Matthew Smith Reporter

Matthew Smith has been a business and financial journalist for more than a decade. He previously worked with the Financial Times Group, reporting from New York on company buyouts and refinancing in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. He started his career reporting on the funds management industry in Sydney.

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Stay tuned for reality, small business style

Published 16 October 2012 11:07, Updated 17 October 2012 05:50

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It may be the closest the accounting and financial planning profession will ever get to The Kardashians – a reality TV show that follows professionals as they develop and sell their businesses.

No More Practice, filmed at Sydney’s The Star casino, is in its fourth season which will be the first to air on Sky Business starting November 17. It features a cast of characters representing three of the four major banks, along with industry luminaries Barry Lambert, who sold his accounting cum financial planning network to CBA, and Robbie Bennetts, who was the founder of one of the industry’s few large remaining independently owned dealer groups.

The show is a cross between the popular UK series Dragons Den and The Apprentice, the chief executive and founder of Evolution Media and evoTV, Vanessa Stoykov, who is responsible for developing the series.

In this season, Sam Henderson, TV personality and co-founder of fee-only planning practice Henderson Maxwell, is trying to increase earning before interest and tax to 60 per cent; while Jim Taggert, an adviser and risk insurance specialist, has recently sold his practice and is negotiating to maximise his earn-out over the next 18 months.

Straight-talking judges give the practitioners a dose of reality, while the mentors use every ounce of their experience and charisma to whip the businesses into shape. There may not be any Kardashian-esq high heel meltdowns, although when it comes to the financial advice industry, you never know.

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