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Publications

Partnering with Accountants
Your definitive guide to the ultimate referral destination

Partnering with Financial Planners
A guide to growth for accounting firms

Your Professional Headspace
Achieving career success and personal fulfilment as a professional in practice.

Professional Collaboration

A collaborative update

When I look back over the note I wrote below only last year, I am amazed at what has since transpired.

I released "Partnering with Financial Planners" and that has sold 500 copies. Currently I am looking forward to completing "Partnering with Accountants" in coming weeks and I am planning its launch in the first half of 2014.

I have been delighted to see that the "First 100 Days" concept that I introduced in PWFP has proved practical and appealing to accountants in practice. Equally, the "Accountants Due Diligence checklist" I have developed as part of "PWA" has proved very beneficial to planners in the conversations they have with accountants.

Opportunities to speak with both planners and accountants are also opening up which is great because I see collaboration between the two professions being conducted much more productively in the future. Watch this space!

13 September 2013

From my desk

It’s my vision that accountants and financial planners will one day work very closely together as a matter of course. I’ve been part of the special "magic in the room" when you get a client, their accountant, a financial planner and a whiteboard together in the one place to discuss the client's financial future. Rather than be an occasional event I’d like to see that this incredibly valuable collaboration occurring all the time.

As part of bringing this vision to reality, I have embarked upon a two-book project based on the subject of professional collaboration. The first is currently in the process of being published. It is called "Partnering with Financial Planners. A guide to growth for accounting firms." I am currently writing a companion book for financial planners, "Partnering with Accountants".

Why two books? The reason is that collaboration is a two-way street. There are certain things that each party needs to know for effective collaboration to occur. Whilst there is a significant overlap of material in the two books they are each written with a completely different perspective.

Please return periodically to this page as it is my intention to update it with further insights I gather from the consulting work I undertake in this area. Also, if you have feedback or suggestions for further areas where assistance is required, please feel free to email me at scott@scottcharlton.com.au

Scott

9 July 2012.

1. The most value that gets added to a professional services firm is when the owner is “In the Zone”. What a shame so little time is invested there.

2. The more days you as a major revenue earner of the firm invest with clients the more revenue the firm will earn.

3. You can't be in the sweet spot by trying to be all things to all comers. Focus on work you enjoy and are good at.

4. Don't try to be something you're not. For example, if keeping up to date with the latest tax changes is crushingly onerous or incredibly tedious then don’t masquerade as a taxation specialist.

5. Get real – do you have genuine management talent or would you be happier and more productive working with clients?

6. Let go. Jot down six tasks/professional responsibilities that you don’t enjoy. Come up with a plan to minimise your involvement with these areas and yet still get the job done. Better yet, find ways to engineer these out of your life. Do this today and repeat at regular intervals.

7. Specialise. Find a service niche which enables you to work more and more in areas that fascinate you. Aim to be the best in the world in this niche. Seek out other experts in this field. Subscribe and contribute to relevant publications focusing on this area.

8. Be passionate. It’s great to be really enthused about a subject. For some, this has proved to be a lifelong cause. Your passion will attract others and sustain you.

9. Articulate. Tell others about your talent. There are lots of great ways to do this - presentations, websites, blogs, articles, newsletters, e-mail, personal referral, business networks etc.

10. Look for opportunities to utilise your skills. Interestingly, the more you focus on developing your professional interests, the more opportunities open up to you in these areas.

11. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Work with others who have complementary talents to your own. This will enable you to focus on what you are good at.

12. Become more effective. Find ways to get more done in less time. The more you can achieve whilst you are "in the zone", the more discretionary time you will have.

13. People who are physically fit create a much better first impression. Prospects become clients, candidates become team members and audiences pay more attention when you exude the Zing! which comes from feeling terrific.

14. Periodically review your career, present role and current level of satisfaction. Are you on track or is action required?

15. Rarely are there winners in deteriorating partnership dissolutions. Cut the best deal possible under the circumstances quickly, gather up every bit of positive energy you can muster and move on.

16. It’s hard to be in the right professional headspace if your personal financial affairs are in a mess.

17. No one else has your unique combination of core purpose, skills and experiences. No one else is responsible for what you to choose to do with these. No one else is putting limitations on what you can achieve.

18. It's easier to maintain your current level of fitness than to regain it after a period of inactivity. Aim to do something active every day.

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