Humanise The Numbers - for ambitious accountants in practice

Every time we work with a firm and every time we make a podcast, we seek to challenge the status quo.  What we mean by that is that we want to challenge your thinking, your decision making, and even the actions you take, with the aim that you achieve transformative results.  When I invited Sam Pearce, of Train of Thought, onto the podcast, I felt that challenge myself, as he coaches and mentors pe...

Can you begin to imagine what it's like to have been given a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, then to beat that diagnosis, not just once, but twice, through an awareness of the link between behaviour and health?  In our latest podcast, Elaine Godley of The DISCPlus Academy shares the insights and knowledge acquired from over 40 years of experience in professional services, including accountancy and...

It's rare to find a firm with 650 people and just two offices that is still privately owned – the sort of firm that private equity firms would give their right arm for.  It was therefore a great privilege to welcome Natasha Frangos of HaysMac onto the podcast.  Natasha shares what's behind their 65% organic growth in the last four years, their sector-specific strategies, their commitment...

In a world where technology, and AI in particular, is becoming ever more dominant, it makes sense to investigate and delve into how the interrelation between the adoption of technology and how it works for your team and for your clients is relevant to you and your firm.  In this podcast with John Toon and Amy Spillard from HLB, the global accounting network, we discussed the importance of understa...

As a leader or manager interested in achieving sustainable long-term success, you undoubtedly need to take KPI performance – Key Predictive or Key Performance Indicators – seriously, so that you can achieve what you want to achieve.  In this podcast discussion with Stacey Barr of Pump Academy, Stacey unpacks some simple – but key – practical ways of improving your ability to identify and measure t...

I suspect that every one of your business clients seeks to work with you and your firm because you bring a dose of good business sense to everything you do with them.  Yes, there's accounts. Yes, there's tax. Yes, there’s audit and other accountancy services that you provide but, ultimately, their reason for working with you is connected with more than just the services.  It's conne...

No doubt you want to feel a sense of pride about the way you and your team work – a sense of satisfaction that the work you do generates the results you want financially for the firm and for yourself, as well as delivering brilliantly for your clients.  What's clear in this podcast discussion with Georgi Rollings of Starfish Accounting is Georgi's pride in the firm she and her co-owner h...

One of the most influential and, I think, most important books I've read in recent times is The Answer is a Question , by Dominic Ashley-Timms. It’s important because it lays out a clear pathway to transforming the quality of conversations across your team. Arguably, it influences how you're going to raise the bar in terms of the conversations with your clients as well.  If you listen in...

What persuaded Martin Wardle to give up a partnership in one of the fastest growing firms in the Northeast to start his own business, not in general accountancy, but as a specialist tax boutique focusing only on tax returns.  What were the triggers for that event happening?  In the course of this podcast with Martin Wardle of TH WARD, we cover a lot of ground, including the pace of technology and...

Given the current pace of technology, how can you know how it will impact your firm? Well, you obviously can't know for sure, but isn't it good to get an insider's viewpoint on how technology will change things?  In this podcast with Derek Granger of Aris Growth, Derek talks about where he works and how he sees the changes coming through into today’s firms, changes that will have a...

When we discuss technology in relation to accounting, it seems that there has been a rapid pace of change with technology for years now, and it's only accelerating. And with the advancements in artificial intelligence, perhaps the speed of change will accelerate even more.  When I interviewed Luke Farren of The Modern Firm recently on the podcast, I felt that Luke's comments about why ac...

When someone with an engineering background moves into accountancy, what skills do they bring along with them?  What struck me in this podcast with Gareth Burton of Assure UK was Gareth's curiosity about the way that accountancy is carried out and the potential improvements to processes that can happen across virtually every part of our business. Gareth has got that down to a tee.  To listen...

How do you ensure that you are continually delivering value to clients, so that they never question the fees that you charge, especially in this volatile, uncertain world in which we're living?  In this podcast with Phil Hobden of Sage, Phil and I cover several topics that are very relevant to the profession today, including:  how do we deliver value?  Phil shares some great insights into his...

As an accountant, do you think of yourself first and foremost as a storyteller? Probably not. And I've not met many who do.  But in this podcast episode with Paul Miller of Cornish Accounting Solutions, that's exactly what I found. Paul genuinely thinks of himself first and foremost as a storyteller.  The reasons for that will become apparent during the podcast, and that's why I hig...

Occasionally, you have the privilege of having a deep conversation with someone who's well-versed in the profession, has worked in industry, has set up multiple businesses, who runs his own accountancy practice and, at the same time, is doing everything he can to influence the success of the profession.  That's the discussion that I dived into with Jonathan Gaunt from FD Works. He set up...

When adversity strikes, how do you react?  In this podcast with Donna Field of Autumn HR, we discuss how she faced adversity in the form of a business, one in which she was emotionally and financially invested, disappearing overnight. This ultimately proved the catalyst to setting up what is now a thriving business, with Donna doing work that she loves and bringing huge value to her clients.  I re...

What does leading your ambitious accounting firm with purpose actually entail? In this podcast with Steve Price of BWP Inspire, Steve shares how they arrived at their core purpose, as well as how they've rolled it out and how they lead with purpose in their firm.  He covers a number of thought-provoking subjects in the podcast, including how they totally revamped their annual accounts meeting...

Think about the traditional route most accountants follow before going into practice.  In this podcast, I explore the route taken by Caroline Carter, of Carter Clear Accounting. You'll find Caroline's route anything but traditional.  From having mental health challenges in the house, to a teenage pregnancy, to running a pub – a busy pub – at age 23, Caroline's background is rich and...

How do you get your clients to take monthly information from you, and not only to take that monthly information, but to sit down with you and go through it so that they can fully understand their numbers?  In this podcast with Noel Guilford of Guilford Accounting, Noel talks us through how his onboarding process makes sure that only potential clients who value that type of service get through the...

When you have a background in the big four accounting firms, a background in design thinking and a background with a deep desire to be curious and  ask lots of great questions...  …how does that all come together when you set up a firm later in life with your son?  In this wide-ranging conversation with Alasdair McGill, of Ashton McGill, we cover a lot of ground.  We discuss the education system a...

When your background is in the corporate world and in the world of startups, how do you harness that experience when it comes to trying to sell a product to accountants that you know that they want, while sometimes dealing with resistance from the accountants themselves?  If all of that sounds a curious mix, please join me and Miranda Kendall of Spotlight Reporting on this podcast, where you'...

How many firms do you know that have a Chief Impact Officer? Yep, me neither. So, you may want to join this podcast with myself and Graeme Tennick, of Tennick Accountants, as Graeme talks about his role and about how and why it came into being.  There are a number of standout moments in this podcast, not least when Graeme describes how to have the team really working with purpose, with real meanin...

What's it like to start an accounting firm with £200, to grow it quickly over a period of five years, and then to decide to exit? And from the start of that exit conversation to completion, for it to take only 25 days?  We'll cover all of that and a lot more in this podcast with Laura Taylor from Bright Flamingo. Laura shares how that journey affected her, and she also reveals some secre...

A pressing question that every firm, every leader, every manager, should ask themselves is:  how do you build long-standing trust with your clients and with your team?  In this podcast with Elinor Perry of Pentlands, you'll hear Elinor unpack 20 years of experience of running her firm – from when she bought in to the business to the garden party with 130 customers on a lawn wishing her every...

How must it feel to found and to grow, over a period of almost 40 years, a busy, vibrant firm, from humble beginnings to over a hundred people? In this podcast with Alan Farrelly of UHY Farrelly Dawe White, based in Ireland, you'll find out how it felt to contend with all of the advances in technology and the other changes that we've seen over the generations, to the point where Alan is...