What must it be like to spend 21 years in a firm of accountants, going through the ranks, then deciding to leave and join a technology company?

In this podcast discussion with Paul Lodder of Dext, Paul shares some amazingly valuable insights into his experiences, both in the accounting firm and at Dext, insights which I believe can profoundly influence the way you install and implement technology in your firm. But as the name of our podcast platform suggests, Paul’s insights can also help you Humanise The Numbers in such a way that your firm is capable of winning the game with your team – recruiting and keeping good people – and winning the game with your clients as well, so that you deliver ever greater value and enjoy ever greater profits.

Please join me at humanisethenumbers.online for this invaluable discussion with Paul Lodder.

When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for Paul and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

How do you transform your firm’s accounts production workflow so that you free up people's time whilst simultaneously building stronger, more meaningful, more valuable relationships with your clients? 

In this Humanise The Numbers podcast with Vipul Sheth of AdvanceTrack Outsourcing, you'll hear Vipul share insights from the many dozens of firms with which he and his team work, specifically around the magic of one or two profound shifts, or profound little changes, in the way you look at and tackle production workflow, so that you and your firm can free up time for your people and still build stronger relationships with your clients.

I hope you'll enjoy the discussion I had with Vipul as much as I did, and I truly hope that you take on board the messages that he shares.  I'm convinced, and I know because of the experience I have with other firms, that what he's talking about makes absolute sense and will deliver the results that you want for yourself and for your firm.

 When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for Vipul and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

It strikes me that one of the most valuable conversations you can have with a business-owner client concerns the exit from their business. When are they going to close it or sell it? How much do they want for it? And how much personally do they want to extract from the business as a result of that? A highly valuable conversation, but one with which many accountants are not entirely comfortable.

Join me on this podcast discussion with Cliff Spolander of Business Optics.  Cliff is a serial entrepreneur, having started, bought, sold and, on occasion, just simply closed 12 different businesses, and who is now helping business owners with their exit planning.

You'll hear Cliff share his insights and the thoughts, processes, strategies and conversations that drove real value into the hearts and minds of his clients and to his businesses, and that you, your team, your firm can use to deliver value for your own clients. 

Please join me at humanisethenumbers.online or go to your favourite podcast source – Spotify, Apple or whatever – and have a listen to what Cliff has to say about exit planning.

When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for Cliff and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

How on earth, as a firm of accountants do you manage the ever-increasing workload thanks to new clients, thanks to extra work from existing clients and the fact that it's really tough to recruit more good people into your firm?

And that seems to be getting harder, doesn't it?

On this podcast discussion with Jenny Cessini of Davis Grant in Ilford (a five partner firm with 40 people in their organisation), you'll hear Jenny describe in granular detail how their weekly workflow process helps to marry up and balance the weekly expectations of their clients and new prospective clients too.

Jenny describes the weekly processes that they use to balance the workload amongst the team, get team buy in so that they're better at delivering on the targets that they have set every week and achieve the customer care that they're clearly so passionate about.

So why not please join me and Jenny on this Humanise The Numbers podcast, and hear how it's possible to balance, blend and achieve with the two things that really matter - a fully engaged team and a delighted client bank.

I hope you enjoy the podcast as much as I did.

 When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for Jenny and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

I'd be surprised if any accountant would disagree with the fact that client loyalty is the cornerstone of the fees, profits, and capital value of their firm.

Also very few firms would disagree or argue with the fact that the clients that feel loyal to your firm do so because of the quality of the relationship you have with them. 

Very few firms, it seems to me, and in my experience actually track and measure either the quantity or the quality of the client interaction, number of meetings, number of zoom meetings, number of calls etc.

On this Humanise The Numbers podcast, you'll hear David Belbin and I lock horns a little bit.

We talk about Arsene Wenger and about Mike Tyson, and why this is relevant to you and your firm. 
It's relevant, because David brings up a really valuable point I think.

One of his intentions, rather than where he's got to so far, is to build a client score card.

A way of tracking and measuring the effectiveness of the relationship between him and his clients, his team, and his clients.
Check out what David's got to say about the way he and his 24 person firm builds a human interaction with their clients.  How they do it in such a way that they're building the fundamental foundations of great client loyalty and therefore fees, profits and capital value for the future.

 When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for David and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

What does it take for a firm, even a specialist niche firm, to grow substantially, year-on-year, for over a decade? 

In this podcast discussion with Rob Whittall of Dyke Yaxley, USA, Rob shares the insights, ideas and strategies that have helped him grow his firm and build two teams, one in the US and one in the UK. He will also share how his specialist firm helps UK and US businesses, as well as individuals, navigate the complexities of tax across the two countries. 

Join me at humanisethenumbers.online and hear how Rob has grown a really elegant, professional firm, a firm of which he is rightly very proud.

When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for Rob and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

How on earth do you and your team, your colleagues, your firm as a whole, engage in meaningful, tangible conversations with clients, demonstrating that your firm delivers real value?

In this Humanise The Numbers podcast discussion with Paul Kennedy of OBK, a relatively small firm north of London, we discover that for decades Paul has been a keen student of Ron Baker, Rick Payne and Bootcamp, and he has implemented an approach to value pricing in a very practical way. 

You’ll hear Paul share his insights and his thoughts about how his firm have implemented value pricing. There's a lot of discussion around value pricing, but Paul reveals the practical ways of delivering value, so that your clients will say: 'oh, that is worth far more than the 10 minutes or 10 hours you've invested in working with me.'

When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for Paul and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

How do you grow an accounting firm from zero to a million in 10 years and then set about growing the 1 million pound turnover firm that you've now got into a 2 million pound turnover firm in the next five years or less?

Well, according to Sian Kelly, what you do and what she has done is put client experience and client care front and central in everything this firm does.

And every improvement that this firm makes is towards improving that client care.

I hope you enjoy this Humanise The Numbers podcast.  When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for Sian and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

It's a challenging question to ask you how committed you are to the mental well-being of your team.

During tumultuous and trying times it's an important question, and I'm sure you're doing everything you can to facilitate, assist support your team so that they thrive as well as supporting your clients so that they thrive too.

In this Humanise The Numbers podcast discussion with Martin Horton of Rivington Accountants, you'll hear Martin share one or two ways that he's helping his clients thrive. 

But what stands out is his commitment and levels of support, monthly support around the mental wellbeing of his team at an important time.
When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for Martin and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast. 

Leading and managing change is tough. The bigger the team, the bigger the challenge. So how do you transform an old style partner led multi-office firm into one that's strategy and corporate led with crystal clear functions, roles, and responsibilities for everyone across the firm - that fully engages with, or is it at least on the journey to fully engaging with everyone in the team?

On this podcast discussion with Marie Pegram of UHY East, Letchworth in Hertfordshire you'll hear Marie share the insights about the journey that UHY East have been on from partner led to strategy/corporate led some of the challenges and difficulties they've experienced on that journey.

And ultimately how vital, how important, how fundamental it has been to put the team first, actually, no balance between team and clients, Marie states plainly, team come first in their development and the change that they've achieved in their firm. I hope you'll join me and Marie, on this Humanise The Numbers podcast discussion, I've found it profoundly insightful.

When on this episode page, please scroll down for the contact information for Marie and to find additional resources mentioned in the podcast.'