The big news is I’m Rebranding the Cloud Stories podcast to the Accounting Apps podcast

In this episode, I talk about . . .

  • Summer adventures with family and Chester the Border Collie in Elanora and Crows Nest
  • Catching up on admin backlog and office makeover
  • Website update with recent photos and videos
  • Rebranding Cloud Stories podcast to Accounting Apps podcast
  • Introducing advertising to the newsletter and podcast
  • Clarification on ACCA Global Council election results
  • Embracing “StoryTeller” as the theme for the year
  • Upcoming speaking engagements in Birmingham and Cairns
  • Preview of the next episode with David Boyar, CEO of ChangeGPS

Hello and welcome to 2024! This is the first podcast recording of the year.

I thought I’d tell you what I did over the Summer break.

My children are young adults, so I nominated a budget and asked them to choose an Airbnb they would happily share with us for a holiday. They choose a place high on a hill in Elanora. It backed onto a koala corridor, which are very tall trees that koalas can inhabit. The house was about a 6-minute drive from Palm Beach, which is a huge off-leash dog beach. On one side are the calm waters of Currumbin Creek, and on the other were the waves of the Pacific Ocean. Chester, the Border Collie, was in heaven and enjoyed swimming on the beach with us every day.

Unfortunately the day before we arrived a tornado had actually hit the area where we had stayed. The house was untouched, but you could see the route it travelled and some massive trees were completely uprooted. The weather was wonderful for us while we were there, and hours after we left, they were hit with another terrible storm.

But we were very fortunate and had a lovely time there, and then the second weekend, I went to a regional area called Crows Nest and stayed on my friend’s property. My friends have a chocolate lab called Maisy, so Chester was happy playing with Maisy in the bushlands. It was great to have the opportunity to have such diverse retreats over the break.

On a personal note, just before the holidays began, I was diagnosed with Vitreous detachment in my eye. It’s like a big floater in my right eye. It is quite a natural phenomenon that happens to everyone; some people notice it, others don’t. It appeared about two months ago, and apparently, I have to wait for my brain to get used to it, and it will disappear. As someone who works on the computer, it is frustrating and 

After that, the quiet time allowed me to catch up on admin.

I got through all the admin paper and email backlog. I actually opened a letter postmarked 2022 and dealt with some emails from 2022. How terrible am I! I am very focused on the project I am working on now.

I had a bit of an office makeover and had two massive IKEA Billy shelving units put in, and I spent far too much time decorating the shelves with all my Accounting Technology momentos. 

I updated my website. One of the conference organisers said I looked nothing like the long-haired lady on my website, so I added recent videos and photos. The website is not perfect yet; I’m still tinkering with it. You can check it out at HeatherSmithAu and then click to go on the home page. Let me know if you have any feedback.

I’m trying to streamline what I do, and I have decided to rebrand the podcast and the community to the same name as the newsletter, the Accounting Apps Newsletter, so it will be the Accounting Apps podcast and the Accounting Apps community. This will minimise confusion and help people find one and then bounce across to the other. 

So, the Cloud Stories podcast is rebranding to the Accounting Apps podcast. Let me know what you think.

I’ve also decided to include advertising in the newsletter and the podcast. I’ve tried for a long time to avoid that, and I have mixed feelings about it, but I guess if I’m dealing with two-year-old emails over the holiday break, I’m not managing myself well, and additional income helps me surround myself with additional resources to support what I do. So let me know what you think about that.

Many wonderful people have been reaching out to me to congratulate me on being elected to the ACCA Global Council. However, I wasn’t elected. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive the necessary number of votes to be elected to the Council. I posted about this online, thanking everyone for their support, and to clarify I was not elected, but still some people congratulated me. Social Media is funny, isn’t it?

I’ve chosen “StoryTeller” as my theme for the year, reflecting my passion for accounting and writing. As a Chartered Accountant with a flair for writing, my new IKEA Billy shelves showcase my publications on one side and blank journals on the other, revealing my guilty pleasure for collecting them. I’m a bit addicted to collecting journals to write in, so if you see me at a conference, don’t tempt me with journal swag, as I have enough of it! This year, I’m committed to leveraging my storytelling abilities to make a meaningful impact within the Accounting Industry by sharing our stories.

What else can I tell you about?

I’m confirmed as a speaker for the Festival of Accountants and Bookkeepers in the home of Duran Duran, Birmingham, which I’m very excited about! I look forward to connecting with you if you’re in England and attending. I’m also confirmed as a speaker for the Tropical Innovation Festival in Cairns. I’ll put links to both events below. If anyone wants me to speak at their international event, please reach out to me. I’m pretty easy to find.

Yesterday, I interviewed David Boyar, CEO of ChangeGPS, about the news that the Access Group has acquired ChangeGPS. So that shall be the next episode that drops after this one. I hope you enjoy it.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on what I have shared, and I wish you health and happiness in 2024!