you build or update a website or spend time and effort on marketing and business development. A good question to ask is “what is the positioning I want to have and what do I need to do to achieve that?”

If you would like to chat more about the positioning of your firm I’ll be pleased to hear from you. Meantime you might like to read Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout if you want to dig into this more.

Published with the permission of Planet Consulting 
www.planetconsulting.com.au

by Rob Pillans | Mar 23, 2022 

I’ve recently had a couple of hotel experiences which have reinforced the importance of being able to put yourself in the shoes of your clients and understand what they are thinking, feeling and doing at each stage of their journey with you.

Which hotel experience is closest to what happens in your firm when you bring a new client on or are doing regular work for a client?

There are many, many accounting firms in Australia and arguably most can service clients well from a technical standpoint. The client experience however is an opportunity to differentiate yourself from others and to have your clients feeling like they’ve had the hotel 2 experience.

My advice – map out what the client journey is step by step with your firm and put yourself in the shoes of the client. What are you thinking, feeling and doing at each stage? How can you make it a better experience?

Published with the permission of Planet Consulting 
www.planetconsulting.com.au

by Rob Pillans | Mar 23, 2022 

At this time of year in Australia accountants are turning their mind to tax deadlines. First 31 March and then most importantly for most, 15 May. I trust you are on top of what you wanted to get done before 15 May. The pandemic has added to the workload and I know many firms have found this challenging. Some are telling me they are behind where they’d like to be, although others are on top of things.

I understand there is some scope for certain lodgments to be by 6 June and if you are not across that you can see the ATO guidance here: Individuals and trusts | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au). More broadly you can update your knowledge on the ATO’s lodgment framework here: Lodgment program framework | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au)

This is not formal advice but rather a list of some things I hear firms talking about dealing with:

• Review tax lodgement lists to make sure you don’t have anyone listed who should not be – no point in getting pinged by the ATO for people who are no longer your clients
• Chase clients who have been slow to provide information required for compliance work completion
• Review extension arrangements for clients
• Write off bad debts
• Look at management fees and service agreements
• Trust distribution resolutions
• Directors fees and bonuses
• Division 7A loans and agreements
• Superannuation contributions
• The usual things you may want to claim a deduction for this year rather than next
• Asset purchases and immediate write off in FY22 tax year
• Any other tax planning matters – for most firms April through June is the time for planning meetings with clients

Two topics that are causing angst at present are:

• Trust distributions
• Professional profits
• If you are not across what the ATO is proposing invest a bit of time to get up to speed.

I’m also hearing that the ATO is being more assertive in respect of payment plans and debt collection so it might pay to be on the front foot with those matters too.

This list is not definitive but has perhaps prompted you to think of a few more things.

Some firms are so focused on helping their clients they forget to do these for themselves. Don’t let that be you!

One last tip. If you have not done so already consider a meeting of your key people to quickly go through a list of things needed to be done by 15 May so nothing is missed. Having worked in five firms myself and been through a lot of 15 Mays, I know how easy it can be to miss something. A short check in now might stop regrets because something was forgotten.

Published with the permission of Planet Consulting 
www.planetconsulting.com.au

by Rob Pillans | Mar 23, 2022 

I grew up in Canberra, have family there and do some work there. As a result, I’m a pretty frequent user of Canberra airport. Typically I come in and out of the airport once a month and every time find it a frustrating experience. Why? A lack of signage to guide you. It’s the worst airport I’ve experienced when it comes to signage.

At every other airport when you come out of the gate you don’t have to look too hard to see a sign guiding you to the exit. Not in Canberra. Must be classified information! I still struggle to remember where the exit is and see many other travellers experiencing what I experience – they feel a bit lost, or even stressed because they don’t know where to go.

Is your firm like Canberra airport? Nothing that shows your team where the firm is going?

One of my favourite references on leadership is Extraordinary Leadership in Australia and New Zealand by James Kouzes, Barry Posner and Michael Bunting. Here is a quote from that which I think summarises well the value of providing clear direction for your team members:

“ ..the two most important things a leader can do to drive engagement are ‘communicate and reinforce with employees the organisation’s vision and values (and ensure that day-to-day managerial behaviours, actions and decisions are consistent with the core organisational values’).

Our research documents that effective leadership is not simply about the leader having a vision – it’s about inspiring a shared vision, one that all team members clearly understand, buy into and feel a part of. No matter how accurate and compelling a leader’s vision is, if there isn’t consensus and buy-in by the people doing the work, that vision will not be realised.

People want, first of all, reliable information on where the company (program, project, product or team) is going. And they want to understand how what they are doing fits into the big picture.”

Have you inspired a shared vision with your team?

Have you consistently communicated where the firm is heading and how each team members fits into that?

If not, now would be a great time to start. As we head into the final quarter of FY22 take some time to do some thinking and planning for your firm. Update your vision and share it with the team and even better, get them involved in building it.

Published with the permission of Planet Consulting 
www.planetconsulting.com.au

by Rob Pillans | Feb 24, 2022 

As an accounting firm coach, assisting firms across Australia, I am very reliant on my calendar in Microsoft Outlook. I use my calendar not just for client and other appointments but for appointments with myself for getting tasks done. I also use it for both personal and business matters – a single view of my life. If it’s important it’s in my calendar!

Based on my experience, here are three tips for using your calendar better:

1. Use it for more than just meetings
2. Colour code it
3. Build into it daily, weekly and monthly review routines

Use it for more than just meetings

I meet some people who limit the use of their calendar to only meetings. I recommend you put in important tasks, whether they involve other people or not. My experience is that if it is in your calendar it is more likely to get done. I made this change many years ago and it made a big and positive difference.

If you are in a firm where your calendar can be seen by others this will mean you are less likely to have clashes because people can see you have something booked. I sometimes use the calendar as a place to hold important tasks so they are not forgotten. I quickly add them to my calendar knowing I will be reviewing daily and weekly and will work out proper scheduling later. It ensures they are not forgotten.

You can go too far with this idea. Don’t schedule something for every minute of the day. Allow time for the unexpected and breaks.

Colour code it

For any given week you will see the following colours in my calendar:

Dark Blue           Client work
Mid Blue             Marketing, sales and learning and development activity
Light blue           The default Outlook colour used for items that are tentative
Black                  Business management – working on my business not in it
Red                    Business or personal administration – stuff like finance and IT feature here
Purple                 confirmed airline flights
Yellow                 Travel on the ground
Orange                Confirmed accommodation bookings
Green                  Personal and fun activities.

Why do I do this? Here are three reasons:

1. It makes it very easy for me to see at a glance the nature of what I am doing on any given day or week.
This in turn means I can quickly see if something is missing. For example I recently looked at a week where I had purple showing for some flights but no yellow for travel to the airport and entry to the carpark. I quickly realised I had not booked the parking.

2. It gives me a sense of how I am spending my time.
Ideally in most weeks I will want to see a mix of most of the colours but more dark and mid blue than anything else– after all those are the activities that directly earn my living. So if I look at next week and see a lot of red I might think – OK I really need to make sure I’ve got a lot of blue the following week to make up for that. I also want to see a reasonable amount of green because all work and no play makes Rob a dull boy!

3. It helps me think more deeply about how I spend my time and in doing so supports effective use of my time.
In that regard it is not just the colour coding that helps. I have a business plan and that business plan helps guides decisions about how I use my time and what priorities will be for any given week. My routine is over the weekend to spend time reviewing the week ahead and a few weeks after that. I also review the week just finished to check that I did everything that was in my calendar. Sometimes there will be something that didn’t get done and I schedule it for another time.

Daily, weekly and monthly reviews

At the very least take a few minutes each day before you knock off to review your calendar for tomorrow. This is a key part of planning your day. I also like the idea of reviewing the next week before you knock off on Friday. Also have a look a month ahead at least towards the end of each month. Book these reviews into the calendar and make them a part of your routine.

If you would like more tips on managing yourself and your priorities better, I have two options for you:

1. Book me to run my Managing Yourself and Your Priorities workshop; or

2. Complete my self paced workshop of the same name : Use this link to see details

Published with the permission of Planet Consulting 
www.planetconsulting.com.au

by Rob Pillans | Feb 24, 2022 

When I was a senior accountant in business services, one of my managers shared with me some tips which were some of the wisest words I have heard. He talked to me about managing expectations. It made a big difference to how I interacted with clients and colleagues from then on.

I was reminded about the importance of managing client expectations in a coaching session with a client recently. He commented that he’d picked up quite a bit of new work in addition to an already strong pipeline of existing work. He was concerned that he was in danger of expectations not being met.

The why of managing client expectations is pretty obvious to most. If a client’s expectations are not met then that client may be disappointed and at risk of going elsewhere. If they stay they will be less likely to refer others to you and may even discourage others from coming to you, even if they don’t leave. Not good outcomes and yet relatively easily avoided.

To understand the how of managing client expectations let’s break down expectations into three key dimensions:

1. Scope (including quality)
2. Time
3. Price

As an accounting firm coach, consultant and mentor I see firms don’t always grasp these dimensions of expectations so let me explain them further.

Scope

What are you doing for the client? Exactly, precisely, specifically. What’s in and what’s out? The last thing you want to experience is getting to the end (or at least what you think is the end) of an assignment for a client only to hear “but I thought you were doing that” or “this is not what I was expecting”. Ouch! Talk about the scope of work in detail with your client and spell it out clearly in your engagement letter. If at any stage you become aware that you may not be able to deliver on that scope, contact the client and talk to them about it. Be proactive not reactive.

Time

On a regular basis I see firms setting themselves up for failure by not proactively managing client expectations about when work will be completed. It seems oh so common to see promises being made by accountants that they know they cannot keep. That’s just dumb! Call it blind optimism if you like. It’s an example sometimes of what I call optimism bias. We forget some of the challenges we may have experienced completing work in the past and although on average it may have taken 2 weeks to complete this task, our brain takes a short cut and just remembers that we did it once in a week, so that is what we tell the client. No! Bad idea.

My client that I referred to earlier is on the front foot with this which is great. He has talked to a number of clients and been able to recalibrate their expectations of when work will be done. Many of your clients don’t actually need the work done by the date you agreed with them and if they understand why there might be a change, my experience is they are perfectly OK with that change. The key here is communicating with clients as early as possible. For example if you have promised delivery in a month from now and you know a week in that you are not going to make it, that is when you talk to the client. Not a few days out from the previously agreed date. It seems simple right? And yet I still regularly hear of where this has not occurred.

Price

This is the last of the three dimensions for an obvious reason. Put simply, it depends on the other two. There are two elements to managing expectations in respect of price

1. Get an agreed price for an agreed scope and time (shorter time might mean higher price for example)

2. The minute you see scope creep, stop and have a process to talk to the client and agree on whether they want you to complete the extra work and what the additional fee will be.

I talk a lot about pricing with clients and I’ll write more about this again soon.

At the end of the day I reckon clients want certainty about what is to be done, when it is to be done and what it will cost. Get on the front foot with this and clients will really appreciate it. As soon as you think you are heading off track talk to the client. The longer you wait the harder the conversation is to have.

Published with the permission of Planet Consulting 
www.planetconsulting.com.au

by Rob Pillans | Feb 24, 2022 

Optimism in 2022 At the end of 2020 many people would have thought, surely 2021 will be better. Sadly, for many that did not turn out to be the case. At the end of 2021 many people again will have been thinking surely 2022 will be better. My own view is that it will be, and I want to share some thoughts on why, particularly for accounting firms.

For me one of the key differences between 2021 and 2022 is the level of COVID-19 vaccinations completed in Australia and many other countries. I acknowledge that not all countries made the progress we did in Australia and there is much to be done to help less wealthy countries.

Australia is the centre of my world and I take great optimism from us having started 2022 with a high rate of vaccination and evidence that vaccinations make a huge difference in terms of the risk of contracting COVID, and more particularly, being very sick or dying from it. This is allowing governments at all levels to relax restrictions that have previously been seen as necessary. Apart from WA, we now have freedom of movement around the country and international travellers are returning. On the whole a large proportion of the population is growing in confidence that we can do many of the things we were not previously able to do.

For me, as an accounting firm coach, consultant and mentor, who pre COVID was doing about 100 flights a year, this is very welcome. My face to face Manager Development Program is kicking off in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne and while there are still guidelines to be followed, the many benefits of the face to face learning and development are able to be enjoyed by participants.

Another reason I am optimistic about 2022, from an accounting firm perspective is my belief that firm owners and managers and their team members have learned an enormous amount during the pandemic. This has included how to work effectively without the need to be in an office all the time and new and improved ways of working have resulted. These benefits are going to carry through 2022 and beyond and most firms will be all the better as a result. The pandemic forced ways of work to change and in 2022 the benefits of that will be enjoyed.

I think linking optimism and hope is a useful thing to do. If there is no hope it can be difficult to be optimistic. In a practical sense inside your firm I suggest giving your team something to look forward to. For example many firms have had to cancel numerous face to face team events over the past two years. It seems to me that now is the time to start scheduling these events again and letting the team know. This is another thing for them to look forward to and provide cause for optimism.

At a personal level I believe it is also useful to be encouraging team members to think about personal goals for 2022 that include things that were out of reach in 2020 and 2021. For me and my partner Kate that has been booking flights to Europe departing 1 July. We would normally spend five weeks in the Northern Hemisphere in June/July (usually Europe) and have really missed it. We are now optimistic that it will happen. The good thing is there are so many refundable (or even no upfront payment) options for accommodation that our risk is virtually zero. We have something to look forward to and it helps put a spring in our steps.

What else are you optimistic about for 2022? I’d love to hear from you.

Published with the permission of Planet Consulting 
www.planetconsulting.com.au