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The Achiever Matrix

December 2, 2019

The Achiever Matrix, created by Stephen Covey, is made up of four quadrants and helps you prioritise tasks based on their importance; allowing you to manage your time better and achieve more.
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Show that you care

November 19, 2019

Over the last couple of months, I've been discussing the four most neglected skills of Today's Accountant.  In the final blog of this series, it's time to discuss empathy.

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Is Communication a Neglected Skill for...

October 2, 2019

I’m sure there are a hundred reasons why communication skills are neglected in the Accounting industry but four stick out to me....
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Speaking Wider than the Numbers

September 13, 2019

In The 7 Traits of Today’s Accountant, I talked about speaking wider than the numbers being a neglected skill among accountants.  Let me elaborate.

The ability to interpret a set of financial statements or management accounts is fundamental to report on the performance of the business, satisfy compliance requirements and inform the client of the tax to pay. 

But, then what?  Most business...

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The 7 Traits of Today's Accountant

August 5, 2019

You may or may not subscribe to the view that compliance is shrinking - that’s not the point.  You may or not agree that Advisory or Business Development Services are what’s needed to remain relevant to your clients - that’s not the point either.  What cannot be denied is that our industry is going through significant change and we need to adapt our skills.
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Stop Scope Stretch!

July 3, 2019

I’m redefining ‘Scope Creep’ as ‘Scope Stretch’, and for good reason. 
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The real power of proposals

June 3, 2019

During my 17 years running an accounting firm, particularly in the last five years when I was quoting for 100% of the work I did, I had hundreds of BFOs (Blinding Flashes of the Obvious).  Let me share four of them, relating to proposals and winning new work:
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Value add services - delivered on demand or...

June 7, 2018

 

True story

An accounting firm relayed this scene to me this week.  One of the firm’s partners, Dan, was at a rugby game with a few of his clients.  They’d had a few beers and the banter was flowing.

Out of the blue one of Dan’s clients (his name is also Dan, which is confusing, but this is a true story, so I’m sticking to the facts.  Let’s call the accountant Dan One and the client Dan...
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8 Questions for Effective New Client...

June 7, 2018

Screening potential clients sounds rather clinical, a bit like screening for a disease.

Truth be told, D clients are like parasites.  They can be painful, demand attention, drain your energy, query your bills and if they refer you work - breed more parasites.  Most significantly, they’ll damage your brand, morale and culture.

Unlike the parasite and host relationship, accountants should...