Accountants in Public Practice Conference

Chair: David Steele, Director, DPA Ltd

State of the Profession – A Trans-Tasman view

In this interview session, Daniel Wyner, General Manager and Group Product Manager, Accountancy Professionals Division, Wolters Kluwer and David Jenkins, Country Head, New Zealand, CPA Australia will discuss what they are seeing in the market in terms of issues, challenges and opportunities for Accountants in New Zealand and Australia.

Daniel Wyner and David Jenkins 

SME Panel discussion – What do clients actually want from their Accountant?

Business is about the creation and capture of value and how to do this better. SME’s are the lifeblood of the NZ economy and  Accountants’ play a vital role in supporting SME’s. This panel interview with three successful business owners will provide a deep insight where they will share their journey to success including the highs and lows and the how their Accountant has been integral in this journey.  They will share what they really want help with, what keeps them up at night and the ever changing landscape of being a business owner in NZ.  This session will reinforce the importance of the relationship between clients and their Accountants and the power of this professional duo.

Preparing tax practitioners for simpler tax

Inland Revenue’s customer services, processes and Government policy are going through significant change to simplify how you and your clients interact with the tax system.
Greg James will give an overview of the transformation and how technology and policy reform is enabling tax compliance to become simpler and less consuming for businesses. Greg will cover the changes that tax practitioners and their clients can expect in the next six months in relation to GST, and the accumulating benefits to be implemented in stages until 2020. This ‘once in a generation’ simplification of tax administration will create both challenges and opportunities for New Zealand’s tax profession.

Greg James, Deputy Commissioner, Inland Revenue

Practice growth and development

Growing your practice is the cornerstone of success! It provides the foundation on which to build your career and opportunities for those who work with you.
A growing practice also provides you with a rewarding way to build your net worth.
In this session, Peter Knight will share some real life practical ideas for growing and developing your practice.

Peter Knight, Knight Partners

Technology - Don't be a slave to the rhythm

RightWay are Xero's fastest growing accounting partner globally having grown from 4 to 100 people since starting in 2011. Their technology stack has been one key element in enabling their rapid growth. Hear from CEO and Co-founder Greg Sheehan on why accounting is not immune from disruption and how accountants can and should position their futures in a world of rapidly changing technology. Greg will also gives his insights and experience on the challenges of scaling at speed.

Greg Sheehan, CEO, RightWay

Accountant Panel discussion - Not all firms are created equal.

Change is vital and necessary for growth and this is exactly what you’ll hear during this interview with three accounting firms. Learn how they’re bucking the trends, challenging the ‘myth” that compliance is dead, how they’re dealing with fee pressures, keeping their team engaged and planning for succession.

Live for awesome

If we could achieve anything, what would it be? How would we feel? What do we need to do? It's a pretty big question but when we answer it we see opportunity, we clarify purpose and we achieve some awesome things. Cam Calkoen was born with Cerebral Palsy and told that he would forever be dependent on others, at this point his family and he had a choice, the same choice every one of us have - focus on what can't be done and what society expects or build the dream. Cam chose to build an awesome dream! Speaking on some of the biggest platforms in New Zealand and around the world Cam brings to us a truly universal story of exceeding expectations and turning "I can't" into "I can".

Cam Calkoen

How to manage cash flow finance and assisting you in providing strategic advice to your clients

The presentation will provide valuable insight to anyone interested to understand how a bank looks at the cash flow for each lending proposition. There is a well-worn phrase in Banking that “Cash is King” and generally companies get into trouble when cash stops, slows or is not worth as much as anticipated. The presentation from one of ANZ’s Senior Credit Managers, Igor Jerkovic, will cover a number of lending scenarios and what cash flow analysis was used to ensure the right decision was made and equally importantly, what lending structure should be used for the type of lending request.

Igor Jerkovic, Senior Credit Manager, ANZ

Panel discussion - Preventing the Churn: How to attract and retain clients and staff?

This panel discussion will look at how to position your firm to attract and retain both clients and staff.

• Encouraging a culture that appeals both when you are recruiting, and in your business development.
• Developing a team spirit to keep staff motivated and challenged.
• Changing your thought processes from ‘providing services’ to ‘solving clients’ problems’.

Experienced advisors from the accounting and legal profession share their thoughts on what makes a business attractive.

Tracy Hickman, Director, Corporate Advisory Services, Staples Rodway; Brad Golchin, Managing Director, Wise Advice; Kellie Bright, partner, Shieff Angland, Angela Cameron, Managing Director, Consult Recruitment

Networking drinks with 20 minute address from Revenue Minister the Hon Michael Woodhouse