See full profile: Randburg Accountant - Shaan Stander
Were you always planning to be an accountant and why?
No, I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur, doing business across the world. I then became a Chartered Accountant and realised that I had a passion for numbers and that I am great at what I do.
The Entrepreneurial spirit however, did not go away and I therefore combined the two, becoming an accountant for entrepreneurs...
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
What is your preferred mode of communication with your clients?
Email, Phone, Face to Face
Have you ever done an online video call with a client?
Yes
What do you love most about accounting?
The insight you can get from your numbers, tells a story of where you come from , but also where you are going... It's all in the interpretation!
Would you recommend accounting as a career for school-leavers, and why?
Yes, it gives you a platform to grow from! Working with people and an array of different businesses and each of those need insight and advise.
What qualities should South African business people be looking for in their accountant?
Gone are the days where your accountant should be a boring person, sitting behind their laptop! In the ever changing environment, you need a go getter, a business person who can stay up to date with the latest tax laws and help you to steer your business in the right direction.
What is the biggest challenge facing accountants today?
The competition that lowballs pricing, and then deliver substandard services. This puts the profession in a bad light and lets people get away without recourse.
What aspects of accounting do you focus on most?
Ensuring a client is run in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Paperless and cloud based accounting is where I focus most of my time.
How far away from your premises is your furthest client?
100km
From your accounting experience, if you could cite one of the biggest reasons SME's in SA fail, what would it be?
The fact that small business owners measure their success by the size of their bank balance and not taking future cashflows into account.
What accounting software do you like best?
Xero Accounting
What other software, online services or apps do you use?
Receiptbank, Simple Pay, Futrli, SagePay
Do you think the coming wave of automation in the next few years will steal some accounting jobs and why/why not?
It will steal the general accountants job for sure, but it will give an opportunity for accountants to add more value to clients in a way of strategic direction and financial insight.
What has your experience been on FindanAccountant?
Good
See how our other local South African accountants have answered the above questions.
