From The Trenches David Boyar

As Statler said to Waldorf, the witty old blokes in the VIP box on the Muppet show;

“There’s a lot to be said about this program.”

To which Waldorf quipped back;

“Too bad you can’t say it on a family show!” The bothed harrumphed and probably cut to a clip of Kermit trying to get animal ready for his next scene.

And in the spirit of that nostalgia Trenches starts it's 8th year.

Paul and David say a huge THANK YOU for investing some of your time listening to us.

Because of you we are earn the meaningless perk of being ranked in the top 20% most listened to podcast on earth.

Not bad for a show about real life in the accounting industry.

Best on Ground

David

CAANZs budget submission covers everything - but will Canberra listen? - CAs influence has to be at a weak point  https://www.charteredaccountantsanz.com/news-and-analysis/advocacy/policy-submissions/pre-budget-submission-2023-24 

Karbons payments product was bigger than expected https://karbonhq.com/feature/billing-and-payments/ 

Fox Sports - Stick to highlights of the 2016 and 2023 Grand Finals, leave the balance sheets to us https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7163833930805096449/ 

 

Paul 

Paul hit the ChangeGPS National tour to see the launch of Protect - David calls it the biggest innovation in accounting in a decade  https://changegps.com.au/apps/protect 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE - David did not ask Paul to cover this, in fact David has begged Paul to talk about ChangeGPS in the past and he has said no. The comments in the show are 100000% because Paul chose to share them. 

MYOB lampoons instant invoicing in the best way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVzPKz_Uz2M 



Worst on Ground

Paul

Flexible Hours will suffer thanks to the right to switch off https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/business-fights-back-against-right-to-disconnect-from-work-20231220-p5esol#:~:text=%E2%80%9CA%20legislated%20right%20to%20disconnect,are%20unreasonable%2C%E2%80%9D%20she%20said. 

Agent Linking- David completely misunderstood the issue but Paul was in the room when it was workshopped….what actually happened is worse.

Ethics and the insane tokens accountants need to jump through as CA clings to a belief it can regulate the profession. Pledges, dobbing in peers increased ethics training. 

David

Media reports of 150 ATO agents linked to tik tok GST fraud is good ol fashioned clickbait
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My Father was a public practitioner for 40 years and my family lost him this year. 

One day, everyone of your families will be in this position. This episode, might be important to them. At some point in your life, it might be important for you. 

The first 8.5 minutes of this episode I talk about Dad. He came to Australia with very little, was brought up through welfare homes and then together with my mum raised my sister and I, while building an accounting practice that sustained my family through millions of happy moments. If it is too heavy for you, I understand, sharing this is an indulgence for me, you can skip it if you want to. 

If you skip it, you need to know this bit. 

Regular listeners would knowhow influential Dad was on my career and values. He is the reason I understand what you do so well. And why I realised I was better placed to help you rather than small business clients. 

Paul and I then talk through the first two weeks, the transition to get Paul control to service clients, and how he navigated the day to day while managing his practice and his family. 

Finally we talk through the sale process and what it means for for my family

While dealing with the grief, Paul stepped in as director and ran the day today while I worked through a sale process.

Not every family has a Paul or a son like me, our knowledge of the industry helped. 

And not everyone has a friend like Paul, who stepped up the way the very best of friends do, when you are at your lowest. 

I hope when reading this  line, you appreciate my lesson here.

I develop, sell and support accounting technology for a living, so it is with honesty that I say:-

The tech you use doesn't matter. 

All that matters. Is your health, and your relationship with your clients.

Yes, you're all that matters.

 

 

______________________

 

Cultural Note

Z"L is an English rendering of a common Hebrew posthumous honorific.

ז״ל‎ (Z"L) is the acronym of זיכרונו לברכה‎ (zikhronó liv'rakhá, literally “may his memory be a blessing”. - wikipedia.

 
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This show was recorded in mid February but thanks to Dave being busy getting the ChangeGPS new TaxPlan Advanced product ready we had a delay getting it out. Oh how we long for the days 6 years ago when we'd record and publish in a 2 minute workflow. 

 

Before we begin.....To The Xero's...https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7039489285565161472/ 

Best

A very simple explanation about why we don’t know what to do in the current Australian Economy

Australians head for their first endogenous shock in 30 years - MacroBusiness

 

Tips for Xero Roadshow for exhibitors and why we need an active ecosystem

Xero Roadshow Playbook | App Partner Edition (letsjourney.com.au)

 

Worst

Dext are determined to reinvent an accounting role Pre-Accounting: Why Small Businesses Can’t Ignore It - Dext Blog

Death of the Accountants Exemption Michelle Levy advice review: Labor to ‘stress-test’ plan to overhaul financial advice (afr.com)

 

Xero State of the Union Report Take Aways

Dave


Surprised how popular mergers are in shifts in practice structure is
40% of practices offer employee benefits 40% dev and training, 33% track employee wellbeing, if you aren't happy leave….we don’t need to constantly berate the business model of accounting firms, enough firms are progressive to give staff choice and it's the laggards loss. 
Only 19% are home office only, that convo is dead, move on

 Paul


Bookkeepers don’t equal accountants in any sense of practice but the report, like so many other strip both of their individual identities and can get the conclusion wrong
More services doesn’t mean more service
Surveys are always an issue

 

Dave's not so new Trench

 
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While the entire world changes in response to war, inflation, the Covid Era work habits that are sticking round and Jim Chalmers attempt to alter the course of capitalism, our pertinacious host Paul Meissner proudly declares that TECH WILL NOT CHANGE (even though he knows ChangeGPS will drop 3 new products this year)! Before we dive in, a huge thank you to our episode sponsors 'Access Offshoring'. Are you struggling to find quality staff in your firm? Speak to the team at Access Offshoring. They specialise in finding quality talent in the Phillipines, trained on Australian tax law. They can help you improve your margins, unlock your capacity and get your firm back on track. 


Tax will Change
Blue collar workers won't get the same ATO treatment as white collars
The year of the micro business as COSBOA gets the chance to stop pandering to unions 
The year of return to employment for failing micro businesses 
Conference Schedule overload 
Post Conference marketing to accountants to be .... reduced? NAH!
The voice of accountants gets organised to have impact for small business and themselves
Professional bodies make an effort to improve, hopefully 
There has to be a growth in offshoring 
Conference Content maintains its repetition 
Accountants look after themselves!!

This show is proudly sponsored by Access Offshoring and ChangeGPS
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We are brought to you by ChangeGPS LIVE FROM BRISBANE https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/changegps-live-from-brisbane-tickets-460588100407 

Best on Ground

Trenches Award Finalists https://awards.fromthetrenches.com.au/  GET YOUR TICKETS NOW and enjoy some early bird pricing 

Could the real CAANZ Members please stand up? YES!!!!!

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6995548683614253056/ 

Work from Home For Ever is done 

https://twitter.com/ShaanVP/status/1588589924072443904 

Sensationalist Click Bait our way https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-11-01/the-accountant-shortage-threatens-capitalism-s-future 

Conor Clune published a paper on the governance of professional accounting bodies and he's coming on trenches https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2020-4756/full/html 

Xero small business insights is finally getting the recognition it deserves https://www.linkedin.com/posts/louise-southall-2038b6157_policymaking-at-the-reserve-bank-speeches-activity-6988004559528861697-0YO0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android 

Great engagement from Tax Institute to a member concern https://twitter.com/austaxter/status/1582505298010382337 

RIP Simple Fund Desktop https://www.bglcorp.com/2022/09/19/simple-fund-desktop-end-of-product-life-date-set/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io&utm_campaign=newsletter 

Worst on Ground

Early proof quality of work is declining due to staff shortage crisis https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/deloitte-calls-crisis-meeting-blames-staff-turnover-for-poor-audit-results-20221025-p5bsn8 


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Today's CAANZ AGM was a "Sales Pitch" According to 25 year member Thomas O'Brien. 

Thom asked a question at the AGM, he got a response but doesn't feel he got an answer, in fact he doesn't feel heard at all. 

In this episode Thom gives his time to share his experience of trying to be heard by CAANZ during an AGM where CAANZ stated they were listening multiple times.
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