Welcome back to Counting On Success and the final episode of our first series. Thanks for tuning in these last couple of months. It’s been our pleasure to present this first series to you. 

We’re finishing the series with author, business coach and The Accountants Recruiter co-founder, Heather Townsend! 

In this episode, Heather does some stereotype myth busting and gets real about:

*The right (but often difficult to accept) hiring strategy for small businesses and accountancy practice owners
*Smart career progression strategies for rising the ranks in a firm of any size 
*Working in harmony across generations
*Expert tips for navigating the sometimes dreaded activity of networking with absolute ease

Grab a pen or open your notes app, this episode is full of nuggets! Thanks for listening and we will see you in 2024!

Heather Townsend is the author of several books including How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life, Poised for Partnership, The Financial Times Guide to Business Networking, The Go-To Expert, The Accountants Millionaires’ Club and Profitable Pricing for Accountants. Her books have sold over 20,000 copies globally, have been translated into several languages and attracted over 200 five-star reviews on Amazon. As owner of the coaching platforms The Accountants’ Growth Club and Progress to Partner, she champions accountancy small business owners, and talented accountants and lawyers in their professional and personal growth.


You can connect with Heather on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathertownsend/).

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, share with a friend and leave us a 5-star review!

The Accountants' Recruiter is an award-winning boutique accounting and finance recruitment agency in Great Britain. Donna Barnes is the co-founder and owner, and Yasmine Hardcastle is the Marketing Manager. They look forward to sharing key insights, stories and experiences with you.

Listen to other episodes of Counting On Success here

*Follow us on LinkedIn

*Connect with Donna on LinkedIn

*Connect with Yasmine on LinkedIn

*Visit our website: https://theaccountantsrecruiter.co.uk

Job Hunting?** Visit our Jobs page for accounting and finance roles with top accountancy practices and in industry.

Hiring? Pop us a note on [email protected] to let us know how we can help.

**Please note that we are not able to work with candidates who require visa sponsorship. Candidates must be located in (and have the right to work in) the United Kingdom....

Have you ever wondered why some hires work out and why others don't? It all comes down to fit, but not just of skills and experience — behaviours and preferences also matter when getting the right person in the right seat. In the fifth episode of our series, Donna and Yasmine dive into behavioural profiling — a topic they share a fascination and passion for.

Discussed in this episode:

• What IS behaviour profiling?
• Taking the impulse ad risk out of hiring
• The key benefits of behavioural profiling and how it contributes to a higher recruitment success rate
• Behaviours that can be coached and the ones that are ingrained 
• Case studies where behavioural profiling aided with new hires and identifying the leaders of tomorrow

If you're curious about about behavioural profiling for candidates or your current team and want to learn more, reach out to Donna on email at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, share with a friend and leave us a 5-star review!

The Accountants' Recruiter is an award-winning boutique accounting and finance recruitment agency in Great Britain. Donna Barnes is the co-founder and owner, and Yasmine Hardcastle is the Marketing Manager. They look forward to sharing key insights, stories and experiences with you.

Listen to other episodes of Counting On Success here

*Follow us on LinkedIn

*Connect with Donna on LinkedIn

*Connect with Yasmine on LinkedIn

*Visit our website: https://theaccountantsrecruiter.co.uk

Job Hunting?** Visit our Jobs page for accounting and finance roles with top accountancy practices and in industry.

Hiring? Pop us a note on [email protected] to let us know how we can help.

**Please note that we are not able to work with candidates who require visa sponsorship. Candidates must be located in (and have the right to work in) the United Kingdom....

Food for thought: Busy season has begun in the UK accountancy world, but believe it or not, now is the time to get your hiring strategy in place. In this episode, we delve into recruitment trends and what to consider as you hire, not just in 2024, but beyond. 

In this episode, Donna and Yasmine share key insights on:

• Recruitment as a continuous consideration in your business plan
• Why busy season is actually the best time to instigate the recruitment process
• The importance of being proactive, flexible and knowing where you stand with your business and team
• Holistically viewing your practice to help you navigate an ever-changing hiring landscape
• Looking at candidates as people, not simply cogs in the wheel of the company
• How to prevent chosen candidates from going dark on you
• The absolute importance of the onboarding process

Plus they share their respective experiences, with Donna as owner of a remote business, and with Yasmine as a candidate in the past. We know the process of hiring and retaining the best accountancy talent can feel a bit overwhelming, or like you're playing snakes and ladders. It doesn't need to be this way and we hope this episode is helpful for you as you navigate growing your accountancy practice.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, share with a friend and leave us a 5-star review!

The Accountants' Recruiter is an award-winning boutique accounting and finance recruitment agency in Great Britain. Donna Barnes is the co-founder and owner, and Yasmine Hardcastle is the Marketing Manager. They look forward to sharing key insights, stories and experiences with you.

Listen to other episodes of Counting On Success here

*Follow us on LinkedIn

*Connect with Donna on LinkedIn

*Connect with Yasmine on LinkedIn

*Visit our website: https://theaccountantsrecruiter.co.uk

Job Hunting?** Visit our Jobs page for accounting and finance roles with top accountancy practices and in industry.

Hiring? Pop us a note on [email protected] to let us know how we can help.

**Please note that we are not able to work with candidates who require visa sponsorship. Candidates must be located in (and have the right to work in) the United Kingdom....

Welcome back to Counting On Success. In our next episode, Donna and Yasmine chat with Giles Pearson from Accountests, an accountancy skills testing company based in New Zealand. Having spent his 25-year accounting career training and then as a partner with a regional New Zealand office of what is now PWC, Giles started Accountests to address previous hiring frustrations. He wanted to close the skills gap and expense that occurs when a CV doesn’t always reflect reality. 

The Accountests team supports accounting firms in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA in their recruitment efforts so they can hire fast and with confidence for a positive onboarding experience. 

In this conversation: 

• The hiring mistakes accountancy firms make and how to address them
• Budget and candidate benefits of pre-employment skills testing in accountancy
• How to decrease turnover, as well as save money, with structured interview and onboarding processes 
• Key messaging when communicating with candidates about completing skills tests

How would pre-hire skills assessments help you grow your team? If you’re curious to give it a go, please enjoy a discount with Accountests as a thank-you for listening in. Click here to use the discount code ACCRECRUIT50 to receive 50% off your first purchase.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, share with a friend and leave us a 5-star review!

The Accountants' Recruiter is an award-winning boutique accounting and finance recruitment agency in Great Britain. Donna Barnes is the co-founder and owner, and Yasmine Hardcastle is the Marketing Manager. They look forward to sharing key insights, stories and experiences with you.

Listen to other episodes of Counting On Success here

*Follow us on LinkedIn

*Connect with Donna on LinkedIn

*Connect with Yasmine on LinkedIn

*Visit our website: https://theaccountantsrecruiter.co.uk

Job Hunting?** Visit our Jobs page for accounting and finance roles with top accountancy practices and in industry.

Hiring? Pop us a note on [email protected] to let us know how we can help.

**Please note that we are not able to work with candidates who require visa sponsorship. Candidates must be located in (and have the right to work in) the United Kingdom....

In our second episode, Donna and Yasmine are joined by stylist Samantha Harman to discuss first impressions, interview outfit suggestions and dressing for the job you want. Samantha is a qualified stylist and coach with a background in journalism. As the founder of The Style Editor she helps female founders, leaders, and women in corporate elevate their style and magnetise their personal brand.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why first impressions matter and dressing for the role you want is important for your career
• Samantha’s experience of finding her own confidence and personal brand as a woman in a male-dominated industry
• How the workplace has changed in the last few years
• The power of our clothing and colour choices and how they affect our mood and confidence 
• Recommended interview outfit options to make you feel confident
• Suggested building blocks for a young person’s starter wardrobe as they enter the professional workforce 

Connect with Samantha on LinkedIn or at her website.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, share with a friend and leave us a 5-star review!

The Accountants' Recruiter is an award-winning boutique accounting and finance recruitment agency in Great Britain. Donna Barnes is the co-founder and owner, and Yasmine Hardcastle is the Marketing Manager. They look forward to sharing key insights, stories and experiences with you.

Listen to other episodes of Counting On Success here

*Follow us on LinkedIn

*Connect with Donna on LinkedIn

*Connect with Yasmine on LinkedIn

*Visit our website: https://theaccountantsrecruiter.co.uk

Job Hunting?** Visit our Jobs page for accounting and finance roles with top accountancy practices and in industry.

Hiring? Pop us a note on [email protected] to let us know how we can help.

**Please note that we are not able to work with candidates who require visa sponsorship. Candidates must be located in (and have the right to work in) the United Kingdom....

Welcome to the first episode of Counting on Success! In this episode, Donna and Yasmine dive in to the nuances of hiring and retaining Generation Z. Gen Z is a tech-savvy and complex group with a lot to offer. They are the future of the accounting industry and we are often asked how to attract and accommodate these new entrants to the workforce. 

In this episode we explore: 

• How the pandemic and technology have affected the way we work
• Generational differences in the workplace
• What Generation Z want and need in a job and place to work
• How accountancy practice owners can adapt to attract, retain and engage with the best Generation Z accounting candidates (this will apply to clients as well!)
• How employers can best deliver constructive feedback 
• What Gen Z can do show their commitment to progression and innovation in the workplace (hint: soft skills!)

Better understanding Gen Z can help address skills shortages and generation gaps, as well as help businesses grow. It's a dance of flexibility, communication and the management of expectations.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, share with a friend and leave us a 5-star review!

The Accountants' Recruiter is an award-winning boutique accounting and finance recruitment agency in Great Britain. Donna Barnes is the co-founder and owner, and Yasmine Hardcastle is the Marketing Manager. They look forward to sharing key insights, stories and experiences with you.

Listen to other episodes of Counting On Success here

*Follow us on LinkedIn

*Connect with Donna on LinkedIn

*Connect with Yasmine on LinkedIn

*Visit our website: https://theaccountantsrecruiter.co.uk

Job Hunting?** Visit our Jobs page for accounting and finance roles with top accountancy practices and in industry.

Hiring? Pop us a note on [email protected] to let us know how we can help.

**Please note that we are not able to work with candidates who require visa sponsorship. Candidates must be located in (and have the right to work in) the United Kingdom....

Welcome to Counting On Success, a podcast by The Accountants' Recruiter! From 28th September, join us fortnightly for insightful chats about recruitment in the UK accounting sector. In each episode, we'll cover a top talent acquisition or job hunting topic, and connect with industry professionals about finding the right candidates and for actionable career advice to land your dream job opportunity. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe, share with a friend and leave us a 5-star review!

The Accountants' Recruiter is an award-winning boutique accounting and finance recruitment agency in Great Britain. Donna Barnes is the co-founder and owner, and Yasmine Hardcastle is the Marketing Manager. They look forward to sharing key insights, stories and experiences with you.

Listen to other episodes of Counting On Success here

*Follow us on LinkedIn

*Connect with Donna on LinkedIn

*Connect with Yasmine on LinkedIn

*Visit our website: https://theaccountantsrecruiter.co.uk

Job Hunting?** Visit our Jobs page for accounting and finance roles with top accountancy practices and in industry.

Hiring? Pop us a note on [email protected] to let us know how we can help.

**Please note that we are not able to work with candidates who require visa sponsorship. Candidates must be located in (and have the right to work in) the United Kingdom....