If there's a phrase that encapsulates the content of this podcast discussion with Mark Allen, it would be 'applied wisdom'.

We tap into Mark's several decades of working within the profession, first as a board director of PLCs, then transitioning into a practice leader, starting up and successfully selling a three-office firm, and finally moving into working with networks for accountants across the UK.

Mark is a bit of a hero of mine, overcoming serious health challenges to continue to pursue his passion for what you and your firm do – helping your clients succeed, helping your team succeed, helping yourself succeed.

I hope you take time out to dive into the handful of profoundly powerful insights that Mark shares. It was a real pleasure and privilege to invite Mark onto the podcast.

Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Mark and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

In the second part of this 2-part podcast discussion with Stephan Meier, world-renowned author of The Employee Advantage, you'll be able to hear Stephan unpack a large number of insights, ideas and strategies that could ultimately deliver a competitive advantage to you and your firm.

So please join Douglas, my colleague, Stephan and I on the second part of this podcast at humanisethenumbers.online.

You'd probably like to get your hands on a competitive advantage that would lead to the future financial success of your firm, one that would enhance, or even transform, the results you're currently achieving.

Where do you go looking for that advantage?

Once upon a time in the world of work, it was all about a product advantage or, in the accountancy space, a service level advantage. But at the end of the day, an audit service from one firm is not dissimilar to an audit service from another. The same goes for payroll, for management accounts, and so on.

There is therefore not much of a competitive edge arising from products and services. So, instead of going product-centric, go client-centric. Become really focused on client care, on delivering a client experience that provides an advantage and, don't get me wrong, I think in the accounting space there's huge potential for an edge there.

But what about the employee advantage? What if your team's ability to deliver work on time to a high standard and with a high degree of client care – ticking the client-centric box – is where a true advantage, a sustainable advantage, could be found?

In the first part of this 2-part podcast discussion with Stephan Meier, world-renowned author of The Employee Advantage, you'll be able to unpack – because Stephan does it for us – a large number of insights, ideas and strategies that could ultimately deliver a competitive advantage to you and your firm.

So please join Douglas, my colleague, Stephan and I on the first part of this podcast at humanisethenumbers.online and please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Stephan and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

Chances are that the vast majority of the people in your firm want to do a good job, whatever their role – accounts, bookkeeping, audit, tax or payroll.

They get out of bed every morning to do good work.

But to be successful as an accountancy firm, it's more than just the accountancy services that matter. As valuable as these are, what also matters is the care with which the work is done and the care with which a firm looks after and serves clients.

In this podcast discussion with Dan Crowther from Thorne Widgery, Dan makes an impassioned plea for the privilege that is doing accounts – which is worth listening to in its own right – and he also unpacks a handful of things that we should take seriously if we want a firm that's fit for the future.

Dan also runs a technology business, so he's got an eye on the future of technology as well as an eye on what's right for a firm’s team and, if he had a third eye, it would be on a future that's right for a firm’s clients too.

I heartily recommend you check out this Humanise the Numbers podcast at humanisethenumbers.online, or go to your favourite podcast platform and look out for the podcast with Dan Crowther.

Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Dan and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

It's a unique experience to have someone who is in the digital space in a deep way coming on the podcast to talk about humanising the numbers. Getting Dan Cockerton onto the Humanise the Numbers podcast has been an ambition of mine for the last 12 months or so – and we've finally managed to make it work. And it was a bit of a relief that, when challenged about digital first versus human first, Dan chose human first.

On the podcast, he unpacks and shares his insights of working with the profession, with individual firms, and with his own experience of starting up a new event space, one which had 600 people at the first event and has just had more than 5,000 attendees at the fifth. It shows you what's possible when you put your mind to it.

If you want to get deep and meaningful and personal, Dan shares something very personal within this podcast, something that shows how important goal setting is to the success of an individual and to the success of a business.

I really appreciated Dan being so open and candid about this because it was as human as it gets. So please go to humanisethenumbers.online or to your favourite podcast platform and check out the Dan Cockerton edition of Humanise the Numbers.

Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Dan and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

It was exciting to welcome Roger Knecht, the president of Universal Accounting, onto the Humanise the Numbers podcast. And I wasn't expecting to have what essentially turned into a 45-minutes sales training session with Roger.

That ultimately is where the value in this podcast actually lies. Roger is so open, so structured, in running through how to construct a sales meeting, a client meeting, with the paymaster general of your firm, your clients – and with your prospects.

Roger has a way of cutting through to a really simple structure, unpacking the motivators that he's discovered from working with firms all over the USA, as he is from across the pond.

I hope you can join us on this interesting conversation with Roger, because of the practical, valuable and powerful insights on how to run better client meetings. You’ll also gain a more global perspective of the profession, one that is just as relevant to your firm, whether you're in Stoke-on-Trent or Halifax or Canterbury – it matters not.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Simply go to HumaniseTheNumbers.online or go to your favourite podcast platform, seek out Humanise the Numbers and check out this podcast with Roger Knecht.

Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Roger and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

When you come across an accountant who happens to have 900 clients – business clients – and who has a page on his website called The Human Accountant, you can understand why we at the Humanise the Numbers podcast would be interested in having a bit of a chat.

It was our great pleasure and privilege to welcome Stephen Paul on this podcast discussion, where we unpacked what really matters to Stephen – running the sort of firm that enables him to live the life that he wants and to earn the living that he wants to earn and to create a business that he can feel proud of.

On this podcast, we dive into the technology that they brilliantly use as a team – because how else can you look after 900 clients with just 16 team members? That’s the technology piece, but there's also the purpose piece. Why is he in business? Why is purpose important to his clients and his team? We also spend a bit – but an important bit – of time on the core values of the business and whether those values have teeth or not.

We encourage you to have a listen to this podcast with Stephen Paul, of the accountancy firm Valued. We’re sure you’ll find it useful.

You'll find it on your favourite podcast platforms, including iTunes and Spotify. You can also find it at humanisethenumbers.online.

Please scroll down this podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Stephen and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

It's such a privilege when you get the chance to speak to a couple of business leaders who founded a firm with nothing just a few years ago – in fact, set the business up during lockdown – and then have grown rapidly since then.

Last year, the business grew by 60%, and the year before by 25%. This year, they’re looking to grow in excess of 25-30% again, possibly more.

It was a terrific opportunity to spend some time with Vicky and Russ from Byrd & Link – an audit specialist, as it happens – to discover the insights, the lessons, the strategies, that they've been applying to their business to fully engage with their team and, at the same time, build an offer that's meaningful and valuable to their client base, which include accountants, not just business leaders in need of an audit.

I hope you find real value and insight looking at an audit specialist and seeing how their lessons can be applied to your own firm. I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I did.

You can find it at HumaniseTheNumbers.online, or go to your favourite podcast platform, check out Humanise the Numbers and look up Vicky and Russ from Byrd & Link. I look forward to seeing you there.

Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Vicky and Russ and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.