Brannon Poe is the author of "The Unplugged Vacation," and founder of Poe Group Advisors and Accounting Practice Academy. Rob Brown and Brannon Poe delve into the often-overlooked challenges accountants face in managing their time and achieving work-life balance. Brannon, sheds light on the realities of the accounting profession, where the relentless demands of clients and the struggle to maintain boundaries can lead to burnout and dissatisfaction.

Brannon's book, "The Unplugged Vacation," serves as a guide for accountants to reclaim control over their time and learn the art of truly disconnecting from work during vacations. Through personal anecdotes and insights, he underscores the importance of setting boundaries, purging underperforming clients, and implementing value-based pricing to create a sustainable and fulfilling practice.

The conversation explores the challenges accountants face in saying "no" to clients, leading to unfocused and overextended practices.

Brannon emphasizes the importance of firm culture, work-life balance, and the need for accountants to break free from the billable hour mindset, which can perpetuate the cycle of overwork and undervaluation.

Key Takeaways:

• Accountants often struggle with time management, staff shortages, and an inability to let go of work, leading to burnout and dissatisfaction.
• Setting boundaries, purging underperforming clients, and implementing value-based pricing are crucial steps to creating a sustainable and fulfilling practice.
• Taking a truly unplugged vacation requires advance preparation, team readiness, and acceptance that some balls may drop during the absence.
• Firm culture, work-life balance, and moving away from the billable hour mindset are essential for attracting and retaining top talent in the accounting profession.
• Booking a vacation and committing to being unplugged is an actionable step accountants can take to recalibrate their priorities and improve their overall well-being.

Quotes:

"You don't like your practice, keep raising your prices until you do." - Brannon Poe

"If you're equating your time to money, well, there's probably one of the first problems you got to solve." - Brannon Poe

View this episode in video on YouTube here:

https://youtu.be/LIP3OXh_yEk

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The Accounting Influencers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, is one of the world's leading shows for accounting leaders, professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, book your place at the next gathering. Great for building your personal brand and making valuable industry connections in return for a small donation to charity: https://accountinginfluencers.com/events

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Thanks to our sponsors:

ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING. Transform your accounting firm with AdvanceTrack. Our top-tier offshoring solutions free your team from mundane tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and client engagement. Experience seamless scalability and expert support. Visit advancetrack.com and elevate your practice today. https://www.advancetrack.com

ACCOUNTEX. Bringing the accounting world together with UK and international events for the accounting and tech world. https://www.accountex.co.uk

If you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

This international panel discussion explores the current state and future trajectory of the accounting profession. The distinguished panel includes influential leaders and innovators on the field such as Dianne Yetter, Sarah Dobek, Tom Barry and Jeff Seibert to share their diverse perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.

The conversation goes through with an assessment of the profession's current shape. While the panelists acknowledge the existence of challenges, such as talent shortages and outdated perceptions, they also recognize the immense opportunities arising from technological advancements and evolving client needs.

The discussion highlights the importance of embracing change, upskilling in areas like communication and strategic thinking, and positioning accountants as trusted business advisors.

As the dialogue progresses, the guests share their visions for the future of accounting. Predictions range from the rise of accounting for virtual economies and cross-disciplinary education to the potential demise of the traditional partnership model and the globalization of services delivery.

The panelists also emphasize the need to address persistent myths and raise financial literacy to foster a better understanding of the profession's true value.

Key Takeaways:

• The accounting profession is in a state of flux, with a divide between those embracing change and those resistant to it. Firms unwilling to adapt risk becoming irrelevant.
• Accountants must go beyond traditional number-crunching roles and develop skills in communication, strategic thinking, and entrepreneurship.
• Technology, such as AI and automation, will eliminate tedious tasks, allowing accountants to focus on delivering value-added advisory services.
• Attracting and retaining talent is a significant challenge, and firms must invest in training and development, particularly in soft skills.
• Branding and storytelling are crucial for changing the perception of accounting as a boring profession and showcasing its dynamic nature.

Quotes:

"We have to tell a better story. What made Anderson great is the way that they onboarded people, the way that they ingrained them into what was great about the profession." - Sarah Dobek

"It's the best of times and the worst of times for accounting." - Tom Barry (paraphrasing Charles Dickens)

Watch in video format on youtube here: https://youtu.be/SuOqR21SLB4

◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢

The Accounting Influencers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, is one of the world's leading shows for accounting leaders, professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, book your place at the next gathering. Great for building your personal brand and making valuable industry connections in return for a small donation to charity: https://accountinginfluencers.com/events

◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢

Thanks to our sponsors:

ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING. Transform your accounting firm with AdvanceTrack. Our top-tier offshoring solutions free your team from mundane tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and client engagement. Experience seamless scalability and expert support. Visit advancetrack.com and elevate your practice today. https://www.advancetrack.com

ACCOUNTEX. Bringing the accounting world together with UK and international events for the accounting and tech world. https://www.accountex.co.uk

If you'd like to sponsor the show and...

This international panel discussion explores where the accounting profession is headed and what it needs to do to remain relevant. The all-star panel includes influencers Daniel Dronsfield, Amy Vetter, Jasen Stine and Andrew Harding.

The experts agree the profession is at an inflection point, with a divide between those embracing change and those resistant to it. Firms unwilling to adapt face potential irrelevance as the workforce ages and talent becomes scarce. Persistent myths like accountants being stuck in the past need debunking.

Successful future accountants will need skills beyond number-crunching, such as communication, strategic thinking, and an entrepreneurial mindset. The panelists urge learning from other industries' client-centric and innovative approaches.

Bold predictions include the rise of accounting for virtual economies, more cross-disciplinary education, the demise of the partnership model, and globalized services delivery.

If granted a magic wand, the panelists wish for raising financial literacy, closing the public's expectation gap on audit failures, and fostering a culture of technology integration.

While tumultuous times loom, the profession's future brims with opportunities for the adaptive. As Stein states: "It's the best and worst time" for accounting.

Key Takeaways:

• The accounting profession is at an inflection point, with significant changes happening due to technology, changing workforce dynamics, and evolving client needs.
• Firms and individuals who embrace change and upskill in areas like communication, strategic thinking, and advisory services will thrive, while those resistant to change may struggle.
• The traditional partnership model and accounting qualifications may undergo significant transformations to adapt to the changing landscape.
• Increasing financial literacy and understanding the true value of accountants beyond compliance work is crucial for the profession's future.

"If your business model is serving people in volume and you want the 100, 1040 or the 50 a month bookkeeping client, I mean, you're in for a rude awakening because frankly, nobody really does want that." - Jason Stine

"We'll see the emergence of cross-disciplinary accounting degrees, certifications that lend finance and technology with traditional accounting education. The accountants of tomorrow, they'll need to have a very broad knowledge base to navigate the complexities of modern business." - Daniel Dronsfield

Watch in video format on youtube here: https://youtu.be/NsYHJu8dRTo

◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢

The Accounting Influencers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, is one of the world's leading shows for accounting leaders, professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, book your place at the next gathering. Great for building your personal brand and making valuable industry connections in return for a small donation to charity: https://accountinginfluencers.com/events

◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢

Thanks to our sponsors:

ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING. Transform your accounting firm with AdvanceTrack. Our top-tier offshoring solutions free your team from mundane tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and client engagement. Experience seamless scalability and expert support. Visit advancetrack.com and elevate your practice today. https://www.advancetrack.com

ACCOUNTEX. Join us at Accountex London, the pinnacle of fintech innovation, May 15-16, 2024! Discover ground-breaking solutions from 295+ brands and gain invaluable insights at our...