Spotlight Series: Yasemin Aygun , DFA-Tax Services Specialist, is part of a network of change agents

Yasemin Aygun, owner of Bookkeeping Bizz in North York, Ontario, offers bookkeeping, payroll, and tax and advisory services through her firm. A recent graduate of the Knowledge Bureau’s DFA-Tax Services Specialist designation, she knows how valuable professional development is in helping her differentiate her firm from other financial advisors.

“I started taking Knowledge Bureau courses back in 2009. I was in the tax department of an investment company, but I had no real knowledge about taxes. I couldn’t easily find courses to take but then I saw a Knowledge Bureau flyer and haven’t stopped with them since then.”

Yasemin has grown her business rapidly, tripling her business in just under two years, with most of her clients coming via referrals. Every new client pushes her to learn more and get ahead of the curve in order to meet their needs and answer their questions. “You need to know what your clients are looking for.”

The company Yasemin worked for paid for her to take six courses and then she went on maternity leave. She decided to open her own business after that, which she did in February 2014, taking many more courses on her own since then.

“They are really great courses. They give you enough time to complete each course and the flexibility of being able to extend the time is really important when you are a small business owner. The courses are easy to understand even though you are doing it all on your own.”

“Now that I have my designation, I have to do CE credits every year. I don’t even look anywhere else; I take something new through Knowledge Bureau every year. My next course is at the end of August, bookkeeping for multiple companies.”

She points out that “there are accountants everywhere, but not many advisors.”

Arming herself with knowledge enables her to be a sounding board to her small-business and self-employed clients, who need trusted advice on everything from allowable deductions to tax planning.

“Everytime a client comes to me, they say, ‘My accountant is a CA or a CPA and they never told me about that.’ They do what they have to do and no more.”

Taking courses, such as the one on how to do T2 returns, has not only enabled Yasemin to offer new services to her clients, but has also given her more confidence to advise her clients in many different areas.

Yasemin reads the Knowledge Bureau Report regularly to keep up with breaking financial news and the latest changes.

“I read in a book that if you read for a half-hour every day in your field, you’ll know everything about it.” And professional development is invaluable to her in her business, so Yasemin takes it one step further.

“If you want to get anywhere, you really need to keep up on technology and rules to provide good service to your clients.”