Accountants After Hours

Proudly brought to you by Ignition who we both love and use in our businesses to automate proposals and streamline invoicing. 

In this episode, Nat and Sarah do a round of the grounds on the Australian accounting industry - and there is a lot to unpack.

First up, the Australian Accounting Awards. Natalie took out Thought Leader of the Year 2026, making it back-to-back wins with Sarah's 2025 title. They reflect on what the night meant, the incredible energy in the room, and a few process notes they've fed back to Accountants Daily around how finalists are notified. Congratulations to all the finalists and winners - including Davey Mack and the brilliant Amanda from Amanda Loves to Audit who took out the Academic Award.

Then it's straight into the industry headlines. The Senate Economics Legislation Committee held a two-day public hearing on the budget with 150 published submissions. Nat and Sarah break down the concerns around the rushed timeline (11 days of consultation compared to two-plus years for the GST and Henry Review), the nine unwritten ministerial instruments, and CPA Australia's cost estimates coming in at three to six times higher than Treasury's figures. They highlight Derek Francis (former NSW Parliamentary Budget Office chief economist) appearing on the Karl Stefanovic podcast to call out wrong assumptions in the budget modelling - and they're both seeing a pause in client confidence with businesses holding off on capital investment until the dust settles.

The Bendel case gets a deep dive. The High Court ruled 5-2 that unpaid present entitlements (UPEs) are not loans under Division 7A, overturning the ATO's position held since 2009. Nat and Sarah discuss what this means in practice, the Part IVA considerations that remain, and the professional indemnity questions Robin Jacobson raised in her AFR article. Shout out to Robin Jacobson and Tracy Dunn for their incredible work breaking down complex tax law for practitioners.

The political landscape gets a mention too - One Nation's rise in the polls, Pauline Hanson as the preferred PM, and Barnaby Joyce's appointment as One Nation's Treasury spokesperson.

On the tech front, Intuit cut 17% of its global workforce (around 3,000 jobs) and has effectively exited the Australian market. Xero has its AGM coming in August with stock under pressure and the Melio acquisition in play. Carbon launched Kai - its AI agent, note taker, and MCP server - and Nat and Sarah are loving it. And Ignition announced its expansion into AML compliance ahead of the 1 July deadline, which feels like a natural extension for firms already using it for engagements.

The episode wraps with a look at how Nat and Sarah are using Viktor, their AI coworker in Slack, to automate workflows across Carbon, Xero, and client channels - and tea time delivers a spicy discussion about Jason Statz's LinkedIn post on accountants promoting paid software, transparency around creator incentives, and the importance of aligning with products you genuinely believe in. 

🔗 Episode links:

• Karl Stefanovic podcast featuring Derek Francis on budget assumptions 
• Robin Jacobson AFR article on the Bendel case and Div 7A
• CPA Australia - Jenny Wong's commentary on the budget
• Karbon Kai announcement
• Ignition AML compliance
• Viktor - https://ref.viktor.com/natalie-lennon 

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DISCLAIMER: This podcast is general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Listeners should seek their own professional advice and conduct their own due diligence before acting on any information discussed.