Leaders Special – Martin Bissett of Upward Spiral Professionals

Episode 161. In today's interview, Martin Bissett shares insights from 20+ years consulting to accounting firms, networks and software vendors. Martin Bissett is THE trusted adviser to accounting leaders and future leaders internationally. He creates professional communities for fintech vendor partners as well as a range of accounting networks, associations and alliances. He is a knowledge partner to accounting influencers globally and has authored 9 books including Passport to Partnership, content from which has been adopted into the curriculum of AAT Level 3 courses, and taught in selected UK colleges and US CPA Societies. He has spoken to audiences from over 40 nations on 4 continents and is retained by AccountingWeb and the International Accounting Bulletin as a judge of their prestigious awards. He writes for AccountingToday, AccountingWeb, CPA Practice Advisor and Chartered One, and has much to say on helping the accounting profession adopt an advisory role towards clients by moving away from compliance in order to create sustainable businesses, high levels of financial literacy in SMEs and therefore take the financial pressure off SME owner’s home lives. Key takeaways from this episode include: ➯ Why the accounting profession is unique amongst all B2B sectors and industries ➯ What makes the accountant the true trusted advisor to today's small businesses ➯ What 'being fired' does for one's confidence and career trajectory ➯ Reasons for not going to university and going straight into entrepreneurship/an employed role ➯ Explaining the 'pinnacle point' in defining a legacy or finishing point ➯ What really defines success for today's leaders, influencers and business owners ➯ Challenges in separating work life and family life for high performing professionals ➯ The ways technology has driven change in the accounting profession ➯ Examples of risks taken throughout one's life and how they impact one's future ➯ Why everything you want lies outside your comfort zone ➯ How today's hype demands that we be more confrontational and challenging to truly serve clients ➯ Why 'silver bullet' solutions don't work for business owners and accountants ➯ The power of 'impact stories' in cementing track record and highlighting credentials ➯ The three things that attract accounting practitioners and leaders to join the Upward Spiral Professionals community ➯ What one thing that separates the good accountants from the truly great ones, and why it's no more than 10% of the profession ➯ The skills and attributes that makes an accountant promotable and 'partner material' ➯ Examples of bad doctrine and bad advice put out to the accounting profession ➯ The two best places to go for wisdom, learning and advice for accounting leaders ➯ The value of wisdom that doesn't go out of date - the role of 'the classics' in accounting literature ➯ The power of being someone 'without whom...' great things would NOT have happened. Martin on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinbissett/