See full profile: Cape Town Accountant - Anchel Ross
Were you always planning to be an accountant and why?
Yes, accounting and numbers very much runs in our family, so with a house full of accountants it was an inevitable career field.
When meeting with clients do they mostly come to your own premises or do you mostly go their theirs?
I mostly go to my clients, We can meet in a neutral public location like a coffee shop or restaurant
What is your preferred mode of communication with your clients?
Email, Phone, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts
Have you ever done an online video call with a client?
Yes
What do you love most about accounting?
Reconciliations (balance sheet and customer and supplier reconciliations) and reviewing the end product. I love reviewing my work and making sure that everything reflects correctly and balances to the statements.
Would you recommend accounting as a career for school leavers, and why?
Yes, definitely. It's a lucrative industry and your services will always be required.
What qualities should South African business people be looking for in their accountants?
Someone with personality and who can always find the humour in all circumstances. Accountants/Bookkeepers can be very boring. You need a person who has a great frequency of working with your money.
What is the biggest challenge facing accountants today?
Business owners don't always understand the difference between a business expense and a personal one. Convincing them of the difference can be challenging. Working with bookkeepers who are incompetent and don't understand basic bookkeeping principles. This can also be very frustrating.
What aspects of accounting do you focus on most?
Bookkeeping to Trial Balance
Describe your average client:
Our ideal client is someone who trusts us to provide the service we have agreed upon, which is bookkeeping to trial balance accounting, with a focus on debtor’s management and making sure supplier accounts are in balance and paid on time. We submit a payment list to the client, and they action payments on their side. We also make sure that VAT returns are done on time and that all payroll needs have been taken care of. Our ideal client is tech savvy, able to review reports independently and works effectively with Google sheets and excel to review and provide information needed to complete the tasks at hand. Our ideal client is someone who is proficient in cash flow management, runs their business well and gives us the opportunity to paint the picture of what the business looks like on ‘paper’ using numbers. Our ideal client is someone who is happy for us to provide our service remotely and values the services we provide. Ideally, it is someone who we have established a good working relationship with and can laugh. A lot.
How far away from your premises is your furthest client?
We offer our services remotely.
From your accounting experience, if you could cite one of the biggest reasons SMEs in SA fail, what would it be?
Poor cash flow planning and bad debtors management. If you don't get money in from your debtors, you shouldn't be paying your suppliers. Training your monthly debtors to pay on time every month is a very important task and this should be communicated to your all debtors from the start. It's a simple equation: Money in, Money out.
What accounting software do you like best?
Xero and Sage One Accounting and Payroll
What other software, online services or apps do you use?
Google hangouts / Zoom for calls with clients. Google sheets and Google Drive for information sharing and data storage. Microsoft OneDrive and Teams for information sharing and data storage. G-suite and Outlook for emails. I think I mentioned all the important ones I use/am familiar with in my practice.
Do you think the coming wave of automation in the next few years will steal some accounting jobs and why/why not?
No, definitely not. It will make our jobs easier and more time efficient. We shouldn't strive to make money. Making money should become easier and easier. Work smart; not hard.
What is your opinion on Bitcoin?
I don't know enough about it, but I think there is too much regulation around money, so Bitcoin seems to be a great alternative to that, although that might change. Soon.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Reading a good book, spending time with my kids outdoors, learning about spirituality and spending time with friends having a good party with food and wine.
What is the most interesting thing on your bucket list?
I want to own a mega yacht and go to interesting places via my yacht. Super long-term vision on my vision board when I become a billionaire. Sigh! I still have a long way to go.
What has your experience been on FindanAccountant?
It's too soon to say. Time will tell. Hopefully, amazing!
See how our other local South African accountants have answered the above questions.
