Once a month, the Accounting Influencers podcast is featuring a prominent accounting leader. This month we interview David Whitson-Black, Group Head of Talent Development at Azets, an international business and one of the UK's top 10 accountancy firms. Starting his career in people development 18 years ago, David now leads Azets Talent development team across the UK and Europe.
David has strong experience in people development and has managed learning and development teams in the financial and professional service sectors. He is passionate about developing the best talent no matter where they are on their journey from early careers right through to senior management. His expertise ranges from leadership development to succession planning, talent strategy, coaching and mentoring, career pathing and performance management. Shownotes:
The symptoms of an accounting firm that require a learning and development function
Why there is more to an accounting role than technical competence
The reasons why many accountants stop their learning and developing (beyond technical) after they've achieved qualification
Why some accountants struggle to know what career they want or what's achievable with an accounting firm
The role of a career coach or mentor for accounting professionals to show them what's possible and take them on a journey they'll be fulfilled by
What it takes to launch an LandD function in an accounting firm and what components make up a strong LandD program
Why it's important to remain coachable and teachable if you want to inspire and mentor others in your role
The issue of boardroom or executive level influence for non-partners and heads of functions like HR and LandD in an accounting firm
The role of values in a strong accounting firm culture and why collaboration throughout the firm to shape them is critical
The frustration of motivating traditional accountants to change, upskill and adapt
How soft skills like business development and relationship building are vital in successful accounting firms
Why there are more challenges for accountants to win business now than ever before
What best practice recruitment looks like to bring the right kind of talent into your accounting firm
Insights into how good recruitment leads to a successful succession plan for accounting firms
How to best support the older, more experienced professionals in a growing accountancy firm
Words to inspire new recruits to your accounting firm and setting their expectations
A strong driver of corporate executive presence in a profession like accounting.

When not working David likes spending time with his family, records music (singing) and has an interest in graphic design.
Contact https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidblack79/ (David on LinkedIn)

David Whitson-Black: Global Head of Talent Development at Azets

The ACCOUNTING INFLUENCERS PODCAST is hosted by Rob Brown, co-founder of the Accounting Influencers Roundtable (AIR). Join hundreds of others on our next virtual speed networking event for influential leaders and professionals in the accounting, finance and tech world: 
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On the show, Rob hits topics like leadership, people, talent, performance and success in the public accounting world. Listen for entertaining short interviews with top accounting leaders on what makes the good firms and professionals great. No fluff, just great bite-size insights from the people who count. 

The show also features multi-person panels on the key trends, reputation and future of the accounting profession. Stay informed and relevant by subscribing to one of the world's top accounting podcasts.

Host Rob Brown is a renowned presenter, facilitator and chair of high-level conferences, panels and events globally for the accounting and fintech profession. He is retained by many professional networks, alliances, associations, practices and vendors to chair their events and provide high-level interview content for their communities. He is a dynamic speaker and accomplished expert on trust, reputation, employer brand, talent, career development, succession, gen z/generations, employee advocacy and executive presence. https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown/

Rob is author of the bestselling book Build Your Reputation (Wiley) and his TEDx talk ‘The Personal Brand of You’ has been viewed over 300,000 times on YouTube. He is a stroke survivor, has epilepsy, is a committed Christian and has a black belt in kickboxing. He is based in Nottingham UK, home of Robin Hood, plays chess and backgammon, loves orange chocolate and is allergic to grapefruit. 

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Rob Brown discusses the future of accounting with special guests Davis Bell, Geni Whitehouse, Geoffrey Brown and Jason Blumer. The panel provides insights into the key challenges and opportunities facing accountants, from talent retention and technology adoption to redefining the role of the modern accountant. The conversation delves into the accounting profession's image problem, with the panel highlighting the need to better communicate the diverse career paths and meaningful work available to aspiring accountants. They also explore the shifts in firm ownership models, the rise of entrepreneurial mindsets, and the importance of accountants embracing a more advisory and future-focused role. The guests share their predictions for the profession, including the changing talent pool, the commoditization of certain services, and the critical need for firms to integrate technology and business analysis skills. Overall, the episode paints a picture of an industry in flux, but one that holds immense potential for those willing to adapt and lead the charge towards a more dynamic and impactful future for the accounting profession. Key Takeaways: 1. The accounting profession is facing a talent pipeline challenge, with a need to better retain and attract the next generation of accountants. 2. Embracing a more advisory and insight-driven approach is crucial for accountants to remain relevant and add value to clients. 3. Firms must adapt their ownership models and business structures to meet the needs and expectations of the incoming generation of leaders. 4. Technology and automation will continue to disrupt the profession, presenting both threats and opportunities for accountants. 5. Accounting firms should actively seek to integrate business analysis and technology skills into their teams to stay ahead of the curve. Quotes: "We need to start talking about what it means to be a finance and accounting professional much earlier, high school, junior high even, because there's a lot of opportunity there." - Geoffrey Brown "If we can convince some people to keep coming into the profession, I mean, we're going to kill it. We're going to kill it over the next 30 years, I think." - Jason Blumer ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ The Accounting Influencers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, is one of the world's leading shows for accounting leaders, professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, book your place at the next gathering. Great for building your personal brand and making valuable industry connections in return for a small donation to charity: https://accountinginfluencers.com/events ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ Thanks to our sponsors: ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING. Transform your accounting firm with AdvanceTrack. Our top-tier offshoring solutions free your team from mundane tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and client engagement. Experience seamless scalability and expert support. Visit advancetrack.com and elevate your practice today. https://www.advancetrack.com ACCOUNTEX. Join us at Accountex London, the pinnacle of fintech innovation, May 15-16, 2024! Discover ground-breaking solutions from 295+ brands and gain invaluable insights at our CPD-accredited sessions. Connect with 10,000+ finance professionals. Elevate your practice – attendance is free, plus earn up to 16 CPD points! https://www.accountex.co.uk/london DEXT. Streamline your accounting practice with...

Panel: Accounting Influencers on the Profession's Future

Jeff Seibert is the co-founder and CEO of Digits, a modern accounting platform. Jeff and Rob delve into the impact of AI on the accounting profession, exploring its potential to revolutionize the industry while also addressing concerns and misconceptions surrounding this emerging technology. Jeff explains the fundamental concepts of machine learning and artificial intelligence in layman's terms, emphasizing that AI is not aimed at replacing accountants but rather augmenting their capabilities and freeing them from tedious tasks. He discusses the two main branches of machine learning – generative models like ChatGPT and predictive models – and how Digits is leveraging the latter to automate bookkeeping with an 87% accuracy rate. The conversation also touches on the importance of data security, collaborative finance, real-time accounting, and the need for accountants to embrace technology to stay relevant and competitive. Jeff's message is one of hope, encouraging accountants to experiment with AI and adopt these tools to enhance their practices and better serve their clients. 5 Key Takeaways:AI is not going to replace accountants; it will elevate the profession by automating tedious tasks and allowing accountants to focus on higher-value activities.Digits is developing AI bookkeeping models that can accurately classify transactions with 87% accuracy, significantly reducing manual labor.Data security is crucial when integrating AI into accounting software, and firms should scrutinize vendors' security measures.Collaborative finance and real-time accounting are the future, enabling accountants and clients to work together seamlessly and access up-to-date financial data.Embracing AI and new technologies is essential for accountants to remain competitive and grow their practices.
"AI is not going to be the death of accounting. Just like the calculator wasn't the death of accounting, the computer wasn't the death of accounting." - Jeff Seibert ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ The Accounting Influencers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, is one of the world's leading shows for accounting leaders, professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, book your place at the next gathering. Great for building your personal brand and making valuable industry connections in return for a small donation to charity: https://accountinginfluencers.com/events ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ Thanks to our sponsors: ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING. Transform your accounting firm with AdvanceTrack. Our top-tier offshoring solutions free your team from mundane tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and client engagement. Experience seamless scalability and expert support. Visit advancetrack.com and elevate your practice today. https://www.advancetrack.com ACCOUNTEX. Join us at Accountex London, the pinnacle of fintech innovation, May 15-16, 2024! Discover ground-breaking solutions from 295+ brands and gain invaluable insights at our CPD-accredited sessions. Connect with 10,000+ finance professionals. Elevate your practice – attendance is free, plus earn up to 16 CPD points! https://www.accountex.co.uk/london DEXT. Streamline your accounting practice with Dext! Our cutting-edge tools, Dext Prepare, Commerce, and Precision, revolutionize data handling, saving you precious time and ensuring accuracy. Connect seamlessly with leading software like Xero and QBO. Join 500,000+ customers transforming...

Navigating the Shift: Deep Dive on 'Accounting Meets AI'

This engaging panel discussion explored the rapidly evolving landscape of the accounting profession, addressing the challenges, opportunities, and pivotal factors shaping its future. The panelists delved into topics such as technological disruption, changing workforce dynamics, the erosion of public trust, and the critical skills and mindsets required for accountants to stay relevant and indispensable in an era of unprecedented change. The conversation highlighted the shared responsibility among various stakeholders, including individuals, firms, professional bodies, and technology providers, to drive the profession forward and maintain its ethical integrity. The panelists emphasized the importance of continuous learning, specialization, problem-solving, agility, and client-centricity as key competencies for accountants to cultivate in this transformative period. Important Takeaways:Continuous learning, specialization, and the ability to adapt to rapid change are essential for accounting professionals to stay relevant and competitive.Fostering a culture of generosity, humility, and curiosity within firms is crucial for driving innovation and empowering the next generation of accountants.Technology, particularly AI and automation, will profoundly impact the accounting profession, necessitating a mindset shift and a willingness to embrace these advancements.Accountants and professional bodies must collaborate to uphold the ethical standards and financial integrity of the profession, regaining public trust through transparency and accountability.Remote work and globalized teams present both opportunities and challenges, requiring a balanced approach that prioritizes talent development, mentorship, and fostering a sense of connection and belonging.
"Innovate or perish. Because honestly, at the end of the day, the reality is we're all consultants, and what's our mindset? How do we adapt to this changing world? We either innovate or we retire." - David Cieslak "Time is going to become so much less relevant. The minute they offshored and outsourced and didn't put people's time into their time system for that work, pricing on time is ridiculous." - Jennifer Wilson ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ The Accounting Influencers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, is one of the world's leading shows for accounting leaders, professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, book your place at the next gathering. Great for building your personal brand and making valuable industry connections in return for a small donation to charity: https://accountinginfluencers.com/events ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ Thanks to our sponsors: ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING. Transform your accounting firm with AdvanceTrack. Our top-tier offshoring solutions free your team from mundane tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and client engagement. Experience seamless scalability and expert support. Visit advancetrack.com and elevate your practice today. https://www.advancetrack.com ACCOUNTEX. Join us at Accountex London, the pinnacle of fintech innovation, May 15-16, 2024! Discover ground-breaking solutions from 295+ brands and gain invaluable insights at our CPD-accredited sessions. Connect with 10,000+ finance professionals. Elevate your practice – attendance is free, plus earn up to 16 CPD points! https://www.accountex.co.uk/london DEXT. Streamline your accounting practice with Dext! Our cutting-edge

Global Panel: Discussing the Future for Accounting

This is an insightful discussion on the future of the accounting profession, featuring an esteemed panel of accounting industry leaders and experts - Gary Boomer, Val Steed, Sarah Beale, and Bob Lewis.  They delve into the current state of accounting, the need for change, potential threats like AI and automation, the importance of rebranding and improving the profession's perception, the relevance of accounting qualifications, predictions for the profession's future, and more.  The panel acknowledges that while accounting has historically been stable, it's currently facing the most profound changes from all angles - economic shifts, regulatory uncertainties, technological disruptions like AI, and a severe talent shortage.  They emphasize that to remain relevant, the profession must adapt, innovate, improve processes, diversify talent, focus on advisory services, leverage technology intelligently, and most importantly, change its perception among the youth to attract the required talent. Key Takeaways: - The accounting profession is amid a transformative period driven by the accelerated pace of change, AI/automation, increased private equity investments, and changing workforce dynamics. Firms that fail to adapt will struggle to survive. - The biggest threat is from entrepreneurs and firms that don't change their mindset from just providing compliance services to becoming strategic advisors understanding and solving clients' core business challenges. - Rebranding the profession is crucial to attract diverse, younger talent by changing the perception that it's just number-crunching to showcasing it as an exciting, entrepreneurial career with varied opportunities. - Accounting qualifications must continuously evolve with changing business needs, emphasizing skills like communication, ethics, sustainability, and digital proficiency along with technical expertise. - Key predictions include greater advisory services adoption, private equity/consolidation, AI-driven automation of routine tasks, and the rise of accounting "big-box" firms offering integrated professional services. - It's an opportune time in accounting, presenting transformative prospects for those willing to develop required skills, embrace technology, focus on advisory/consulting services, and be part of steering the profession's narrative. "There is so much change out there, which means so much opportunity. And I think we've got the opportunity to carve out our profession in a really different way that adds massive value to business, economy, and society, if we get it right." - Sarah Beale  ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ The Accounting Influencers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, is one of the world's leading shows for accounting leaders, professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, book your place at the next gathering. Great for building your personal brand and making valuable industry connections in return for a small donation to charity: https://accountinginfluencers.com/events ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ Thanks to our sponsors: ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING. Transform your accounting firm with AdvanceTrack. Our top-tier offshoring solutions free your team from mundane tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and client engagement. Experience seamless scalability and expert support. Visit advancetrack.com and elevate your practice today. https://www.advancetrack.com ACCOUNTEX. Join us at Accountex London, the pinnacle of fintech innovation, May 15-16, 2024! Discover ground-breaking solutions...

Panel: Future Forecast - The Outlook for Accounting

Rob Brown and Jeremy Clopton discuss work-life balance and productivity in the accounting profession.  Jeremy, a thought leader in the industry, shares his candid views on why traditional work-life balance is a flawed concept and offers a fresh perspective on prioritizing life over work. He emphasizes the importance of defining personal success, setting boundaries, and identifying the right work to focus on rather than falling into the hustle culture trap of merely doing more. Jeremy's wisdom challenges the notion that more hours equate to greater productivity and encourages professionals to shift their mindset towards quality over quantity. He provides practical tips for leaders and individuals alike to recalibrate their priorities, acknowledge their contributions to the current situation, and make meaningful changes to improve their work-life harmony. Key Takeaways:Traditional "work-life balance" is a broken concept; it should be viewed as an action verb, "balancing life and work," not a destination.Prioritize life over work; we are replaceable in our vocations but irreplaceable in our individual lives.Define personal success and near-non-negotiables rather than letting others dictate your priorities.Strive for excellence, not perfection, as perfection is unattainable in professional services.Leverage technology to increase efficiency, not just speed, and redefine success beyond merely doing more.
"If you model a life that nobody else wants, then you can't figure out why people don't want to be a partner." Jeremy Clopton ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ The Accounting Influencers Podcast, hosted by Rob Brown, is one of the world's leading shows for accounting leaders, professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, book your place at the next gathering. Great for building your personal brand and making valuable industry connections in return for a small donation to charity: https://accountinginfluencers.com/events ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ Thanks to our sponsors: ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING. Transform your accounting firm with AdvanceTrack. Our top-tier offshoring solutions free your team from mundane tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and client engagement. Experience seamless scalability and expert support. Visit advancetrack.com and elevate your practice today. https://www.advancetrack.com ACCOUNTEX. Join us at Accountex London, the pinnacle of fintech innovation, May 15-16, 2024! Discover ground-breaking solutions from 295+ brands and gain invaluable insights at our CPD-accredited sessions. Connect with 10,000+ finance professionals. Elevate your practice – attendance is free, plus earn up to 16 CPD points! https://www.accountex.co.uk/london DEXT. Streamline your accounting practice with Dext! Our cutting-edge tools, Dext Prepare, Commerce, and Precision, revolutionize data handling, saving you precious time and ensuring accuracy. Connect seamlessly with leading software like Xero and QBO. Join 500,000+ customers transforming their practices. Start your free trial and embrace efficiency today! https://dext.com If you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.  <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown" rel="noopener noreferrer"

David Whitson-Black: Global Head of Talent Development at Azets

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