Traditional accounting with a modern twist

Challenging the status quo on a daily basis means the team at Schurr Ireland are never short of innovative ideas. The group of modern accountants are now implementing some of those ideas with the hope of inspiring the Taranaki community to think outside the box when it comes to business and books.

In an industry that has traditionally been compliance-focused, Business Development manager Floyd Wicksteed says Schurr Ireland has been looking to shift the needle past traditional accounting towards a more strategic approach.

As part of that vision, the business is offering free events for the wider community to attend and not only educate themselves more broadly, but also be inspired to think differently about what has typically been.

“These sessions are not your typical accounting sessions. They’re a bit more holistic, business development focused, and just a nice, relaxed forum for people to sit around, hear some thoughts, have a chat and get excited about what can be done in this space.

“From our perspective, it’s a really great way for us to be able to interact with the wider community and also get people thinking about accounts in a slightly different way.”

The first of two upcoming events is called Seven ways to grow your business, while the second is based around Cashflow Freedom.

“We cover topics that are vital for people to understand if they want to take real ownership of their business. It’s about demystifying some of the jargon and explaining it in simple, plain English.

“We all know that when we understand something, we take control, and when you don’t understand, it just goes in the ‘I don’t know’ pile. That’s the biggest thing for us. If we can empower people to take even a little bit more understanding or ownership from these sessions, it will make things so much easier for them.”

The open forums have come off the back of a number of successful smaller sessions held by Schurr Ireland at their Eliot St premises, and are available for anyone in the community to attend.

The face-to-face education doesn’t stop there, either. With a new building that offers a variety of services and spaces to work in, Schurr Ireland are looking to host regular Tech Tuesday drop-in sessions for their clients to get a better handle on accounting software, while they recently implemented Milk Money, a group coaching programme for contract milkers in the farming industry.

“All of these programmes offer another way to educate and upskill people and clients who are wanting to take that next step,” says Wicksteed.

With recent trends showing businesses are wanting a more accessible relationship with their accountants, Schurr Ireland’s focus towards open, face-to-face communication is being received in a positive light.

“We are definitely doing things a bit differently to what others may be doing out there and know where we want to keep moving. We’re not there yet, but we’ve got some great people and a great environment that is allowing us to bring a lot of our ideas to fruition.”

Upcoming events

• 7 Ways to grow your business – Friday 30 August, 10am
• Cashflow Freedom – Thursday 5 September, 4.30pm

Both events will be held at Schurr Ireland, 36 Eliot St, New Plymouth.