Shows
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesConversation: 50+ Years of Accounting Industry Insights with David and MarkDavid and Mark shared their insights from their experience in the accounting industry as Smithink winds down its activities with events and this final webinar. Lots of questions answered and many insights shared.Presented By: David Smith & Mark Holton, Smithink
2025-12-1049 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesAccounting industry trends and benchmarks 2025Measuring performance is crucial for any accounting firm, but understanding how your firm compares to industry standards is key to driving improvement. This session will explore the latest industry reports, examining trends and benchmarks for 2025. Mark and Julia will discuss how these insights can help you assess and enhance the performance of your firm.Presented By: Mark Holton, Smithink + Julia Thomson, The Benchmarking GroupYou can contact Julia directly at: julia@benchmarking.com.auAnd find out more about The Crunch here.
2025-11-1935 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesA practical look at offshoring done rightHear from a leading firm that's built a high-performing offshore team.Explore how structure, culture and governance turn offshore teams into long-term assets.Discover the best practice behind sustainable capacity planning.Presented by: David Smith, Smithink, Stephen Hogg, Krish Sritharan, Solutions Centric + Ross Hedrick, Kidmans Partners
2025-11-0545 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesArtificial Intelligence and Advisory Services: What’s all the fuss about?The rise of artificial intelligence has opened up exciting opportunities for accounting firms to deliver more value through advisory services. But with so much information available, how can you leverage AI effectively? How do you turn it into a service that clients find valuable and are willing to pay for? And, importantly, how do you price that service based on value? This webinar will address these questions and explore how you can structure your firm’s advisory services to harness the full potential of AI.Presented by:Mark Holton, Smithink
2025-09-2232 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesOffshoring the Grind, Amplify Advisory & Stay ResilientAustralian accounting and advisory firms are increasingly building offshore teams to address talent shortages, rising compliance demands, and the need for greater capacity. By shifting routine work such as bookkeeping, SMSF, BAS, payroll, tax preparation, and paraplanning to skilled offshore teams, firms can free their onshore staff to focus on client relationships, strategic advisory, and growth initiatives.Well integrated offshore teams complement onshore teams by providing scalable capacity, faster turnaround times, and cost efficiency, allowing firms to manage workload peaks, expand service offerings, and remain competitive, all while maintaining quality and compliance.
2025-09-0347 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesMarketing for Accounting Firms: Simple steps for successOver the years, many firms have turned to consultants for their marketing plans, but this approach is often ineffective. The truth is, there are plenty of simple actions firms can take themselves to kickstart their marketing efforts and engage the entire team. In this webinar, David will explore these easy-to-implement strategies to help you create and manage a successful marketing plan for your accounting firm.Presented By: David Smith, Smithink
2025-08-2034 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesTransform Your Practice with Digital Advice, SMSF Guidance and AI Coaching – No AFSL RequiredThis session is designed specifically for accounting professionals looking to enhance client service, drive new revenue streams, and streamline operations using moneyGPS Advice and moneyGPS SMSF—now with 24/7 AI Support.The best part? It’s all delivered under the moneyGPS AFSL, meaning no licence is required on your end.What We’ll CoverEffortless Onboarding & Deployment: See how you can launch both platforms in hours – no disruption to your current workflows, no extra headcount and be fully operational immediately.New SMSF Advice Service: Learn how our new...
2025-08-0646 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesDeveloping leadership skills for success in your firmEffective leadership is essential for managing the systems, people, and processes that drive an accounting firm’s success. This session will explore the qualities of great leaders and how to apply them within your firm. You’ll also uncover the 10 most common managerial mistakes and strategies to avoid them. Presented By: Mark Holton, Smithink
2025-07-1626 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesWhy every firm needs a resource planImproving turnaround times, boosting team productivity, enhancing client satisfaction, and increasing firm profitability all start with a solid resource plan. This session will highlight the importance of resource planning, outline its key components, and provide actionable steps to help you create a plan that works for your firm.Presented By: David Smith, Smithink
2025-06-1837 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBusiness Advisory Tools: What’s trending in 2025With an ever-expanding range of software and solutions available, selecting the right tools is essential for accountants looking to deliver impactful and engaging business advisory services. Understanding how these tools fit into the advisory process and their unique strengths can make all the difference. This session will explore some of the key solutions making waves in 2025 and provide valuable insights to help your firm choose the best fit for your needs.Presented By: Mark Holton, Smithink
2025-05-2732 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesmoneyGPS SMSF and AI: Transforming How You Engage with Your ClientsArtificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technology are transforming industries at an unprecedented pace, offering businesses new ways to streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and improve client experiences.In this session, George Haramis, CEO and Co-Founder of https://moneygps.com.au/, joins David to explore how both are reshaping financial services and how professionals can harness the potential of this technology to drive efficiency and innovation.With real-world insights from moneyGPS—an award-winning digital financial advice platform—George will demonstrate practical applications of AI and digital technology in client engagement, compliance, and...
2025-04-3046 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesReceivables management: a unique advisory opportunityWhen engaging clients in advisory services, they often seek quick wins in areas that cause them the most frustration, such as receivables management. Questions like “How do I get my customers to pay on time?” and “Where can I find help?” create opportunities to implement Power of One services and improve cash flow. This session will focus on delivering innovative receivables management solutions and exploring available support mechanisms.Presented by:Mark Holton, Smithink + Dave Birch, smartAR
2025-04-2331 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow to organise your training programTraining has never been more important with resource shortages and remote teams. More often than not, critical attention is not given to critical components of a training program. This session will consider components of an effective training program to ensure that the team is equipped to produce quality work as efficiently as possible.Presented By: David Smith, Smithink
2025-03-1929 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesOffshoring vs. Outsourcing: Finding the Right Fit for Your FirmJoin us for our bonus March webinar with Stephen Hogg from Solutions Centric, joining David to explore the key differences between offshoring and outsourcing. They will discuss the pros and cons of each approach and why firms should consider resourcing strategies based on their size. Learn how dedicated resourcing can help manage workload more effectively and how technology plays a crucial role in successful offshoring. Don’t miss this insightful session designed to help you optimise your firm’s operations.Presented By:David Smith, Smithink + Stephen Hogg, Solutions Centric
2025-03-0445 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow to re-engineer your processesIn a world where quality labour is hard to find and expensive, we need to ensure that people are as efficient as possible. It is time to put a broom through your processes and rethink them, particularly given the impact of technology. In this webinar, we’ll discuss the aspects of a re-engineering plan.Presented By:David Smith
2025-02-1935 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesaccountantsGPS: Revolutionising SMSF Compliance and StrategyDiscover how accountantsGPS and the SMSF Check-Up Report are transforming SMSF services for accountants. This webinar will explore Australia’s first digitally-enabled SMSF strategic review tool, empowering accountants to provide comprehensive fund analyses without the need for a financial licence.
Learn how to:
Deliver a complete SMSF health check efficiently.
Enhance compliance and identify new opportunities for tax and advisory work.
Strengthen your role as a trusted advisor for Trustees and members.
Join David Smith, George Haramis and Aaron Williamson to see how this innovative platform ca...
2025-01-2942 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe challenges of leveraging compliance data for business advisory servicesHistorical financial information is a valuable and often reliable component of providing advice on business improvement. But is it enough? Do clients truly benefit from looking backwards each quarter, focusing on issues they can no longer change? Moreover, what happens when a firm struggles to translate compliance data into actionable management insights?
This webinar explores how to overcome these challenges by telling the right stories with the right data, ensuring your advisory services deliver forward-thinking value.
Presented By:
Mark Holton, Smithink
2025-01-1630 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesGetting the right plan to deliver more advisory services in 2025This session will concentrate on the need for a business advisory implementation plan for accounting firms when undertaking business advisory work. The material covered will include; managing commitment and capacity issues, developing a proven implementation system for advisory work, selecting the right staff, appointing a business advisory champion and resourcing them, overcoming confidence and the comfort zone and finally finding the right clients to work with.
Presented By: Mark Holton, Smithink
2024-12-1133 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesWhy you need to develop a technology planThere is no reduction in the speed of change from the rapid change in technologies. To effectively harness these new technologies a structured approach is required to ensure both technology and processes are aligned, all technologies well together and priorities are aligned with firm strategy and critical requirements.
David will highlight the components of a technology plan to ensure firms optimise their application of technology in this webinar.
Presented By: David Smith, Smithink
2024-11-2031 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow technology delivers a complete financial services solution to the accounting professionDiscover how your accounting practice can harness the power of digital technology to offer comprehensive financial services without the need for an AFSL. In this session, George Haramis from moneyGPS will join David to talk about the growing digital advice market for both personal financial advice and SMSFs and how this technology seamlessly integrates with human interaction to provide better client outcomes.
They will discuss why accountants are best positioned to lead in this space and how the profession can catch up to deliver what clients need. Learn how to offer digital financial advice...
2024-10-2845 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesStrategic planning – the key innovative diversified service for your firmStrategic planning involves aligning your client’s business with its vision, mission and values. Then, take the time to think through where it makes sense to focus energy and resources in order to reach intended outcomes and results and ensure all stakeholders are aligned and working toward common goals. This session will help you determine where your clients are today, where you want to get them tomorrow and, more importantly, how and when to get them there.
Presented By: Mark Holton, Smithink
2024-10-1631 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesLet’s review AI use in accounting firmsArtificial intelligence promises to change the world. What we need, however, are real-world examples of how firms are applying the technology.
In this session, David highlights some examples of firms achieving breakthroughs with this exciting technology.
Presented By: David Smith, Smithink
2024-09-1840 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe 10 key business advisory client engagement tipsEngaging clients is one of the critical steps in attracting more advisory services to your firm. Getting the client to want this service is a skill in itself. This session will focus on the 10 top tips for engaging clients in business advisory services. It is not selling; it is just communicating and taking the client on a journey towards a better, stronger, more successful business future.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2024-08-2130 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow Digital Advice Will Future-Proof Your Advice Business and Boost Revenue LineDiscover how the moneyGPS proposition can seamlessly integrate digital advice into your accounting practice without a license or disrupting daily operations.
Learn how this solution can:
- Enhance client relationships and attract tech-savvy clients.
- Introduce a new, high-valuation revenue stream.
- Provide digital tools for clients to improve their financial position.
- Offer full turn-key onboarding and implementation, including marketing.
Listen to the recording now to future-proof your accounting business and increase revenue.
Presented By...
2024-07-3149 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesWhy you should consider small teamsManaging workflow and creating effective accountability is fundamental to ensuring well-managed workloads, reduced turnaround times, higher team satisfaction and job recovery.
David will highlight how and why a team structure based around small teams has been the foundation of success for many firms.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2024-07-1738 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesWhat’s next in Practice Management systemsIt’s almost 50 years since the first practice management computer system became available for small to medium accounting firms. The core functionality of tracking work and billing clients continue but systems have evolved to provide a host of other insights and functions to significantly improve practice performance. David will highlight the changes that occur in this important application for firms in his latest webinar.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2024-06-1937 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe benefits of working with Charities and other Not for ProfitsOften, we are asked to sit on boards of charities, sporting clubs, community organisations, and other similar organisations. One consideration is “Should I accept the appointment?” and “Is it for me?”. The other is understanding the benefit of helping others, doing “your bit” for the community, making key contacts, and developing your firm. This session will focus on my experience and the personal benefits gained from working with charities and other not-for-profits over 25 years as a Board Member and Treasurer and 15 years as a Chair.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2024-05-1533 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBusiness Advisory Software – what the industry is using in 2024There is a vast array of software and solutions in the market all designed to assist accountants in providing initial and engaging business advisory services to their clients. Understanding the differences and how products fit into the business advisory process is critical if firms are to select the right tools for their firm. This session will provide some insight into some of the key solutions available in 2024.
PRESENTED BY:
Mark Holton
2024-04-1733 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow a focus on quality reviews can generate workEvery practitioner knows the importance of quality but many have not realised that quality reviews can be a very effective way to not only ensure clients are receiving high-quality service but to unlock other service opportunities. David will highlight how firms are achieving success in developing new work from their quality reviews in this webinar.
PRESENTED BY:
David Smith
2024-03-2029 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe CrunchSmithink is proud to launch The Crunch, a new benchmarking service for accounting firms, in partnership with The Benchmarking Group. If there is one take-home message from the first Crunch Report, it’s quality over quantity. In this session, David will highlight key results from the first survey and discuss the issues behind the stand-out firms.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2024-02-2133 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow to be a financial storytellerToday’s accounting advisor must provide high-level advisory services as well as simple accounts management. Learn how to be a proficient storyteller, extracting meaning from the numbers and helping clients understand their financial story, using powerful web-based techniques like the 4 Chapters for Success, the Power of One and the 3 Big Cash Flow measures.
Presenter: Mark Holton, Smithink
2024-01-1725 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow to be a greater leaderFor an accounting firm to be successful there are a large number of systems, people and processes that need to be effectively lead and managed. This session will focus on what makes a great leader. We will also cover the 10 common mistakes managers make and how to overcome them.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton
2023-12-1328 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesNavigating Success in Offshoring: A Comprehensive BlueprintIn an age where the boundaries of business are being redefined, offshoring emerges as a pivotal strategy for accounting firms to harness global talent and drive economic efficiency.
That said, the success in offshoring is not merely about transferring tasks overseas; it demands a meticulous approach, profound understanding, and nuanced organisation.
This webinar will share:
Key preparatory steps to ensure offshoring seamlessly integrates into your existing business model.
How to recognise and adapt to cultural, operational, and technological nuances inherent in offshoring.
Best practices for communication, training, and continuous improvement to ensure enduring success.
...
2023-11-2147 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesLeadership team performance reviews – getting the most from your key peopleClearly, the leaders of the firm have a huge influence over the success of the business whether it is growing the business, managing client relationships or managing the practice. Yet, all too often, unlike employed team members, performance reviews do not occur and performance targets are not set. This can result in the firm not optimising the contribution from these valuable leaders. This session will explore how firms can work to optimise the performance of their leaders.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2023-10-1830 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesEstate Planning and Management – what an opportunity!As the baby boomers move to retirement and the hereafter we are going to see an enormous transfer of wealth to the following generations. Yet, family structures have become more complex so it is not a simple task to create appropriate plans. Often beneficiaries are not aligned with their goals. Estates can sometimes need to continue for many years after death.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2023-09-2029 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesNavigating the Future: Insights from Key Leaders in the Accounting ProfessionJoin us for a compelling panel discussion webinar featuring esteemed leaders in the accounting profession as they share their valuable insights and highlight essential practices they feel should be prioritised over the next 12 months. Gain exclusive access to expert perspectives and actionable recommendations to stay ahead in the evolving landscape of accounting.
PRESENTED BY:
Mark Holton + David Smith with David Francis, The Access Group; Petris Lapis, Artisan of Change; Matthew Feehan, Salt Financial and John Tsoulos, Global Business Camps + Indigo Financial
2023-08-2348 min
ESS BIZTOOLS - Business Advisory Services Update PodcastHow Accountants Can Navigate The Current Market Conditions Peter Towers, Managing Director of ESS BIZTOOLS and Mark Holton, Director of SmithInk discuss How Accountants could navigate the market conditions that their SME clients are encountering in 2023/2024 with some insights from the Accountants Boot Camp and the Thomson Reuters White Paper
2023-07-2733 minSmithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesUnleashing the Potential: Exploring How Technology Propels Accounting Advisory Business to New HeightsJoin us for an exclusive webinar featuring an insightful interview with Maree Jones, Manager at McKinley Plowman who has leveraged technology alongside her team to help fuel the organisation’s thriving accounting advisory business! Discover the secrets behind their success and gain valuable tips for implementing technology-driven strategies in your own practice.
PRESENTED BY:
Mark Holton with Tom Bilton, Fathom and Maree Jones, McKinley Plowman
2023-07-1948 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesCross selling your services – ensuring clients are utilising more of your servicesEvery professional service firm acknowledges that there are extra services they provide that many of their clients need but do not use. This is particularly the case when someone else in the firm provides the other service. This session will explore how firms can unlock these extra opportunities and achieve effective cross selling in their business.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2023-06-2330 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesAccounting industry trends and benchmarksMeasuring performance in an accounting firm is a critical task. This session will examine the recent Accountants Pulse Report 2022 that details the industry the challenge now is measuring how we compare to our peers. This session will review the latest industry trends and benchmarks and how they relate to the performance of your firm.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton, Smithink
2023-06-0128 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesMaking performance reviews more effectiveA common theme when we interview team members in firms is dissatisfaction with their performance reviews and how their performance is being measured. In this world where recruiting team members is often a challenge, retaining strong performers is critical. This webinar will consider effective ways to provide feedback and assist individuals to grow and develop.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2023-04-2031 min
Accounting Industry Insights with Mark HoltonA Young Guns perspective of the current accounting industry and challengesThis month Mark sat down with one of the young guns who attended the Smithink Young Guns Workshop in 2022, Ashreen Lochan from Generate Accounting in New Zealand. Ashreen is an Accounting graduate and a member of CPA Australia as well as on the Women in Business Committee for CPA in NZ. She is also a mentor for the University of Auckland's Business Women's Mentoring Programme. We talked about how she is helping out businesses with the current economic challenges as well as the current trends and signs of business performance in New Zealand and many other things.
2023-03-2719 minAccounting Industry Insights with Mark HoltonA Young Guns perspective of the current accounting industry and challengesThis month Mark sat down with one of the young guns who attended the Smithink Young Guns Workshop in 2022, Ashreen Lochan from Generate Accounting in New Zealand. Ashreen is an Accounting graduate and a member of CPA Australia as well as on the Women in Business Committee for CPA in NZ. She is also a mentor for the University of Auckland's Business Women's Mentoring Programme. We talked about how she is helping out businesses with the current economic challenges as well as the current trends and signs of business performance in New Zealand and many other things.
2023-03-2719 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBusiness Advisory Tools UpdateThere is a vast array of software and solutions in the market all designed to assist accountants in providing initial and engaging business advisory services to their clients. Understanding the differences and how products fit into the business advisory process is critical if firms are to select the right tools for their firm. This session will provide some insight into some of the key solutions available in 2023.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton, Smithink
2023-03-2230 min
Business EssentialsThe year ahead for accountantsA lot of businesses and accounting firms are happy that 2022 is over. It’s been a brutal few years with Covid, and now many practice owners are looking forward to a more prosperous 2023. That observation is from advisor to the accounting industry, Mark Holton of Smithink. Mark outlines what accountants can do to have a profitable rest of the year. More: https://smithink.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2023-03-0210 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBuilding an effective training programIn an era of acute labour shortages, it is critical that there is a strong focus on training to ensure not only high efficiency and technical competency but to also provide team members with the knowledge they need to advance their careers. This webinar will outline the topic categories that should form part of any training program, how training should be managed and how suggestions for training topics can be fed into the system.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2023-02-2236 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesStrategic planning for your client’s business successStrategic planning starts with aligning your client’s business with its vision, mission and values. Then taking the time to think through where it makes sense to focus energy and resources in order to reach intended outcomes and results, and ensure all stakeholders are aligned and working toward common goals. This session will help you determine where your clients are today, where you want to get them tomorrow and more importantly how and when to get them there.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2023-01-2327 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe quality vs efficiency war – getting the balance rightUtopia is to never have any mistakes and all the work is produced with maximum efficiency. Unfortunately, the reality is that often some trade-off is required between efficiency and the possibility of error. In this session, we will review how firms endeavour to maintain operating efficiency while effectively managing the risk of errors and the resulting consequences.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2022-12-1434 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesPractice KPI’s that really drive accountabilityThere are many key performance indicators that can assist accounting firms in monitoring performance and efficiency. This session will look at some of the common compliance performance drivers, how they are used, monitored and what to measure your team against. We will also examine other “non financial” engagement KPIs that can help monitor activity and delivery of more diversified services.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2022-11-1431 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesMaximising your resources in a world of labour shortageThere are only two ways to solve resource shortages. Find more labour and/or get more production from existing labour. In this session, we will review how firms are addressing the labour shortage with strategies to unlock new sources of labour. We will also review how firms are using resourcing planning and other tools to boost productivity.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2022-10-2732 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesFirm of the Future – Part TwoWhat will an accounting firm look like in the future? What will clients expect from us? Let’s look forward and consider the future of the profession and what firms should be doing now to be successfully positioned in the years to come.
Presenters: Mark Holton + David Smith, Smithink
2022-09-2247 minESS BIZTOOLS - Business Advisory Services Update PodcastIssues Relating to Accountants in 2022-23Peter Towers, Managing Director of ESS BIZTOOLS together with Mark Holton, Director of SmithInk discuss the Australian Accounting Industry and Overseas Accounting Industries.
2022-08-2617 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBusiness Advisory Software – what is the industry using in 2022?There is a vast array of software and solutions in the market all designed to assist accountants in providing initial and engaging business advisory services to their clients. At first glance, many appear to do the same things. Understanding the differences and how products fit into the business advisor process is critical if firms are to select the tools for their firm. This session will provide some insight into some of the solutions that can assist in your advisory service delivery.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2022-08-1131 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesProcess automation - how it will change the accounting professionIntroduction to process automation
Why the accounting profession is a perfect fit
Real-life examples
Different approaches/leading vendors
Pitfalls to avoid
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink + Rob Cameron, FYI
2022-06-1647 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesGetting the right structure and process to deliver more advisory services in 2022How do professional service firms re-focus from compliance services to value-added reliance services? Mark shares his innovative 7-step to success divisional advisory process that includes insight on the correct firm structure, infrastructure requirements, turning numbers into knowledge, action planning and identifying your clients' additional needs through innovative engagement strategies.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2022-05-1233 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHelp your self-directed clients make better investment decisions - without giving financial adviceDavid Smith discusses with OpenInvest co-founder Andrew Varlamos how clients unwilling to pay for financial advice often make poor investment choices, potentially damaging their chances of a financially secure retirement. The webinar will highlight how accounting firms can help while also avoiding the regulatory burden that comes with the financial advice regime.
2022-04-1332 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesFacilitating your client's monthly management meetingsMany small businesses struggle with the strategic management of their business. They are often in the here and now of solving today's issues. Yet, we all know that taking a regular step back to review progress, set targets and develop plans is highly beneficial to ensure focus is maintained on the issues that matter over the longer term.
Many small business people do not have the skills to establish an appropriate framework for monthly management meetings, governance and accountability. This session will outline how, as your client's key adviser, you can assist in creating and participating in these important meetings.
...
2022-03-2333 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow to be a financial storytellerToday's accountants and consultants need to consider providing high-level advisory services as well as compliance services to their selected clients. In this webinar we will cover how to be a proficient financial storyteller, extracting meaning from the numbers and help clients understand their financial story, using web-based techniques like the 4 Chapters, the Power of One, and the 3 Big Cash Flow measures. Turn numbers into knowledge using simple strategies that will really impress your clients and help develop your firm's advisory services.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2021-12-0728 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesCreating a culture of delegationMost firms find their senior people are often overloaded with work and have very little spare time. Yet it is these same people that need time to drive further growth and development of the firm. This webinar will highlight how firms can improve delegation so that additional capacity can be unlocked for your senior people.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2021-11-1641 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe keys to quality client serviceHaving completed the Exceptional Leadership, Recruitment, Selection and Training and Exceptional Customer Service programs at Disney University in Anaheim, California, Mark shares his insights on the hugely successful Disney management model of "on stage and off stage" service delivery and "over managing" through an attention to detail that drives success. Mark will also articulate the learnings into how they can be applied to an accounting firm staff, operations, efficiencies and client service standards.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2021-10-2631 min
Accounting Industry Insights with Mark HoltonThe business advisory journey - part oneWhere is your firm in its business advisory journey? Do you know what you need to do to get more advisory services happening? Have you created an ongoing and successful stream of income in your business with your advisory services? Or are you not even sure where to start? In this session, I'll take you through the initial steps to get you on the right track. If you would like to have a complimentary 45-minute Business Advisory assessment, please contact me to confirm a suitable time: mark.holton@smithink.com
2021-10-2216 minAccounting Industry Insights with Mark HoltonThe business advisory journey - part oneWhere is your firm in its business advisory journey? Do you know what you need to do to get more advisory services happening? Have you created an ongoing and successful stream of income in your business with your advisory services? Or are you not even sure where to start? In this session, I'll take you through the initial steps to get you on the right track. If you would like to have a complimentary 45-minute Business Advisory assessment, please contact me to confirm a suitable time: mark.holton@smithink.com
2021-10-2216 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesRocks to look under as you hunt for staffRecruitment seems to be getting harder and harder. Traditional channels have dried up. This webinar will explore different alternatives firms can consider as they hunt for staff and how firms can be positioned to give a competitive edge in recruitment.
2021-09-2131 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow to see the financial impact of key financial decisions before you make themBeing in business is a constant battle of key decision making for an accounting firm's clients. Decisions like; "should I or should I not?" or "do I commit or do I not?" are often a regular occurrence. This session will show you the impact of key financial decisions before they are made using a simple graphical software solution. Any debit or credit can be shown and the consequences considered before a decision is made. You and the client need to know in advance!
Presented by: Mark Holton
2021-09-0328 min
Accountants EXPOSEDMaking yourself obsolete with David SmithTechnology and innovation is undeniably changing our lives, David Smith is passionate about creating new opportunities for Accountants and the Accounting industry, reveals how we can take advantage of it and the secrets to building a highly efficient and profitable accounting firm.
In this podcast with David Smith from Smithink, we discussed everything from innovation, networking, finding passion in your work and many more topics::
Top things accounting firms are doing wrong
Biggest opportunities for accounting firms right now
Powerful/effective ways of doing performance and job reviews
Interviewing tactics David uses to identify great talent
B...
2021-08-051h 26
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesKPIs that workDriving the right behaviours from your people should be the objective of any accountability framework. In this webinar, David will highlight the accountability measures that firms can adopt that can be readily managed and drive desired outcomes.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2021-07-2034 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe Firm of the Future - Part OneWhat will an accounting firm look like in the future? What will clients expect from us? Let's look forward and consider the future of the profession and what firms should be doing now to be successfully positioned in the years to come.
Presented by: David Smith + Mark Holton, Smithink
2021-06-1636 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBusiness advisory tools updateWith the advent of cloud technology, there are now a vast amount of dynamic, client focussed business advisory software solutions in the accounting market. Which one is best? Which one suits your firm and its current and planned service offerings? In this webinar, we will look at the primary solutions available at this time and link them to the type of services you currently want to offer in your firm and those that may be on the horizon. Mark will also recommend what solutions he believes firms should invest in to get advisory services moving.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Director
2021-05-1833 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesTurning compliance data into innovative advisory servicesHistorical financial information is an important and often safe part in the provision of advice on business improvement, however, is it all that we should be using? Do clients really want to be looking backwards each quarter and discussing items they cannot change? Further, what happens if a firm cannot correlate the compliance data into advisory services? This webinar will concentrate on how to profit from compliance delivering innovative advisory services from compliance data.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2021-03-2427 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesTeam StructureSince the dawn of the profession, debate has raged about the optimum team structure for firms. In this webinar, David will highlight pros and cons of various structures and why one structure tends to create the best outcomes in terms of team member performance, delegation and accountability.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2021-02-1641 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesWhat's your SMSF audit plan?With the new rules about audit independence for SMSFs now is the time for every firm to review their SMSF audit arrangements and choose an auditor that will deliver high quality services at the right price. David will review the issues and consider the options for firms wishing to get the most out of their SMSF audits and the criteria that should be used in selecting an auditor.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2021-01-2928 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe need for a business advisory implementation planThis session will concentrate on the need for a business advisory implementation plan for accounting firms when undertaking business advisory work. Material covered will include; managing commitment and capacity issues, developing a proven implementation system for advisory work, selecting the right staff, appointing a business advisory champion and resourcing them, overcoming confidence and the comfort zone and finally finding the right clients to work with.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton
2020-12-1030 minESS BIZTOOLS - Business Advisory Services Update PodcastBusiness StrategiesAccountants could spend some quality time with their SME clients at present planning their business strategies for 2021. Why not have a cup of coffee with your clients and discuss these strategies with them, particularly those clients who have received JobKeeper payments. In the Business Advisory Services Update Webinar/Conversation on Wednesday 9th December at 11.00am AEDT (10.00am AEST) Mark Holton, Director of Smithink will... Read The Full Article Here
2020-12-0805 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesUsing strategic planning to leverage advisory servicesOne of the best ways to get clients engaged and on deck with ongoing advisory services is by using strategic planning and engagement services. This webinar will demonstrate online how to engage clients and get them thinking about future business visions, goals and directions and your firm offering more recurrent advisory services.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton, Smithink
2020-11-1731 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHow to grow your firm - simple marketing that works!Are you thinking about hiring external resources to assist you in your marketing? Before you do, listen to this webinar where we highlight the 17 things you should do before external help should be considered. Much of marketing is about process and consistency. We will highlight the key things you should consider in an effective marketing plan.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2020-10-2034 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBusiness Advisory Software - what is the industry using in 2020If you want to re-engineer your processes you need a goal. Perhaps that goal is to now eliminate the paper in your firm. It is possible - an increasing number of firms have been doing it. It needs a commitment to process change and a variety of technology solutions. Hear how firms have achieved their goals.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton, Director
2020-09-2228 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBuying a practice - issues to considerIn this low growth world, it is difficult for firms to achieve substantial organic growth. An approach taken by many is to look to acquire fees to improve economies of scale and create a book for emerging leaders. However, care is needed. An ill conceived acquisition can be a disaster costing by time and money. In this webinar, we will highlight the key issues to be considered if you're thinking of acquiring fees.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2020-08-2533 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe benefits of doing charity workOften in the accounting industry, we are asked to sit on boards of not for profit organisations. One consideration is "should I accept the appointment?" The other is the benefit of helping others, doing "your bit" for the community and growing your network of contacts. This web session will focus on my experience and the personal benefits gained from working with charities and other not for profits.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton
2020-07-2127 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesLearnings from COVID-19 to permanently change your practiceDavid will share his predictions on what he thinks accounting firms will be implementing ongoing coming out of COVID-19.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2020-06-1631 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBusiness Advisory in a COVID-19 worldWe have changed our May topic to consider what firms are doing in quasi-advisory to support clients in these unforeseen times. Mark will summarise his observations and highlight some ideas that you may wish to build into your business advisory plans leading out of the COVID-19 crisis.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2020-05-1937 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesWhat's working / what's notWe changed our April webinar topic to consider what firms are doing practically in these unusual times. David will summarise his observations to highlight some ideas that you may wish to build into your plans.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2020-04-2139 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesPain free practice successionDealing with succession can often be a very stressful time. Many often put their head in the sand not wanting to acknowledge the problem. Many resist the idea that they need to plan to exit the firm. Firms that have a well considered plan have achieved an almost seamless succession with no angst or disruption. In this webinar, David will highlight the elements of a successful succession plan which he has used to assist firms in this transition.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith
2020-03-1740 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe risks of using compliance data when offering business advisory servicesHistorical financial information is an important and often safe part in the provision of advice on business improvement, however, is it what we should be using? Do clients really want to be looking backwards each quarter and discussing the same old points? Should we be using up to date representative data? These are all great questions however what happens if the data is not totally accurate or management entries have not been posted. This webinar will consider the risks of using certain data when providing financial analysis to clients.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton
2020-02-1728 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesHolistic advice - how to embed in your practiceEvery practitioner has a desire to be a holistic adviser to their clients to assist them in building their business and addressing their whole financial needs. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. Resource, deadline and regulatory constraints get in the way. Skills to engage effectively with clients to unlock their goals and concerns are required. Success can be achieved but it requires a plan, processes and training and accountability to achieve success. This webinar will highlight how success can be achieved.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2020-01-2129 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesGetting the right structure and process to deliver more advisory services in 2020.To build an ongoing lucrative business advisory service in your firm, you need to address four key questions;
•Do I have the right structure in my firm and if not what do I need to do?
•What infrastructure changes do I need to make to ensure I have the right people and the right levels doing the right tasks?
•How do I build a client engagement system that really works? and
•What delivery models do I need to build when I have the clients signed proposal in hand?This session will address all these issues and we will start to build th...
2019-12-1129 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesAnother year of change in financial planningIs your firm positioned to capitalise on the disruption?
PRESENTED BY: David Smith, Smithink
2019-11-1931 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBuilding exceptional customer service in your firmExceptional customer service is an ongoing challenge for accounting firms as well as your client's businesses. This session will focus on the hugely successful Disney management model of "on stage and off stage" service delivery and "over managing" through attention to detail that drives performance success. Experiences will be shared from a recent US trip to Disney University in Anaheim to undertake the Exceptional Leaders, Recruitment, Selection and Training, and Exceptional Customer Service programs that can be articulated to an accounting firm.
Presented by: Mark Holton, Smithink
2019-10-1526 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesPaperless yet? Why not?If you want to re-engineer your processes you need a goal. Perhaps that goal is to now eliminate the paper in your firm. It is possible - an increasing number of firms have been doing it. It needs a commitment to process change and a variety of technology solutions. Hear how firms have achieved the goal.
PRESENTED BY:
David Smith, Smithink
2019-09-1743 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesLeverage the power of video - what's your plan?I've often insulted millennials that they can't read and to engage them multimedia is king. While this is not entirely true it is true that video engages audiences in a different way and enables you to provide insight into personality as well as the content. Every firm needs a plan to develop video content to engage with clients and potential clients. What's your plan?
Presenter: David Smith, Smithink
2019-08-2030 min
Tax Talks127 | Business AdvisoryBusiness advisory will allow you to avoid competing on price. Here is Mark Holton of Smithink with more.
2019-05-0931 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesOpportunities for growthLet's explore the opportunities for firms to achieve growth from their existing clients and how they can be unlocked.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith, Smithink
2019-04-1636 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businesses7 discussions you need to have with your clientsKey to building strong client relationships and growing your firm is how you engage with your clients. This session will discuss the 7 key discussions you should be having with your firm on a regular basis and how you can embed these discussions into your compliance activities.
Presented by: David Smith, Smithink
2018-11-2133 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businesses7 key marketing initiatives for successMarketing professional services is not rocket science. External marketing advisers have their place for creative elements and specific knowledge such as online advertising. However, the vast majority of a firm's marketing can be handled internally with the right administrative support, attitude and time commitment from practice leaders. This session will discuss the 7 key marketing initiatives that get results.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith, Smithink
2018-10-2333 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesUsing strategic planning to leverage advisory servicesOne of the best ways to get clients engaged and on deck with ongoing advisory services is using strategic planning and an engagement service. This webinar will demonstrate online how to engage clients and get them thinking about future business visions, goals and directions and your firm offering more recurrent advisory services.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton, Smithink
2018-10-0530 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businesses7 performance measures to focus your teamMany firms focus on productivity measures to performance manage their team. Yet these measures often encourage the wrong performance. This session will examine 7 performance measures that will send the right message to your team and achieve desired outcomes for your firm.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith, Smithink
2018-10-0530 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesThe advisory 7 step system from A to ZCreating the right structure, infrastructure, engagement model and delivery system is critical to long term advisory success in your firm. From your Client Relationship Management system to preparing for a needs analysis meeting to strategic questioning to dynamic proposals that really sell benefits, this webinar will paint the picture of best practice in a simple 7 step flow that will achieve real results.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton, Smithink
2018-10-0527 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesBusiness advisory software - what is the industry using in 2017/18There is a countless number of business advisory solutions in the market today. All of them are dynamic often cloud-based applications. Understanding what they can do and select the most appropriate solution for your practice is often a challenge. This session will focus on the mainstream offerings and help you understand which solution suits each stage of the business advisory cycle and the processes and people in your firm.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton, Smithink
2018-05-0340 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businesses7 ways to stop the hackersAccountants are a target for the hackers with the treasure trove of information to enable identity theft and all sorts of frauds. Every firm needs to ensure that they are minimising the risks and have a disaster plan ready to execute should the worst happen. This session will highlight some key issues to consider.
PRESENTED BY: David Smith, Smithink
2018-05-0333 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesTime for a process spring cleanMark and David will outline how firms are reinventing their processes to improve client service, build advisory services and improve efficiency and profitability.
PRESENTED BY: Mark Holton & David Smith, Smithink
2018-05-0234 min
Smithink - helping accountants turn their practices into great businessesMistakes firms make when implementing business advisory servicesThis session will concentrate on the key mistakes made by accounting firms when undertaking business advisory work. Material covered will include; managing commitment and capacity issues, developing a proven implementation system for advisory work, selecting the right staff, appointing a business advisory champion and resourcing them, overcoming confidence and the comfort zone and finally finding the right clients to work with.
Presented by Mark Holton
2018-05-0132 min