Accountants Daily Podcast Network

A bids and tender specialist has seen a dramatic increase in small to medium accounting firms bidding for government contracts in the past year. In this episode, Jason Cooney, director at The Tender Team, explains why smaller accounting firms have become more courageous with bids for government contracts more recently and some of the reasons for their success. Cooney discusses the types of contracts that smaller accounting firms are winning and how they can stand out from other competing firms. He also offers tips and considerations for the tender process and how firms can prepare to make the process smoother.

Michael Fingland explains the vital role that stress testing can play for businesses in an economy "teetering on the edge of recession". In this latest episode, Vantage Performance chief executive Michael Fingland gives a rundown on the concept of stress testing and how businesses can utilise this strategy to prepare for further headwinds in the year ahead. Fingland explains that with consumer spending pulling back and the economy softening, businesses should be analysing what outcomes might arise with a dip in cash flow, a drop in revenue or with other, more specific, challenges. Businesses can then put in a place a “rapid-fire turnaround plan” that can be implemented if any of these scenarios happen, he says. He also provides his predictions on business conditions for the remainder of 2024 and what the main challenges will be.

Heather Smith and Tyler Caskey delve into the latest technology transformations and feature and functionality updates for the start of the year. In this episode, accounting apps specialist Heather Smith and Tyler Caskey, partners at TheBeanCounters, discuss recent developments in real-time banking transactions, direct digital receipting and multi-currency transactions. They also explore updates and new features in the reporting space across cash flow forecasting, automatic workflows, intercompany loan reconciliations and ESG. Heather and Tyler also chat about some of the big announcements in the accounting tech space including the launch of WorkflowMax by BlueRock and Xero ending classic invoicing later this year.

There are so many amazingly successful women in the finance industry, but only a small number have a strong brand and online presence in this traditionally male-dominated industry. As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we want to help more women raise their profile and showcase the incredible professionals in this space. In this episode, partnered by Mortgage Choice (part of the REA Group), we’re picking the brain of its executive manager, corporate communications, events & franchise marketing, Sally Chadwick, to find out: And much more!

Family businesses ripe to pass on often need help after getting stuck in their ways, says the principal of a financial advisory firm. A spike in succession planning in the wake of COVID-19 has created a wealth of opportunities for advisers and virtual CFO services, says one finance specialist. Principal of iFin Capital and iFin Advisory, Nathan Hogan, said some strong family businesses got stuck in their ways and needed some help to make the transfer. “We’re seeing a real spike in the last 12 months of this activity of passing on things to generations,” he said on the latest Accountants Daily Insider podcast. “A lot of it really is around really good family businesses that have done well and generally they’ve had an internal finance manager or someone who’s started as a junior and worked their way up. “Sometimes those businesses have the biggest issues because there has been a bit of inaction for a long time and they might not be looking around the corner as much as you would like to see from your CFO.”

Outsourcing will be part of the answer for some, but finding a senior locally will remain a problem, says Trent McLaren. The accountancy profession looks in vain for a talent shortage silver bullet and some firms face a tough decision about whether outsourcing is part of the answer, according to the co-founder of marketing and sales consultancy, Journey, Trent McLaren. “When we say there is a shortage of accountants, we're saying there's a shortage in Australia, right?” he said on the latest Accountants Daily Insider podcast. “There are people in other countries that are happy and willing to do the work that our new generation of people don't want to do. “This is something that some people will have to either bite with, say either I don't want to do any more work, I don't want to win any more fees … or they're going to see more people embrace this global, remote teams type environment, where my team member is just based wherever they need to be.” “There's no silver bullet. That's the thing. Even if I go and load up on offshoring outsourcing, there's still a capability piece that I'll have to draw a line on at some point. “I'm still going to need a senior at some point locally.”

Following the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we’re catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space. In this episode, we chat to Rebecca Warren, executive general manager of small-business banking at CommBank, about how she navigated a historically male-dominated industry over her 20-year career and why she believes inclusion and diversity are not just morally imperative, but key to achieving superior business results. Tune in to find out: And much more!

Following the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we’re catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space. In this episode, we chat to Suzanne Wood, state general manager residential broker Victoria/Tasmania at Westpac Group (and state chair of the Women of Westpac employee advocacy group), about how she climbed the career ladder in banking and the power of having strong female role models. Tune in to find out: And much more!

Undermine the long-term confidence of big institutional investors at your peril, says Charter Hall chief executive. States need to tread carefully with taxes and policies designed to free up housing supply because they risk having the opposite effect, says the CEO of direct property at Australia’s biggest landlord, Charter Hall. Speaking on the latest Accountants Daily podcast, Steve Bennett said proposals such as rental freezes could backfire. “It may suit some people in accommodation,” he said. “It’s not going to do anything to help the supply issues. In fact, it’ll likely reduce supply in the long term.” The Victorian government’s recent land tax changes were also a concern. “State governments do need to be careful that if they do want to encourage long-term investment the big institutional investors – whether they are super funds, offshore pension funds, Australian real estate managers – they want that regulatory certainty to give them confidence over the long term.”

Grammatical errors and other easy signs of fake messaging are gone and “wealthy, trusting” Australia has become a favourite target. AI has taken the rough edges off cyber scams and removed the easy “tells” in fake messages such as typos or grammatical errors, says one digital security specialist. “Now they just have ChatGPT correct the text – they just say ‘write this email as an Australian business person,” said Niek Dekker of Eftsure on the latest Accountants Daily podcast. “That was done the moment it came out.” He said AI had also made some countries that were difficult to hack, such as Japan, more vulnerable. “They were always a bit out of target because not everybody knows the business culture or the language. Since generative AI has come, they see an increase in scams.” He said Australia had become a favourite target for hackers because we were wealthy and trusting. “That makes us prime targets for these criminals.”

The financial advice regime has failed to deliver guidance to SMSFs through its licensing rules and the Quality of Advice Review offers little prospect for change, according to the CEO of two fintechs aiming to bridge the gap. George Haramis said some accounting firms acquired licences to offer advice to SMSFs but providers fell away, leaving almost $900 billion in superannuation assets largely unguided. “We know that accountants can deliver tax advice, but in reality they get asked all the time to cross the line inadvertently by their clients,” Mr Haramis said on the latest Accountants Daily podcast. “They don’t. They fall back to the tax advice and guidance and refer people to financial advisers.” “But it’s always surprised me that the inability for them to give personal advice to some extent is not is not catered for by the government and the regulators – particularly what came out of QAR.”

Ahead of the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we’re catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space. In this episode, we chat to Anjali Crossette, manager of motor operations at non-bank lender Liberty, about breaking barriers and misconceptions about car finance and why she believes the industry needs to showcase gender diversity across every rung of the career ladder. Tune in to find out: Why the finance industry is an attractive industry to work in for women. The progress being made in gender diversity in car finance. How Liberty is leading the way by example. And much more!

Ahead of the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we’re catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space. In this episode, host Maja Garaca Djurdjevic is joined by Olympian and financial adviser at HLB Mann Judd, Sarah Carli, to discuss how she made her way from the track to financial advice. Ms Carli, who competed in the 400-metre hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, reveals the valuable skills she has learned as an adviser that have positively impacted her athletic career, as well as how she balances being a professional athlete with working full time. Tune in to find out: And much more!

Ahead of the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we’re catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space. Deslie Taylor, principal at Mortgage Choice Ormeau in Queensland, is one of the top brokers in the country, having settled over $1 billion in loans in her 16-year career and taken home numerous awards including Mortgage Broker of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards multiple years in a row. In this episode, we chat to Ms Taylor about how she runs her award-winning brokerage and find out from Aaron Slater, general manager of distribution at Mortgage Choice (principal partner of the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023), how we can help support and create more inclusive workplaces. Tune in to find out: And much more!

Tax debt hangovers from the pandemic are behind the rise in SME insolvencies but adverse economic conditions now drive company wind-ups and it will only get worse, say two specialists in the area. Speaking on the latest Accountant Daily podcast, Jirsch Sutherland national managing partner Bradd Morelli and Sydney partner Andrew Spring said people on fixed incomes were cutting back and hitting sectors that had barely recovered from Covid. “We might avoid a technical recession but we will definitely come into – if we're not experiencing now – a per capita recession,” said Mr Morelli. “I struggle to see how the conditions can't worsen over the next 12 or 18 months.” Mr Spring said economic impacts often manifested in tax debt. “The reasoning behind why the tax debt has accrued is impact at top line, at revenue line, which can largely be a result of the economic impacts at consumer level around discretionary spend, or higher costs.”

Ahead of the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we’re catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space. Joanna James is an advocate for constant reinvention and resilience, having adapted to change over her career in the finance space herself. Having worked in the lending space for more than 20 years – including as the general manager of non-bank lender Mortgage Ezy – she now helps support women in building successful businesses through Artemis Space, a women’s community group delivered by the Finance Brokers Association of Australia. In this episode, Annie Kane sits down with Ms James to find out: Why success is subjective. The power of visualisation, emotionalisation and manifestation. Why she believes the finance industry is a great industry for women. And much more!

Ahead of the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we’re catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space. Tanya Sale co-founded mortgage aggregation group outsource Financial with Andrea Tassis 13 years ago, with Tanya now one of the very few female CEOs in the mortgage industry. In this episode, Annie Kane sits down with Ms Sale to find out: And much more!

Maxed-out credit cards together with household savings at a 20-year low are alarming portents for the looming recession, says turnaround specialist Michael Fingland. The founder and CEO of Vantage Performance said the increased costs of servicing a mortgage had depleted cash built up during the pandemic and it was business as usual for credit card debt. “Inflation is coming down because the household savings rate is now at such a low level,” he said on the latest Accountants Daily podcast. “Also through Covid the average credit card balance dropped by a third … it’s just tipped back up at the end of the June quarter, back up to the peak of where it was pre-Covid.” “The economy, in terms of discretionary spending, is now exhausting itself.” “Look at the US and Europe – when you go into a recession with a very low household savings rate the recession is worse because there’s just no buffer.”

Enforcement action without warning is an unmistakeable sign that the ATO has adopted a tougher line on debt recovery, says a tax debt specialist. “We’re absolutely seeing an increase in enforcement action, an increased focus on individuals – so directors and not just the company – and an increase in enforcement action without any warning,” said Olga Koskie, a director and principal at tax debt negotiation specialist Tax Assure. Speaking on the latest Accountants Daily podcast, Ms Koskie said two factors underlined a change of mood at the ATO. “One is a focus on compliance – on lodgements on time, on payments on time, and the history of the compliance of a company or an individual or a business is affecting whether or not they’re getting payment plans,” she said. “And the second is ongoing viability. So if they don’t believe a company has the ongoing viability or is able to demonstrate ongoing viability, there may not be as many second chances.”

Artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies throw up fresh ethical challenges for accountants who need to be aware of the pitfalls, says RMIT honorary professor of accounting Brendan O’Connell. Speaking on the latest Accountants Daily podcast alongside CPA Australia ethics policy senior manager Keddie Waller, Mr O’Connell said AI brought issues such as privacy and consent to the fore. “If you’re using AI to solve a problem relating to a client, if you feed that into AI then it becomes a public document. So there’s a privacy issue there,” he said. “If you’re analysing the data of a client, you want to make sure that you’ve got their consent to use it for particular purposes.” Ms Waller said the accounting ethical principles, spelled out in APES 110, remained unchanged, but special guidance was being developed to cover emerging issues. “What the code has done over time in trying to respond to that is provide more guidance, more contemporary issues for … professional accountants to think about in how to apply those fundamental principles to the situations they’re facing,” Ms Waller said.