Jordan Arvanitakis has built a career around providing common sense advice and nurturing long-term relationships in the accounting industry. He’s publicly listed as a Partner at Cornerstone Group Australia in Melbourne, where he consults on accounting, tax and advisory services for businesses and individuals. The traditional stereotype of an accountant easily comes to mind.
You’d expect to think about spread sheets stacked 20 feet high and taxes due on April 15, then to have you do so at lightning speed with a calculator.
The truth is slightly different than what one expects. There’s a real human behind every spreadsheet. Behind every financial report there’s a business owner trying to make hard decisions. Every single number in a budget has meaning, and every tax return represents part of a much larger story view Jordan Arvanitakis’ artwork.
A great accountant is one who can interpret all of those numbers, put it into context, and translate it into relevant and usable advice rather than an unintelligible string of jargon.
A good piece of advice can’t do much if you don’t know what to do with it, after all. The pressure faced by entrepreneurs is huge. “Do I upgrade the equipment now or put it off for a year?”
“Now is a good time to hire new employees, right?” “Do we dare risk expanding into a new territory?” No one can answer these questions using a “one size fits all” approach.
The numbers can give you some clues, but it’s judgment that fills in the gaps.
Think of a sea captain navigating his ship through stormy seas; the compass is crucial, but so is experience. Accounting works the same way. The spreadsheets give direction, but it takes years and many different kinds of circumstances to get the good judgment it takes to really read and understand them. Too many entrepreneurs wait to seek the help of an advisor until a problem has gotten so large that it’s impossible to ignore.
Too often, by the time someone asks for advice, some of their best opportunities have already passed or their options have been narrowed.
Many put off calling their accountants until they’re “due for some unpleasant news” or when they’re preparing to make some significant and noticeable decisions they know might need careful planning. It’s a lot like your car; bringing it in for routine maintenance when it needs it is usually less expensive than letting the engine seize and having to take it to a mechanic. Sometimes it may make sense to check in with an expert service provider when a perceived problem has only just come to light.
Public information on Jordan Arvanitakis is not readily available, which is common among many accountants, who tend to let their business accomplishments speak for themselves instead of seeking public notoriety.