Page 4 - Public Accountants Journal

Member profi leember profi le
businesses consolidating their
services so they may not have
one individual like myself who is
licensed across all three professions
but they are certainly starting to
bring those services in house so that
their clients aren’t being bounced
around through different rms.” not have one individual like myself who
With the accounting landscape
undergoing signi cant changes,
MsJanssens says her time as a
triple licensed professional has
given her greater perspective on
what accountants can better do to
stay ahead of the curve.
“There is some very savvy and
sophisticated software coming out
even for small business but this is a
challenge that not only accountants
face, but even nancial planners
and mortgage brokers are facing as
far as how can it add value apart
from the data entry component of it
because there is a lot of technology
nowadays that can look after that,”
said MsJanssens.
“I found that when I switched
from being an accountant to
being a nancial planner that the
nature of my relationship with my
clientschanged.
“With my nancial planning, we
were having far more personal and
intimate conversations around their
goals and values and really digging
further into their personal nances
apart from what you would when
you are just looking after their
taxes,” she added.
“That’s the next step for
accountants… building those
relationships and being more
involved and proactive with their
clients throughout the year, because
usually we see them at the very
end of everything unless there’s
something speci c that they need
advice on.
“I think developing those personal
relationships more and helping guide
them through the year and teaching
them how they can be more strategic
with the way that they manage
their personal nances and their
taxes, I think that would be where
accountants can value-add.”
p
pubacct.org.auubacct.org.au
P050_ Member Profile Natasha.indd 53
M
“Looking at the industry as a whole,
there are more and more businesses
consolidating their services so they may
is licensed across all three professions
but they are certainly starting to bring
those services in house so that their
clients aren’t being bounced around
through different firms.”
Looking to the future nancial planner or mortgage
Ms Janssens has big plans for broker that they like the sound of
Women with Cents, hoping to push and they can contact them and get
it to become the national “go-to the ball rolling from there.”
resource for women”. On the ipside, Ms Janssens has
“There is no clear standout no plans to expand Sova Financial,
for [women] as far as to where fearing that it might lose “that
they would go to for all this boutique and personalised touch
information, not even with ASIC’s about it”.
Money Smart or the ATO website,” Ms Janssens knows exactly
said Ms Janssens. how important that personalised,
“I want to build up Women with community feel is, having been a
Cents so that it is the rst place member with the IPA since 2008,
they think to go to for nancial a move that has given her the
information whether that be tax- impetus to grow.
related issues or something else.” “I love the community that we
To add to that, Ms Janssens have here in Canberra because
hopes to roll out a matchmaking thinking with my nancial planning
service that helps connect women and mortgage broking hats on,
to accountants and nancial in those professions there really
planners because of the “analysis isn’t much of a community and a
paralysis” that many of her clients network through the associations
face once they have been given the that’s happening in Canberra,
necessary nancial information. most of the events take place in
“[Women] tell me there are so the larger cities like Sydney and
many accountants and nancial Melbourne,” said Ms Janssens.
planners out there that the decision “Whereas with the IPA we
is overwhelming so they won’t do have a great little community in
anything,” she explains. Canberra that catches up regularly,
“I’d like to build up a database there are people I can bounce ideas
of like-minded businesses so that off or ask questions if I’m unsure
once a client has established a need on a technical point.
and they recognise what it is that “So that’s been very helpful in
they are after, through that system advancing my career but also to
they can choose an accountant, grow my practice.”
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