MIP Workshop

System

Hi

Is anyone going to the MIP Practice Management workshop next Wednesday? I am - it would be good to put faces to names.

Sheelagh

System

Re:MIP Workshop

Hi Sheelagh.

I am sitting an exam, so cannot make it.

Scott.

System

Re:MIP Workshop

I'll be there..

..but for the morning session.

System

Re:MIP Workshop

So what did people think?

I was not that impressed to be honest. I think the speaker was good in his delivery but my gripe, and I have this a lot with AAT events, is that the speaker was not an AAT member and was not running a small practice so what does he know about the issues we face? Well.. not a great deal it seems.

He trained with the Big Four and is now a training manager with a top 20 firm.

When the audience asked questions such as..

How can smaller firms attract staff when they don't have resources to pay for training and study leave?
What is your opinion of outsourcing as a viable alternative?

He seemed to get a little unstuck.

I was hoping for more practical advice such as..

- What systems and controls can you use if you are a sole practitioner.
- Marketing ideas.
- When is the right time to take on staff.
- How to use software effectively.

He spent a lot of time talking about auditing standards(?!) and was completely unaware of the change in CPD policy.

We really needed someone who had 'been there and done that'. I think someone like Brian Palmer would have been much more informative.

System

Re:MIP Workshop

I thought that it looked like it was going to be really good, but maybe I was better off not making the trip down from newcastle!

System

Re:MIP Workshop

I've not been on one of these courses organised by the AAT but some of the courses I've been on do ask you to fill out a feedback form when they have finished. Do they do this at the AAT workshops?

I'm not sure why the speaker spoke to you about auditing standards because as Dean has inferred, these wouldn't be appropriate. Sometimes they can interact with accounting standards, but invariably they are stand-alone.

I'm not going to offer any advice about issues such as using software effectively as I've never been a course speaker so have never researched this area. In terms of staff recruitment - we have had a couple of staff come and go and we've incurred agency fees and such like which we've not been able to recoup. One avenue we are currently exploring is the school leaver route. Apparently a training organisation (something similar to the old YTS) will place a school leaver and they will pay their AAT fees, subs etc. All you have to do is commit to training them (which of course is time consuming) and allowing them day release and paying them a wage.

Maybe that would be a route to consider if you (Dean) wanted to take on staff - though doubtless you would have to invest a lot of time in their training.

In terms of marketing, I've heard "Business for Breakfast" meetings are quite helpful. I went on a BNI meeting years ago and it was quite interesting to see how different businesses interacted and passed "contacts" on. Only problem there is they start at about 6.45 in the morning!

Just an idea, perhaps...

Kind regards
Steve

System

Re:MIP Workshop

The mentioning of auditing standards was discussed to compliment the ethical guidelines laid down by the AAT, rather than in reference to auditing as such - really not sure why he felt this was necessary though. The AATs own guidelines are clear enough in that respect.

There certainly was a feedback form, as there is at every AAT event. Managed to fill up the very small box with my thoughts!

Incidentally, Brian Palmer (ex-president) was in attendance at the East Surrey branch meeting last night and I collared him for a chat about his practice and the issues he faced and how he overcame them - very, very useful. He also told me that he had given a talk at the West Surrey branch meeting last week on how to market your practice which I now regret not attending.

Speaking to someone who has 'been there and done that' is a great help.

Steve, your comments about how to fund training is very much the type of thing I would have liked covered. It was brought up by some of the audience and in fact other members of the audience shared some knowledgeable experiences that the speaker perhaps wasn't aware of.

Criticism aside, the speaker himself was very good in his delivery so it wasn't a complete waste of time, I just wanted more from the content.

System

Re:MIP Workshop

I was at the West Surrey meeting when Brian Palmer spoke about marketing a practice. He did indeed make some very useful points based on his own experience of grow a successful practice from scratch. I hope we will see more of him in the future.

One failing I have noticed with many AAT speakers is that they don't bother to find out who their audience are before they start. A couple of searching questions and a quick show of hands at the beginning of a seminar would help to tailor the content of the speech.