Why do I do what I do? – James Harrison

I was recently away with my family for my son’s school sport.  I spent 4 days out of the office and it got me thinking, “why do I do what I do?”

Most people think, “Oh you’re an accountant so you must love numbers” or “You must know a lot about tax law.” While I do enjoy numbers and how they can be used to help people run their businesses better, and I do have people who work for me who are absolute geniuses at tax law, neither are the reasons I do what I do.

As I was driving along a deserted highway late at night on the way home from the family trip, it dawned on me. I am incredibly fortunate to be in a position where I can help change the world, one family at a time. While there is a financial outcome from the actions of myself and the team at CHG, there is ALWAYS a human effect of this financial outcome. I’ll give you some example.

• We recently worked through a Mum and Dad scenario. Mum had been contemplating changing from full-time work to part time but didn’t know if they could afford to do the things in life they wanted to while working part time. The end result was this couple had the clarity to make the decision for Mum to switch to part time work, all the while paying off their home loan and living the lifestyle they wanted to.
  The HUMAN EFFECT? Mum is at home to spend more time with her children while they are growing up
• I recently had a scenario where a client who employs more than 50 staff, had a situation where they were faced with some government policy go against them. With some careful tax planning and structuring, they were able to access in excess of $200,000 in tax incentives for this year alone.
  The HUMAN EFFECT? More than 50 families can now continue in their employment, as this company continues to grow and prosper.
• We were recently engaged to assist with some succession planning for a local business. After being probed on their retirement wishes, the directors all nominated travel, family time and time with the grandchildren as the most important things. We ran the scenario through our weekly integrated advice board meeting. At the conclusion, through using 6 of the CHG team in tax and business advisory, personal finance and lending, we are rolling out stage 1 of the strategy that is conservatively going to save the clients $1m in tax over the next 20 years.
  The HUMAN EFFECT? The clients will be well on their way to achieving their lifestyle goals of travel, family and time with grandchildren.

I truly believe by having the team we have of expert advisors for all sorts of different circumstances, we are in a privileged position, with the opportunity to positively affect people’s lives.