Advancetrack MD Vipul Sheth visited Australia highlighted some of the practice management issues that practices are looking to surmount.
Visiting Australia is always fantastic – even if there isn’t much time for sightseeing.
The main reason that Advancetrack was there was for a mini roadshow around Queensland – with much-appreciated support from the Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.
The programme
While the roadshow was ‘mini’, we went big on its content. We covered a range of issues; from staffing and tech through to succession. The venues were both picturesque: Toowoomba and Maroochydore.
Client visits
We also took some time to have an in-depth conversation with our clients. One of our first in Australia (without going into too much detail) said that our service has supported his firm’s transformation.
What was really nice to hear was that he felt Advancetrack’s offering went beyond compliance – in that our Indian team is in many ways an accounting firm itself. This creates a culture of excellence and a higher-level offering. It was also exciting to hear about his plans to use more of our services to support a reengineering of the firm’s operations.
Antipodean takeaways
Of immediate focus for Australian and New Zealand accounting firms is anti-money laundering, in particular in the former country where tougher new rules are being implemented on both businesses and accountants. Reporting obligations kick in from 1 July 2026.
The other thing worth noting is the lack of private equity activity around the accounting profession – a stark contrast to the UK and Ireland. However, many of the issues that have helped drive practices into the arms of PE are similar here: particularly around succession and a need to ‘bulk up’ to deliver a broader range of services to more clients, and quicker.
So, instead of using PE warchests to expand, firms are pooling resources (i.e. merging) at a regional level.
There’s not a lot of PE activity but nothing major – what seems to be happening is firms are saying: why don’t we get taken out, why don’t we pool our resources together and build larger indie regional firms -> their approach currently. Pooling resources to support our client base. Or attract a larger group of clients.
