Articles by: Stephen Burns
Stephen Burns is a seasoned entrepreneur and company director with over 20 years of experience helping businesses grow, scale, and navigate complex financial and operational challenges across Australia, the US, and Asia. Today, he leads organisations that support thousands of clients while operating in highly regulated, fast-moving environments, including ASX- and NASDAQ-listed markets, with a professional background that spans executive leadership, company directorships, and global operations.
He is the Founder and Managing Director of Accountants Direct, a public accounting firm serving more than 8,000 clients worldwide, supporting business owners with practical, scalable accounting and advisory solutions. Stephen is also a Co-Founder and Non-Executive Director of Payou, a payments technology business built on Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP), as well as a Co-Founder of Cyclion Energy, a cleantech venture focused on converting plastic and organic waste into fuel or electricity. His leadership and business involvement are also recognised across global founder and startup ecosystems, including F6S, and through industry collaborations such as Accountants Direct’s partnership with Annature to streamline e-signing for corporate and personal tax returns.
Earlier in his career, Stephen was Chief Operating Officer of OzEmail Ltd, where he led a team of over 200 staff across Australia and worked closely with its parent company, MCI WorldCom, across the US and Asia. He also served as a Founding Director of the Gold Coast Titans NRL bid team, playing a key role in securing the club’s National Rugby League licence.
Stephen is an active angel investor and advisor with a particular interest in cleantech and fintech. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Griffith University, an MBA from the University of Technology Sydney, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also a member of the Institute of Public Accountants, with his professional footprint additionally reflected across recognised business intelligence and directory platforms.
Tax Deductions for Professional Gamblers in Australia
Professional Gambler Tax Deductions Explained Professional gamblers engage in systematic wagering activities with a structured, profit-driven approach. Duties may include analysing odds, modelling outcomes, testing statistical strategies, maintaining betting records, reviewing historical performance, researching sports/horse racing data, managing bankrolls, and operating through formalised systems or syndicates. Important: The ATO rarely accepts gambling as a “business.”…
Australian Tax Guide for Professional Racing Drivers
Claiming Travel, Equipment & Training Costs as a Race Car Driver Professional Race Car Drivers compete in motorsport events, participate in team training, undertake vehicle testing, represent sponsors, and maintain peak physical and technical performance. Duties include race preparation, track testing, simulator work, analysing telemetry data, attending team briefings, participating in promotional events, maintaining fitness…
Tax Deductions for Bomb Disposal Technicians in Australia
Explosive Device Disposal Technician – Tax Deduction Guide Bomb Disposal Technicians identify, assess, render safe and dispose of explosive devices, hazardous materials, and improvised explosive threats. Duties include attending incident scenes, operating specialised robotic and protective equipment, conducting controlled detonations, performing risk assessments, maintaining technical readiness, completing detailed documentation, undertaking regular training and simulation exercises,…
Tax Deductions for Celebrity Stylists in Australia
What Celebrity Stylists Can Claim on Tax in Australia Celebrity Stylists design, source, and coordinate clothing, accessories and overall looks for high-profile clients across film, TV, red carpet events, advertising, media appearances and editorial shoots. Duties include trend research, wardrobe planning, sourcing garments, liaising with designers and PR agencies, managing fittings, creating lookbooks, altering or…
Australian Tax Guide for Commercial Balloon Pilots
What Hot Air Balloon Pilots Can Claim on Tax Hot Air Balloon Pilots operate commercial balloon flights for tourism, charter services, events and aerial experiences. Duties include pre-flight safety checks, weather assessment, route planning, passenger briefings, flight operations, landing management, coordinating ground crews, maintaining logbooks, undertaking training, performing equipment inspections, liaising with aviation authorities, and…
Tax Deductions for Emotion Analytics Scientists in Australia
What Emotion Analytics Scientists Can Claim at Tax Time Emotion Analytics Scientists analyse human emotional signals using AI, biometrics, behavioural data, voice patterns, facial expression models and sentiment analysis tools. Duties include building emotional datasets, training machine-learning models, interpreting multimodal signals, developing measurement frameworks, collaborating with UX, marketing, or clinical teams, preparing analytical reports, running…