For our August partner feature, we are highlighting ABN Australia where we had the pleasure of interviewing their director of tax and accounting, Lynette Spry. Lynette not only handles the tax and compliance division, but also helps provide crucial business support while building client relationships. ABN Australia’s international sector helps foreign companies establish their business in Australia. Their services include all of the Australian market entry responsibilities and compliance functions, such as company formation, registering a foreign entity, tax registrations, tax compliance obligations, corporate secretarial obligations, and more. Lynette emphasized the importance of ABN Australia sharing the journey with their clients as well as focusing on creating an ongoing relationship.

We were curious to see what led Lynette to her role at ABN Australia today and she shared that having had a great deal of experience as an accountant in Australia, her role at ABN Australia was a new and exciting opportunity that was different from the traditional accounting roles she had filled before. Her role now deals with the more interesting side of business registration in Australia and supporting the implementation of a business plan in conjunction with fulfilling compliance requirements in Australia. 

In the last 18 months, ABN Australia has experienced substantial growth with the addition of new employees and specializations, setting them apart from their local competitors. Although growth can come with its own difficulties, it is ultimately rewarding and valued by all of the team at ABN Australia. We understand there can be challenges for clients when entering a new market and were curious to what challenges their international clients face in Australia. Lynette shared they have a broad variety of clients ranging from small businesses to large global groups, and the greatest and most common challenge is the realization of the added obligations necessary when entering the Australian market. Each country has their own set of rules and the Australian tax and corporate compliance system is no different. The ABN Australia team takes pride in supporting their clients through this process.

We also asked about Lynette’s point of view of the industry challenges, and she mentioned the difficulties of the ongoing labor shortage. This is a challenge affecting all industries and the accounting industry is no different. When overcoming these challenges it takes some creative thinking in relation to employment strategies. In terms of recruiting, ABN Australia has been more flexible in hiring remote employees and making themselves more of an employer of choice for resourceful candidates. Lynette emphasized the importance of being an employer of choice in order to seek out good talent. We also discussed the importance of accountants staying relevant and being aware of the changes in the economy and their clients evolving needs.

Lastly, we wanted to see how the tax and accounting team at ABN Australia compares to competitors in the local Australian market. Lynette notes their international team is unique as their clients are all global businesses, whereas a typical Australian accountant’s clients would usually be Australian businesses only. They end up dealing with a variety of clientele all around the world, making not only their portfolio fairly unique but also the registration and problem solving services they offer create an efficient plan that is uniquely designed for each client, setting them apart from their competitors.