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How could you become great?

The last couple of weeks we have had 2 amazing members achieve AVNExcellence Six Star, which is fantastic achievement and they both have amazing practices. Big calls out to MDH and Blend Accountants, the two practices that have made massive changes to their practices in the last few years. But at what point did they…
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When it’s just not good enough

Recently my boss said to me, that from what he had heard, one of my clients wasn’t really making progress. When I asked where he had heard this, he said from the client themselves! I was astounded and reeled off a list of all the things I know they have accomplished in the last 12…
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Held to ransom by a team member

Isn’t it funny how sometimes our good nature doesn’t always work in our favour. I have heard several stories this year of Accountants who have allowed a once trusted team member to become the most terrible of business terrorists. It often happens because we need someone to turn to, because we don’t have anyone else…
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Who holds you to account?

I would love your thoughts on this one……. My 12-year-old son had a science test set by school. He came home and we set out a revision timetable using his schoolbooks and BBC Bite Size (this is a fantastic online resource by the way to support the national educational curriculum) We provided lots of encouragement…
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Why giving a little can go a long way

In a world where everything has a price – sometimes giving a little bit of help or support can go a long way. We are also so busy that doing anything extra seems like a big ask. Many years ago, I picked up a little book called ‘Random Acts of Kindness’. If you haven’t heard…
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Improvement doesn’t happen by chance

Having a wish to improve, earn more money, work less hours doesn’t happen by chance. It happens by deciding on what you want to – having an aim and then working towards it. Often our role at AVN starts with helping Accountants determine what they want from their lives and business – this isn’t navel…
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You’re not alone.

We recently ran an event with some of our members where we shared our challenges and came up with solutions and resources to help. When we asked what the most valuable part of the day– they all said– without exception– that it has been finding out that others in the accountancy profession have the same…
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Beware! The tunnel vision consequence of goals

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Turning things around completely

Trevor had fallen out of love with accountancy. He had an ok practice. A decent number of clients. A team that mostly got things done. Mostly. But cash was still tight and the hours were too long. Ultimately, he was spending too many hours running around for people who really didn’t appreciate what he was doing for…
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Does being part of a professional Accountancy Network pay dividends?

Professional networks are often passive beats with not much happening in the true sense of networking and co-operation. Members can be suspicious about giving too much away and fear about sharing their gains with other Members. I think from my experience of working with AVN, this doesn’t have to be the case. AVN is a…
