Calxa has recently forged a new partnership with the Australian Bookkeepers Network (ABN).  We deal with finance officers and bookkeepers every day and are always keen to stay ahead of trends and better understand how our software helps members in this profession.

At the recent ABN conference in Melbourne, we spent a whole weekend surrounded by bookkeepers keen to learn new things and investigate ways to serve their customers better.
As a Finance Officer do you have the support you need to keep abreast of changes and new laws? Is your bookkeeper a member of a professional organisation? We advocate that to perform best financial practice membership with an industry peak body like ABN and ICB (Institute of Certified Bookkeepers) is vital for bookkeepers to not only differentiate themselves but especially to maintain a high standard of service delivery.

Recent changes to legislation mean that contract bookkeepers who are providing a BAS service are now required to be registered as BAS Agents. This is a similar process to tax agents that prepare and lodge tax returns and require to be issued with an agent number.  The bookkeeping industry has undergone considerable change in recent years and the best part of that is the improved professional standard of the people in it. The best have always been interested in keeping their skills and knowledge up to date but the growth of organisations like ABN has made it easier for a bookkeeper to find all the information they need in one place. ABN provide their members with the information and support they need to keep up to date in a changing world – something that is vital to their ability to service their clients well.

ABN’s comprehensive practice management system “Pillars of Public Practice” not only incorporates a library of short papers and practical tools but also templates to assist their members to develop and grow their practice and be the best they can in their profession. All this is delivered with personal support from a team of qualified accountants. So now bookkeepers have access to a helpline for tax and bookkeeping issues.

If you’re hiring a bookkeeper you’d be wise to ask them if they are a member of a professional organisation like ABN – it’s one clear way to identify the good ones.

About Australian Bookkeepers Network

Australian Bookkeepers Network (ABN) helps bookkeepers build bigger and better businesses by providing them with the right support, tools and resources. ABN has served the bookkeeping industry since 2001 and in that time has grown to become Australia’s largest private representative body for self-employed and contract bookkeepers