INTHEBLACK August 2022 - Magazine - Page 24
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24 ITB August 2022
ONE PIECE OF ADVICE
“Be yourself in everything that you do. Your
branding and the way you run your business are
reflected in your core values. Your ideal clients will
be the ones who connect with you, so identify them
early and don’t try to be anyone except yourself.”
obligations. With no fixed fee structure, her
clients are charged an annual fee tailored to
the complexity of their fund, leaving open
the opportunity for coffees, conversation and
connection rarely seen in her previous work in
taxation.
“Those conversations are important,” says
O’Connor. “With an SMSF and estate planning,
you are looking into what people will be doing
in the future. Customer focus was in our vision
from day one and something I think we have
mastered. It’s the reason for our success.”
Last year, Susan O’Connor Accounting grew by
27 per cent and lost only one client. The client
had died. While she says her business model will
never see her on any Rich List, O’Connor believes
there is value in the long-term investment she
puts into her clients.
“It’s not all about how much money I can
make, it’s about adding to the sum of the world.
I’m giving people happiness, and knowing I can
turn up to work happy every day because I have
done the best job I can for my clients is what is
important to me.”
O’Connor began her career in auditing,
including a stint with the Office of the Auditor
General for Western Australia, before joining
a public practice as a taxation accountant.
In 2016, when the Limited ASF Licence
requirements were brought in, O’Connor jumped
at the opportunity. She’d been through some
challenges in her personal life and the timing felt
right to reinvent herself professionally. As a sole
parent with two kids to support, failure wasn’t
an option.
“I knew I had the skills to do it, and selfmanaged super funds was something I really
enjoyed because there is a lot of strategy to it,”
says O’Connor.
“You just have to back yourself sometimes.
There will always be the doubters, but
sometimes you have to take that risk. I had no
money, no loans, I didn’t have equipment or
staff. It was my only source of income, so I had
to make it work. I literally built it from scratch.”
While most choose to operate under a dealer’s
licence, O’Connor wanted to be self-licensed.
This allowed her to remain fully independent
with no products to sell, commission to earn or
pitches to make.
In addition to her licence, O’Connor needed
to obtain her Diploma in Financial Planning and
Public Practice Certificate through CPA Australia
before taking the chance on her dream with an