Cosgrave Soutter is a mid sized Canberra Chartered Accounting firm with operations overseen by 3 directors – Marcus Cosgrave, Chris Soutter and Kelli Lawton. Established in 2001, this firm has grown to become a well-known practice offering accounting, taxation and business advisory services to the ACT and wider region.
They advise small to large business clients on everything from financial reporting and taxation to salary packaging – for both private and public industry sectors including professional services firms, retail & wholesale, building & construction, trades, hospitality, health and high net wealth individuals.
Cosgrave Soutter is just 1 out of 6000 Partners helping businesses manage their finances and reach their goals – together with Reckon.
Here we share a little bit about them, plus their insider tip for fellow accountants in the industry, and advice for businesses that are just starting out.
1) Why did Cosgrave Soutter initially join the Partner Program?
We had clients using Reckon Accounts Desktop, so we joined the program to be able to extend this service to them. We listen to what our clients want and have recently added Reckon One to our portfolio, recommending this to businesses that want an affordable and/or robust cloud solution.
Reckon offered complimentary software, continual training & resources, and access to their large network of partners – which was a great bonus!
2) Why do you recommend Reckon One to your clients, and how has it added value to your service offerings?
We recommend Reckon One to clients who want a low-cost, easy to use accounting solution to manage their finances. The option to pick & choose the various features / modules on a monthly basis is very beneficial, as it means we can customise the software to suit each client.
Being able to provide this solution in conjunction with our services provides great value add and cements a long term working relationship with our clients.
3) Is there a particular feature of Reckon One that you find helpful or enjoy using?
The payroll module is great! We have many clients that only require payroll, so Reckon One is ideal because they aren’t paying for software with features they don’t use. Plus, it includes unlimited employees, so they can grow with confidence if they ever need to hire more employees.
4) What is your predicted trend for the accounting industry?
We’ve seen automation progress in the past few years and this growth curve will continue, so accountants should adapt to the ongoing change. Automation provides greater productivity, especially with initiatives such as single touch payroll and e-invoicing, which will simplify the ATO reporting requirements. This gives us more time to focus on what clients want – providing advice to grow and develop their business, performance analysis, budgeting, projections and other value add services.
5) What is your advice for those in their first 5 years of starting a business?
Plan, plan, plan!
Get the building blocks in place and utilise professional advisers to provide the guidance and support needed to run a successful business. Understand what costs need to be incurred (to drive the business forward), and how to manage them.
Don’t act in arrears. Act in advance. Keep up-to-date with tax and accounting obligations and maintain focus on your core business.
6) And finally, what are some things that make your office culture unique?
Our office culture is driven by our diverse range of staff, both in experience and cultural backgrounds. We pride ourselves on our loyalty to our staff and have an exceptionally low level of staff turnover. Our recruitment policy is the same as that of the Sydney Swans…
