Natalia Clack - Director of Easy Super, SMSF Adviser of the Year and Superannuation Specialist Accountant of the Year

How did you start down this career path?

I came to Australia 20 years ago with little cash in my bank account and basic English. I remember I could not find any job for four months. Eventually, I got a job as a hostess at a restaurant. Then, I found two other jobs as a waitress. I already had a finance degree from Russia, and the choice of career path was easy: it had to be accounting. When I got my first job as an accountant at a small suburban accounting practice, I could not believe my luck. I was studying for a Master of Professional Accounting at the University of Queensland and working as an accountant at the same time. Twenty years ago, every graduate accountant wanted to do business services, not superannuation. Therefore, when I was offered a senior SMSF accountant position at a second-tier accounting company, I was happy to accept it.

What inspires you in your role/industry? Why?

I recognised the importance of superannuation early on in my career in Australia. Back in Russia, we had an old age pension based on a person's salary when the pension was assigned. There was not a lot of control over the retirement benefits. In Australia, we have a fantastic superannuation system, which allows people to control their future and investments and is also a tax heaven. I am surprised how many people are unaware of it, don't understand the importance of super and don't understand how much their future retirement is in their own hands. I am glad that the awareness of the system has grown a lot in the last ten years, and more and more younger people recognise the values of the superannuation system and the choices it provides to them.

What's your approach to customer service that separates you from the rest?

Education is a key. I spend a lot of time educating my clients, ensuring they know exactly what they can and can not do with their super, making sure they know all their choices and understand the system and using the superannuation benefits and superannuation system to build their future wealth and retirement nest. I also want to appeal to everyday Australians; all my educational material is simple language guides everyone can understand. Regarding SMSF accounting, auditing, and compliance, at Easy Super, we strive for efficiency and deliver the work within the day. Our standard turnaround for the SMSF audits is 3-4 business days and two weeks for the SMSF Compliance.

How do you innovate and stay ahead of industry trends?

At Easy Super, we try to stay on top of technology and innovation. This year we updated all our internal systems and processes and are working out how to automate them even more with different integrations and the help of AI.

I keep up to date with the Superannuation legislation by attending multiple webinars and conferences with the SMSF Association and other reputable providers and daily reading the SMSF news and updates, such as SMSF Adviser publication.

I am a big believer in the future of technology in the form of digital advice and automation in the form of AI. We adopted some of these cutting-edge technologies and looking forward to future development.

What is the toughest challenge you've faced in your role? How did you overcome it?

At the beginning of my journey as a business owner, my biggest challenge was finding clients. As I did not grow up in Australia, I did not have any school, uni or family connections here and also was struggling to assimilate in the first few years of my life here. In the first few years of running my own business, I tried all the possible marketing strategies and attended multiple coaching, marketing and business courses. I spent a lot of money and hours learning marketing, enhancing technical skills, and developing my business. In the first few years, I probably was making $1 per hour, if even so.

My main concerns nowadays are the shortage of qualified staff and business processes. There is still a lot of manual work in accounting, and I can not wait for more automation, including AI and systems integration. I want to focus on adding value to our clients rather than managing the systems.

What are some of your goals for the next 5 years?

I want to provide more information, support, and assistance to people who would like to take control of and grow their superannuation savings. I plan to produce more educational resources such as videos, blogs, and webinars where I bring experts from other fields related to SMSF to help everyday Australians understand their super better and have choices. I am also closely watching the development of digital advice, and I hope with the technology, Easy Super will be able to provide more affordable SMSF advice and more efficient accounting services to everyday Australians.

Learn more here: https://www.smsfconsulting.com.au/