This week, everything from automation to ACCC to the ATO crossed Paul and David’s desks. 
If anything, this episode is a must listen because of Paul’s investigative journalism! He drops an exclusive interview with Rob Ravanello, Deputy Commissioner to get his thoughts on the debt process on the back of the Four Corners episode. 

Let’s get the conversation going! Engage with the boys on LinkedIn, Twitter, Soundcloud or head to their website: 

From The Trenches’ - Real Life in the Accounting Industry presented by Paul Meissner and David Boyar. 
https://www.fromthetrenches.com.au/ 

Show Notes 

1:16 Best on Ground 

Paul 

“Yes, excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake. To be precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated.” 
https://twitter.com/elonmusk 
A stark comment from the pin up boy of automation and AI. 

David 

ACCC Has Concerns About The MYOB Reckon Deal – I Have Concerns About the ACCC 
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/accc-has-concerns-myob-reckon-deal-i-have-matt-paff/ 

Matt Paff's scathing review of ACCCs review into MYOBs acquisition of Rekkon 
5:03 Worst on Ground 

Paul 

CA’s lack of response to the Four Corners piece. 
‘They only issued a half-hearted blog with no mention of its members in the sector’ 

Xero’s rapid staff changes, with possibly more to come. 
‘What’s going on? They’ve lost three big faces of the organisation’ 

David 

Gig Economy Changes Tune as Public Opinion Shifts 
https://www.theage.com.au/business/the-economy/gig-economy-changes-tune-as-public-opinion-shifts-20180411-p4z91x.html 
I don’t see many people wanting to sell off into the sunset on those sorts of arrangements. 

Financial Planning Doesn’t Have Professionals Standards and Needs Reform 
https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/amp.abc.net.au/article/9664134 
‘The accountant vs. financial planner debate has been won” 

14:01 5 in 5 Summary: 

Paul goes out and gives us the inside word with Rob Ravanello, Deputy Commissioner at the ATO, surrounding the debt process in light of the ongoing scandal. Here’s a summary of what he had to say: 

• The ATO uses analytics to look at client circumstances and lodgement history 
• Don’t let debt escalate – collaborate and engage 
• Utilise the online services and platforms that the ATO offers 
• Understanding of obligations and payment mechanisms is a fundamental focus going forward 

27:39 In-Depth Topic: 
After all that has been said and done, the boys take a high level view at the ATO scandal and have come up with their key takeaways to date: 

Paul: 
• Could there be more to some of these cases? 
• In some sense, the ATO chases the debt in the wrong way 
• When dealing with the ATO, there is inconsistency in their approach. Your first answer sometimes doesn’t have to be your final answer! 
• Legal expectations are going up and up. The government are relying on the tax agent and client is less educated 

David: 
• The ease of access and low cost of debt creates problems 
• There are angles missed in these stories, specifically roles and responsibility of tax agent in verifying what is reported is accurate and facilitating communication 
• Better outcome no – better management of expectations 
• Could the ATO have managed their client expectations better during the stories? 
• People aren’t engaging with the debt - we can’t use it as the fifth bank

This week, everything from automation to ACCC to the ATO crossed Paul and David&rsquo;s desks. If anything, this episode is a must listen because of Paul&rsquo;s investigative journalism! He drops an exclusive interview with Rob Ravanello, Deputy Commissioner to get his thoughts on the debt process on the back of the Four Corners episode. Let&rsquo;s get the conversation going! Engage with the boys on LinkedIn, Twitter, Soundcloud or head to their website: From The Trenches&rsquo; - Real Life in the Accounting Industry presented by Paul Meissner and David Boyar. https://www.fromthetrenches.com.au/ Show Notes 1:16 Best on Ground Paul &ldquo;Yes, excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake. To be precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated.&rdquo; https://twitter.com/elonmusk A stark comment from the pin up boy of automation and AI. David ACCC Has Concerns About The MYOB Reckon Deal &ndash; I Have Concerns About the ACCC https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/accc-has-concerns-myob-reckon-deal-i-have-matt-paff/ Matt Paff's scathing review of ACCCs review into MYOBs acquisition of Rekkon 5:03 Worst on Ground Paul CA&rsquo;s lack of response to the Four Corners piece. &lsquo;They only issued a half-hearted blog with no mention of its members in the sector&rsquo; Xero&rsquo;s rapid staff changes, with possibly more to come. &lsquo;What&rsquo;s going on? They&rsquo;ve lost three big faces of the organisation&rsquo; David Gig Economy Changes Tune as Public Opinion Shifts https://www.theage.com.au/business/the-economy/gig-economy-changes-tune-as-public-opinion-shifts-20180411-p4z91x.html I don&rsquo;t see many people wanting to sell off into the sunset on those sorts of arrangements. Financial Planning Doesn&rsquo;t Have Professionals Standards and Needs Reform https://amp-abc-net-au.cdn.ampproject.org/c/amp.abc.net.au/article/9664134 &lsquo;The accountant vs. financial planner debate has been won&rdquo; 14:01 5 in 5 Summary: Paul goes out and gives us the inside word with Rob Ravanello, Deputy Commissioner at the ATO, surrounding the debt process in light of the ongoing scandal. Here&rsquo;s a summary of what he had to say: &bull; The ATO uses analytics to look at client circumstances and lodgement history &bull; Don&rsquo;t let debt escalate &ndash; collaborate and engage &bull; Utilise the online services and platforms that the ATO offers &bull; Understanding of obligations and payment mechanisms is a fundamental focus going forward 27:39 In-Depth Topic: After all that has been said and done, the boys take a high level view at the ATO scandal and have come up with their key takeaways to date: Paul: &bull; Could there be more to some of these cases? &bull; In some sense, the ATO chases the debt in the wrong way &bull; When dealing with the ATO, there is inconsistency in their approach. Your first answer sometimes doesn&rsquo;t have to be your final answer! &bull; Legal expectations are going up and up. The government are relying on the tax agent and client is less educated David: &bull; The ease of access and low cost of debt creates problems &bull; There are angles missed in these stories, specifically roles and responsibility of tax agent in verifying what is reported is accurate and facilitating communication &bull; Better outcome no &ndash; better management of expectations &bull; Could the ATO have managed their client expectations better during the stories? &bull; People aren&rsquo;t engaging with the debt - we can&rsquo;t use it as the fifth bank

In the age of FAKE NEWS, brave souls are needed to fight through the noise and give accountants in practice the support and information they deserve. 
David Boyar and Paul Meissner share a passion for the role Accountants play in the Australian economy. As the engine room of the economy, small - medium businesses rely on their accountant for technical knowledge, business acumen and professional (and often personal) support. As the way accountants work (through technology) and service (through new services like Virtual CFOs) changes, we have to ask If accountants are helping their client’s, who is helping Accountants? 

If you read the Accounting Industry news and listen to the industry leaders then the Accounting industry is at war. It’s a war against technology, the ATO and even UBER (apparently). The problem is that most of the leaders have never worked in practice. They are subject matter experts but can't offer the perspective of someone who had to actually have conversations with clients about implementing technology, actually moved to value pricing, actually compared technology features and how an entire team may be impacted by them. 

Each week in this podcast, 2 plucky Chartered Accountants will bring you the real stories ‘from the trenches’. This no holes barred, feisty, yet humorous take on the Accounting landscape will be entertaining while sending a message to the scaremongers, that the FAKE NEWS must end. By following a simple podcast formula, David and Paul will deliver rapid value straight to your earphones. With segments like ‘best and worst of the week’, ‘Fake News exposed’ and a the rapid format ‘5 questions in 5 minutes’ special guest interviews, what more could you want. This podcast won’t be for the faint hearted.

https://www.fromthetrenches.com.au/

From The Trenches

In the age of FAKE NEWS, brave souls are needed to fight through the noise and give accountants in practice the support and information they deserve. 

David Boyar and Paul Meissner share a passion for the role Accountants play in the Australian economy. As the engine room of the economy, small - medium businesses rely on their accountant for technical knowledge, business acumen and professional (and often personal) support. As the way accountants work (through technology) and service (through new services like Virtual CFOs) changes, we have to ask If accountants are helping their client’s, who is helping Accountants? If you read the Accounting Industry news and listen to the industry leaders then the Accounting industry is at war. 

It’s a war against technology, the ATO and even UBER (apparently). The problem is that most of the leaders have never worked in practice. They are subject matter experts but can't offer the perspective of someone who had to actually have conversations with clients about implementing technology, actually moved to value pricing, actually compared technology features and how an entire team may be impacted by them. Each week in this podcast, 2 plucky Chartered Accountants will bring you the real stories ‘from the trenches’. 

This no holes barred, feisty, yet humorous take on the Accounting landscape will be entertaining while sending a message to the scaremongers, that the FAKE NEWS must end. By following a simple podcast formula, David and Paul will deliver rapid value straight to your earphones. With segments like ‘best and worst of the week’, ‘Fake News exposed’ and a the rapid format ‘5 questions in 5 minutes’ special guest interviews, what more could you want. 

This podcast won’t be for the faint hearted. https://www.fromthetrenches.com.au/

In the age of FAKE NEWS, brave souls are needed to fight through the noise and give accountants in practice the support and information they deserve. David Boyar and Paul Meissner share a passion for the role Accountants play in the Australian economy. As the engine room of the economy, small - medium businesses rely on their accountant for technical knowledge, business acumen and professional (and often personal) support. As the way accountants work (through technology) and service (through new services like Virtual CFOs) changes, we have to ask If accountants are helping their client’s, who is helping Accountants? If you read the Accounting Industry news and listen to the industry leaders then the Accounting industry is at war. It’s a war against technology, the ATO and even UBER (apparently). The problem is that most of the leaders have never worked in practice. They are subject matter experts but can't offer the perspective of someone who had to actually have conversations with clients about implementing technology, actually moved to value pricing, actually compared technology features and how an entire team may be impacted by them. Each week in this podcast, 2 plucky Chartered Accountants will bring you the real stories ‘from the trenches’. This no holes barred, feisty, yet humorous take on the Accounting landscape will be entertaining while sending a message to the scaremongers, that the FAKE NEWS must end. By following a simple podcast formula, David and Paul will deliver rapid value straight to your earphones. With segments like ‘best and worst of the week’, ‘Fake News exposed’ and a the rapid format ‘5 questions in 5 minutes’ special guest interviews, what more could you want. This podcast won’t be for the faint hearted. https://www.fromthetrenches.com.au/

This week, everything from automation to ACCC to the ATO crossed Paul and David’s desks.
If anything, this episode is a must listen because of Paul’s investigative journalism! He drops an exclusive interview with Rob Ravanello, Deputy Commissioner to...

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