When Is The Right Time To Start Your Own Accounting Firm & How To Go About It?

What a way to start 2023 with our first guest of the year – Sonia Gibson. She is a visionary accounting professional and the Founder of Accounting Heart – which is proudly an all female firm. We get a sneak peek of her accounting journey, her business acumen and her passion for finances and helping smaller businesses achieve their financial goals.

Listen in and to learn more about Sonia and some of the struggles she faced following her path as an accountant and how her commitment to the industry and her clients has helped her build a solid foundation of success. 

Some of the topics we talked about are:

  • Her inspiration and initial interest in accounting – how does one start?
  • Commerce vs Public Practice – going back and forth and her early dream of becoming a Partner
  • What would she have done differently and how much experience do you actually need to start your own practice?
  • The things you learn as a partner and why she decided to go solo
  • Do corporate values actually mean anything?
  • Assessing client fees on a macro level and the struggles of charging fees effectively
  • Benchmarking salaries and increases – how to make the numbers make sense.
  • Reaching firm maturity, how long does it actually take? 
  • Comparison between solo practice and a multi-partner established firm 
  • Strategise and Build. The secret to a stable team and how improving staff relationships will help you in the long run
  • Networking – Build build build!
  • Importance of a good administrator/practice manager and a competent team
  • Software talk – the beauty of automation
  • Utilising people’s values, making better decisions, and highlighting femininity 
  • Coaching – tips on how to find the right business coach for you and the great thing about reaching out
 
“The best way to predict your future is to create it”

 

Show Notes

Sonia Gibson is a versatile accounting professional with 20 years of experience in public practice and commerce. She is a leader and a team player who refuses to conform to the normal take of how an accounting firm should be while taking pride in her own core values. She loves puzzles and anything that has to do with numbers. Her goal – to give you financial confidence!

Quick facts:

  • 2022 Women in Finance Principal & Accounting Consultant of the Year | 2022 Xero Cloud Champion of the Year | Winner of 2020 Women in Finance – Accountant of the Year | Silver Stevie Awards – Women in Business Awards and a finalist in the MyBusiness Awards
  • Used to be a partner in a BRW Top 100 firm
  • Has 45 publications and is a sought after speaker in Webinars and has also lead a variety of workshops

RecruitmentExpert

We are one of the largest Public Practice Recruiters in Australia and New Zealand and have access to most of the clients and candidates on the market. We thrive on delivering the best quality candidates to accounting firms so that you have the right people on the bus to grow your firm.

Why You Should Work With Us:

  • Retained Executive Search Service with delivery on average within 4-8 weeks – or your money back
  • Full Money Back Guarantee up to 12 months as per our TOB’s
  • Split payment options to help you with your cash flow as per our TOB’s; and
  • Discounts for graduates, retainers, admin staff and referrals to your client base

Our Services:

  • Succession Planning – Finding a new Partner for your firm
  • Growing your Firm’s Capabilities and Service Offerings with New/Additional Partners
  • Resourcing your Existing Teams with Juniors (Cadets/Grads) and Senior Accountants/Auditors
  • Contractors to help you through the busy period
  • Remote Staff

Contact Info

You can find out more about Sonia Gibson and her firm Accounting Heart from their website: https://www.accountingheart.com.au/

To find out more about RecruitmentExpert please go to www.recruitmentexpert.com.au or email

Michael Edelstein: michael@recruitmentexpert.com.au

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