About Scott

During an incredibly varied career exceeding 30 years, Scott Charlton has worked at two of the biggest international professional firms, commenced the world’s smallest accounting practice and been one of three principals in an aspiring CBD partnership.

Scott has also changed occupation several times, had a career break and faced the challenge of being "between jobs". During this time Scott has worked from home and in CBD offices with stunning views. He has also toiled in soul-less broom cupboards, owned commercial premises and been a “road warrior”. 

A chartered accountant by background, Scott ran his own practice for many years in a leafy Brisbane suburb before merging with two other practitioners to create a firm in the CBD.

Throughout this period Scott specialised in advising a range of professionals in practice including health practitioners, lawyers and consultants. The systems Scott developed to run his practice were later sold to Business Fitness and are now used by hundreds of accounting firms across Australia and New Zealand. A manual he wrote to train his team in using business analysis software was subsequently marketed internationally.

Scott is currently Head of Strategic Development at Fortnum Financial Advisers, a financial planning group dedicated to client first solutions. Scott is also a Director of Fortnum Professional Strategies, a company which provides licensing solutions for accountants in practice and otherwise assists accounting firms to succeed.

As part of these dual roles, Scott is often called upon to facilitate working relationships between accountants and financial planning firms, an area where he has particular expertise. 

With 12 years dedicated experience, Scott is one of Australia's leading coaches to accountants and other financial services businesses. Business coaching greatly resonates with Scott, given his personal mission to help others achieve their potential. Scott is highly engaged when coaching - listening, observing, educating and making recommendations. Coaching sessions vary between fun and serious; short and long. Following a coaching session, clients frequently report that they feel more positive and have a renewed sense of purpose.

Mind you, Scott is highly expectant of his clients - pre-meeting preparation, development of action plans, implementation, additional reading and "mental energy" devoted to business improvement.

Outcomes Scott's clients typically achieve are improved financial results, fewer business hassles and improved quality of life for working owners. Along the way clients also become very familiar with key aspects of Scott's aproach.

In recent times, Scott has pulled together all the elements of his coaching processes into a clear, succinct model entitled The Practitioner Coaching Program. This model helps coach and client alike to be clear on what the process is and the outcomes to be expected.
 

One page business plan

Scott is a great believer in keeping business plans short and sharp. Document by all means, but don't kill acres of trees with excessive detail! Scott's approach challenges business owners and managers to clearly state big picture goals, corporate values and the select few strategies to focus upon during the period ahead.

Organisational structure

It's been Scott's experience that a well-constructed organisational structure produces clarity and provides team members with a great sense of purpose. Scott challenges firms to plan for success - there are many critical roles in every business which must be covered if its potential is to be achieved.

With Scott as your coach, expect board meetings to have more formality and purpose, management to be called to account and for your marketing capability to be significantly enhanced.
 

Marketing
 

Telling your unique story
 

With Scott's input and encouragement, the firms he coaches dispense with bullet point lists of services and bland "Use us because we have integrity and provide personal service" as their marketing message. Invariably,  firms discover that they truly have unique points of difference, illustrated by case studies which tell powerful stories about clients they have assisted. Pursuing a specialty in chosen markets distinguishes these firms from being "me too" and creates a powerful value proposition. In working with Scott, firms come to appreciate that excellence is within their reach and exciting to strive for.

Measuring key activities

Scott insists that the firms he is coaching identify and measure their key activities. A common characteristic of these firms is that they frequently have stand up team meetings in front of a white board in the general office area to discuss KPI's and progress towards target. Such firms take on board "the hustle factor" which results in projects being completed, targets met and the extra mile travelled to wow clients.

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“Scott has provided us with business coaching and strategy assistance for over 7 years. His practical assistance allows us to achieve outcomes. Scott is always full of great ideas and uses practical experiences to great effect. His years of dealing with professional service businesses is invaluable to us. Over the years he has assisted us with significant business growth. Scott gets jobs done!”

Brett Cribb
Director, Far More Financial Group 

There are times when the leaders of organisations turn to Scott for assistance. Be it executives contemplating career choices,  professionals considering exit strategies or CEOs seeking a sounding  board with regard to tough decisions, Scott's friendly ear often makes  the difference. 

Of late, Scott's book Your Professional Headspace has been the catalyst for senior practitioners to take stock and to seek his counsel with respect to career options and "creating space" for other elements of their lives.

Sometimes, simply organising one's thoughts for a session with Scott provides clarity. Often, hearing what others have done in similar situations is enormously helpful. Always, clients leave these meetings with the confidence to make informed decisions.

Naturally, all such interactions occur within an environment of absolute confidentiality and professionalism.
 

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“Scott’s experience and qualifications in Professional and Financial Services is rivalled by few in this country. I have been fortunate enough to work with Scott on a number of projects over the past 12 years, and was delighted to recently have our Board of Directors appoint Scott as our external Chairman. 

A couple of sentences are not sufficient to define the value Scott has brought to our business and to each of the Directors individually.

Scott has an uncanny ability to analyse situations, find a way through emotional baggage and business/personal legacies, and come up with simplified action plans that move businesses and individuals forward, and quickly at that. Without Scott’s guidance over the past year I don’t see how our business would be where it is now.”
 

Michael Stewart

(Former) Chief Executive Officer, Integrity Wealth Accountants

Scott is particularly adept at facilitating meetings and helping to create productive collaborations. Scott's skills are demonstrated in a variety of situations including business succession, mergers, referral arrangements, board meetings and business planning. A key component of Scott's facilitation is his ability to identify the key issues to be addressed and to ensure that these are given priority.

Many have come to appreciate Scott's quiet authority and insights in working through "ownership issues" which invariably arise in professional partnerships. Likewise, discussions about strategy, team members and capital invariably have better outcomes and broader agreement where Scott has been at the boardroom table.

Accounting referrals

Due to his previous experience as an accounting practitioner, Scott is often called upon to facilitate referral relationships between accountants and financial planners.

More than 100 people attended the two day Accountant JV Masterclass that Scott ran in a previous role. Scott has also made numerous presentations to both accounting firms and financial planning firms regarding collaborative arrangements. Scott's article Stranger in the Office next door is essential reading for accountants and planners alike in dissecting difficulties that typically arise where accountants employ an in-house planner. (This article is also used as a case study for the Public Practice Certificate Program run by the Institute of Chartered Accountants.)

Scott is continually developing checklists and tools which can assist in referral relationships. He also writes articles on situations he encounters in his facilitation role with such relationships. Much of this material is included in two of the books he has written, "Partnering with Financial Planners" and "Partnering with Accountants".
 

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“Scott is a fascinating guy! I thoroughly enjoyed working with him on interesting topics and I highly appreciated the way he brought us all back on track with his decisive manner.”

Mario Hutter

Fellow MBA student and Division Controller, Leica Geosystems

Much of Scott's coaching in recent years has been conducted in workshops comprised of similar businesses. Scott's coaching workshops feature lively discussion, sharing experiences and accountability to one's peers. Workshops are often punctuated by learning modules on marketing and fostering referrals along with open forums. 

Scott is a master of providing case studies for participants to engage in, often featuring role plays and pricing of services. Because these are based upon his experience as a practitioner, participants find the case studies are immensely practical. Financial planners in particular frequently request Scott to conduct specific training in establishing referral relationships with accountants. 
 

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“I had the absolute pleasure of working with Scott on a number of projects. He is without doubt one of the best content developers I've come across. Scott's passion for getting the very best from people is clearly evident in his articles, training modules and coaching. He is brilliant in his role and has a great deal to offer the Accounting and Financial Planning professions. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Scott to businesses serious about getting results.” 
 

Julie Pidgeon

Owner, 360 Results

Throughout his career, Scott has been a prolific author, writing about business issues that he has encountered and passing on powerful insights into what really works.

This has been reflected in various forms, including his own newsletter whilst in practice. With the advent of the internet, Scott's writing now appears in a variety of forms including online forums, Linked In discussion groups and the website of the Leading Minds Academy.

Scott is the author of Your Professional Headspace, a book published in 2011 which is dedicated to professional people in private practice.

Scott was also the author of a guide to using the Targeting Business Results software, an analysis tool popular with accountants during the 1990's.

Scott’s book, Partnering with Financial Planners - a guide to growth for accounting firms, was published in September 2012 by Thomson Reuters.

Scott recently published the companion book Partnering with Accountants. It is essential reading for those seeking to collaborate with accounting firms.

To share in Scott's observations on issues of the day affecting practitioners, visit his blog (which can be found on this website) and download the articles posted on the Resources section on this site.
 

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"Thanks Scott. I laughed and I cried (mostly cried) when I read about Chris’s time with the Accountancy Firm. Seriously though, you have hit the nail on the head with your article. There is always more than one viewpoint, and proper planning, along with open and honest communication can often alleviate a lot of these issues. Well done, it is a good read."

Steve Brett
Financial adviser re Scott’s article "Stranger in the Office Next Door".

 

A keen photographer, Scott is often sighted outside work hours armed with camera and tripod. The power of an image to depict a mood or an insight appeals to Scott's creative nature. Scott's particular interest is sports photography, where he looks to capture athletes “in the moment”. Increasingly, the output from this endeavour is appearing in Scott’s coaching, given the ready application of sporting insights to business situations.
 

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"Scott’s keen eye produced lots of great shots which brought much pleasure to Somerville rowers and their families."
 

Andrew Dalziel

Former president of the Somerville House Rowing Support Group

A lifelong interest in fitness and physical performance has been the catalyst for Scott to pursue various team sports, along with windsurfing, canoeing, triathlons and weightlifting. However, the sports which have held Scott’s lifelong interest are surfing and cycling. 

Scott is a strong advocate of exercise, believing that it flows over into achievement in other areas of one's life. Scott attributes his innante optimism to the sense of well being emanating from being physically fit . .    . . In turn this provides Scott with a positive disposition to new opportunities.

Scott can often be seen pedaling his way to work along Brisbane's wonderful system of bikeways or out on a longer Sunday morning ride further afield. 

Organised cycling events have taken Scott to various locations including Noosa and the Gold Coast. The organised ride incorporated in the 2011 Tour Down Under took Scott up and over the King of the Mountain route.
His cycling goal in 2014 was accomplished by completing Melbourne's "Round the Bay in a Day" ride - an outing of some 210 kilometres. Since then he completed a challenging 151 kilometres at the Bupa Ride during the 2015 Tour Down Under.

Participants in Scott's business coaching are sometimes taken aback when Scott takes them to task about neglecting their health. Invariably, participants' exercise programs are also reviewed as part of an overall approach to achieving success as a complete person.

 

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"Throughout my career I've noticed that 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."

Scott Charlton

Your Professional Headspace