Business Without BS

#CarrieJames #Insolvency #HMRC #BusinessWithoutBS #SmallBusiness What actually happens when a business goes bust? And what should you do before it gets that far? It's Halloween on Business Without BS, so we're tackling the thing every business owner is frightened of and almost nobody understands: insolvency. Carrie James is an insolvency partner at Oury Clark. She spends her working life with dire...

Is AI about to replace accountants, or are we overlooking what makes human expertise so valuable? This week on Business Without BS, Andy Oury and Jemma Hotta are joined by Lucy Cohen, co-founder of Mazuma, the youngest-ever President of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), and a doctoral researcher investigating artificial intelligence in accounting and finance. Lucy started Mazuma at...

#UKBudget #BudgetPredictions #Tax #BusinessWithoutBS #TheRebelAccountant What’s actually going to happen in the next Budget, and what’s just noise? In this special episode of Business Without BS, Andy Oury and Jemma Hotta put the rumours, headlines and tax speculation under the microscope and make their predictions for the upcoming Budget. From pensions and capital gains tax to wealth taxes, prope...

The UK Budget is coming — but what’s actually likely to change, and what’s just speculation? In this special episode of Business Without BS , Andy Oury and Jemma Hossa break down their predictions for the upcoming UK Budget, looking beyond the headlines at the tax changes that could affect individuals, entrepreneurs and business owners. From pensions and Capital Gains Tax to wealth taxes, property...

What does it really take to turn an idea into a consumer brand, and convince investors to back you before you've even finished the product? Maya Bedeau is the founder of 'Onest Energy , a natural energy drink created to bring more transparency to a crowded category. Just eight months after launching, 'Onest won Best Sports & Energy Drink at the UK Soft Drinks Awards , competing against establi...

What does it really mean to work for yourself? There are around four million sole traders in the UK, yet they rarely get the same attention as employees, startups or big businesses. No paid holiday. No guaranteed salary. No corporate safety net. You find the work, do the work, chase the invoice — and then do it all again. That's exactly the world this episode explores. This week, Andy Oury and Jem...

Everybody has an opinion on tax havens. But how many people actually understand what they do? This week on Business Without Bullshit, Andy and Gemma are joined by Tom Dugdale, a lawyer who has led Harneys’ Offshore Funds team in the UK for the last eight years, working across jurisdictions including the BVI, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Jersey and beyond. Together, they get beyond the headlines and as...

The UK has a new Prime Minister. Now come the big questions. In this special episode of Business Without BS , Chartered Tax Adviser Andy Oury and commercial lawyer Jemma Hotta discuss the policies they hope Andy Burnham will prioritise to help Britain become a stronger place to build businesses, attract investment and drive long-term economic growth. Think of this as a conversation with your lawye...

The focal premise of this podcast episode centers on the pervasive misconceptions surrounding tax havens and their perceived utility for affluent individuals. I elucidate that the notion that wealthy citizens are evading taxes through offshore accounts lacks substantive foundation, as contemporary regulations have significantly curtailed such practices. We explore the historical context of tax hav...

EP 430 — Investors are betting AI-native businesses will outrun traditional operators by stripping out human overhead. Ben Thompson argues that the real divide in business is now AI-native versus everyone else. Legacy companies are still structured with humans at the centre, while fast moving AI-native firms start with agents and add people only where judgement is required. This episode breaks dow...

<p>EP 428 — Simon Leadbetter argues that most UK businesses are running on guesswork instead of evidence.</p> <p>Marketing, he says, only works when you start by admitting the customer doesn’t care about you. In this fast, sharp conversation, Simon breaks down why instinct-led decisions misfire and why most firms operate without even basic knowledge of their audience.</p> &...

EP 429 — Two brothers turn British honey into a fast‑growing drinks brand while fighting cheap imports and scaling on a shoestring. Hive Mind Mead Co went from brewing in a garage to landing listings with Selfridges, Co‑op and top restaurants — all while protecting UK beekeeping and battling a drinks industry full of shortcuts. Kit explains the real cost pressures, the rebrand fight, and the const...

EP 427 — Preparing UK founders for the shock of needing US GAAP fast when American investors arrive. Most founders only discover the real cost of US GAAP when an investor demands it. Katrina Nacci explains why the pain isn’t the accounting rules, but the sudden need for better systems, documentation and proper consolidation. This episode breaks down the operational gaps that derail UK and European...

EP [number] — Kevin Gaskell argues that clarity, accountability and attitude drive real organisational performance — not slogans or bureaucracy. Kevin Gaskell explains why most struggling companies aren’t failing on product or market, but on leadership clarity. He argues that teams follow certainty, not noise — and that avoiding the ‘difficult bits’ is what actually sinks performance. He breaks do...

EP 427 — Richard Francis argues that accountants who embrace advisory and human connection will outlast any AI wave. Richard Francis lays out why advisory-led accounting beats compliance-heavy firms and why AI won't replace human judgement. He explains how accountants can create more value by asking better questions, choosing the right clients, and focusing on the future rather than the past. He b...

EP — Daniel shows how to turn networking from a chore into a strategic advantage. Daniel Levan-Harris argues that most UK founders fail at networking because they treat people as targets not humans. His approach is simpler: genuine curiosity, zero selling, and building relationships that compound for decades. This episode covers practical ways to navigate a room, how to follow up properly, why CEO...

EP [number] — Expanding to the US without tripping state taxes or visa traps. US expansion sounds exciting until you realise how easily it can go wrong. Sonia Kanjee breaks down why most founders misjudge when they're actually ready for America and how small missteps around people, sales tax and structure can snowball fast. She walks through the three tiers of US entry, how state rules really work...

EP - William Humphreys, partner at Oury Clark Chartered Accountants, explores and explains financial reporting, giving a clear picture of what company accounts are, and why understanding them is a foundational skill for entrepreneurs. Andy and William run through the various components of statutory accounts, including the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement. Using a c...

EP [number] — Grimsey argues that corporate strategy starts with fixing leadership, not spreadsheets. Bill Grimsey unpacks why UK high streets keep failing and why most boardrooms still dodge the real work: leadership, confidence and clarity. Starting with Hong Kong turnarounds and ending with British town centres, he explains why strategy dies when leaders avoid the truth. The conversation covers...

EP — Adam Pope on why Manchester outperforms cities twice its size. Manchester’s business culture is built on graft, confidence and doing things without waiting for permission. Adam Pope explains why the city’s attitude consistently turns small firms into serious operators and why founders underestimate the Northern Powerhouse region at their cost. The conversation covers how Greater Manchester’s...

EP — Lucy Parker explains why sustainability only works when leaders stop hiding in the castle and start engaging with the real world. Lucy Parker argues that the real challenge in sustainability is leadership behaviour: large companies still operate as if they can stay behind the walls, even though stakeholders now expect open engagement and socially relevant decisions. The conversation covers ES...

Mark argues most SMEs fail at marketing because they misunderstand the customer, the market and the value they actually provide. About this episode Mark Palmer dismantles the modern marketing fog: founders often make stronger marketers than the marketers they hire, most values pages are fiction, and copying competitors is a reliable way to shrink margins. He argues marketing’s core job has not cha...

Oury Clark partners lay out how new UK property rules reshape renting, leaseholds and development in 2026 and beyond. ### About this episode Three major UK property reforms land at once — renters’ rights, leasehold reform and commonhold — and Jemma and Michael from Oury Clark explain why these shifts change timelines, cashflow and asset planning for founders far more than headlines suggest. The te...

Dave Birss says you won't be replaced by AI - you'll be replaced by a leader who's been told the wrong story about it. About this episode Dave Birss is back on Business Without BS - author of the Sensible AI Manifesto, co-founder of the Gen AI Academy, and a man who's taught a million-and-a-half people how to use AI without setting their business on fire. He walks Andy and Andrew through what he c...

Matt Hunt built a 300-million-ball business without a co-packer and without betting on supermarket shelves to do the work for him. About this episode Matt Hunt is 11 years into building The Protein Ball Company — 300 million balls sold, 14 export markets, 60,000 bags leaving Worthing every day. He's done it by manufacturing himself, hedging with private label and export, and — after Covid wiped ou...