In today’s fast-paced business environment, data is everywhere – but turning that data into actionable insights is where the real value lies. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), being able to see their business clearly through well-designed visualizations and reports isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a powerful driver of growth. It’s not about pretty charts; it’s about making smarter, faster decisions that lead to long-term success.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur trying to understand your cash flow at a glance, or an accountant helping clients move beyond static spreadsheets, visual reporting helps bridge the gap between raw data and real strategy.

To unpack how SMEs – and the advisors who support them – can harness the power of visual tools to unlock opportunities and enhance performance, we’re joined by Keith Barrett, an accounting and technology specialist with over 25 years of experience in financial management and software support.

Rapid-fire recommendations:

• Best book: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

• The most valuable lesson learned about starting a business: Don't give up. Tenacity is key. Grit and perseverance will get you where you need to go.

In this episode, we discuss the importance of analyzing KPIs for your business. KPIs are Key Performance Indicators - quantifiable measures of performance over time for a specific objective. They help provide targets for teams to aim for, milestones to measure progress, and insights to assist members of the organization in making better decisions. So, what KPIs should you be considering for your business and why?

To assist us in considering this topic, we are speaking with Laurika Steenekamp, a CA(SA) and our Head of Customer Experience at Syft. Laurika is our resident expert on creating KPI Scorecards on Syft, tools that help you to analyse and interpret your KPIs, and she’s helped many Syft users with this process.

What's the deal with cloud technology? How does it actually work, what do people get wrong about cloud strategy and optimization, and why should we be treating cloud as a business model, rather than a technology project?

In this episode, we break down the costs, consider optimization in practice, chat about the role of culture and accountability, and look towards the future.

We are joined by Karind Ori, a tech entrepreneur and cloud strategist who believes cloud isn’t just tech – it’s a business model.

Rapid-fire questions

What really drives revenue? How can you improve your sales, no matter what industry you're in? That's what we cover in this episode with our guest, Doug C. Brown, the CEO of CEO Sales Strategies.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The common sales problem that most companies experience - unpredictable revenue - and how to solve this.

• How to overcome the idea of sales as an undesirable profession and why we should change our perspective.

• The importance of understanding the business of client acquisition, rather than simply considering your product or service deliverables.

• The key ingredients for creating a predictable and scalable sales system.

• What top performers do differently from the rest of us.

• When to put together a sales team for your organization.

• The importance of measuring the metrics.

• The importance of perspective in sales - looking from the outside in vs. inside out.

  
  

Rapid-fire recommendations

• Book: The Laws of Success by Napoleon Hill

• Piece of advice: When you improve yourself, you improve your business.

• Key takeaways: 

• 1. No matter where you are, start today, take a little step forward, and keep stepping forward. It will likely take you 3 times longer and cost you 3 times more than you expect. Just keeping going!
  2. Ask yourself what is within your control and take action on that today.
  3. All the failures you’ve experienced are building blocks for the rest of the way.
  4. Don’t let anybody talk you out of what you really want to do.
     

In this episode, we discuss a topic that's on every business leader's mind: creating high-performing revenue teams. We don't just talking about hitting targets, but about building sustainable, thriving teams that deliver consistent results without burning out. Some of the topics we cover include:Building a successful teamTreating your revenue team like a sports teamThe importance of attitudeAnd to help us in this discussion, we have Matt Lowry, the Chief Revenue Officer at ApprovalMax.

Rapid-fire recommendations

• Software: Spotify
• Book: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
• Podcast: The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
• Piece of advice: Treat your revenue team/s like a sports team
• Key takeaway: It's all about customer centricity. Review your CI calls and review your processes, asking yourself if they are truly customer-centric.

We've all felt the pervasive hype around AI. Now that the initial excitement has settled, it's time to tackle more critical questions, such as AI's exponential growth means for us as individuals, communities, and society? In this episode, we’ll investigate some of these questions alongside an expert in AI and machine learning - Prof. Benjamin Rosman from the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand.

In this episode we consider the following topics:

Rapid-fire recommendations

In this episode, we explore a critical shift in the business world. While data is abundant, the real power lies in transforming raw numbers into compelling narratives and clear strategic direction. We're witnessing the rise of a new kind of leader: the 'Data Whisperer.' These are the individuals who can take complex financial figures and make them speak, guiding businesses toward smarter decisions and sustained growth.

Join us as we chat with Gavin Simpson, CEO and Founder of Cloud Finance & Accounting in Edinburgh, UK. We'll delve into how forward-thinking finance leaders are becoming "data whisperers," equipped with the tools and mindset to understand complex financial information and communicate its story clearly across the organization. 

Rapid-fire recommendations

• Software: Fireflies Notetaker

• Book: The Almanac of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness 

• Podcast: The Tim Ferriss Show

• Key takeaway: How can I get the numbers of my business to tell me a story of the past, but, more importantly, of the future?

Today we are joined by Michele Hili, the Finance Solutions Team Lead at Scope Solutions, to discuss how accountants and business owners can find powerful technological solutions to their business challenges.

We consider the role of app stacks and how apps work together, the potential of AI and how it's changing the space, and why it's important to remain open to change and innovation as an accountant or business leader.

Rapid-fire recommendations

• Book: Ikigai by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia

• Key takeaway: Watch Light & Magic on Disney+ to learn about implementing technological innovations.
  

Our guest today is Mkuzo Kuwani, the co-founder of ComGrow, a Zambian fintech startup that’s digitizing Africa’s most trusted community finance systems, namely savings groups, village banks, tontines, and chamas. ComGrow’s argument is that these groups have always worked; they’re just making them better. 

We discuss:

• What community finance is all about
• How community finance could be digitized and why this has great potential
• Enhancement vs. reinvention in tech

Jo Wood and Zoe Whitman are the powerhouse duo behind The 6 Figure Bookkeeper. As international speakers, best-selling authors, and hosts of an industry-leading podcast, they’re on a mission to transform the way bookkeepers grow their businesses.

They also co-founded Hey Monika, an AI-powered software that gives aspiring bookkeepers practical, confidence-boosting experience with real tools and real-world tasks - bridging the gap between training and doing.

In this episode, we discuss some of the ways in which bookkeepers can grow their practices by offering value-added services, aided by the right tech.

Rapid-Fire Recommendations:

• Software: Zapier & Xero
• Book: Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins & Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
• Most valuable lesson they've learned about building a business: Know when your energy is high and plan your business around this and around what you value in your life.
• Key takeaways: Build the business that you want. Keep the focus on why you’re doing it and what you want it to do for you. And know that you’re valuable.