Instagram story viewer> @accountantsafterhours> Posts

accountantsafterhours

@accountantsafterhours

2K

followers

4837

following

Podcast for accountants who want honest conversations & real stories. Hosted by @natlenno & @sarahlawrancecfo Sponsored by @ignitionapp_

POSTS STORIES REELS

Building your own tools with AI sounds brilliant.

Until you’re also responsible for maintaining them, fixing the errors and answering the “it’s broken” messages while you’re on holiday 👀

In Part 1, Guy Pearson shares what he’d build himself, what he’d still pay for and how he’d approach starting an accounting firm today.

Catch up before Part 2 drops this Thursday.

Link in bio to watch or listen to Part 1. by @accountantsafterhours

“Compliance is dead.” Heard that one before? 👀

Guy Pearson, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ignition, sees the line between compliance and advisory getting blurrier.

Calculating the tax bill is becoming more automated.

Helping a client understand it, prepare for it and work out how to pay it? That’s where the conversation matters.

Link in bio for part 1 of the Accountants After Hours episode with Guy. by @accountantsafterhours

Offered partnership at 24. Said no.

Guy Pearson, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ignition, could see cloud accounting coming and wanted to build a firm for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The opportunity was good. He just wanted something different.

A reminder that the career move everyone celebrates might not be the one you actually want.

Link in bio for part 1 of our Accountants After Hours episode with Guy. by @accountantsafterhours

You can build your own tools with AI.

But who fixes them when you’re on holiday? 👀

Guy Pearson’s advice for starting an accounting firm: pick your niche, choose tools that suit your clients and think carefully about what you build yourself.

Because software subscriptions also buy you support, reliability and the ability to switch off.

Link in bio for the first part of our Accountants After Hours episode with Guy Pearson, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ignition. by @accountantsafterhours

We've spent 19 episodes (and many, many years of experience in the accounting world!) talking to accountants, bookkeepers and industry leaders about what's actually working inside modern firms.

And, naturally, we've picked up a few things 👀

The pricing decisions protecting margins.
The boundaries keeping firm owners sane.
The AI conversations that go far beyond "which tool should I use?"

The small shifts helping firms become more profitable, scalable and genuinely better to work in.

So here are seven hacks we're happy to share, no gatekeeping here.

Because we'd rather see more firms get this right.

Save this for your next strategy day and follow Accountants After Hours for honest conversations, practical advice and a little industry tea ☕️

#AccountingFirmGrowth #AccountantsAfterHours #FirmProfitability #AccountingPractice #AIForAccountants by @accountantsafterhours

The great firms aren’t only asking how AI can help them do the same work faster.

They’re asking what they can finally offer clients now that their time is opening up.

That was Diya Jolly’s observation across Xero’s key markets.

The strongest firms aren’t separated by geography as much as mindset.

They’re looking at work that once consumed their days and thinking:

What becomes possible when we don’t have to spend all our time doing this?

What new services could we build?

How could we support clients in ways we never had the capacity to before?

There are firms already leaning into that opportunity.

And there are firms still deciding what to make of it.

Link in bio for the full episode. by @accountantsafterhours

Should accountants and bookkeepers be putting sensitive client information directly into an LLM?

Short answer: not without understanding exactly where that data is going.

Diya Jolly explained that when firms use Xero’s approved connectors, agreements are in place so the connected providers cannot use that data.

The query may be sent out, but the client data returned stays within Xero’s environment.

That is very different from extracting sensitive information yourself and pasting it directly into a general AI tool.

Same technology.

Very different data protections.

Before using any AI tool with client information, know which environment you’re working in, what permissions are in place and how the data can be used.

Visit the link in our bio to watch or listen to the episode. by @accountantsafterhours

Balance isn’t something you achieve every day.

Or even every week.

Some seasons demand more from work. Others give you space to be more present at home.

As Diya Jolly shared, the goal isn’t to divide every day perfectly. It’s to make sure all the important parts of your life get their share of the pie over time.

Because for some people, work is part of what makes them feel fulfilled.

And constantly shrinking one part of yourself to prove you’re succeeding in another can be the quickest road to burnout.

You might overshoot for ten days.

You just need to find a way to bring the balance back on the other side.

Visit our link in bio to listen or watch on YouTube. by @accountantsafterhours

48 hours of Xero product announcements.

So naturally, we pulled Chief Product & Technology Officer Diya Jolly into the Xerocon podcasting van and asked her all the questions 👀

Where is Xero’s AI actually heading?

What’s the thinking behind XeroForce?

Are Australian accounting firms really ahead of the US when it comes to AI adoption?

And what should firms understand before putting client data into an LLM?

We also spoke about how Diya balances family with life in the C-suite, her advice for women moving into board positions and, because this is Accountants After Hours, tested her knowledge of Aussie slang and fairy bread.

A genuinely interesting conversation about where accounting technology is going, with the person helping shape it.

Comment LINK and we’ll send you the full episode. by @accountantsafterhours

Accountant to accountant, most of you already know what you should be doing. You just need someone to give you permission.

You know the fee is too low. You know that client has been more trouble than they're worth for three years. You know you don't need to log into Xero at 9pm on a Saturday.

But you keep doing it anyway, because that's how it's always been done in this profession.

That habit is costing you. You lose margin on every underpriced job, you lose energy to clients who drain your team, and you lose weekends you're never getting back.

Here's the thing. Charging properly isn't greedy, letting a client go isn't failure, and handing work to your team isn't losing control.

We've both run firms the old way, and we've both run them our way. Our way is more profitable, and a lot more fun.

So consider this your permission slip.

Follow for more honest firm-owner talk and insights, and send this to the accountant who needs to hear it.

#AccountingFirm #AccountantLife #FirmOwner #AccountingAdvice #PracticeManagement by @accountantsafterhours

Before you paste client data into an AI tool, do you actually know what you agreed to? 👀

The issue isn’t automatically whether Claude, ChatGPT or another platform is secure.

It’s which version you’re using, what the licence agreement says and how your data may be handled.

Consumer account? Enterprise account? Walled environment?

Those details matter.

But the fundamentals haven’t changed.

You still need to know:

• What client data is being shared
• Where it’s going
• Who can access it
• How the platform can use it

The tools might be new.

Good data governance isn’t.

Use AI with your eyes wide open, not because everyone else in the firm already has it open in another tab.

Comment LINK and we’ll send you the full episode. by @accountantsafterhours

Are Australian and New Zealand accounting firms actually ahead of the US when it comes to tech and AI? 👀

Angad Soin, Managing Director AU/NZ,Global Chief Strategy Officer Xero, thinks they may be.

The size of the US market means firms can specialise, serve a huge number of similar clients and keep doing things the same way for longer.

In Australia and New Zealand, firms haven’t always had that luxury.

They’ve had to work across more areas, adapt quicker and find new ways to get the work done.

And that may be exactly why multidisciplinary firms here are slightly further ahead on the tech journey.

Sometimes having fewer options forces you to find better ones.

Comment LINK and we’ll send you the full episode. by @accountantsafterhours