It’s okay to do things your way

Richard Brewin • June 20, 2019

Let me tell you how I tidy our kitchen after the evening meal (weird, but bear with me!).

I have the kitchen to myself. We have quite a large kitchen and most surfaces at this point will be covered with the detritus of preparing and eating a family meal. Pots and pans, glasses, used plates and cutlery, chopping boards, vegetable peelings, food wrappers and containers, condiments etc. You’ll be familiar with the scene no doubt.

I start with some basic preparation; hot water and washing up liquid in the sink,   dishwasher door open and a small pile of waste. Then I commence my long-time developed approach to the clean.

Starting on my far left (by the oven, as it happens), I work from left to right around the kitchen surfaces, washing up, wiping, drying, filling the dishwasher and taking out the waste and recycling as a go. I completely clear and clean each area in turn. Oven to hob. Hob to sink. Sink to work tops. Work tops to table. Gradually the kitchen clears from left to right.

Doing it this way means multiple trips to the utility room to take out ‘stuff’. It means returning to the sink and dishwasher countless times. There are far more efficient and effective ways of cleaning the kitchen that would no doubt save me time, lots of time if I added it all up over the years.

But, you know what, I don’t care. I’m happy doing it this way. I find it strangely restful at the end of a working day and I enjoy seeing the transformation of the kitchen and the visible line of progress that I’m making. It doesn’t impact on anyone else, the only person affected by my inefficiency is me, so why not!

Work isn’t always about efficiency and time-saving. It isn’t always about doing things in the most effective way. Doing things your way, in a manner that you find most enjoyable, most satisfying, most fun, a manner that gives you greatest satisfaction, can be just as important if it gets the job done, and arguable more so.

Sometimes, It’s okay to do things your way!

Why your accounting firm is unique

By Richard Brewin • June 5, 2025
All accountants are the same! We’ve all heard it said. It’s nonsense, of course, but, when you are asked what it is that your firm does that differentiates it from other accounting firms, it can be a challenge to come up with something tangible.  Accounting firms tend to offer similar services, that’s what makes them accounting firms. Differentiating from competitors based upon services provided is therefore an issue.

Will MTD ITSA be the next big gift from the accounting profession

By Richard Brewin • April 2, 2025
Question… Should accountants charge for the additional work and obligations they will have when MTD ITSA finally comes into play next April? Not sure? Let me ask another one… Should business owners and taxpayers be expected to pay for the work that their accountant does for them and for the expertise that they receive? Put down in black and white, the answer seems obvious but there are many in the profession who are losing sleep over this issue.

“Accountants can’t or won’t sell”

By Richard Brewin • February 25, 2025
Accountants selling to their clients is a topic as old as the profession itself. I regularly hear criticism from those looking to monetise the accountants’ relationships with their clients that “accountants can’t sell”. I also come across an attitude within the profession that “accountants shouldn’t sell to their clients…it’s unprofessional…it’s not what my clients expect”.  Let’s tackle the issue.