The business of footy first attracted Daniel Griffiths, LDB Group’s Accounting Manager, to accounting as a teenager and he has been kicking financial goals for his clients ever since.
When he’s not providing business advisory services for clients across the building and construction, property development, retail, wholesale and medical sectors, you might find him on the field.
Read on to learn more about Daniel.
How did you end up in accounting?
When I was in high school, I would read newspapers, particularly the sports section, and grew interested in how footy teams were going on and off the field. For example, which teams had the most revenue and where that revenue was coming from.
I took accounting and economics subjects at high school and then studied similar subjects at La Trobe University.
I initially chose to work at LDB because I grew up in the area, but I’ve stayed on with the company since 2010 because of the people and workplace culture.
What do you love about your job?
I enjoy the people that I work with, as well as helping clients navigate tax issues or assisting them in growing their business.
Delivering value to clients is a fulfilling part of the role too, so we make sure we achieve results rather than just help with a singular issue.
What is your best accounting tip for businesses of all sizes?
My tip for all businesses is to make sure your accounting data is as up to date as possible.
It’s hard to make key decisions about your business if you’re using data that’s six or nine months old, which some people still do, and a lot can happen in a week let alone six months.
There are a lot of modern accounting products out there with bank feeds that make it easy to stay up to date, so that’s something that businesses of all sizes can do.
What are your interests or hobbies?
I’ve got an interest in watching sport of all varieties, particularly AFL, soccer and cricket.
My favourite thing each week is playing a bit of indoor soccer with friends from high school, which we’ve been doing for the past 13 years. Admittedly, the improvements have been marginal over that time.
I’m also a big St Kilda fan, so I’ll probably be missing in action for a week if they win the (AFL) premiership in my lifetime.
What was your favourite holiday?
A few years ago, my girlfriend surprised me with a trip to Bali for my 30th birthday.
She had been planning the holiday in the background for months and had even organised some annual leave from LDB for me, so it turned out that half of the firm knew about it before me.
Once I got over the initial shock, it was a pretty good week of relaxing by the beach, parasailing and white-water rafting.
What’s your favourite book and film?
I like non-fiction like autobiographies, so my two favourites are Open by Andre Agassi and Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
They’re both pretty successful figures, but they’ve had pretty turbulent lives, and a good autobiography needs a fairly entertaining story.
One of my favourite films is The Castle because whenever it’s on TV, I inevitably end up watching it again and I do throw out a few quotes from time to time.
