How A Successful Accountant Transformed His Financial Legacy

Al’s Journey to Becoming an Accountant 

Al was born in Spain, and his parents felt that the opportunities in the country during the 1960s were limited. They struggled to make ends meet despite his father working three jobs and his mother working one job while looking after him. 

One of his family members, who later became his uncle by marriage to one of his aunts through correspondence, moved to work in cane cutting. 

But they lost their jobs when machinery was introduced to the industry. Fortunately, they were told about a large construction site in Canberra with plenty of job opportunities.  

Al shared that his family members who had moved there wrote to his parents in Spain and told them about the great work options available there.  

After some consideration, Al’s dad went to Canberra six months before Al and his mum. 

He remembered that time as a bit traumatic, especially as a kid. He vividly recalled throwing himself onto the tarmac and trying to cling to it as they walked to the aeroplane, not wanting to leave his home in Spain. But eventually, he had to adapt to the new environment. 

Moving to a new country where he didn’t know the language and had no friends or siblings to rely on was tough.  

His parents were busy with work, leaving him feeling lonely at times. But fortunately, he learned to be self-sufficient and resilient, which have helped him throughout his life. 

He developed a mantra that helped him navigate life’s challenges: “Don’t worry about getting it right. Just make it right.” This allowed him to focus on what he could control and handle events out of his control.

What Money Truly Means to Al 

Al had a unique perspective on money; he saw it as a tool that enabled him to make choices.  

Growing up in a family that valued simplicity, Al learned to appreciate the little things in life. Though they didn’t have much, they didn’t feel like they were missing out on anything because they didn’t know any better. 

His upbringing instilled in him a sense of gratitude for whatever he had and a desire to make the most of his experiences. 

Despite not having enough money, Al never felt burdened. Instead, he embraced a positive outlook and always saw the glass as half-full.

How Al’s Money Mindset Evolve as He Became Successful 

Going back to the early days of his life, Al had a strong impression of the importance of hard work and finding opportunities, which he learned from his parents.  

Although he was more of an observer than a participant in their journey, he recognised their effort to improve their families lives. This observation instilled in him a desire to find a way to achieve better options. 

Despite coming to the country with nothing and not knowing the language, Al’s parents were able to own their own home and rental property.  

Growing up, Al didn’t have to say “no” to many things but didn’t ask for extravagant things like Porsches or Ferraris. But there was an expectation in their household that Al would go to university and succeed, which was why they came to the country.  

While Al did obtain his degree and become successful, he felt a burden of responsibility for his parents’ sacrifices. 

His commitment to his education was not just for his own success but to honour his parents’ courageous decision to move to a new country and give their children a better life.  

He had no idea what he wanted to do, but his vision was to get to university. So, when he got to registration, he thought of the subjects he did well in high school and decided to go to the economics faculty.  

They told him he needed to double major for the economics degree there, so he asked what was available. They gave him a list of majors, and he saw that accounting was pretty popular, so he signed up for that. 

As he progressed through the degree, he found economics too waffly, with too many suppositions and assumptions.  

On the other hand, accounting was precise, and there was a sense of control and order. So he completed his economics and accounting degrees and decided to look for a job in accounting. 

Al started his career with a local accounting firm that later rebranded as Deloitte Haskins & Sells, which was quite ironic as he ended his career with the same company, now known as Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.  

As he started earning money, he began to think about possibilities, and studying accounting gave him a better insight into how the world works, complemented by his background in economics.  

He saw the opportunity to do something more than just work for money. 

During those days, the CIA qualification was equivalent to the professional year of studying, which now is the CIA program.  

It was a one-year intensive program where you either passed or failed; if you failed, you had to redo the whole year.  

The stress was high, but fortunately, Al found another like-minded colleague, and they bought their first rental property together in his second year of work.  

They moved both of their girlfriends in to ensure they were earning decent rent, and Sue, Al’s girlfriend, became his first-ever tenant.  

It was just the beginning of Al’s journey towards gaining an evolutionary perspective into the need for managing earnings more effectively.  

He embraced debt and found that it was his best-saving weapon.  

He struggled to save money without one, but if he had a mortgage or personal loan, he would focus on smashing it and paying it off quickly. It forced him to manage his earnings more effectively and helped him build some equity over time. 

Al did his accreditation with Deloitte, as many people do with big firms, staying for two to four years before taking their credentials to another firm.  

He then joined a local firm that focused on helping entrepreneurs improve and grow their businesses. It was a transformative experience for him as he discovered his true passion.  

During that period, he developed his capabilities and skill sets in an advisory role, helping people with their business strategy and performance improvement.

The Moment Al Considered Himself An Investor 

Al had worked at a firm known for being entrepreneurial and was listed as one of the first accounting firms on the main board. The firm owned a mail order company, a printing company, and around seven property trusts of varying sizes.  

As an accountant within the firm, Al and his colleagues acted as virtual CFOs for these different businesses, giving them great exposure to the concepts of leverage, value, and what makes a good business. 

Their work encouraged them to participate in the property trust, which started with small private deals for clients. The experience gave him a lot of exposure to the investment scenario and different investment options.  

Thanks to this exposure, Al gained confidence in the due diligence processes and learned to make better decisions when pursuing these investment options.  

His colleagues doing compliance work were often mortified and horrified at his risk-taking, but Al’s experience and knowledge gave him the confidence to pursue these opportunities. 

From Al’s experience, he believed in the importance of educating yourself, growing your capability, building your confidence, testing your strategy, and refining it before investing. 

Al’s Shifting Investment Objectives Over Time 

Al shared that the early years of his life shaped how he thought about wealth development and what it meant to be a good provider.  

His dad instilled in him that doing well wasn’t just about having flashy things but also about having some substance and security.  

Being a good provider meant having wealth that would support Al and his family and create opportunities for them. 

For him, it wasn’t about showing off or seeking kudos. It was about having a longer-term perspective and building a foundation for his future. 

How a Traumatic Event Changed Al’s Views on Money and Urgency 

Al had been living a good life with the usual ebbs and flows. He felt fortunate to have set up his own business just before he and Sue married and had three kids.  

He could have stayed in his cushy corporate job, but he wanted more control over his life, so he became his own boss. 

When Deloitte came knocking, Al saw it as a great opportunity and sold his business to them.  

He worked with them for a while before moving on to something new, and during this time, Al’s passion for fitness and athleticism led him to CrossFit, a rehab exercise program. 

But since Al was also experiencing a lot of stress from work, he started going to CrossFit more times a week than he had to.  

Unfortunately, he didn’t realise that over-exercising can be just as harmful as under-exercising, so it created a lot of negativity in his body, adding to his stress. 

All this stress took a toll on Al’s body, and he was diagnosed with neck and throat cancer in August 2019. This shocked him, as he had never smoked and didn’t drink heavily.  

But instead of getting stuck on the “why,” Al focused on finding a solution and getting better. 

Looking back, he realised that some things in his life might have contributed to his illness.  

He learned from this experience and changed his life to help reduce stress and take better care of himself. 

When Al reflected on his cancer journey, he realised that, at first, he was solely focused on getting through it and fixing the problem.  

But after celebrating his third anniversary in remission a couple of months ago, he understood that unexpected things could happen.  

He believed that it’s better to be prepared for anything rather than try to predict what will happen. 

All these years, Al has learned that living in the present moment is super important.  

For him, reflecting on the past or worrying about the future can waste our precious time, so we must focus on the present moment and make the most of it. 

During his journey, Al also discovered the importance of managing one’s wealth base and financial vulnerability.  

He and his wife had their respective roles in their family, which made them rethink their approach to managing their finances.  

Al was an expert in financial management, and his wife focused on managing their household and supporting their children.  

But his illness made them realise the need to be more prepared and better understand money management together. 

After completing his radiation and chemo treatments and receiving the news that his scans looked good, Al knew he needed to prioritise planning for his family’s financial future in case anything happened to him. 

He remembered crossing paths with me years ago through our mutual friend Mick and decided to reach out and see what resources I could offer.  

The following conversations made Al realise that their current investments were not earning enough to support their desired lifestyle choices. 

Al figured out that they had three options: compromise their lifestyle, deplete their assets over time, or find a way to increase their returns.  

He calculated that if they could achieve an 8–10% return, they could set aside a portion of their portfolio as a family asset, creating a legacy for their children. 

As he explored options for building their family asset, he came across the idea of a family bank, which could provide resources for their children to achieve key life goals, such as owning their own home, pursuing education, or dealing with a crisis.  

The idea energised him and gave him a clear vision of how he could leave a lasting impact on his family’s future. 

When Al considered joining my program, he had two perspectives in mind. 

First, he wanted to gain more control and resources to achieve better performance and build a legacy for his children while he was still around to enjoy it.  

Second, he wanted to teach his children how to manage their portfolios so they would have the confidence and capability to continue building the family asset pool for generations. 

Al’s Insight on Alternative Investments as a Crucial Asset Class 

Al always knew that there were networks in Australia with access to great investment deals, but they were often inaccessible to the general public.  

He considered them little clubs that only a few privileged people knew about.  

When he heard about my program that provided knowledge, know-how, and access to those deals, he saw it as an opportunity to finally break through those doors and discover what was behind them. 

He realised that the fundamentals are the same, whether it’s alternative or traditional investments. 

You need to know your objectives and whether the investment makes sense. You must ask questions, conduct due diligence, and analyse the risks involved. 

The program provided him with the education and knowledge to do this, so he could approach these deals confidently and make informed decisions. It also helped him understand the differences between different types of investments and gave him the tools to ask the right questions and evaluate the deals properly. 

Al spoke about his approach to investing and how he’s always been open to different investment vehicles. He emphasised the importance of having certain parameters to guide decision-making and that having a clear understanding of your objectives is critical to staying grounded.  

He advised against looking for one-hit wonders and instead recommended focusing on nice, steady returns. 

Alternative investments made sense to him because of his finance, economics, and accounting backgrounds. 

He shared his experience with a property trust and how investing in the alternative investment field was a no-brainer.  

Al suggested that those interested in investing should do research and learn from others who have done it before. He stressed the significance of learning and testing strategies to see what works and what doesn’t.  

He also suggested starting with what you can afford and analysing the results to refine and innovate your approach.  

For Al, having a community with different experiences and exposures can help you achieve your financial goals, so you should highly consider it in your wealth-building journey.