theautomatedfirm
A Transformation Proposal

Your Journey to The Firm That Gives Back™

A transformation proposal for Focus Accounting and Financial Group

“The owner no longer gives their life to the firm. The firm gives life back to the owner.”
Prepared for Nelson Thomas  |  Focus Accounting and Financial Group
Proposal date 6 August 2026  |  valid until 5 September 2026
Executive Summary

What We Found — And What It's Costing You

Nelson, thank you for reaching out. What you described was clear: you don't have visibility into your team's capacity, work has been backing up, and practice-wide ATO lodgment extensions have become a pattern, not a one-off, just to stay on top of it. That's not a small thing to carry, especially when you're the one working 70 hours a week trying to hold it together.

$100k–$200k
Estimated annual exposure if nothing changes — ATO penalties, general interest charges and client attrition
70 hrs
Nelson's current working week, personally absorbing the risk the firm should be carrying
Pattern
Practice-wide ATO lodgment extensions — not a one-off, a structural gap in how work is directed

The firm today

Focus Accounting and Financial Group, Bakery Hill, Victoria. Approximately $2.4 million in revenue, $1.05 million in payroll. Team: Myreen, James (senior accountant), Katie (intermediate), Darwin (workflow), Morrie, Juna (SMSF), Warren and Ben. Running on XPM, FYI and ATO Mate. A prior attempt to fix this with LinkHQ (via Reuben Sweeney) took significant time to implement and didn't achieve what was needed.

Why now

The risk compounds the longer it runs: more missed deadlines, more penalties and interest you pay personally — not your clients — and more clients frustrated enough to leave. That's why this can't wait for a quieter month.

Practice-wide ATO lodgment extensions have become a pattern, not a one-off.

— The core finding

The three outcomes that matter most to Nelson

  1. Real, visible capacity planning so work never silently falls behind again.
  2. No further ATO lodgment extensions.
  3. A working week that isn't 70 hours, with confidence the business is worth what he's built it to be.
The Model

The Firm That Gives Back — At a Glance

Everything in this proposal points back to this one page. Keep it close.

The Firm That Gives Back model — three circles for Calm Control, True Worth and Real Freedom, converging on the centre
the automated firmFocus Accounting and Financial Group
Where We Start

The Two Accelerators to Act On Immediately

Calm Control, first and without question. It's the root cause of what you described — and it's exactly what you asked for when you said you just needed to get control of your workflow. These two accelerators come first, ahead of the rest of the model.

01
Calm Control

Workflow Genie™

No visibility into what capacity the team actually has versus what work needs to happen and when.

This is the fastest path to fixing the ATO extension pattern. Workflow Genie™ moves the firm from people searching for the next available job to a workflow that actively directs what should happen next — so the right people work the right files at the right time, and nothing silently falls behind.

The Effective Resourcing Programme

  • Job initiation, planning, prioritisation and allocation of work
  • Client questionnaires, queries and follow-up
  • Deadline visibility and capacity/resource visibility
  • Progression to review, and identification of stalled jobs
  • Removal of pick-up-and-put-down behaviour and workflow interruption
02
Calm Control

The Automated Firm

Right now there's nothing sustaining capacity visibility once it's built — it depends on people remembering.

Installs an AI operating capability rather than adding disconnected AI tools. This is what keeps the visibility Workflow Genie™ creates alive day to day, and it's why the sequence moves here immediately after: capacity, once released, needs a system that keeps watching it.

  • The AI Brain™ — containing the firm's context, Markdown knowledge, skills and automations
  • MCP connections — allow the AI Brain to see and act across XPM, FYI and ATO Mate
  • People retain judgement, relationships, assurance and leadership — the Brain runs the operating system

The sequence starts with Workflow Genie™, then The Automated Firm, before moving into the rest of the model.

Recommended sequencing

True Worth and Real Freedom aren't optional afterthoughts here either — the $100k–$200k exposure and the 70-hour weeks are both real, named and current, so the full 12-month programme gives them full attention too. What that looks like is on the next page.

the automated firmFocus Accounting and Financial Group
The Rest of the Model

Six More Accelerators — Already Included

Full Coaching covers the whole model over 12 months. Once Calm Control is underway, the programme continues into two more concepts — both of which speak directly to what you told us matters.

True Worth
“I just can't seem to get ahead.” → More Wealth, Less Work
Effortless Client Growth™

Grows the firm through the right clients, stronger advocacy and higher-value relationships — not more selling pressure on Nelson.

→ Feeds financial reward
The Value Impact Method™

Introduces client-value products — planning, accountability coaching, value meetings — that move relationships beyond historical compliance.

→ Feeds financial reward
The 5Xit Model™

Designs the firm towards stronger, more transferable value — reducing dependence on labour-intensive production.

→ Feeds financial reward
Real Freedom
“I can never truly switch off.” → Fully Present, Truly Free
The All-Clear System™

Tells Nelson when the firm is on course and when it genuinely needs him — Firmwide KPI Scorecard, Management by Exception, On-Course Review.

→ Feeds life and presence
The 20-Hour Leadership Programme™

Redesigns Nelson's role around leadership rather than rescue — what belongs to him now, and what no longer does.

→ Feeds life and presence
The Life Beyond the Firm Programme™

Builds the practical and personal capability to leave, switch off and live well — including a genuine test of stepping away.

→ Feeds life and presence
the automated firmFocus Accounting and Financial Group
The Destination

The Firm That Gives Back™

A jail dressed in business attire. You entered business believing it would create opportunity, wealth and freedom. Yet an accounting firm can gradually reverse that promise — taking your time, energy, attention, financial reserves, peace of mind and presence with the people you love.

“I built this firm to create a better life, but it has taken my life from me.”

The Ache

“My firm gives me the life to give back.”

The Ahhh

This is a complete reversal of the relationship between you and your firm. Once it's running, the firm gives back:

ConceptThe painThe resultWhat it gives back
Calm Control“I need more time to get the work done and grow the business.”A Peak-Performing FirmPeace of mind
True Worth“I just can't seem to get ahead.”More Wealth, Less WorkFinancial reward
Real Freedom“I can never truly switch off and just be with my family.”Fully Present, Truly FreeLife and presence
the automated firmFocus Accounting and Financial Group
The Journey

The Proposed Pathway

Ph.StagePurposeTiming
1RevealEstablish the truth of the firm today: owner dependency, workflow, team capability, systems, margins, value and freedom.Weeks 1–2
2Regain ControlBuild workflow direction, performance clarity, reviewer capability and the AI operating foundation.Paced to real progress
3Create WorthConvert released capacity into margin, higher-value client impact, growth and transferable value.Paced to real progress
4Build FreedomInstall all-clear reporting, redesign the owner's leadership role and prove the firm can thrive through absence.Paced to real progress
5Embed the AhhhMeasure, refine and institutionalise The Firm That Gives Back™ so the change survives beyond the programme.Ongoing

Recommended sequencing

Start with Workflow Genie™ (the Effective Resourcing Programme) working directly against Nelson's real dataset, determining which clients need what and when, since this is the fastest path to the capacity visibility he's missing today. The Automated Firm follows immediately after, installing the AI Brain that sustains that visibility going forward. From there, the programme moves through Doers to Reviewers (role clarity across Myreen, James, Katie, Darwin, Morrie, Juna, Warren and Ben) and into True Worth and Real Freedom as capacity is released. Fortnightly one-hour sessions throughout.

How We Will Know It Is Working

ConceptEvidence of changeAgreed movement
Calm ControlWorkflow progress, deadline exposure, production by role, review capability, rework/write-offs, owner production hours.A pattern of practice-wide ATO lodgment extensions (not a one-off) → Zero further extensions
True WorthMargin, cash position, owner reward, higher-value revenue, ideal-client growth and indicators of transferable value.$100k–$200k estimated annual exposure (ATO penalties, interest, client attrition) → Exposure eliminated
Real FreedomOwner hours, interruptions, management-by-exception events, successful absence tests, protected family/personal time.~70 owner hours/week → A sustainable working week, set together in month 1
the automated firmFocus Accounting and Financial Group
The Investment

The Firm That Gives Back — Full Coaching Programme

$2,500per month, no GST — cross-border NZ–AU service
Initial termYour initial coaching membership includes a 60-day Love It Or Leave It period. If it's not right for you, you're free to exit at the end of those 60 days. If we're a good fit after that, we both commit to the remaining 12 months. After that, we renew month to month.
Payment structureMonthly in advance
Commencement10 August 2026
Included supportFortnightly 1-hour sessions, working directly against Nelson's real data — not generic coaching calls. Sequence: Workflow Genie™ → The Automated Firm → remainder of the model.
Third-party costsExcluded — Claude/Anthropic licensing and any other software remain the client's own to purchase, own and manage.
Proposal validity30 days — valid until 5 September 2026

The Full Coaching Programme fits because Nelson's challenge spans all three concepts, not just one. The workflow/capacity problem is the root cause, but the financial exposure and personal toll are real and current too. A narrower engagement would leave two-thirds of the actual problem unaddressed.

Commercial rationale

How we'll work together — what we owe each other and what we ask of you — is set out in full on the next page.

the automated firmFocus Accounting and Financial Group
What We Owe Each Other

The theautomatedfirm Coaching Promise

Here's what we feel we owe to each other. It's what we want our relationship to be built on. There are many things you can expect from us. And just 4 things we expect from you. If you have any concerns at all with this, we're happy to talk about what you feel would be fair.

We must …

You must …

the automated firmFocus Accounting and Financial Group

One practical thing before the decision page. Your AI Brain runs on your own Claude/Anthropic account, not ours — so it's only fair that what you build, configure or connect there is yours to own and manage too. Here's exactly where that line sits.

AI Brain implementation

Claude/Anthropic subscription — Nelson owns and manages his own Claude/Anthropic account and any associated licensing costs. This is his to purchase, own and manage, not ours.

The AI Brain — theautomatedfirm provides the templates, frameworks and hands-on guidance to help Nelson build his own AI Brain. What he builds, configures or connects using his own account — including any MCP connections or integrations — is his, not ours. Our responsibility is the templates, guidance and coaching provided, not his implementation or ongoing use of third-party software.

Indemnity — Nelson indemnifies theautomatedfirm and Tipu Prosperity Ltd against any claim, loss, cost or damage arising from his use, build, configuration or connection of the AI Brain, his Claude/Anthropic account, or any other third-party software or integration he sets up under his own account.

the automated firmFocus Accounting and Financial Group
Your Decision

Ready to Begin

This proposal is an invitation to reverse the relationship between you and your firm: from a firm that continually takes, to a firm that performs, rewards and releases you.

The destination is The Firm That Gives Back™ — a firm that gives you the life to give back. If this proposal reflects the journey you want to undertake, the next step is to confirm the agreed scope, investment, commencement date and the coaching promise set out earlier in this proposal.

Accepted for Focus Accounting and Financial Group
  1. Type your full legal name below.
  2. Draw your signature in the box using your mouse or finger.
  3. Tick the agreement box.
  4. Click "Sign & Save as PDF" — your browser's print dialog will open. Choose Save as PDF (not a physical printer).
  5. Email the saved PDF to ed@tipuprosperity.com to complete your enrolment.
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Prepared by Ed Hayes — Tipu Prosperity Ltd ed@tipuprosperity.com  |  +64 21 796 169  |  theautomatedfirm.co
Certificate of Signature

Signed Copy — Record of Acceptance

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Your Journey to The Firm That Gives Back™ — Full Coaching Programme, Focus Accounting and Financial Group
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By signing, the person named above confirms they have read and agree to this proposal in full, including the investment, the theautomatedfirm Coaching Promise, and the AI Brain implementation and indemnity terms.

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the automated firmFocus Accounting and Financial Group