22nd April, 2022
With the return of the Accounting Business Expo next week, accounting professionals have a unique opportunity to network while also hearing from industry experts.
Next week over two jam-packed days at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Sydney, more than 4000 accountants, bookkeepers and related industry professionals are expected to attend the long-awaited return of the Accounting Business Expo (ABE).
Having recently completed a whirlwind tour of the country on the road with the ICB Australian Bookkeepers Summit followed by a brief spot of R’n’R, I’m personally champing at the bit to get back to Sydney and reconnect with even more colleagues and friends in industry.
Kicking off on 28 April at 8am, this year’s ABE will feature a huge run of over 160 practical seminars alongside a sprawling exhibition floor of 100 or so exhibitors.
It’s been a few years since the free ABE event has been able to go ahead in this format and with many professionals around the country starting to travel interstate once again, we could be in for a big one.
The two-day event is designed to offer a smorgasbord of practical insights for practicing accountants, bookkeepers and other professionals in this space, covering topics from tax and payroll to cryptocurrency and AI.
A quick scan of the online agenda reveals quite a few sessions I expect to attract the crowds, but with seminars happening concurrently across multiple streams, a single attendee would need to have a time traveling device if they were to attend every single one.
My tip? If you’re thinking of attending ABE as a solo practitioner, spend some time looking at the agenda and carefully planning your schedule. If you’re going as a team, consider how you might split forces to ensure each attendees has access to the information that’s most relevant for them. You may also like to prepare your team to report back any key highlights, insights or findings from the sessions they attend.
As tempting as it is to pack out your calendar with seminars, don’t forget this is first and foremost a novel networking opportunity, and the conversations that will be happening around the exhibition floor will likely be just as valuable as the content of the speaking sessions.
For Partners in accounting businesses or other business leaders attending the event, the team development doesn’t have to stop at 5pm. Now’s the time to plan in last-minute social activities and get your people reenergised for the busy period ahead.
MYOB will be out in force at this year’s ABE event, appearing across multiple speaking sessions as well as having a big presence on the exhibition room floor, including your much needed coffee fix, where we’ll be chatting through the big industry trends, demoing our products and giving away exciting prizes.
For the agenda itself, I’ve collated the full run of sessions featuring MYOB speakers below. If you work with MYOB and want to hear firsthand what we’re focused on in 2022, these sessions aren’t to be missed.
9am – ‘The journey to good digitisation’ from MYOB’s Chief Sales and Support Officer, Daniel West will start your day by offering a future vision for accounting practices as they continue down the path of digitisation. Daniel’s presentation will bring to light the three key functions a modern practice should be focusing on in 2022, as well as sharing further details on the MYOB Partner Program.
10.30am – ‘How HR Tech is digitising employee onboarding for a more efficient, compliance and secure payroll’ will take the format of a fireside chat between myself, MYOB Subject Matter Expert for Small Business Accounting Chris McComb and Flare HR’s Head of Ecosystem, Andy Anderson. We’ll discuss how best to keep clients compliant with TFN handling and Your Future, Your Super legislation among other things.
1pm – ‘eInvoicing – Businesses can take advantage now that Government has paved the way’ is another fireside chat featuring Product and Marketing Manager at MessageXchange, Ellen Tjahjana, MYOB Chief Product and Technology Officer, Darren Smith and Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government from the NSW Government, Victor Dominello. The push towards e-invoicing has been gathering steam for several years now, making this a worthwhile session for your consideration.
1.30pm – ‘Delivering the right services to the right clients’ stars Director of Planet Consulting, Rob Pillans, chatting to MYOB’s Daniel West about all the ways advisors can improve the value of their services, whether by identifying new ways to deliver value, conducting accurate client value assessments and understanding which customer accounts to spend additional time on.
3pm – ‘Evolution or revolution, a journey to business advisory’ will provide insight on RSM Australia’s journey to offering enhanced advisory services through digitisation, as told by Anthony Smith, Managing Partner of RSM Australia, who will be joined by MYOB’s General Manager of Enterprise, Kim Clarke.
9.30am – ‘ATO & TPB current issues’ brings a fireside-style chat featuring myself once again, this time joined by Peter Thorp, Director of the Australian Bookkeepers Network and Kerrie Jarius, Director at Brillian Admin Solutions. We’ll be looking at current issues affecting bookkeepers and BAS Agents specifically as they relate to changing industry regulations.
10am – ‘The Art of Advisory’ will see global bookkeeping sensation Melanie Power take the stage, giving me the opportunity to plumb the depths of her experience with questions on how bookkeepers can efficiently and effectively develop their advisory services.
While that’s it as far as opportunities to see MYOB at ABE, it’s really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what’s on offer across the entire event agenda, so be sure to dig in now and get on top of your schedule for next week.
And I think I speak for everyone in the MYOB team in saying we can’t wait to see you.
Haven’t organised a place at the Accounting Business Expo yet? Register for free today.