With 2025 just around the corner, and as many businesses prepare to close for the Christmas/New Year break, I wanted to use this chance to reflect on the year that’s been.
I’ve put together a summary of the highlights of our year at Lark Business Advisory below.
Expanding our Team
As a result of the rapid growth at Lark, our HR focus this year was to recruit two additional full-time Senior Accountants and an additional Administrative Assistant. The current environment for hiring accountants is still the tightest market I can ever recall in my career and a very competitive one at that.
Despite the challenges, we are pleased to announce we hired Leng Na in March 2024 for the role of Taxation & SMSF Manager. Leng comes to us with considerable experience in Taxation & Accounting and in particular Self-Managed Superannuation funds. We’re also excited to announce that Susie White, our new Administration Assistant, commenced with our team in October 2024, which has increased our admin team to three people.
It’s very exciting to be able to expand our team despite the challenges of a tight employment market.
Referrals
Throughout 2024, we once again received an unprecedented number of referrals both from clients & colleagues. We are very grateful to all our referrers for entrusting us with looking after either their family, friends and/or colleagues.
Please do not hesitate to refer a colleague, friend or family member that you feel we could help. We offer a free no-obligation initial consultation for all new clients!
Regular Visits to our South East Queensland & Sydney Clients
In 2024, just like in previous years, we made visits to our Brisbane office, as well as clients’ business premises and homes across South East Queensland. We also flew to Sydney a few times to meet with our New South Wales clients.
These face-to-face visits are key to building strong, personal relationships with our clients, allowing us to better understand their needs and provide better support. We look forward to continuing these valuable visits in 2025!
Conferences / Events
At Lark, we’re committed to continuous improvement and staying at the forefront of best practices. Attending conferences and events allows us to connect with like-minded professionals and enhance our expertise. Here are some of our 2024 highlights:
- Two-Day Collaboration Circle Event – This two-day conference in Brisbane brought together accountants to collaborate and identify areas for improvement in our practices.
- Xero Summer Series Event – This event featured an update from Xero and inspiring talks by industry leaders, including demographer Bernard Salt and organisational psychologist Amantha Imber.
Seminars/Training
We’ve always believed that ongoing seminars and training are essential for our team to stay at the forefront of industry developments and providing exceptional service to our clients.
As in previous years, all of our accountants at Lark attended a 2-hour monthly taxation update led by a taxation specialist we have partnered with for many years.
Additionally, this year, our team expanded its training by participating in the National Tax Accountant’s Association’s monthly program, Tax on the Couch.
Carlton In Business
Earlier this year, a friend & colleague of mine introduced me to Carlton In Business, a leading corporate network with over 160 organisations as members.
Becoming part of this network has provided me with valuable opportunities to attend various networking events, including Industry Leaders gatherings and Roundtable discussions with other business leaders.
It’s been a pleasure connecting with like-minded professionals at such excellent networking events throughout the year. The Carlton In Business team certainly knows how to host outstanding events!
Interview with Ignition
It was an honour to be selected for an interview by Ignition (our invoicing software supplier) for the purposes of featuring in their “Smartest Businesses’ Campaign” and being showcased on their website.
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It’s once again been an incredible year for Lark, and we’d like to thank all of our clients and professional colleagues for their ongoing support.
We also wanted to remind you that our office will be closed from 5:00pm on Thursday, 19th December 2024 and we will reopen again at 9:00am on Wednesday 8th January, 2025.
We wish all of our clients and colleagues a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season with their families. Here’s to a successful 2025!
With Kind Regards,
Eric Cirulis
Director/CEO