Future-Proof

Everyone talks about the importance of collaboration, but what does it really mean? Working together? Teamwork? Sharing ideas? It’s one of those things that’s hard to define, but we know it when we see it. And because of that, it’s something that everyone defines differently. But here’s the thing – every list of the most crucial future-ready skills for our profession includes collaboration. Every single one. So we have to figure out a definition that everyone can embrace. And here to help us figure that out is Rebekah Brown, the director of development with the Maryland Association of CPAs and a thought leader with the Business Learning Institute. She is as passionate and optimistic about the future of accounting and finance as anyone I know, and she has seen first-hand how powerful collaboration can be within our ever-evolving profession, particularly among our younger professionals. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog. Resources: Start mastering Future-Ready skills now at MACPA.org/future-learning LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebekahbrown Read: “Human skills need to sharpen to coexist with machines” Future-Proof is produced by Podcast Masters

Just how busy are you? We’re all busy. Some would argue that we, collectively, are busier than ever before – but the reason that’s true isn’t necessarily because we have more work to do than ever. We all make time for the stuff that’s really important and valuable to us. So if we find ourselves really busy with things that aren’t important or valuable, that just means, to paraphrase Ferris Bueller, that our priorities are way out of whack, and we’ve got to do something to get them back in line. You need to be spending as much time as possible on the things that you love to do and that you’re great at. That’s your sweet spot, and that’s where your organization needs you to be spending most of your time because they’ll get the most bang for their buck with you there. The other stuff? You need to eventually be able to delegate that away so you can spend your valuable time doing things that truly add value. Our guest this week is someone who has built a growing global business that’s designed to help accounting and finance pros do exactly that – free up their time so they can provide higher-value services for their clients and customers. Nick Sinclair is the Chairman of The Outsourced Accountant, which has more than 1,100 team members spread out across the United States, Australia, and the Philippines. They serve clients in 8 countries currently, and what they do is entirely based on the premise of getting the right people doing the right work. To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit blionline.org/blog. Resources: Learn more at TheOutsourcedAccountant.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicksinclair/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickqsinclair Future-Proof is produced by Podcast Masters