Episode 78. On today's show, Rob Brown interviews former global CEO of Praxity, Graeme Gordon who shares his stories and lessons from a life in leadership.

Graeme Gordon is a chartered accountant and prior to joining Praxity was Managing Director and Senior Tutor of Emile Woolf Group, the international training and development firm. He was also previously Group Finance Director of a technology company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Graeme has extensive international experience including in Europe, Russia, North America, the Far East, the Indian Sub-Continent and the Middle East. He is a member of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and formerly twice President of the Thames Valley Chartered Accountants.

Key takeaways from the full uncut interview include:

＞From the Navy, a double glazing franchise and the NFL to CEO of Praxity – the journey of Graeme Gordon in 60 seconds

＞Why the Praxity Accounting Alliance is a very unique animal and just behind BDO and Grant Thornton in size and reach

＞The lure of variety and the ability to make a difference in creating a job that you love doing – applicable to all jobs but particularly to accounting professionals

＞The key differences between an accounting alliance and an accounting network – useful to know if you’re in one or thinking of joining one

＞Questions an accounting firm might ask themselves in considering whether to join an accounting alliance

＞Three stand-out benefits of joining an established and global accounting alliance like Praxity

＞Why it’s vital that specialists in accounting firms know their opposite numbers in different countries

＞The importance of collaboration within firms and within member firms of a network or alliance

＞Speed dating for managing partners of large accounting firms why it works for networking and collaboration

＞Culture and values must fit if firms are going to merge well and fit well into an alliance like Praxity

＞Ways to ascertain the values and culture of an accounting firm with ‘due diligence’

＞The number one quality that’s present in the very best accounting professionals, especially the ones that have to win work

＞What makes a good managing partner in an accounting firm of any size

＞What is ‘co-opetition’ and how does it help accounting firms to collaborate optimally across countries and cultures?

＞One of the biggest advantages of being able to tap into an alliance like Praxity is the shared intelligence of plans, problems and strategies

＞Thoughts on legacy and reputation in your accounting role – what will people say about you after you’re gone?

＞The critical way in which running a global accounting alliance is different to running a Navy mission!

＞The accounting audit in 10 years will be very different from the audit from just a few short years ago, and how AI will affect that…

Before becoming a chartered accountant Graeme served as an officer in the Royal Navy. Praxity is the largest Alliance of Independent Accounting, Tax and Consulting Firms in the world. As at January 2018, 64 Firms in over 100 countries with 700+ offices, 3,500+ partners and 37,500+ other professionals and a combined turnover of US$5.25bn. Find out more at www.praxity.com or to contact Graeme directly:

Graeme on LinkedIn

NOTE TO LISTENERS:

This is a condensed highlights version of the full interview (usually 20-30 mins long), which you can catch as a bonus UNCUT episode at the weekend.

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