Priorities, achievements, confidence and more

Accountex is over for another year. If you were there I hope you felt the visit was worthwhile.

This week I presented a webinar for over 120 members of the Association of International Accountants. The session contained the best bits from my 2022 talk at Accountex ;-)

I have had a number of requests to give a wider audience the opportunity to learn from the talk I delivered at THIS year's Accountex. The talk covered ways to build your confidence and boost the tax expertise of your practice without investing in staff or exams.

Please let me know if you'd be interested in a webinar version of that talk which also addressed easy and practical ways to prevent tax mistakes damaging your practice.

3 practical tips to ponder

The following are drawn from my 1-2-1 mentoring conversations with sole practitioner accountants:

1. Give it time:?When things seem to have gone wrong, do tell me, and I'll try to help you avoid a panicked or instinctive response before you have thought things through. It invariably helps to first pause. To do something else and then only decide how to react after due consideration. As we saw today, things are rarely as bad as they might seem at first.
2. Track your achievements:?Keep track of things that go well for you. Note them down so you don't forget. Regularly review your list and celebrate your achievements. At the very least give yourself a pat on the back. This will make it easier to deal with things that don't go well.
3. Be more confident:?Yes, I'll be here to remind you that you have the experience and expertise to tell clients what's what. You need to start doing that more often - without appearing arrogant. That won't be hard as your current approach seems to be due to a lack of inner self-confidence.

10 reasons accountants struggle to prioritise what really matters

One of the topics that often comes up is the challenge of prioritising anything (non-billable) you might think you want to do when there is client work that could be done.

Certainly, some of the accountants I work with tell me that they struggle to make time to prioritise developing, building and promoting their practice. One reason for this is that some business related plans seem to require big and continuous amounts of time which are hard to schedule.

And, of course, some accountants (quite rightly) prioritise family, exercise or other non-work activities and then feel guilty about outstanding work related matters.

It seems to me that one important reason why accountants want to prioritise key tasks effectively is to feel more ‘in control’. This would mean that all key tasks are being completed in good time, there is less need to rush stuff at the last minute, you have some breathing space in your week and you no longer feel the need to work late or at weekends.

More than this it means there is less work that you feel you must do yourself, you feel more comfortable about increased automation and more regular delegation and, overall, you have greater clarity as to your KEY tasks and priorities.

After I encouraged a group of a accountants to discuss this whole issue, I then summarised the ten key reasons they told me why they found prioritisation a challenge....

Continue reading…..>>>>

Weekly tax tips for general practice accountants

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Each week you'll get one email containing 3 topical, timely and commercial tax tips - written especially for accountants in general practice. They are written in plain English with links to the original source material if you want further details.

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Tax support for your practice and your clients

Ensure your clients get the in-depth tax advice they need when they face challenges or opportunities that go beyond your comfort level. (That means your PI insurance probably doesn't cover you to give them the tax advice yourself anyway).

There's no charge for using the Tax Advice Network website to instantly find the right tax specialist to help you and your clients. Go try it now.

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Let's have a conversation

Let's have a chat about the issues, challenges, and opportunities you're currently facing. We can start with a quick conversation or explore how we can work together on commercial terms. By working with me, you can benefit from:

• Turning your ambitions into reality
• Boosting your self-confidence
• Overcoming overwhelm and frustration
• Gaining insights, experiences, and tailored advice for your specific needs and practice.

Pick a time that works for both of us now >>> There'll be no pressure and no obligation. Just helpful friendly support.

Regards

Mark Lee FCA

NED-style Mentor, debunker and speaker

Chair of the Tax Advice Network

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If you'd like to be assured of seeing this weekly email please let me know and I'll send it by email >>>>

I'm Mark and sole practitioner accountants turn to me for strategic insights, advice and support. The Sole Practice Club enables me to help a group of accountants together. Others prefer 1-2-1 NED-style mentoring support.

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I also Chair the??Tax Advice Network , the UK’s largest network of independent tax advisers.

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