Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, ellie.

Speaker 3: 0:01

Hi Andrew.

Speaker 1: 0:05

It's clearly not Ellie. Here is it.

Speaker 3: 0:07

What are you talking about?

Speaker 1: 0:11

Hey Jack, hey Andrew Jack, would you rather have pans for hands, or would you rather sweat jam?

Speaker 3: 0:19

Oh, I hope this is the new thing. Could every episode is what would you rather interesting? I mean this is I. I think sweat jam is the go-to sweat. Gems to go to pans for hands seem ridiculously annoying. There's something about them, though, that just intrigues me indeed, indeed.

Speaker 1: 0:39

Uh well, hey, friends, families, listeners, adoring fans, and and Ali Garrett, you're probably wondering why on earth is there another human's voice on this podcast? And it's because I'm joined here today with my friend Jack just Jack from our Tech Edition podcast. I'm going to explain to you in a moment why, but first we're going to go and hear our theme tune and we'll be back in a moment. Alright, bud, how does it feel to be like theme tuned up? You're in the Big Popo Podcast. This is the Big Daddy.

Speaker 3: 1:17

Podcast, the Big Daddy Podcast, kind of thing it's intimidating.

Speaker 1: 1:21

It's good. Well, thank you for joining me Now. It is a bit of an irregular kind of recording we're doing today. We've spent the last four or five days together with around 20 or so other kind of accounting and accounting industry people legends, and, given the theme that ali and I've been attempting to do for this season podcast was around how people gather together, I figured it would be really really stupid of us to not spend some time having a conversation. But Ellie is not here, so you are here and we're going to have a bit of a conversation.

Speaker 3: 1:49

Let's do it. I'm down with that.

Speaker 1: 1:51

Excellent, excellent, well, I love that. So let's go. The idea of these kind of gatherings that I guess we're hanging out today is this is about small groups of people who have, I guess, maybe a similar-ish kind of approach, value set perspective on industry, who want to spend some time together socially, but also spend time together in like a learning and development kind of environment. Yep Right, I think this stuff's really valuable. Have you ever been a part of anything like this before? So we've spent five days. We're in the snow, I should note. We're up at Falls Creek, most of the people skiing. I'm not skiing because I'm not willing to risk my body, but like, have you ever done anything?

Speaker 3: 2:27

like this, nothing. I don't think anything to this degree. This has been quite exceptional. I've I've been part of a group called YNG YPO next generation YPO being young presidents organization which some people might know. They do some pretty cool stuff forum related stuff and small group stuff, but bigger stuff too. That's the only thing like this.

Speaker 1: 2:51

But this is like relevant to the industry, very specific and a lot more fun, I would argue, and I've obviously done something like this in the past with the rumble, the first iteration of the rumble, which, um, you might know of and listeners you might know as well where the idea was. Let's get a bunch of people who are somewhat similarish. We took accounting kind of leaders in accounting, kind of firm owners and the like. We took them to the bush and we said let's hang out, let's, let's do some meditation yoga, let's learn, let's grow. And so we haven't been doing meditation yoga and you might hear the laughs and the noise in the background.

Speaker 1: 3:23

We are on the Thursday night, which is the last night. We're all packing up ready to go home tomorrow. But we've spent the last kind of four or so days in a combination of things. We've been eating food together and sharing stories together, we've been hitting the slopes when weather permits and we've been doing some kind of learning sessions as well. Um, we've done purpose, we've done people, we've done process and we've done ai technology. Talk to me, mate. What's been the highlight for the last four days for you? Whether it was, is it the sessions, the ski, what's been the best thing?

Speaker 3: 3:54

that's a a good question because it feels very balanced between the skiing, obviously quite a key part of this trip being that you're staying in the snow and we're right there, and every morning everyone here is keen to kind of pull on their skis or boards and head up the hill and that's a great time, but I think it hasn't outshone the conversations that we've had, which is like pretty impressive I think, given the fun you have on the slope.

Speaker 3: 4:24

So, like a highlight of the conversation, I really enjoyed our um the first, the first night you ran it. Um, you know the session we had where we're all contributing To describe the situation to everybody who's listening. Basically we laid it out what are the key areas of interest to everyone who's here, which was kind of information gathered before the event. We then kind of voted or placed cash on, or fake cash on what we wanted to talk about and specifically, a space of people like, like around people, and motivation was the winner, motivation was the winner, everyone, and I loved that. I really. I thought that was really interesting conversation and then we had the three seats kind of laid out. This is just to give you all a little bit of a glimpse into what the situation looked like yeah we had three seats out the front.

Speaker 3: 5:16

two people sat up there and had a conversation about motivation, and as soon as someone had something to add to that, they would step in and someone would step out.

Speaker 1: 5:22

Yeah, so no one else was allowed to speak unless you were sitting in the chairs.

Speaker 3: 5:25

It was really the first person sat down.

Speaker 1: 5:26

The first person had to leave right.

Speaker 3: 5:28

And just that forum allowed 20 people who are all very different people who all are bonded and connected around this event and the skiing and the snowboarding and whatever else. But they allowed all of them, whoever they were, to have their couple of minutes to have a say, to ask a question, and I think that approach of discussion will stick with me and even the conversation we had was really good.

Speaker 1: 5:49

I love that too. I mean I'm a bit biased because I ran it, you did. It was a bit of that. It's a technique called the fishbowl kind of way of having conversations. But what I loved about it is, as someone who has a loud voice, sometimes it's nice to not hear your own voice and sometimes it's nice to hear other people, and so the idea there was you only speak if you're in the chair and everybody has a chance to be in the chair, and once you've left the chair you're not allowed back, so you can't contribute.

Speaker 3: 6:12

Oh, the amount of biting of the tongue that was happening that night.

Speaker 1: 6:15

So you've got to choose when you're going to come and sit, and once you've left, it's like man, I went too early, I picked too early on this conversation. I want to be a part of it, but what it meant was it meant that we heard perspectives from people we probably wouldn't have heard if we just had a big old, loud, noisy conversation.

Speaker 3: 6:29

And then we had a different night where we had small groups and you all got to just chat amongst each other and everyone got to kind of jump in. So I think, yeah, that was definitely the highlight that I was talking about. But I think, just like we had three nights, three different, or four nights, four different sessions, different conversations in different ways, and, yeah, I think it just highlights the value of the in-person stuff that we're talking about.

Speaker 1: 6:49

It does Now importance and value of things, better go to some sponsors. We'll. We'll come back in a second and we're going to talk a little bit more about some of the other things that we might have gone up to, but also why this stuff is important for our industry. Sounds good. Sounds good, sick. Thank you, ali, for letting us talk.

Speaker 5: 7:04

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Speaker 4: 7:11

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Speaker 5: 7:20

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Speaker 5: 7:43

If there's one thing that I know, Ali, is that I need a lot of help Now, outside of personal life stuff, it's when I'm running my accounting business. I can get stuck in my head. I'm going round and round in circles, but you know, there is someone out there who can actually help you as an accounting firm owner, to do good stuff.

Speaker 4: 7:56

And it sounds to me like you need to hit up Planet Consulting. They are tailored solutions for professional firms and their purpose is to enrich your life.

Speaker 5: 8:05

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Speaker 4: 8:06

I really do, they do?

Speaker 5: 8:07

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Speaker 1: 8:16

All right. So some of the stuff that I really liked about these kind of formats is you're living in a house together for four or five straight days, right? A whole bunch of people shared cars driving here. Yes, like this was a very communal environment, and so in my car there was one person that I knew relatively well, one person that I kind of knew, and someone that I met for the first time, and I'm driving to the snow, you know, I relatively well one person that I kind of knew and someone that I met for the first time, and I'm driving to the snow. You know, I reckon at least half of the people here I'd never met before. Some of them I didn't even know existed.

Speaker 1: 8:43

And what's been really cool is I've been able to get to know different people who do similar things but kind of different things with me and then ask really dumb ass questions as well. Like we were spending tonight over dinner talking about some really silly things around crayons and the like, which, um, uh, if you want to know more about crayons, come and ask me. But we also have some deeper questions around, like what's something that your, your parents, your mother, your father, your kind of parent figures? What's something they imparted in you that you kind of hold on to today, and I love the fact that we can create environments where we can have those kind of conversations, where normally it's just like what tech do you?

Speaker 3: 9:16

use. Yeah, exactly, and I think that's the value of being together for four or five days is you escape. You have those surface level, not service level, like good conversations about business, about accounting, about how you make your firm better or how did you exit or what do you want to do next, these kinds of things. But then you, yeah, because you just you're like, well, you know, we're at dinner, I don't want to talk about that anymore, let's have a conversation about life or something else.

Speaker 1: 9:39

Absolutely, and it just flows, and yeah, I just yeah, it's been great, I reckon, if I hear the phrase ahoy matey or as far as she blows, a few of us might start laughing like little children there, which has been good, but I think that's been cool.

Speaker 1: 9:53

Like every night we've been at a different place to eat food. Uh, I said I didn't ski because my body's stuffed and another one of our the team here goes, she didn't ski either, and so the two of us did a romantic, cynic chairlift up and we had lunch at cloud nine, which is kind of the restaurant, kind of like most of the way up the mountain. Um, you know, we did the conversations there, we had like a a thai feast one night, we ate pizzas and did a crazy retro dress up and whiskey tasting night, and so we had just variety for the whole thing and this stuff requires a level of organization to do so and, obviously, like Liam from Project, alfred Merrill from Air, being ninjas as well like the two of them did an absolute truckload of work to put this stuff on, and so these things, they don't happen overnight.

Speaker 1: 10:35

And this is year number two. Yeah, year number three, though, who knows, I'm actually surprised you got a gig. If I'm honest, mate, if I'm honest, I gave you shit about this earlier. Yeah, you should. Not an accountant wasn't sponsoring the event. Well, I'm an accountant In practice, not an accountant. Why am I on this podcast? You're on the podcast because you are valuable to the accounting community. That's right.

Speaker 4: 10:57

But I was.

Speaker 3: 11:02

I'm very fortunate to work with the Project Alfred team in their offices a couple days a week.

Speaker 1: 11:08

You're like family.

Speaker 3: 11:13

I think to a degree I am going to play that card. I'm absolutely going to play that card. Absolutely do it. And I will enjoy this trip every year that I get invited and the year that I am not allowed anymore. I will happily accept that.

Speaker 1: 11:25

I'd ride it as much as I can.

Speaker 3: 11:27

But I mean, this is your first time here, right? Yes, you came virtually last year. So how do you find that? So this is kind of the whole point of the event is, we're in person. It's a big investment for everyone, especially the time, so it's all about in person. You were here last year virtually now in person. How do you find the difference?

Speaker 1: 11:45

yeah, so last year I I dialed in and just ran a session. Uh, once again it was on people and we did some fun and silly kind of things there as well, and this year it was in person and it meant I kind of got to be a bit more deeper with stuff. We talked some purpose stuff, we did a people session, did some whiskey tasting, a whole bunch of other kind of stuff there too, for me you can't be in person and I know, like you know, as cloud-based businesses, we've done things digitally and online for years now. Um, but the value of like being in a room together, being able to like read body language, being able to like squeeze someone on the shoulder when they're talking too much and they should shut the up and stop and nita um the joke that needs amazing but like those

Speaker 1: 12:21

those things you don't. You don't get that, and I think I think you said you were lucky I think I also feel very privileged and lucky to be able to be in an environment like this, because I know that, um, not everyone within our industry does this kind of stuff and even like, if they do, they might not be able to do it at this kind of level. You know, we have like the zero cons of the world where we gather in huge mass, but in a huge mass, um, you can kind of fade into the background and I felt like these environments here you don't, and so I was. I felt really lucky, despite not skiing, to be able to come and share but learn as well, sit in the background and listen and hear some stuff and, you know, just kind of do life for a few days with people and I've I'm still well involved within the accounting industry, but I definitely feel like I'm not there as much, since I've kind of made a bit of, you know, transition and stuff doing other stuff in my life with other businesses and family, and so it's really nice to be able to come back and feel a part of a family there, and even though half of the people here.

Speaker 1: 13:15

I don't even know which is so cool. You slot right back in, don't you worry, mate?

Speaker 1: 13:20

I will find a way to slide in, and so this kind of stuff it is different. It's different than the big conferences, right? So the value of the big conferences is like big, glamorous, heaps of cool stuff and lots of different people. You've got the one-on-one kind of stuff with the mentoring, coaching kind of gathering. You've got the digital element where you can kind of learn, but you can kind of turn your computer off and you don't have to be there here. You have to be here, and so this is something that can put you out of your comfort zone and it can make you go geez, oh man, I have to, I have to now communicate. I don't, I can't not be here and just be quiet, I think it's.

Speaker 3: 13:50

I think that the thing that you can't get from a big conference is you can't let your guard down completely, like you. It's not the time and place. Zero cotton's not generally. I'm not going to say if you want to go for it, but it's generally not the place people feel the most comfortable to be like. Oh man, I've got this serious thing happening at home and this is impacting my business. But when you're around a group of 20 people, private, what happens on the mountain stays on the mountain.

Speaker 1: 14:15

There's a big. What happens on the mountain stays Absolutely. There's some stories shared here which are hilarious and some of them very emotional, and that will be easier.

Speaker 3: 14:22

And it's like, whether you come to this event, whether you've got your own kind of, they offer that level of depth and that trust that you don't. I don't think you can, it's just a different form. You can't do it at a big event so it's.

Speaker 1: 14:38

My encouragement is, if people are out there and they haven't experienced this kind of like let's call a retreat or a gathering or like a kind of thing, like if you haven't experienced that kind of stuff, firstly, just see if there are people in your world that are willing to just go, do it like piss off and stay in a cabin for a weekend, go camping for a bit with a few different people and do something that has intention, but with not ridiculous structure where you can't just let it go where it is.

Speaker 1: 15:00

And secondly, if you don't have that, keep an eye out. You know, finance and first tracks is what this is called. It's about going to the snow, it's about talking about, you know, business and finance and it's about collaborating. And there's't have to be big and fancy. You don't have to go to the snow for it. You could literally just, you know, do anything, have a few mates over for a night and do something with a bit more intention, a bit more depth in there. But it's about. It's about a small group, it's intimate, it's openness and it's it's about trust, I think there as well. So hugely valuable, absolutely.

Speaker 3: 15:32

So you're coming back next year, if you're invited, if I'm invited, if you're invited, I want to come back. Yeah, I mean. But at the same time I was talking to Liam on the Lyft and I was like, look, it's a big investment, time, money, all these things that. I think there will inevitably be some rotation in the group and I think that's a good thing it is. I don't think it needs to be a 30, 40 person event. I think a 20 to whatever it is caps out and people will rotate through. Some people come every year.

Speaker 1: 16:01

Some people come once every couple of years. I mean, if it's the same people every year, it just becomes a little clicker, but then all of a sudden, the value is lost because you're not having open new conversation, correct, so that's definitely not to say I don't want to come every year.

Speaker 3: 16:10

I I would love to. He's already tapping out.

Speaker 1: 16:12

He's already just pulling an excuse why he's not going to rock up. I mean, my excuse for not skiing is I just don't do skiing with my body. But maybe, who knows, if I do come along next year, wherever it might be maybe I will whack on a set of skis.

Speaker 3: 16:26

I was thinking of tobogganing.

Speaker 1: 16:27

but then I was chatting to Trent McLaren and I think he said he did his knee tobogganing. Did they have tobogganing here? Yeah, somewhere there was tobogganing somewhere. I mean there were also like there was literally two-year-old kids on skis that were like flying around. But I've heard they've got much lower center of gravity.

Speaker 3: 16:41

They're so low to the ground.

Speaker 1: 16:42

Those, kids are impressive. Yeah, and there wasn't any stacks whilst he was there. It was nothing too crazy.

Speaker 3: 16:47

Everyone had a fall or two, but nothing.

Speaker 1: 16:49

Ko yourself Nothing to do with that?

Speaker 3: 16:51

I didn't. No, no, nothing like that.

Speaker 1: 16:53

Well, jack, thank you for jumping on the chat. For those in the background who are having a good old conversation, thank you for them. Liam and Meryl, thank you for organising this thing. And Ali, thank you so much for letting me have a chat with Jack, and I do apologise, ali, that I haven't been able to have as much of a conversation with you lately. I love and respect friends out there. Um, yeah, go find some people that are your tribe.

Speaker 4: 17:21

Spend time with them, talk deep, be open um, talk life, talk business and talk whatever else falls in between, and if you can have a whiskey, love it. Cheers, man, cheers. Hi everyone. I'm jack. I think I was just as convincing as he was being me. Hi everyone. So I am not being replaced. This is just a once-off, but Andrew and Jack seem to be luxuriously living it up in the snow style. I couldn't be a ski bunny this time. I'm currently on the road emceeing the BGL.

Speaker 4: 17:47

RegTech and there will be a live recording coming out very, very soon, so it sounds like this is real rumble style. It's those intimate gatherings, lots of fun and deep connections. I absolutely love it. I'm looking forward to getting all of the takeouts and hearing about all the people, the process and ai and really just how to get the best out of these intimate gatherings. Also, andrew, excuses, excuses, tobogganing. I mean that's for the kids, come on man up and also, where was? My personal invite.

Speaker 3: 18:17

Alright.

Speaker 4: 18:17

I'll let you guys go.

Speaker 2: 18:23

Hooey, wasn't that a fun adventure. My friends, thank you so much, so incredibly much, for hanging out with us today. Ali, you've been amazing. Andrew, you've been alright. How good is it to be able to have adventures together.

Speaker 4: 18:36

It so is, and you know what. Keep following us. We are all over the socials at Accounting Adventures. Check us out on the website. Give us a bit of a like. You know how much we love that stuff.

Speaker 2: 18:48

The best thing about the adventure is the people that we do it with. So thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for hanging out with us and please bring all the ideas.

Speaker 4: 19:01

Keep rick heman becoming. We can't wait to share more cool adventures with you. We love you guys.