Mark Jenkins

We all know the secret to success is to work smarter. Yet we still get stuck in the day-to-day emails, client queries, file reviews, and activities that are highly important to others, but not necessarily to ourselves. Working smarter becomes a pipe dream as we can’t see the wood for the trees.

Accountants and bookkeepers have been busier than ever since the pandemic. Burnout aside, they've been fortunate to have the hugely important role of guiding their business clients through tough times. 

If there’s one positive to take from the Covid disruption, it’s the opportunity to consider what is important in life. Let’s call that our revised definition of success. For those of us in...

Most accountants are not trained in how to run a better practice. Instead, we’re schooled in accounting theory, tax, economics, and finance. 

I remember in my first job at a big six accounting firm (I’m showing my age now), they told me on my first day "forget everything you learned at university, we’re going to teach you how to do accounting properly". Again, I was not taught how to run a...

The accounting industry is rapidly changing. 

From technology advancements and changes in clients' and team members' expectations to a new playing field for marketing and selling services via digital channels, our industry is constantly evolving. The traditional model of working partners with their ‘book of clients’ and their employees either happily grinding out sets of financials for life or...

Compare these two statements: a child saying, "When I grow up, I’m going to be…" and an accountant saying, "When I get on top of my workflow, I’m going to…". 

Accountants know their numbers - true or false?  Perhaps a better question is who’s numbers do accountants know better; their own or their clients'?  

In the wake of Coronavirus, and with feelings of greater economic uncertainty, your clients are in need of help more than ever before.  Traditional practices, with too great a focus on compliance work, run the risk of not doing enough to help Small to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) in the way that they need right now.  Legacy accountants will not be able to support clients enough by fulfilling...

I've seen it written that proposals are your sales engine - this is simply not true.  The proposal is essential; but it's only one of the steps in the sales process:

I’ve often referred to the need to gain conceptual agreement with your client BEFORE proceeding with the work.  So, what is conceptual agreement?