Special guest Grace Hardy, founder of Hardy Accounting and upcoming speaker of the Festival of Accounting & Bookkeeping (FAB) joins the podcast to share her journey in starting and scaling her business. She speaks about finding her voice, overcoming challenges and using social media to grow her brand.

As part of the next generation of accountants, Hardy offers perspective on whether the profession meets young people’s needs, what firms need to do differently and how apprenticeships shaped her career.

Richard Hattersley continues on the topic of apprenticeships amid National Apprenticeship Week and concerns over Level 7 funding. He discusses the benefits, the impact of potential funding cuts and what firms should do to prepare.

Matthew Ord closes the podcast with some recent M&A activity with Blick Rothenberg having recently agreed to buy Greenback Alan. He explores the deal, why the firm is looking to expand and how to make sure that everyone in the business feels at ease.

The beginning of February marks the end of the self assessment season so Richard Hattersley starts the podcast sharing how accountants on AccountingWEB coped on deadline day. The team speaks about the 1.1m who missed the deadline and what’s next for accountants now that another self assessment is over.

Tom Herbert details the Companies House agent filing system, requiring firms filing for clients to register on a new system. He looks at the rollout timeline, its impact on accountants and whether it will have the desired effect.

To wrap up the podcast, Matthew Ord explores the journey to the boardroom and how CFOs rise through the ranks. The team discusses the evolving role of CFOs, who now have to oversee all aspects of operation

With the self assessment deadline next week, the worst has happened for some tax agents who have been locked out of their agent accounts. Tom Herbert examines the timing, the impact on practitioners’ livelihoods, and HMRC’s poor communication around the issue.

Continuing on with HMRC, Richard Hattersley reviews the criticism HMRC has come under, from exchequer secretary James Murray being grilled on customer service to a scathing public accounts committee report on poor service levels. The team considers what it will take for HMRC to change.

Matthew Ord shares insight from his conversation with Pete Fendall, one of the youngest CFOs in the alternative investment market, who reveals how he proved himself at such a young age.

Lastly, Herbert discusses the software market for large firms. He spoke with John Toon, tech strategy lead at Beever and Struthers about how 2025 might bring an increase in spending.

Our tech editor, Tom Herbert kicks off the podcast with the shutdown and acquisition of online bookkeeping giant Bench. He details who Bench are, what happened when the company ceased operations, why we should care and the dangers of using technology without proper oversight.

With January being a busy month for accountants and the 31 January self assessment deadline looming, Richard Hattersley talks about HMRC’s statistics that 5.4m taxpayers are still left to file their return. The team questions whether it is just human nature that a deadline is a deadline for a reason and they see how accountants are coping.

Finally, Matthew Ord reports on the calls for change in audit. He looks at whether any progress has been made so far and the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) desire for audit to be more effective.

With Christmas and New Year fast approaching, the AccountingWEB team reunites for their final podcast of 2024, reflecting on the year’s biggest stories.

They kick off with the 20-year Post Office scandal, which gained renewed attention in 2024 after the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office. The team discusses ongoing lessons and why it’s important to keep this issue in focus.

Next, they tackle HMRC’s pattern of U-turns, including this year’s reversals on double cab pickups and helpline cuts, sharing what these shifts reveal about HMRC’s direction.

The conversation turns to major anti-money laundering (AML) failures, such as Metro Bank’s £16.7m fine and the accountant who faked being an auditor for 34 years. The team questions why AML continues to be an issue and whether things will change.

General election highlights and two budgets – Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget and Rachel Reeves’s inaugural Autumn Budget – also feature, with their impact being examined.

Finally, Richard Hattersley and Tom Herbert share bold predictions for 2025, exploring where the accounting profession might head in the coming year.

In a podcast rounding up 2024 in accounting tech, Tom Herbert, Billie Mcloughlin and Ryan Pearcy discuss the emergence of AI assistants in accounting tech, what the latest round of software consolidation means for accountants, and whether switching bonuses are potentially misaligned with the profession’s ethical standards. For links to all stories featured in the pod, visit https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/tech-pulse/ai-assistants-acquisitions-and-switching-bonuses-2024-in-accounting-tech

Special guest Thomas Adcock, a tax partner at Gravita joins this week's podcast to shed light on the recent protests from farmers. Last week, tractors drove through Westminster to protest the changes announced in the Budget. Adcock discusses the changes that have impacted the farming sector, what farmers can do and whether there is a better route for them.

With the government deciding to create an AI-powered chatbot, Tom Herbert fills us in on the details, where it can be found, what it does and his general thoughts after trying it out.

Finally, Richard Hattersley speaks about his chat with Alastair Barlow and Paul Layte, founders of flinder and Next Level Business. They have announced plans to merge and target the outsourced finance director sector. The team questions how firms have embraced virtual finance services, how technology will play an important role and where this craze will go.

Kicking off the podcast is news that TaxCalc has landed a major investment from private equity firm Symphony Technology Group (STG). Tom Herbert discusses TaxCalc’s history, what we know about STG, what’s next for TaxCalc and the state of the accounting software market.

Richard Hattersley shares tales from his time at the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) Summit. He tells all about how the event was, some of the big headlines like MTD, its focus on the future and what this means for bookkeeping.

Lastly, Matthew Ord reveals some anti-money laundering (AML) woes, specifically Metro Bank which has been hit with a £16.7m fine for failing to monitor potential AML activities. The team questions why companies are still not using the right processes and procedures.

On this week’s No Accounting for Taste, it’s all things Budget. We are joined by Sophie Hossack, head of partnerships at Allica Bank and Dan Heelan, director of Heelan Associates to break down and digest Rachel Reeves’s first Budget.

The panel shares their general thoughts on the Budget, the main tax changes, measures hidden within the Red Book and what impact these will have.

The trio start by looking back at the Accounting Excellence Awards 2024 after a successful night at the Roundhouse in London, where the most ambitious firms and individuals in the profession were celebrated.

With the Budget less than two weeks away, Richard Hattersley examines the rumours and speculation surrounding what Rachel Reeves may announce on the big day. Will we get an increase in employers’ national insurance? And if we did, might that break Labour’s manifesto pledge?

Tom Herbert pulls back the curtain on The Payroll Site announcing its plans to close in 2025. An influx of legislation has made the payroll software market increasingly complex and demanding, while a whole host of competitors have also moved into the cloud payroll space in the intervening years.

Is the role of the CFO evolving? Matthew Ord does a deepdive into what the position may look like in the months ahead, why that shift is well underway and what the challenges could be.