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Episode 61

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Published on:

28th Jul 2023

Carving Out Time To Achieve Anticipated Results

Why do you need to keep tasks easy to understand? In this episode of Strategy and the Virtual Controller, Damien, and Penny tackle the importance of taking a step back before implementing any technology or workflow changes. They discuss how to set up an anticipatory set that will help employees work more efficiently and effectively, reduce misunderstandings, and minimize write-offs due to incorrect processes.

The conversation covers how COVID has impacted internships and new workers coming out of college who may lack experience in executing tasks.


Tune in as Damien and Penny as they stress the need to make sure that tasks are easy to understand and complete in order to ensure successful outcomes!


[00:00 - 01:20] Opening Segment

  • Damien and Penny discuss accounting, client accounting services, virtual accounting, and virtual controller services
  • Helping practitioners build intentional businesses and avoid mistakes


[01:21 - 13:50] Avoid Tax Write-Offs Through Anticipatory Set

  • They share their advice on taking a step back and making sure there’s a mutual understanding of objectives and outcomes before rushing to a solution
  • Anticipatory set:
  • Define title
  • Define objectives
  • Define what learners should learn


[13:51 - 36:33] Carving Out Time To Achieve Anticipated Results

  • Remote workers and new employees may not have experience of internships due to COVID
  • The anticipatory set is the objective, which includes the tasks, the trial balance, and the objectives of the trial balance
  • Objectives is what we should achieve, whereas anticipatory set is the result that we anticipate to happen
  • It’s important to consider what client the client see on their side of the app, as it may be different than what you see


[36:34 - 40:10] Closing Segment

  • Tune in as Damien and Penny share why you need to make sure that tasks are easy to understand and complete in order to ensure successful outcomes!


Tweetable Quotes

“I did not define both ends of it and you would think, well, why should I? Well, because she's a valuable employee and I don't need to constantly berate her because of my lack of communication.” - Penny Breslin


“The client's coming to you because of your accounting and tax expertise. And so a great way in which you can demonstrate your accounting and tax expertise is just to get them better organized and tell them how you want them to submit information.” – Damien Greathead


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Thank you for listening, please like and share this episode with a friend!


Websites: https://moneypennyllc.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damiengreathead/

Twitter: @Damien_GH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/penny-breslin-0228b81/

Twitter: @pennyb57

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About the Podcast

Strategy and the Virtual Controller
Helping accounts and bookkeepers build the firm they want, their way
Your hosts Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead have more than 30 years of combined experience in the accounting industry. This podcast is to share their experiences of working in, and consulting to accounting and bookkeeping firms of all sizes, helping them grow.

Nothing discussed will be rocket science, instead they'll be discussing 'how' firms have successfully, and not so successfully, pursued growth. Penny and Damien will be sharing their insights on how firms can be successful by focusing on their people (clients included), their technology, and their processes and systems.

Ultimately how successful an accounting business will be depends largely on how the owners manage change, which alongside taxes appears to be the only constant.

We do want to acknowledge David Maister's great read Strategy and the Fat Smoker: Doing what's obvious but not easy as the inspiration for our title. Buy it on Amazon - https://amzn.to/3dhcUFC

Subscribe today for an upbeat and practical conversation about what's working and what's not in accounting businesses around the world.

About your hosts

Penny Breslin

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Penny Breslin is the founder of MoneyPenny, a consulting firm specializing in helping accounting firms and other businesses embrace the power of technology to simplify their operations and increase their profit margins.

Drawing on her years of experience and her knowledge of what it takes to run a successful business, Penny oversees the development of back office processes for her client firms. From the initial evaluation of the firm’s workflow, to technology selection, and assisting in the on-boarding of the firm’s clients, Penny works with her clients to maximize the benefits of a paperless and cloud-based firm.

Damien Greathead

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Damien has been working in the accounting industry for more than 15 years. In addition to getting his hands dirty preparing tax returns and doing bookkeeping, but the bulk of his experience comes from consulting to both accounting firms and the technology companies that serve the industry.

He set up 2020 Group USA which was a membership group for small and medium sized accounting firms and then went on to set up Receipt Bank (now Dext) in North America.

He regularly speaks to industry bodies on technology, marketing and change management.