Position: Managing Director
Organisation: TJD Accounting Services
Location: Essendon
IPA status: MIPA You’ve had a long and varied career in accounting and financial services. How did you progress to your current role?
My first job was with a bank, while I was studying for my accounting degree. It was a good job at the time, but I realised it was not for me, so, after attaining my degree, I worked in a variety of public practice roles. I was involved in audit, tax and business advice, and, for a short period, in insolvency.
In the mid-’90s, and, with a growing interest in the financial services industry, I decided I needed a change and spent some time as a financial consultant – once again in a bank – in country Victoria before deciding to return to Melbourne. I had a solitary year with an outer-suburban firm and then decided, as all men do when nearing 30, that I could do it better. As a result, I set up a small firm in Craigieburn without a client to my name. One year later and on the back of some concentrated marketing, I had 500 clients and a small but developing business. In 1997, I went back into financial planning and, for the next five years, ran both businesses, with forays into a variety of other opportunities.
In 2002, and after many years of hard work, my wife and I decided to move to the UK for a while. The business was sold and I obtained a role with one of the UK’s wealthier families, dealing with corporate governance on one of the largest property deals of the time. I also worked as a financial accountant with London’s largest private hospital and was able to use my business acumen to make a big impact on their profitability. It was probably the most rewarding role of my working life.
Unfortunately, due to a family illness, we returned home in 2004 and began rebuilding our lives in Australia. After a few years with a Melbourne-based trustee company, I realised my great desire to have my own business again. As such, I decided to buy into a practice, in the role of financial adviser, business adviser and managing partner. It was July 2008, two months before the crash of 2008, which created a whole new set of challenges for the accounting industry – so my role changed and has become so much more.
Which accomplishment are you most proud of?
I’m proud of having built a business from nothing; of starting a life in a new country; then returning to Australia to begin again. I’m also proud of attaining all the necessary education with no financial or employer support.
What do you believe are the key challenges facing the accounting industry today?
Due to SMSFs being the quickest growth sector in the superannuation market, I see the encroachment on the SMSF market by financial planners and financial services companies as a challenge. Both are lowering the cost of compliance to get control of investment funds.
The reliance by many firms on compliance work is a problem that needs addressing. It has been 12 years since the introduction of the GST and business owners now have a greater understanding of their reporting requirements. We also now have BAS agents, simpler accounting packages and offshore accounting suppliers. All these factors combined are drying up compliance work or simply lowering the price point to make it uneconomical.
Other challenges are the increased risk of litigation for advisory firms – primarily due to the ‘no win no fee’ strategy of larger law firms – and the lack of new graduates coming into the profession, preferring to use their qualification to enter other roles.
