Members Newsletter November 2022

Update from the Chair

It has been a busy year!

We are delighted to have been able to deliver to our members a Conference and a Workshop during 2022. Plans are well in place for 2023 and hopefully you have been able to manage to book your accommodation already for our conference on the 3rd and 4th of March. Don’t forget to book the conference too (whether in person or live-streaming)!

On the 17th November, we had our last Board meeting for 2022 in Wellington and we also held a “strategy day” on the 18th reviewing our purpose, outcomes, lines of strategy and values. We look forward to sharing these with you next year as we look to build on the work we have done already. We also have a new platform that we are developing to assist with our education and standards strategy.

Please remember to make the most of your regional meetings. I cannot emphasis enough the benefits that come from attending your local meetings. We know that you will continue to provide support to each other as we wind down for 2022 and have a fresh start in 2023. Make sure you have a good break and whatever you are doing we hope it refreshes and rewards you for your hard work this year.

Take care everyone and see you in 2023.

All the best, 

Richard Abel

Sleigh your social media this holiday season

The shops are packed, Michael Bublé is on repeat, and the social calendar is filling up. It’s official, the silly season is upon us, and that means it’s time to start thinking about how you and your business will be communicating with your clients during the holidays. There is no need to get your tinsel in a tangle! 

1 - Make it a December to remember

Timing is key when it comes to social media during this busy period, so ensure that your messages are posted allowing plenty of time for clients to see and respond to your Season’s Greetings. For B2B companies posting on professional platforms such as LinkedIn, this means getting your message up at least a week before your company shuts up shop for the year - make sure to also include your office closure hours so clients know what to expect over the break.

2 – Do it Yourself Videos
Starting a video series offering seasonal “how-tos” on different topics is a great way to engage your audience. It offers a different kind of content that is still very much in tune with your brand. If you find clients are struggling with the same things over and over again, create some content that will really add value and show your clients you are invested in them and their business. The possibilities really are endless!

3 - Creating a seasonal hashtag for your brand

This will allow your followers to tag you in their content, and for you to track the activity attached to your campaign. The more specific the hashtag the better, as it will save your brand from being confused with anyone else. Don’t be afraid to pick something a little humorous or tongue-in-cheek – whatever best illustrates your contest and your brand ethos.

4 - Going ‘Behind the Scenes’

Your followers may not usually get much exposure to the people who make everything happen. The shared experiences of the holidays are a great way for you to introduce the team who make everything run smoothly at this time of year! As the old saying goes, it’s people and what they represent that we connect with, not the brand construct itself. So showing the attention you put into creating a great holiday season builds a stronger connection to the human face of your brand.

5 - Recycling Old Content

It can be a real struggle to break new ground on every single post your brand puts out. This is especially the case over the holidays when your attention is often taken up by much more pressing issues. This is where re-posting your most popular content of the year can really come in handy!

And most importantly, be Relevant!

Is your offering timely or relevant to your client’s’ lives? How can you make sure it is? One of the easiest ways to determine if your content is providing value to your audience is to simply ask. People love sharing their opinions, so use that opportunity to streamline your content.

Creating holiday content with a difference can definitely be overwhelming but is always solvable with a great brainstorming session! Consider getting your team together to discuss what your audience would most enjoy seeing from you. This will allow you to get a good plan together in advance, and also leave room for some seasonal surprises!

Inland Revenue - Modernising GST

I’m sure you haven’t been living under a rock and you will have seen IR communicating “Making record keeping easier”.

A lot of business owners are getting excited and asking their Accountants “Does this mean I don’t have to keep my receipts?”.

We have politely quizzed IR on this and how important record keeping is for tax deductions not just GST reviews from IR. We await their response.

They have indicated they will clarify any misunderstandings in their communications to Tax agents and Tax Payers in the new year. This is meant to come into effect as of the 01.04.2023. We are suggesting to all – “Business as Usual”. Aka #keepallreceipts #noreceiptnoclaim

TMZ New Website

Tax Management New Zealand have a brand new look and feel. Check out their website. Especially these handy downloadable pdfs about Tax!

Top strategies for adding more value and growing your client base

Everyone wants an Accountant’s help when tax season strikes. Few people, however, know the kind of value accountants can add outside of the systematic and detailed recording of financial transactions. As Accountants, we assist SMEs in numerous ways that will help their businesses grow into thriving, compliant entities. So how do you add more value and win more clients?

1. Target your ideal client

80% of your results will come from the top 20% of your client base, according the Pareto Principle – so it’s important to target the most valuable long-term clients.

To effectively target those ideal clients:

• Define your niche and offering
• Refine and select your software and services
• Profile and target the most valuable prospects

2. Invest in effective digital marketing

Modern digital marketing offers a measurable return on investment (ROI), providing productive and cost-efficient ways to target your niche audiences. Your marketing is there to reinforce your brand as a firm, put your services and expertise into context, and put a face to the people in your team.

To make your digital marketing work harder:

• Update your online and social media presence daily, it isn’t a set and forget
• Invest in content marketing, blogs and online content is key for successful marketing
• Raise the profile of your team to demonstrate your expertise and raise awareness of your brand

3. Diversifying your services

Some clients expect a lot from their Accountants and Advisors in addition to ticking the boxes to meet their accounting obligations. They seek a relationship that adds more value. Offering more services (“Would you like fries with that?”) creates more sticky clients. The best way to communicate additional services is through targeted marketing towards your current client base.

4. Use tech to improve your value to clients

Modern business owners are highly tech-savvy and they want their Accountant to share the same technological mindset.

To win over those tech-savvy prospects:

• Automate the low-level tasks – use in-app automation to automate bookkeeping, payment, and debtor tracking, and reduce the workload for your clients and your team
• Improve accessibility and communication – make communication a priority, making it easier for your clients to ask questions and interact with your people will create happy clients
• Increase the value of your advice – use smart reporting tools to enhance your analysis of client’s numbers, improve forecasting and give more insightful advice and support - technology is all around us, make the most of it

Market Awareness

We are proud of our Membership and hope you are too. We are working on a cute little jpeg you can add into your email signature which highlights your membership with ATAINZ. Show off your designation and help us get the ATAINZ brand out there to wider New Zealand.

Also in case you didn't know...

ATAINZ have a brand new look and feel on their website have you checked it out?

Have you ever asked the question – what’s in it for you at ATINZ? Well here is some handy quick elevator pitch sentences to get your “Why” going on!

2023 ATAINZ Conference Registrations Open

We are pleased to advise that the 2023 ATAINZ Conference brought to you in association with Principal Partner TMNZ, will be held as follows:

When: Friday 3rd & Saturday 4th March 2023

Where: Napier War Memorial Centre, Napier

We have two great evening functions organised for those members who attend the Conference including a Friday evening trip to Mission Estate Winery, sorry Sting won't be present, but you never know he could be doing a sound check!

We conclude the Conference with a 1920's fancy dress themed Dinner & Dance on Saturday evening at the Napier War Memorial Centre, with some great prizes on offer for the best dressed.

Please find attached a copy of the Conference Program together with details of a great Partners Tour scheduled for Saturday, 4th March.

ATAINZ is pleased to offer Members two options as regards viewing the Conference:

In Person Attendance:

Register to attend the Workshop in person and be eligible for 8 CE Hours per day of attendance. Registration Fee is $685.00+GST. This fee includes registration to the Friday & Saturday evening functions.

LiveStream Attendance:

For those Members who are unable to attend in person you can register to watch the Conference via LiveStream and be eligible for 5 CE Hours per day. Please note that CE Hours are only available for those Members who have registered to watch the LiveStream feed. Registration Fee is $485.00+GST and includes a copy of the Delegates Handbook couriered to you.

How To Register:

Registration is via the ATAINZ website.

Simply log into the Members Login on the website www.atainz.co.nz and click on "CONFERENCE/WORKSHOP REGISTRATION", then click on Conference Booking, and then select "In Person Attendance" or "LiveStream Attendance".

Please note that you must select either In Person or LiveStream attendance.

For those who select "In Person Attendance", you only need to select Additional Guest for Friday & Saturday if you intend to bring an additional guest, as your registration fee includes registration for you to attend these functions.

Given the number of registrations for recent Conferences we expect demand for next year's Conference to be high, so we recommend that to secure your attendance, that you register now!

Training Courses with Strategi

Strategi Compliance along with its sister company Strategi Institute delivers a range of compliance training solutions for the financial and professional services sector. Check out their excellent training courses by clicking here. 

Ways to reach clients that don't know they need you!

Regardless of our chosen professions, it's fair to say that we all want to build our businesses' client bases. It's how we thrive. So, it's only natural for us to want to market our products or services to everyone, in hopes of capturing a larger audience and thus making more money.

Getting new clients and retaining current clients is a major challenge for most businesses–especially in today’s day and age. There’s so much competition. How can you stand out and get them to choose you instead of a competitor? One way is by demonstrating your value to your clients. The other is focusing on the “unreachables” – let’s face it. Every business has some.

Now, some of these people are placed in that category for a reason. If you sell retirement plans, for instance, your unreachables might be children because they're simply too young to purchase your product. But that doesn't mean they have to remain that way forever. Even the most unexpected groups of people could be your biggest advocates later. You just need to know how to speak to them.

1. Make a list of your unreachables

This is an important step you won't want to skip. Before you start trying to reach all different types of groups, you'll want to find out who your individual unreachables are. They may or may not be whom you think they are. That's why researching, and surveying are important parts of this process.

• Why are these groups uninterested/uninformed about my business?
• Are they also uninterested/uninformed about the products/services I sell, too?
• Do they know they might want/need what I'm offering?

2. Customise your approach to appeal to them, not your current clients

This is a continuation of the previous action. When brainstorming ways to speak to your unreachables, it's important to remember that the same message that works well for your current audience probably won't be received well by another—or at least not as effectively. The success of the brand stemmed from the viral nature of the ads that spoke to a much broader group of people than ever before.

3. Demonstrate value through the power of client testimonials

You can use this to your advantage by gathering testimonials and case studies on your website and social media platforms. In addition to helping to boost your authority and assuage the doubts of potential customers, testimonials can also help you stand out from your competitors in a powerful way. They show customers that you have an established track record for success, which demonstrates your value in a clear way.

4. Gather and share social proof

Yet another great way to show your value to clients is using social proof. Future clients always have a need to justify their decision to choose your service. One way they do this is by gathering social proof. So, you can use this to your advantage by providing tons of social proof on your website, any landing pages you build, social media (including Facebook Ads), emails, and any other marketing channels you use.

5. Generate awareness of the want/need for what you have to offer

Your unreachables are most likely in the awareness stage of the buyer's journey—unsure whether they even want or need the product/service you're offering, let alone if they want it from your specific company. That's why you must create reasons why someone might need you. Your unreachables might not even know your business can handle multiple problems they're experiencing. They might not know that just how well you've mastered your very specific service. Or they might not know they need you. Either way, you will want to demonstrate how you are the only and best solution for them.

6. Do all of this in stages—not all at once

Last, but certainly not least, make sure you do these things in different phases. Because it's not realistic to believe anyone's effort will magically attract everyone to your business, you should set goals, follow a strategic plan, and measure your results. Rinse and repeat as necessary for each audience.

There are plenty of ways to speak to those who seem unreachable. You just have to find ways to make it about them and why they (specifically) would want or need you. If you're not sure how to get started, try these tips for expanding your reach.

Looking for something unforgettable to do these holidays?

New Zealand is one of those places that excites the imagination.  A country where you can ski and surf in the same day, hike on a glacier before sinking into a natural hot pool the evening or take a boat through a cave of glow worms before entering the land of Hobbiton for some fun and adventure. It’s easy to forget how incredible our country is, so we have compiled a list of the top things to do in New Zealand this summer.

Set Sail in the Bay of Islands

Hire a boat or a kayak to fully immerse yourself in this slice of paradise. Paddle out to the ‘Hole in the Rock’ on Piercy Island or go in search of New Zealand’s marine life. Dolphins, whales, fur seals, and penguins all love this area of New Zealand as much as we do!

Be Amazed by the Waimangu Volcanic Valley

The world’s youngest geothermal system, Waimangu Volcanic Valley was created mid-1886 by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera. A magical place brimming with bubbling pools, steaming craters, and one of the bluest lakes you’ve ever laid eyes on.

Sample Some of New Zealand’s best Wines on Waiheke Island

With nearly 30 vineyards, it’s not hard to see why Waiheke has earned a reputation as a wine lover’s playground. A popular pastime is to take a wine tour to some of the more popular vineyards or stay for a few days in an exquisite holiday villa and sample the wines on island time.

Chow Down on New Zealand’s Favourite Exhibit

The squid is a very much-loved New Zealand icon and now another of the country’s icons – Giapo – have recreated the squid into an edible work of art! Giapo has long been famous for creating the most incredible ice cream in the world, and their latest creation – the Colossal Squid – is no exception. A visit to Giapo’s Auckland store is always an experience in itself, so head downtown to sample an amazing range of flavours (which includes many vegan varieties!) and tick this New Zealand must-do off your list!

Hang Out at the Hamilton Gardens

The Hamilton Gardens are an award-winning attraction, world-renowned by garden enthusiasts, but little known to everyone else. The thing that really makes them stand apart is the elaborate themes they’re designed around.

Release Your Inner Movie Geek at Hobbiton

Wander around the shire, the real-life movie set that was featured in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. Take your time to appreciate the effort that has gone into making every detail in this fairytale land a magical place.

Visit The Otherworldy Moeraki Boulders

Moeraki Boulders is an iconic place to visit in the South Island. At low tide, you can climb up and over the boulders, and at high tide, their round heads poke through the swirling sea. There’s a short walk at the opposite end of the beach to the entrance that gives you a beautiful view of the beach and its peculiar boulders.

Go Cruising in Doubtful Sound

You’ve probably heard of Milford Sound, but you may not have heard of its big brother, Doubtful Sound. Longer and deeper than its northern counterpart, Doubtful Sound is where you’ll find real solitude. It’s less accessible, making it the perfect place to get lost in nature.

Without a doubt, New Zealand is an exciting destination that will leave you spellbound. Whether you are looking for rest & relaxation, or an adrenaline-fueled jaunt, you will find what you are looking for, and more, in this magical place at the end of the world.

TMNZ 

Principal Partner

Strategi

Major Partner

MYOB

Major Partner