Off Ledger

In this episode, Alex Falcon Huerta, founder and CEO of Soaring Falcon, shares a story shaped by real hardship, from a difficult childhood and homelessness at 16 to qualifying as an accountant two months after losing her mother, right before her ACCA finals. She opens up about building one of the UK's earliest fully digital, paperless accounting practices, becoming a genuine digital nomad long before it was fashionable, and why she's now backing a new venture, Accountant in Bedford, ahead of Universal Studios' arrival in the town. Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm.

In this episode, Grace Hardy, founder of Hardy Accounting and the first female accountancy firm owner in the UK to make the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, shares how a rainy season in Bali derailed her travel plans and accidentally launched her career, why she left networking events behind for TikTok and Instagram, and how she turned trolls, bullying, and dyslexia into fuel rather than obstacles.

She opens up about lobbying for financial education reform, launching her own fintech after government funding fell through, and the simple question she asks herself in every difficult moment: what would a man do?

Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm.

In this episode, John Toon, Group CTO and Head of Technology at HLB International, shares his unlikely route into accounting, from years spent as a sailing instructor and water sports guide across the UK, France and beyond, to turning down a well-paid job running a watersports centre in Ireland for an £8,000-a-year training contract. He opens up about hoovering up knowledge across every specialism he could find, the self-doubt that still creeps in years after a decision, and why he's never had a five-year plan and doesn't think you need one either. Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm.

In this episode, Julie Falczewska, Managing Director of Maslins in Tunbridge Wells, shares how she moved to the UK from Ukraine barely speaking English, spent three years writing to the same accountancy firm before they finally said yes, and worked her way from trainee to the top of the firm she qualified with. She opens up about the leadership books that got her through, why she still doesn't believe she has fully shaken imposter syndrome, and the moment her own team drew her picture as the leader they most admired. Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm.

In this episode, Sarah Harkness, Managing Director of InAccountancy, shares her unconventional route into the profession, from Adidas boardrooms in Germany to becoming MD of an accountancy firm without ever training as an accountant. She opens up about the instinct that told her something was wrong when a member of her team wasn't who she claimed to be, the imposter syndrome that still shouts loudly in rooms full of qualified accountants, and the recent sale of the firm to Cowgills. Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm.

In this episode, Lucy Cohen, founder of Mazuma and President of AAT, opens up about the day her body inexplicably formed 17 arterial blood clots, the hospital sprint that followed, and the strange guilt that comes with surviving something you weren't supposed to. She talks candidly about therapy, an eating disorder in her early twenties, and how she found healing on a powerlifting platform where, for once, there was no talking her way out of anything. Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm.

This is part two of a two-part conversation. Part one covered Lucy's unconventional route into accounting and the birth of Mazuma.

In this episode, Lucy Cohen, founder of Mazuma and the largest female-founded accounting business in UK history, shares her unconventional route into the profession, from a careers advisor opening a book at random to walking into a hotel and talking her way into a job. She opens up about growing up without money, feeling like an outsider in rooms full of privilege, and why a good dose of naivety was exactly what she needed to disrupt an industry she didn't even know she was disrupting. Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm.

This is part one of a two-part conversation. Part two covers the birth of Mazuma, power lifting, mental health, and Lucy's brush with death.

In this episode, Liam Wilson, Director of Elevate Accountancy in Wrexham, shares how watching his father's business nearly collapse shaped his drive, the rapid rise through private equity-backed firms that eventually hit a wall, and the leap of faith that led him to build a firm on his own terms. Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm. 

In this episode, Eriona Bajrakurtaj, Owner and Director of Majors Accounts in London, shares what it took to take over her father's practice and drag it into the digital age, the team fallout that came with it, and the offshoring gamble that kept the business alive when she gave birth to her second child just days before going back to work. Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm. 

In this episode, Luke Hamblett, Associate Director at Lewis Smith in Dudley, shares his journey from audit junior to the top table, the relationship-building skills that set him apart, and the presentation that helped convince the partners he was ready to step up. Honest, considered and full of hard-won wisdom for anyone navigating their way to the top of a firm.