Carl Reader

hard to believe that days become weeks become months… and before you know it, it’s how life is 🥰 looking forward to celebrating Christmas with this one

Might have only been two days but what a time with 🇨🇦 office

1 english boys on tour
2 it was cold
3 the local tourist attraction which id actually been next to before but didn’t realise
4 lactose free breakfast
5 hotel window tourism
6 branded snowball fights

So good to be able to meet our two new team members in Toronto today!

And so surreal to type that.

What started as a vision and a dream for franchising around 20 years ago feels like it could be a reality. Adding that magic dust to the relationship between franchisee and franchisor - and helping both sides become great.

Tax may be different in each country, but people aren’t.

And we want to help the people. The humans behind the brands.

Let’s do this!

Kinga, Brian… So good to have you on this journey with us, and thank you Rachel for making this happen 🚀

Things I never ever expected to do as a business owner…

🍆 have a meeting in a p**n studio

🏢 somehow sort and setup 8 desks chairs and computers for a new team with a few hours notice (in the evening)

💴 ponce a cuppa off Les Ferdinand at Orly Airport after flying to France without my wallet

👀 do old school credit control on some local prats who set up a biz with a plan to do a runner

😡 show both employees and clients the quickest route to the door when they’ve stepped over the mark with the team or legally

🐉 meet with at the time 2, now 3, Dragons from Dragons Den, separately, on the same day

🍷 carry a former team member (and separately, some work colleagues) back to their bedroom after a few too many

🔑 retrieve possessions by any means necessary

And for the football club…

🍺 being a makeshift steward to separate fans with a pint glass flying over my head (thankfully plastic, and step 2 for those who don’t know)

🦅 cleaning birds mess off the seats

🔥 sorting out a fire at the back of the stadium started by some kids

🏟️ building a new stand then having to work out how to gate it off after we didn’t get the safety cert for the first match with it.

This post was inspired by someone .accountant who’d shared a similar list on another platform.

And like her, i don’t have a picture of the first item.

So no studio shots here.

Have a last season winter picture instead.

And, I feel blessed each and every day that my life isn’t boring. Working 9-5 for some anonymous corporate beast, counting down the hours to the weekend and the days until retirement? Sod that.

Can’t believe I kept my trap shut for so long...

If you’re an ACCA member in practice, you need to be getting involved on this one.

Behind the scenes, Pat and I have been cooking up something amazing for the .official practitioner community. And now, it’s time for a ‘call to arms’.

I’m looking for the very best that the ACCA membership has to offer for this. I want the people, the stories, and the tips that you’d give others.

If you are:

🫵 A sole practitioner, partner or director in a firm;
👐 A manager or leader within a firm
😎 Someone who knows there’s more to life than bank reconciliations
.. then we need to talk. Don’t give a monkeys if you’re Big 4 or Little 100,000.

It won’t take much of your time - probably 2 hours in total I guess if this is right for all sides - and will be a true win win for all involved.

Hit me up!

Also, if you know anyone else who may be good for this, tag them below.

(Please note, I can’t guarantee that everyone can be involved. But you’ve gotta be in it to win it, and reaching out will take you all of two minutes. And you get a chance of seeing this cheesy grin)

Wow. Just wow. What a country! Had no idea what visiting Ukraine would be like 🇺🇦

We’ve been fortunate enough to fit in enough memories (and food) to last a lifetime, and I’ve been blessed to meet some wonderful people here too.

As a visitor, I was scared. I had no idea what visiting a country at war would be like, and some of it was justified. The journey here was tortuous, and there are constant reminders of the current situation. Plus, the more I learned, the harder it was to understand.

But as we know, humans are a very strong bunch when they choose to be - and the people of Ukraine are certainly that. Life is lived with a smile, even when there’s a 4am air raid siren. And to be honest, with food and experiences like I’ve had this last week, I’d be living with a smile too. Whether it was gold topped sushi at the apartment or private dining at an amazing restaurant, the place just blew me away at every opportunity.

A true pleasure to be able to visit both Lutsk and Lviv 🫶🏻