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Welcome to The Evening Wrap-Up — a summary of the day's top news and views. Today, we’re discussing the crackdown on financial scams, how Australia fared at the Paralympics, and a change of leadership at Westpac. Plus, we look at how companies are using VR. 💡 Incoming Westpac CEO Anthony Miller says he’s excited to be taking the baton from Peter King: https://lnkd.in/dXTs64HN Weigh in on any of these top stories in the comments section below. By Capucine Yeomans #TheWrapUp #Australia #News 📰 Sources: Up to $50m fines in war on scams (The Sydney Morning Herald) https://lnkd.in/dvG_CT94 Australia finishes ninth at Paralympics (The Sydney Morning Herald) https://lnkd.in/dF87Vp6j Westpac CEO to resign, new chief appointed (The Australian Financial Review) https://lnkd.in/dM9w65Gd Employee training goes virtual (The Wall Street Journal) https://lnkd.in/d7xr_ETq

Big four accounting and consulting firm PwC has announced its UK workers will be required to be in the office or with clients a minimum of three full days a week — and will be tracked to enforce the policy, according to The Guardian. PwC will monitor the locations of 26,000 employees and share the data with them on a monthly basis. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMTZ63X4 The move comes as more firms, including Dell, EY and Amazon, crack down on "coffee badging," using data from key cards and fobs to enforce hybrid working policies. Meanwhile Australian employers including ANZ, Suncorp and Origin Energy have started making bonus payments contingent on office attendance. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gssbGvWb Should employees' office attendance be monitored? Share your thoughts in thee comments below. By Leah Carroll and Misa Han

The chartered accountant peak body is addressing workforce shortages by scrapping some higher education requirements. From February, school-leavers without a university degree will be able to earn the accreditation through on-the-job training. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand said the shake-up would hopefully stem a predicted shortage of 58,000 chartered accountants by 2033. EY Senior Associate Fiona Boyce writes on LinkedIn, "I did eight Foundation courses at $1,400 each ($11,200) so to now only having to pay $4,000 total will be a gamechanger for many." Read more: https://lnkd.in/gbtcqpHH Lemon Talent Co-Founder Paul Minton writes on LinkedIn, "Finance functions in Sydney are full of accountants that have come from overseas who plug the skill gap as businesses struggle to hire from the local market. Good to see Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand thinking outside the box as they look to draw people into the profession." Read more: https://lnkd.in/grUcm_D9 What are your thoughts on the shake-up? Let us know in the comments section below. Source: The Australian Financial Review By Cayla Dengate

More Aussies are choosing flexible work arrangements over part-time roles, according to a new study by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency and the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC).  The ninth Gender Equity Insight report found workers in full-time roles with flexible options, such as remote or hybrid work, rose 2.3% to 42.5% between 2017 and 2023, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. Women were driving the change, with their share of full-time roles rising from 40.2% to 42.5% and part-time jobs falling 3.2% to 29.7%. The report's authors called for workplaces to embrace the "evolution of part-time and flexible work" and to remove barriers such as the "promotion cliff". "By normalising flexible arrangements, organisations can work towards removing the historical 'flexibility stigma' associated with career penalties in terms of pay and progression," they said. Would you prefer part-time work or a full-time job with flexible arrangements? Share your thoughts in the comments below. By Brendan Wong

Australian startups that are developing and commercialising future technologies are attracting growing interest from international venture capital firms due to their strong university ties and efficient use of money. Australian deep tech startups often face challenges with local funding, but global investors are showing increased willingness to look beyond traditional tech hubs, writes Capital Brief. Silicon Valley's DCVC is increasingly looking for more investment opportunities in the sector, after recently backing local companies like quantum computing startup Q-CTRL, infinite recycling company Samsara Eco, and AI mining company Plotlogic. Deep tech startups carry higher risks due to their limited ability to pivot if their core technology fails. Despite this, experts remain optimistic about the sector’s potential for significant returns. DCVC partner James Hardiman told Capital Brief that Australiaʼs cultural shift towards entrepreneurship, coupled with high quality universities serving as incubators of fresh ideas and research, making it an attractive country to invest in. For example, Australia is an outlier in the development of quantum technology, with local startups securing most of the global pool of capital in that field. “Australia has got more quantum companies that are getting more of a proportion of the global share of VC funding than any other country,” Robyn Denholm, the chair of Tesla and an operating partner at Australian VC firm Blackbird. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gfW55Ddi How can Australia lead in the development of news technologies? Comment below. 🖊️ Marty McCarthy

Welcome to The Evening Wrap-Up — a summary of the day's top news and views. Today, we’re discussing why tech powerhouses are giving smart glasses another shot, Australia’s shortening snow seasons and King Island Dairy’s plan to close. Also, the post-Barbie box office is looking lacklustre. 💡 Energy Market Authority Director TOH Wee Khiang said alpine skiing may soon be a thing of the past in Australia —  https://lnkd.in/gaNEtDSb Weigh in on any of these top stories in the comments section below. By Cayla Dengate #TheWrapUp #Australia #News 📰 Sources: Samsung and Google invest in smart glasses (CNBC) https://lnkd.in/g8adP-MJ Snow season shortens (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)) https://lnkd.in/gTsbEmrA King Island Dairy to shut (The Australian) https://lnkd.in/gHRUfgwc “Barbenheimer” can’t be beat (CNBC) https://lnkd.in/guBnwsVT

Australian houses are getting bigger, gardens are getting smaller and parents are richer but also more busy. Between all these changes, demographer Bernard Salt AM suggests that something is missing. He writes on LinkedIn and in the Weekend Australian, "Partly because backyards are so small, and because there’s fewer kids in the neighbourhood, it means that home-based social activities tend to be scheduled and off-site rather than backyard focused." He says this cuts out the need to make up games, form connections with neighbours and use initiative. Do you agree? Read Salt's post and share your take in the comments below.

Just when we thought the startup ecosystem was full to the brim with buzzwords, 'founder mode' entered the chat. So what does it mean and why is it stirring up discussions? Paul Graham, co-founder of startup accelerator Y Combinator, recently released a 1,000-word essay questioning why founders are pressured to run their companies like boring corporate managers instead of doing what founders do best — founding stuff. Silicon Valley is frothing over the analysis, where Graham argues that when entrepreneurs switch to 'manager mode,' they basically hire a bunch of smooth-talking “professional fakers” who drive their companies into the ground. Examples of 'founder mode' founders include Apple's Steve Jobs, Airbnb's Brian Chesky, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and OpenAI's Sam Altman. Critics argue that 'founder mode' is simply a Silicon Valley term for 'micromanagement' and that typical founders usually end up hiring 'mananger mode' types as their second-in-charge anyway. What do you think — what 'mode' is best for a founder? 🖊️ Marty McCarthy Read Graham's full blog here: https://lnkd.in/g_sNamVF Image: Getty Images

The best managers are hard to offend, says HR coach Shelley Johnson. "When leaders are easily offended, people withhold their honest feedback. They tell you what you want to hear, not what you need to hear," she writes. Do you agree? Read Johnson's post and share your thoughts in the comment below.

Do you feel like the festive season can't come soon enough? It might be a sign that you're burnt out, says Creative Natives CEO Ryan Kelly. "Wishing away a third of the year is no way to live," he writes on LinkedIn. For those dreaming of Christmas, he suggests taking small steps like switching off notifications, building in some outside time and taking lunch breaks. Can you relate? Read Kelly's post and share your thoughts in the comments below.