Two crypto-curious accountants join the podcast this week to explain how they’ve taken on more clients in this field and reveal what software has helped them.

Host Richard Hattersley is joined in the virtual pod booth by AccountingWEB’s John Stokdyk and a returning Tom Herbert to discuss the big headlines hitting the site over the past seven days. 

The team looks back at a week where HMRC waived late filing penalties on tax returns until the end of February and the AccountingWEB readers debated recent research on unaffiliated agents. 

And then later in the programme, Tom Herbert is joined by Northern Ireland based chartered accountant Adrian Markey and Chris Barnard, head of tax at Accounts & Legal, to discuss the rise and rise of cryptotax. 

With a growing number of clients turning to accountants for help with cryptocurrency calculations and record-keeping, Tom asks the crypto-accountants how they took the plunge and finds out some of the opportunities (and challenges).

Click here to get the links to the articles discussed in the podcast: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/content/no-accounting-for-taste-ep108-tales-of-the-crypto-accountant

Cinematic + Bright

No Accounting for Taste ep108: Tales of the crypto-accountant

After a dramatic U-turn from the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, AccountingWEB's Richard Hattersley and John Stokdyk discuss Kwarteng's chaotic tenure at number 11.

Also on this week's episode, John reveals all after jetting to Sin City to get the scoop at Netsuite's Vegas conference SuiteWorld - it seems that what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas!

Finally, we hear from AccountingWEB's tech editor Tom Herbert over in Ireland as he gets the lowdown from Bright Group CEO Kevin McCallum and BTC Software founder Rob Ellis on their recent merger.

Podcast speakers: Richard Hattersley, John Stokdyk, Tom Herbert, Rob Ellis, Kevin McCallum

Podcast Producer: Will Cole

No Accounting for Taste ep 125: U-Turns, Netsuite and Merger news

As accountants feel the pressure over increased scrutiny of their AML reporting, the Treasury has tabled a new consultation that is set to overhaul anti-money laundering supervision as we know it.

The Treasury have put forward four new ideas that could potentially reform the supervision of accountants and lawyers' compliance with money laundering regulations.

The options ranged from bolstering the current supervisors of supervisors OPBAS to the more extreme option of stripping the professional bodies and HMRC of its supervision responsibilities and creating a brand new supervisor - the one supervisor to rule them all.

On this week's podcast, David Winch explores the four potential reforms and offers advice to accountants anxious of upcoming changes. 

Also on the pod, the AWEB team discuss ICAS' recent review of MTD for ITSA and its call to scrap the controversial project's decision  on quarterly reporting, as well as taking a closer look at AI and asking: is this new technology a friend or foe when it comes to tax? 

Podcast speakers:
Richard Hattersley
Tom Herbert
David Winch

Producer/editor:
Will Cole

No Accounting for Taste ep 142: AML, AI and MTD

HMRC's HMRC’s accounts, consultations, as well as it's annual Charter report has finally been released. Now that the dust has settled, the newly released documentation has been thumbed through by the AccountingWEB team to give you the lowdown on the tax authority's reports.

To help us sift through the papers, we are joined by Glenn Collins, Head of Technical and Strategic Engagement at the ACCA, who offers some keen insights into HMRC's reports. 

Collins also had some interesting thoughts on R&D tax credits, in particular the massive levels of error and fraud plaguing the operation.

Also on this week's pod, tech editor Tom Herbert takes a deep dive into the murky world of Big Tech and accounting after American tax software companies were caught sharing sensitive data with tech giants Google and Meta.

Podcast speakers:
Richard Hattersley
Tom Herbert
Glenn Collins

Podcast producer:
Will Cole

Podcast notes:
Error and fraud hounds HMRC’s annual accounts
Agents slam HMRC's performance in Charter report
Is your tax information being shared with BigTech and others? Maybe!

No Accounting for Taste ep 144: HMRC, R&D and Big Tech

Dan Neidle joins the AccountingWEB team on the podcast this week to discuss his recent investigation into Property118, the Autumn Statement and tax complexity.

Dan is the founder of Tax Policy Associates, a not-for-profit company, that aims to improve tax and legal policy and public understanding of tax. Before his work with Tax Policy Associates, Dan spent almost 25 years as a tax lawyer. 

He joins the AccountingWEB airwaves to discuss his investigation into Property118, which he called at one point “the worst tax avoidance scheme ever”. 

And with the Autumn Statement around the corner, Dan gives his thoughts on some of the runners and riders rumoured for the big fiscal event. 

He also imagines if he was Chancellor for the day and reveals what he would announce if he was given the keys to Number 11. 


Discussion inevitably turns to tax complications and whether it is a case that the complications are inevitable (tax is complicated!) or that some of the complications are just unnecessary?

Hosted by Richard Hattersley and Tom Herbert, the No Accounting for Taste podcast takes on some of the big stories from across the accounting profession. You can read more about the stories discussed in this podcast on AccountingWEB.co.uk.

No Accounting for Taste ep152: Dan Neidle talks Property118, Autumn Statement and tax complexity

With so much hype around how the current wave of generative artificial intelligence tools will change accountancy, comparatively little focus has been given to what accountants actually doing the job want or need from the new systems. AccountingWEB technology editor Tom Herbert hit the floor at the recent 2020 Innovation conference to find out what accountants think the AI-driven may hold for the profession. 

For full show notes visit: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/content/no-accounting-for-tech-ep19-what-do-accountants-really-think-of-ai

*Editor’s note: For technical reasons, some of the interviews were recorded remotely a day or two after the conference*

No Accounting for Tech ep19: What do accountants really think of AI?

This year’s autumn statement couldn’t have been more different than last year’s. Back in November 2022, the Chancellor warned the UK of the “storm” of tax rises. 

But only 12 months later Jeremy Hunt was announcing cuts to employee and self employed national insurance and making the full expensing capital allowance scheme permanent in what he called “the biggest package of tax cuts to be implemented since the 1980s”. 

On No Accounting for Taste this week, in association with Mercia, we’re discussing the Autumn Statement. We’re looking at all the tax changes. All the news tucked away in the green book. 

The AccountingWEB team is joined in the pod studio by Glenn Collins, the head of technical and strategic engagement at ACCA, and Andrew Courts, the director of the accountancy firm Courts & Co, to get an accountant in practice’s point of view.

Hosted by Richard Hattersley and Tom Herbert, the No Accounting for Taste podcast takes on some of the big stories from across the accounting profession. You can read more about the stories discussed in this podcast on AccountingWEB.co.uk.

Find out more about how Mercia can support your training needs: https://www.mercia-group.com/

Autumn Statement special 2023

This week’s podcast rounds up the year that was 2023 in accounting tech, with guests Billie Mcloughlin and John Toon joining AccountingWEB tech editor Tom Herbert to discuss the impact of AI on accounting tech, what's going on with anti-money laundering technology for accountants, and how the gap between the tech haves and have notes is widening. For links to the items discussed on the show visit: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/content/no-accounting-for-tech-ep20-accounting-technology-year-in-review-ai-aml-and-integrations

No Accounting for Tech ep20: Accounting technology year in review – AI, AML and integrations

What does 2024 have in store for the accounting profession? Dan Heelan joins the AccountingWEB team to predict the big topics that will shape the year ahead.
In this episode of No Accounting for Taste, the AccountingWEB team and Dan Heelan, a director at the accounting firm Heelan Associates, cast their eyes over the ongoing developments in the Post Office scandal. 

The Post Office scandal is one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history, where postmasters were wrongly accused of theft and false accounting, and was the subject of a recent ITV dramatisation of the scandal. 

While the postmasters have received some justice in the court of public opinion, many are still grappling with the compensation payment and the financial consequences of being pushed into a higher tax bracket. 

The team also looks at IRIS’s recent private equity investment and what the ongoing trend of consolidation in the accounting technology space means for accountants and their choice of tools. 

Finally, Heelan and the AWEB editors place their bets on the big stories they predict in the accounting profession in 2024. Who will take the title of the accounting prognosticator? Tune in to this week’s episode of No Accounting for Taste to find out. 

For links to the stories discussed in this episode go to: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/content/no-accounting-for-taste-ep154-2024-predictions-post-office-scandal-and-iris

No Accounting for Taste ep154: 2024 predictions, Post Office scandal and IRIS

Lucy Cohen joins the AccountingWEB team on the podcast this week to discuss the challenges of this year’s self assessment season, receiving a multimillion-pound investment in her firm and MTD ITSA testing. 

With just under a week to go before the self assessment deadline, and 3.8m taxpayers still needing to file, the AccountingWEB editorial team talk about the late filers, the missing information, the client chasers, the late nights, the long HMRC helpline wait times and much more, as we chart the highs and lows of this year’s busy season. 

Lucy Cohen, the co-founder of Mazuma Accountants and speaker at the Festival of Accounting & Bookkeeping, pulls back the curtains on her firm’s self assessment season. 

We also catch up with Lucy on the day that Mazuma announced a multimillion-pound investment from Innovation Investment Capital Limited Partnership (IIC), the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) backed fund. Lucy gives the inside scoop on how the investment came about and their plans to scale the firm in 2024. 

Meanwhile while all attention is on self assessment and planning ahead, the elephant in the room is of course Making Tax Digital. And this week we learned of HMRC’s plans to revive the pilot, only we’re not calling it a pilot. AccountingWEB’s Tom Herbert summarises the latest developments of the digital project. 

Lucy will be one of the many expert speakers at the Festival of Accounting & Bookkeeping (FAB) on 13 and 14 March at the NEC, Birmingham. Go to Fab.uk to book your free tickets! 

Show timings
1m 30s Mazuma’s investment news
11m 40s Self assessment season discussion
30m 40s MTD ITSA testing
36m 55s Festival of Accounting & Bookkeeping

No Accounting for Taste ep155: Tax returns, investment and MTD testing

Join the AccountingWEB team as they talk about the deepfake CFO scam alongside all things post-self-assessment. An excerpt from this week’s Any Answers Live, discusses the highs and lows of busy season with Rebecca Williams and Claire Bartlett. 

With this year’s self assessment been and gone, and 1.1m taxpayers missing the deadline, Richard Hattersley and Tom Herbert talk about deadline day statistics, the late and last minute filers, and the HMRC helplines. 

Now that tax returns are no longer a concern, attention shifts to the beginning of practice software shopping for practitioners. Predictions are being made regarding what practitioners might prioritise this year, with a noticeable interest in data tools emerging as a key focus. 

We also hear from Rebecca Williams, founder of Eccounting Made Easy and Claire Bartlett, founder of Arden Bookkeeping who are both speaking at the Festival of Accounting and Bookkeeping. In a snippet from this week's Any Answers Live, they reflect on the highs and lows of their self assessment season. 

Make sure to book your free ticket to the Festival of Accounting and Bookkeeping at the NEC, Birmingham on 13 and 14 March. 
Interested in practice software? Hear more about the vast array of different vendors and quiz them on new or current software. 
Enjoyed listening to Rebecca Williams and Claire Bartlett? They will be one of the many expert speakers talking about accounting and bookkeeping. 

Show timings 
1m 09s Deepfake CFO scam
6m 18s Self assessment statistics
12m The start of practice software shopping
15m 50s Rebecca Williams and Claire Bartlett talk about busy season

No Accounting for Taste ep156: Scams, stats and self assessment seasons

Alongside Richard and Tom we welcome our new deputy editor, Matt who will be joining the No Accounting for Taste podcast.

A big story this week was the U-turn made by the government regarding double-cab pickups. Richard looks at what happened and what this says about the government. 

With self assessment been and gone, HMRC provided Tom with some more interesting statistics. Tom shares the percentages of how many tax returns were filed by agents, how many were filed digitally and what this all means for making tax digital. 

In other HMRC news, Matt speaks about the name and shame made by HMRC for employers who failed to pay minimum wage. Matt talks about the big names involved, reasons why this might have happened and whether naming and shaming was the correct approach. 

And finally, the sad news of the death of actor and comedian Ewen MacIntosh, who played big Keith in The Office, prompted the team to remember MacIntosh’s impact on the fictional accounting world. 

With only three weeks away, we also get a sneak peek of what the team are looking forward to at the Festival of Accounting and Bookkeeping (FAB).

No Accounting for Taste ep157: Double-cab pickups, SA stats and employers not paying minimum wage

On this week’s No Accounting for Taste, it’s all things Spring Budget. Chatting with Allica Bank’s Conrad Ford, Richard and Tom look at Jeremy Hunt’s “Budget for long-term growth”, questioning whether this was the pre-election Budget they were expecting.

This session is sponsored by Allica Bank, who provides full-service banking for established businesses in the UK.

No Accounting for Taste ep158: Spring Budget special

The team discuss what they got up to at the Festival of Accounting & Bookkeeping (FAB), coming back together for another packed episode of No Accounting for Taste.

Just before we hit record, HMRC made a sudden U-turn on the decision to make permanent cuts to the helpline. Matthew, Richard, and Tom delve into the ensuing chaos and the swift turnaround in their decision.

A popular topic at FAB, Richard speaks about the government consultation to regulate the tax advice market. He looks at what this means and what accountants have to say. 

Tom moves on to a fraud case where cybercriminals stole £53,000 from an accountant’s Revolut business account. He details Revolut’s response and explores the rules of reimbursement. 

Lastly, we hear from a special guest, Kate Bell, farms and estates partner at Albert Goodman on the trials and tribulations of farming, its need for stability and how they are navigating tax measures. Kate talks about the impact that basis period reform, double cab pick-ups and the furnished holiday lettings regime has had on farming.

No Accounting for Taste ep159: HMRC helplines, consultations, cyber fraud and farming

AccountingWEB’s technology editor Tom Herbert is joined by experts Natasha Everard from Bewitching Bookkeeping and Bhimal Hira from Prysm Financial to share their insights into what's hot and what's not on the accounting technology runway in 2024. For full shownotes visit: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/whats-on-accountings-spring-software-shopping-list

No Accounting for Tech ep21: Spring software shopping season 2024

After the Easter weekend, the AccountingWEB team joined for another episode of No Accounting for Taste. 

Tom zeroes in on HMRC matters, exploring their new One Login service, questioning why now and what impact this will have. He also delves into recent complaints lodged against HMRC after their letter to Devonports LAS accountants contained multiple errors. The team asks how a letter like that gets posted and how are they written.

With the recent news that the Accounting Excellence Awards are now open, Richard looks back at the entries from last year and discusses the most common trends and challenges. Interested in starting your entry for Accounting Excellence? Click here. 

Matt closes off the podcast by recounting an interview with AJ Chambers’ James Gosling, speaking about M&A trends. They talk about issues with succession, consolidators and firms struggling to retain talent.

No Accounting for Taste ep160: HMRC, Accounting Excellence and M&A trends

Richard Murphy is a professor of accounting practice at Sheffield University Management School, a chartered accountant and an economic justice campaigner. He joins AccountingWEB for a new episode of No Accounting for Taste. 

Discussion begins on Labour’s plans to raise an extra £5bn a year by tackling tax avoidance. Murphy offers his take on whether shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves is looking in the right places and whether she is speaking to the right people. Murphy’s taxing wealth report is shared as he discusses that with certain measures, £90bn could be raised. 

Talk then turns to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’s (ICAEW) annual accounts being recently published. The team alongside Murphy looks at the funds paid to the ICAEW as a result of fines and penalties given to chartered accountants, whether things have changed in the accounts and what’s next for the reserves.

No Accounting for Taste ep161: Richard Murphy on Labour’s plans, the taxing wealth report and ICAEW

With entries to the 2024 Accounting Excellence being open, Karen Kennedy, director at Kennedy Accountancy and Andrew Griggs, senior partner at Kreston Reeves join Richard Hattersley and Matthew Ord to talk all things accounting excellence. 

Kennedy Accountancy won last year’s New Firm of the Year Award and Kreston Reeves picked up the award for both the Audit Team of the Year and the AccountingWEB Pride Award for ESG.

They discuss the three pillars of accounting excellence:

Client care 
Kennedy and Griggs speak about how big of a focus client care is, how important it is to their firm, how things have changed and the initiatives they have both undertaken. 

Processes
They continue to discuss how their firms are improving efficiency, staff development and the quality of services they provide. 

Growth
Lastly, both Kennedy and Griggs explore what growth looks like for them and how they successfully keep up and achieve balance when growing.

No Accounting for Taste ep162: The three pillars of accounting excellence

On another episode of No Accounting for Taste, Tom Herbert kicks off the podcast by sharing a few recent GovTech developments. These include the launching of an online voluntary NI payments tool, MTD Income Tax private beta testing going live and stories of agent accounts being frozen. 

Both Richard Hattersley and Matthew Ord this week look into workplace culture and lifestyle. Richard delves into Mental Health Awareness Week (13-19 May), its importance and what needs to be done and Matthew questions whether the 9-5 life is the way to go.

No Accounting for Taste ep163: GovTech developments, mental health awareness and the 9-5 life

Richard Hattersley kicks off the podcast with the big news of the election. He explores what this means for accountants and tax agents and what we can expect to see over the next month as well as questioning how the political parties are going to fund their plans. 

After a busy conference season for Tom Herbert, he talks about the biggest trends he has seen. These trends include AI, outsourcing and a shoutout to some new players on the scene. 

Matthew Ord wraps up the episode by sharing a new report published by The Audit Reform Lab which looked into the audit performance of the Big Four. The report revealed that the Big Four auditors are failing to perform their core functions.

No Accounting for Taste ep164: The election, conference round-ups and Big Four failures

Richard Hattersley follows on from the previous episode of election talk by going through each party's manifestos and the tax promises they are pledging. The AccountingWEB team look at what’s missing and how the political parties expect to pay for these promises. 

We are joined by Tom Herbert live at Xerocon, giving us the inside scoop on the latest announcements that are being made and some updates on AI. 

Our special guest Mike Goldsmith, head of events at Sift, chats about the Accounting Excellence Awards. He shares what’s new, popular categories and the trends he is seeing. He offers some advice on what the judges are looking for in this year’s entries. Goldsmith also reveals an increased deadline to 28 June so get applying!

Matthew Ord rounds off the podcast with some M&A chat, looking at the uncertainties that life can bring and why having an exit strategy is so important.

This episode of No Accounting for Taste is sponsored by Comarch, a global IT business and solutions provider that optimises operational and business processes: https://www.comarch.com/

No Accounting for Taste ep165: Manifestos, Xerocon, Accounting Excellence and M&A strategies

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, CEO of Xero, tells AccountingWEB technology editor Tom Herbert why the cloud accounting platform has shifted to a more focused approach, how accounting firms can take more risks, and what doing the books for her family’s business taught her about the profession. For full shownotes visit: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/xero-ceo-sukhinder-singh-cassidy-talks-strategy-risk-and-pricing

No Accounting for Tech ep22: Xero CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy

This week on the podcast, the AWEB team joined by Nimesh Shah, CEO of Blick Rothenberg does a deep dive into the election manifestos. 

With just a week until the election, Nimesh Shah reveals the reality of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat manifestos. The panel also gives mention to some notable initiatives from the Green Party and the Reform Party as well as questioning what will happen post-election.

No Accounting for Taste ep166: General election tax pledges picked apart

The AccountingWEB team dive right into Labour’s landslide victory last week, talking about Keir Starmer and the first female Chancellor, Rachel Reeves. They question whether Reeves will pause and take consultation from those involved in the industry. 

Tom Herbert discusses a popular topic, choosing the right software and apps. He explores the term ‘best’, why that’s not always the case for software and other factors that need to be considered.

Turning back to the election, Richard Hattersley shared that accountancy candidates were obliterated. Has the electorate fallen out of love with accountants and why?

Finally, Matthew Ord sheds light onto HMRC who was criticised for being unable to fix a problem of its own making after the department wrongly refunded voluntary class 2 national insurance contributions.

No Accounting for Taste ep167: Election talk, choosing software and HMRC errors

Sage’s AI research has revealed that the widespread adoption of AI in accounting and bookkeeping could add £2bn to the UK economy alongside 20,000 jobs in the long term. Tom Herbert looks at AI’s impact on accounting and the concerns accountants and bookkeepers have. 

With a new ICAEW president, Malcolm Bacchus, Matthew Ord shares their discussion on plans and expected changes, emphasising a need to continue building trust within the profession. 

As the summer Olympics begin tomorrow, Richard Hattersley brings up Eugene Amo-Dadzie, the world’s fastest accountant. The team discusses the transferable skills between being an athlete and an accountant and wonders if there should be an accounting Olympics?

No Accounting for Taste ep168: AI research, a new ICAEW president and the Olympics

Gary Turner, the former UK CEO and co-founder of software giant Xero, has been appointed to the board of directors at Mazuma. The company’s co-founder and CEO Lucy Cohen joined us – alongside Gary – for a chat on how the appointment came to be, what accounting and tech firms can learn from each other, and whether there’s life left in the traditional partner-led model.

Alongside the Budget being confirmed for 30 October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves also announced a £22bn black hole in the public finances, as well as promising that tax rises are coming. Richard Hattersley looks at where the money might come from, and revisits VAT on private school fees and the abolition of non-doms.

Finally, Matthew Ord looks at the worrying report into local authority audits from The Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors. Concerns have been raised that a high proportion of functions might be unable to complete their internal audit plans for 2023/24, with the under-resourcing of such a critical area also causing some nervousness.

No Accounting for Taste ep169: Lucy Cohen and Gary Turner on Mazuma's growth plans

James Brackley, lecturer in accounting at the University of Sheffield and lead author of the Audit Reform Lab report on Birmingham City Council’s bankruptcy joins this week’s episode. Brackley chats about how behind the audits are for local governments, how it was allowed to get to this point and whether they can catch up. He takes a look at Birmingham City Council’s financial crisis, sharing what happened and the next steps. 

Richard Hattersley speaks about HMRC’s generic nudge letter campaigns. However, due to the generic nature of these letters, it is becoming increasingly hard to tell them apart from scams. The team talk about what HMRC should do to prevent taxpayers getting scammed.

Finally, with GCSE and A-Level results day, Matthew Ord looks at the importance of apprenticeships and how they can be a vital piece of the puzzle to help firms with the recruitment crisis and skills gap.

No Accounting for Taste ep170: James Brackley on Birmingham City Council’s financial crisis

This week AccountingWEB is joined by Bradley Channer, CFO at UBIO and CIMA council member. Channer talks about how the managing director of Mineral Resources wanted to hold his staff captive all day, not wanting them to leave even for a coffee. The team shares their opinion, emphasising why workplaces need to be attractive for employees and what accounting can learn from this. 

Tom Herbert speaks about carbon accounting software, explaining what it is, why accountants should care and what kind of software is available. 

And finally, with the government proposing to hike windfall taxes from 75% to 78% and the industry raising their concerns, Matthew Ord questions whether the government will listen.

No Accounting for Taste ep171: Should employers expect staff to stay in the office?

This week’s podcast brings together four cloud accounting commentators to discuss the evolving role of technology in accounting, the varying adoption rates of cloud solutions, and the future of artificial intelligence in the industry. Recorded on location at Oracle NetSuite’s SuiteWorld conference in Las Vegas, AccountingWEB technology editor Tom Herbert was joined by American duo Blake Oliver and David Leary from The Accounting Podcast and Australia’s Heather Smith from the Accounting Apps Podcast,

No Accounting for Tech ep21: Three continents of cloud accounting

AccountingWEB’s business editor Tom Herbert speaks to Karen Briggs, KPMG’s new head of Brexit, about forecasting in uncertain times, what the firm is advising their clients and what a head of Brexit actually does...

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