IDA Episode 34, Sam interviews Richard McArtney from Bentleys Newcastle about his reflections on the last 20 years and future predictions for the Australian Accounting Industry. Sam and Richard discuss his career journey from Industrial Chemistry to Retail Business to Accounting Partner, and how his prior business experience helped his work as an accountant. They then cover the range of digitalisation changes in the last 20+ years in the Australian Accounting Industry, from Y2K compliance to GST...
Jul 23, 2020•27 min
IDA Episode 33, Sam explores the concept of Brave Leadership. She covers what brave leadership is, how to get started and why it's such a crucial part of being an In Demand Accountant. Sam explains why you are a leader even if you don't have a leadership role at work, plus the 5 attributes of brave leadership. These 5 attributes of a brave leader are: being accountable, having difficult conversations, never compromising values, putting resources where your mouth is and giving your job away. Sam ...
Jul 09, 2020•21 min
IDA Episode 32, Sam reflects on 20 years of disruption in the accounting industry, since the introduction of the GST 2 decades ago, plus what's important for accountants and advisors in the future of the industry. Here at BlueprintHQ, we are here to help. We are super passionate about the accounting industry and supporting you with what you need. Connect with me sam@blueprinthq.com.au We are offering 20 minute reach out calls to help support you during this time. Go to blueprinthq.com.au This ep...
Jul 01, 2020•22 min
IDA Episode 31, Sam covers another element of the In Demand Accountant: emotional intelligence and empathy. But this is not your usual emotional intelligence and empathy training! Sam covers the fact that these two skills can actually be learned, and how they will make you a better accountant and advisor. She explains definitions of both emotional intelligence and empathy, plus the sub skills that you need and how you can develop them. Sam also shares a number of personal examples and real life ...
Jun 26, 2020•26 min
IDA Episode 30, Sam interviews Annette Tasker, the owner of ALT Tax+. Sam and Annette have been working together for the past 4 years and Annette really demonstrates the In Demand Accountant attributes, particularly around the empathy and emotional intelligence piece. Annette also brings a vast range of business experience to the job, and not only does she generously work with her clients, she gives back to the industry as well. She is the Deputy President of the IPA and Treasurer of the Cronull...
Jun 17, 2020•28 min
IDA Episode 29, Sam covers another characteristic of the In Demand Accountant: being ambitious. This is so important, especially at this time when many of us are feeling fatigue and the fallout from the last 3 months implementing the government stimulus package and responding to COVID-19. It starts with getting clarity around your vision and values, and is a key piece of being an In Demand Accountant going forwards. Sam explains some of the blocks accountants have around getting clarity on their...
Jun 10, 2020•32 min
IDA Episode 28, Sam explores how being highly efficient is not only key to effectiveness, but it's also one of the main elements to saying In Demand. In previous episodes we did a series covering efficiency in terms of End of Year processes, so go back and listen to Episodes 16 - 20 which were released from 27th February through to 26th March 2020. In this episode, we're talking about efficiency loops and the habits you can set up around efficiency in what you do every day. These include the con...
Jun 03, 2020•25 min
IDA Episode 27, Sam has a brilliant conversation with Amanda Kenafake, the CEO of Power Tynan, an In Demand Accounting firm in Toowoomba, QLD. Sam and Amanda talk about Amanda's background and career progression, and the challenges of running a business the size of Power Tynan. They dive into how Power Tynan proactively supports their staff, engages with their clients and measures the challenging lead indicators around productivity and efficiency. Amanda and Sam discuss the changes in the indust...
May 27, 2020•35 min
IDA Episode 26, Sam explores part 1 of being the In Demand Accountant, which is all about mastering our craft. This involves getting clear on what you do and why you're doing it, which you may not have done recently and is a powerful activity. Sam also discusses what you can ask clients in order to figure out how you can best communicate with them the problem you are solving for them. Finally, Sam covers why it's so important to be curious and innovative with our craft going forward to make sure...
May 21, 2020•21 min
IDA Episode 25, Sam announces the change of name of the podcast from 'Conversations with Sam Dean' to 'In Demand Accountant'. There's a couple of reasons for this, which Sam covers in this episode, as well as what Covid-19 has highlighted for our industry over the last few months. Sam covers what it means to be an In Demand Accountant and gives an overview of the 7 characteristics, as well as sharing a bit about what's coming up on the podcast going forwards. Here at Blueprint HQ, we are here to...
May 13, 2020•11 min
CWSD Episode 24 Sam interviews Damian Scodella, the Founder and Managing Director of Square Penny. Damian and Sam discuss what Square Penny does and what they most enjoy about working with accountants. Damian explains the difference between traditional bookkeeping and Square Penny's proactive financial administration approach, outsourcing vs. offshoring and which Damian prefers, as well as how this leads to more efficiencies for accountants and business owners. Sam and Damian also cover the impo...
May 06, 2020•25 min
CWSD Episode 23, Sam returns to share her tips around improving efficiency, managing uncertainty and preserving energy during the Covid-19 changes for accountants and business advisors. First up, she delivers a hearty congratulations for not only getting through the last 4 - 6 weeks as an industry, but for leading in this time of extreme disruption and still being there to support clients and SMEs. In this episode, Sam covers the rules, structures and boundaries you and implement in your practic...
Apr 29, 2020•25 min
CWSD Episode 22, Sam has a brilliant conversation with Bruce Coombes, the CEO of QuickFee. This is a very uncertain time but it's also a time of great opportunity for accountants and business advisors to really serve their clients. The value and power of conversation with your clients right now is so important, but you also need to get paid. Bruce shares his tips for accountants and business advisors right now to make sure you can look after you and your clients. You can find out more about Quic...
Apr 09, 2020•19 min
CWSD Episode 21, Sam talks about the impacts on the accounting and advisory industry, as well as on our clients, of the coronavirus pandemic. She explains why your physical and mental health needs to be the number 1 priority right now, and how that enables you to respond better in business. This is a marathon not a sprint. Sam outlines what you need to do to apply first aid to your own business, and what you need to think about in terms of both what and how you communicate as a leader and a team...
Apr 02, 2020•26 min
CWSD Episode 20, Sam wraps up the series based around the Renovate Program, which is all about helping create space in our firms and getting a super efficient at what we do every day. These sessions are all around the job processes for End of Year work, which still takes up about 85% of our work, so it's this area that accountants need to get super focused on. If you haven't yet listened to Episode 16, about the overall workflow, Episode 17 about the first stage, Episode 18 about the second stag...
Mar 25, 2020•25 min
CWSD Episode 19, Sam continues the series based around the Renovate Program, which is all about helping create space in our firms and getting a super efficient at what we do every day. These sessions are all around the job processes for End of Year work, which still takes up about 85% of our work, so it's this area that accountants need to get super focused on. If you haven't yet listened to Episode 16, about the overall workflow, Episode 17 about the first stage, and Episode 18 about the second...
Mar 19, 2020•26 min
CWSD Episode 18, Sam continues the series based around the Renovate Program, which is all about helping create space in our firms and getting a super efficient at what we do every day. These sessions are all around the job processes for End of Year work, which still takes up about 85% of our work, so it's this area that accountants need to get super focused on. If you haven't yet listened to Episode 16, about the overall workflow, and Episode 17 about the first stage, then do so before you liste...
Mar 11, 2020•27 min
CWSD Episode 17, Sam kicks off a series based around the Renovate Program, which is all about helping create space in our firms and getting a super efficient at what we do every day. What she is going to talk about over the next four sessions is all around the job processes for End of Year work, which still takes up about 85% of our work, so it's this area that accountants need to get super focused on. If you haven't yet listened to Episode 16, about the overall workflow, then do so before you l...
Mar 04, 2020•27 min
CWSD Episode 16, Sam begins the conversation around renovating what you do every day to get time back in your practice and ultimately, grow your business. Following on from the interview with Mark Calleja, Sam has put together the next few podcasts as a series to look at how to create space in your business to make the shifts needed to move from expert to advisor. From the addiction most accountants have to the EOY work flow and how it gets in the way of business growth, to the power of making t...
Feb 26, 2020•22 min
In Episode 15, Sam dives into the takeaways from her conversation with Mark Calleja in Episode 14. If you haven't yet, go and listen to that episodes before this one. Sam looks at the lesson from Mark in the opportunities being missed by not freeing up space and systematising in our businesses, and why the biggest opportunity is the EOY processes. Sam explains the difference between a process and a system, as well as how the industry can be the disruptors through becoming relationship businesses...
Feb 19, 2020•19 min
CWSD Episode 14, Sam interviews Mark Calleja, accountant and business advisor based in Sydney who has been through the journey from practice owner to business owner and now to business advisor. Mark shares his journey of over 20 years in accounting and what happened when he moved into practice ownership. Mark and Sam discuss the crossroads that had him deciding to do things differently and the practical and mindset shifts he had to make to double his turnover, decrease his work hours and increas...
Feb 12, 2020•32 min
CWSD Episode 13, Sam dives into the takeaways from her conversation with David Masefield in Episode 11 (Part 1) and Episode 12 (Part 2). If you haven't yet, go and listen to those episodes before this one. Sam looks at how we might take what David taught us about using a knowledge based model (his blog) to educate his market and drive business to gaps in the market outside the sale of the traditional big ticket market and how we can parallel this to think a little differently about how we offer ...
Feb 05, 2020•23 min
CWSD Episode 12, Sam interviews David Masefield, the founder of ShedBlog.com.au and Startup Toowoomba, and President of Canvas Coworking here in Toowoomba. This is Part 2 of the conversation so if you haven't already listened to the first part of the episode, do that before you listen to this episode. This episode is all about startup innovation, the absolute importance of your team, and the benefits of incubators and accelerator programs for status and business owners. Sam and David also discus...
Jan 29, 2020•29 min
CWSD Episode 11, Sam interviews David Masefield, the founder of ShedBlog.com.au and Startup Toowoomba, and President of Canvas Coworking here in Toowoomba. This episode is Part 1 of this interview where David shares his background and how he went from running a physical shed franchise to running an ecommerce shed parts blog business as well as the next stage of David's career, starting Canvas Coworking in Toowoomba. David and Sam discuss the importance of connecting with other entrepreneurs and ...
Jan 22, 2020•21 min
CWSD Episode 10, Sam discusses two of the most important questions you can ask yourself in business: "What do you want?" and "What brings you joy?" So often, when Sam asks clients these questions they tell her that they've never been asked before, or they've never given themselves time to pause and think about the answers. Sam also covers the difference between a business mindset and a practice mindset, and why having a practice mindset can prevent you from getting what you want and spending you...
Jan 15, 2020•14 min
CWSD Episode 9, Sam dives deep into the takeaways from her conversation with Greg Gunther in Episode 8. Sam shares some suggestions for marketing that doesn't cost you the earth, some strategies around people-both hiring and collaborating-as well as the importance of having a business mindset. This episode is brought to you by Blueprint Renovate Program, the program designed to create space in your firm to cultivate mindset change through what you do everyday. Visit blueprinthq.com.au/contact to...
Jan 08, 2020•31 min
CWSD Episode 8, Sam interviews Greg Gunther, Business Coach and Chief Disruptive Officer at Your Business Momentum. Greg shares a bit about his background in financial services and how his various experiences in business have led him into the business advisory space. Greg shares why it's important to understand the different skillsets of the practitioner and business owner, and how he helps business owners find the joy and reignite their passion while becoming redundant in their businesses. He a...
Jan 01, 2020•35 min
CWSD Episode 7, following on from Part 1 in last week's episode, this time Sam dives deeper still into steps 4, 5 and 6 of the mindset shifts that accountants and advisors need to make to have better conversations with clients, build different styles of businesses and meet or even be the disruption in a more agile way going forwards. This episode follows on from previous episodes about the Advisory Mindset, and the challenges of the difficult conversations we need to have with our clients and wi...
Dec 25, 2019•19 min
CWSD Episode 6, Sam dives deeper still into the mindset shifts that accountants and advisors need to make to have better conversations with clients, build different styles of businesses and meet or even be the disruption in a more agile way going forwards. Despite talking about the need to move away from compliance focus for decades, the reason the industry hasn't actually done it yet is because we haven't addressed the fundamental need to shift from the mindset we had in the past to the mindset...
Dec 18, 2019•24 min
CWSD Episode 5, Sam follows up from the previous episode's focus on difficult conversation by diving into the most hardest conversations any of us have: the conversations we have with ourselves. In this episode, Sam explains why it's so powerful and important to reimagine these conversations, carve out time and space to really listen to ourselves, as well as some of the reasons accountants, advisors and professional services experts don't do this. Sam also shares a personal story of how she rece...
Dec 11, 2019•23 min
