See full profile: Eldoraigne Accountant - Michelle Brits
Were you always planning to be an accountant and why?
My father is a Chartered Accountant and he encouraged me to take up accounting as a career, but it wasn't until after I had come first in South Africa for the Annual Accounting Olympiad that I took it seriously for my future - post matric while completing my Commercial Pilot's Licence I completed my BCompt part time, and once I qualified as a commercial pilot I jumped into completing my articles and now focus full time on accounting while flying as a hobby.
When meeting with clients do they mostly come to your own premises or do you mostly go their theirs?
My clients come to my office, I mostly go to my clients
What is your preferred mode of communication with your clients?
Email, Phone, Face to Face, Skype, WhatsApp
Have you ever done an online video call with a client?
Yes
What do you love most about accounting?
I love how perfect it is in its balance - there is something beautiful about the balance, and I love that there is always an answer. It is black and white.
What qualities should South African business people be looking for in their accountant?
Someone who is willing to go the extra mile, understands your industry, someone who has been trained - I see far too many people hire someone who has not trained, and pay the price afterwards.
What aspects of accounting do you focus on most?
Day to day accounting with my clients - if your business does not need a full time accounting officer but you require regular interaction (more than once a month), then our services are perfect as we are constantly available remotely for clients, as well as several face to face interactions per month, but without you needing to pay for the full time salary of an accountant on your premises everyday.
Describe your average client:
Small to medium enterprises, VAT registered, with 1 - 50 employees. We have worked in the construction, manufacturing, retail, restaurant, medical and investment industries.
How far away from your premises is your furthest client?
Approximately 50km.
From your accounting experience, if you could cite one of the biggest reasons SME's in SA fail, what would it be?
Lack of planning and budgeting - a lot of entrepreneurs are not necessarily business people, in the sense that they have fantastic ideas, but are not always sure of how to make them work monetarily, so they start a business, and it goes great while the cash flow is there, but they don't know how to plan for the rainy days, and when bumps hit them, like our current Covid-19 crises, there is no cushion to fall back on. In a time where there is also intense competition, it is vital that you are able to budget in such a way that you have options when there is an economic downturn if you would like your business to survive.
What accounting software do you like best?
Sage (Pastel Accounting, HR & Payroll as well as Sage Cloud Accounting and Sage Cloud Payroll) would have to be my favourite but we work on QuickBooks as well.
What other software, online services or apps do you use?
QuickBooks
Do you think the coming wave of automation in the next few years will steal some accounting jobs and why/why not?
I do not believe so, as we are already experiencing a time where a lot of our processes are automated - we can import transactions directly in to accounting software, we complete financial statements with the use of auditing software. The only way that there would be job loss would be for people that are still completing transactions manually or worse, by hand.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Spending time with family, reading, staying up to date with the latest news and trends.
What is the most interesting thing on your bucket list?
I think it would be one I have already completed - that would be qualifying as a Commercial Pilot and all the experiences I have had along with that.
What has your experience been in Find an Accountant?
Great
See how our other local South African accountants have answered the above questions.
