Pulling together opinion, analysis, interviews and features on the chartered accountancy profession, along with a focus on the key issues affecting accountancy and the world of business.

Accountancy Insights: Behind the numbers

What’s in a number? How are numbers used to frame conversations? And why is this insight vital for business leaders? Join host Louise Cooper and her expert guests as they unpack the stories behind some of the most important numbers in our world today, to show why critical thinking is more important than ever. More Than A Number is brought to you by ICAEW, representing chartered accountants who are a force for positive economic change across the world.

All views expressed on this podcast are those of the contributors and don't necessarily reflect those of ICAEW or its members.

www.icaew.com

More Than a Number

In this podcast series from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), a panel of guests dissect the latest headlines and provide expert analysis on the top stories from across the world of business, finance and accountancy.

Accountancy Insights

In 2019, the UK was the first major government to commission a review into the economics of declining biodiversity. Here Philippa Kelly speaks with Thomas Viegas, economic advisor to the Review, about the implications for the finance sector.

The Economics of Biodiversity: what the Dasgupta Review means for business and the profession

ICAEW hosted Partha Dasgupta in 2014, early on in the debate on the economics of biodiversity.

Disregarded capitals: what (national income) accounting ignores

ICAEW’s Philippa Kelly and Lindsey Wicks and PwC’s Mike Jervis join host Tom Herbert to discuss the potential moving of tax year end, Bounce Back Loan repayment options, business restructuring and cryptocurrency.

Tax year end, Bounce Bank Loans and cryptocurrency

The BEIS consultation on audit and corporate governance reform proposes sweeping changes that will have a profound impact on the way corporate Britain operates. Why is this necessary now? What will it mean in practical terms? And is the timing right? Cosette M. Reczek, a Chartered Governance Professional with more than 30 years' experience and a member of the ICAEW Corporate Governance Committee, Janet Williamson, Senior Policy Officer at the TUC, and John Boulton, Director of Technical Policy at ICAEW, speak to ICAEW’s Managing Director for Reputation and Influence Iain Wright to find out more.

Audit and corporate governance reform: why now?

Trust in business and other institutions, such as Parliament and the press, has been declining for decades. How do we reverse the tide? Do the measures in the BEIS whitepaper set out a path to build back trust? In the second part of our corporate governance discussion, panellists Mala Shah-Coulon, associate partner at EY; Tom Gosling, fellow at London Business School; Andrew Ninian, director of stewardship and corporate governance, The Investment Association; John Odada, head of board and committees at BP; and Elizabeth Richards, head of corporate governance, ICAEW, talk trust with ICAEW’s Iain Wright.

The BEIS White Paper - part 2 of 2: How do we restore trust?

The BEIS whitepaper proposes replacing the current regulator, the Financial Reporting Council, with a new, more powerful body, the Audit Reporting and Governance Authority – ARGA. ICAEW’s Iain Wright is joined by a mega-panel of experts to discuss this proposal: Mala Shah-Coulon, associate partner at EY; Tom Gosling, fellow at London Business School; Andrew Ninian, director of stewardship and corporate governance, The Investment Association; John Odada, head of board and committees at BP; and Elizabeth Richards, head of corporate governance, ICAEW. Part one of two.

The BEIS White Paper - part 1 of 2: Is ARGA the regulator we need?

How can achieving just four of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals unlock US$12 trillion of opportunities for business? Graeme Pitkethly, CFO of Unilever, Lord Malloch-Brown and Friends of the Earth CEO Craig Bennett weigh in.

$12tr Profiting from the Planet

Is inequality in the workplace inevitable? Of course not – but why are we not seeing improvement in the 11.9% gender pay gap (the average for UK businesses with over 250 employees)? Why do women lose out when it comes to bonuses? And are there instances when a low gender pay gap could be a bad thing? 
 
This episode’s panel holds nothing back. Find out why LGIM’s Dame Helena Morrisey believes that men having more life choices is key to women’s equal pay; why Liz Benison, the MD of Arriva, likens women self-selecting out the system to skiing in a whiteout; why the ICAEW’s Dr Jane Berney thinks that quotas are not a good thing (while others disagree) and why the CEO of the Fawcett Society, Sam Smethers, cautions against a one-size-fits-all-women approach to diversity in the workplace.
 
Business journalist Louise Cooper is back in the chair in this latest episode from ICAEW’s More Than a Number. While guiding the conversation, she gathers a lot of really helpful advice. Dame Helena guides on how best to negotiate a pay rise; Liz shows how very simple amends to language usage hugely increased the number of women taking up development courses; and the panel discusses the benefits of not asking candidates to disclose their current salary in job interviews.
 
Dame Helena Morrisey was Head of Personal Investing at Legal & General Investment Management at the time of recording.
All views expressed on this podcast are those of the contributors and don't necessarily reflect those of ICAEW or its members.

www.icaew.com

11.9% Mind the Gap

Numbers are subverted to manipulate people and policy – we know this, history has plenty of evidence of this happening. But will numbers always be subverted? Is there anything we can do to stop that? 
 
We start with £350 million – the famous number at the centre of the 2016 EU Referendum debate and hear from Ed Humpherson, the UK Statistics Authority’s Director General of Regulation, about how both sides stepped out of line – and what he did about it. Andreas Georgiou, former President of the Hellenic Statistical Authority, shows us how standing up for the truth of numbers can have life and death consequences; Sir David Spiegelhalter tells us why police-reported crime statistics have lost their designation as national statistics; and Will Moy, Chief Executive from Full Fact, discusses what he and his team are doing to help the public sift fact from fiction.
 
Numbers are being subverted – but many are on the case to put this right. Why? ICAEW Executive Director Robert Hodgkinson reminds us that this is fundamentally a conversation about ethics – what you measure, how you measure and how you communicate it frames the public debate.  
 
Join Louise Cooper and her guests as they explore £350 million – Truth, Lies and Numbers in the new podcast series from ICAEW.

£350m Truth, Lies and Numbers

What is society demanding of businesses? How is value going to be measured in the next few years? And what’s the cost of recalibrating our business models? Our guests from Part 1 return to continue to explore if business is ill-prepared for climate change. 
 
Find out how the world is perfecting capable of financing the change that’s needed, how we shouldn’t shy away from the big numbers we see in the media and how there is a monumental opportunity for first adopters of this type of business change. 
 
Financial journalist Louise Cooper is back in chair, hosting guests in the ICAEW’s new podcast series More Than a Number.
 
ICAEW is a world-leading professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports over 181,500 chartered accountants and students worldwide. We provide qualifications and professional development, share our knowledge, insight and technical expertise, and protect the quality and integrity of the accountancy and finance profession.
 
 
Ready to act?
ICAEW has a host of resources designed to help members and businesses respond to climate risk now. Discover more:  https://www.icaew.com/technical/sustainability/climate-hub

All views expressed on this podcast are those of the contributors and don't necessarily reflect those of ICAEW or its members.

1.5°C The Hot Topic: Part 2

Are businesses ill-prepared for climate change? We’re working on it, says Maersk’s John Kornerup Bang. However, businesses could do better, says ICAEW CEO Michael Izza.

Well … they say a lot more than that, along with the opportunities for early adopters, the potential of working together across industries, the need for climate change to be embedded in risk management and reporting – and genuinely inspiring examples of companies which are actively working to zero-carbon futures.

Joining the conversation is Mardi McBrien from the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, Amelia Womack from the Green Party, and hosting them all is financial journalist Louise Cooper.

Join them as they explore 1.5°C – The hot topic.

All views expressed on this podcast are those of the contributors and don't necessarily reflect those of ICAEW or its members.

1.5°C The Hot Topic: Part 1

ICAEW’s Sophie Wales, Philippa Kelly and Lindsey Wicks join host Tom Herbert to discuss the boundaries between accountants’ personal and business lives, the fifth SEISS grant and the difference between e-money and bank accounts.

Blurring boundaries, e-money accounts and the future of tax

Welcome to this ICAEW Insights podcast, where we analyse the latest news from the world of accountancy, business and finance. 

On this show, we’ll speak to Liz Barclay, the government’s new Small Business Commissioner, on efforts to tackle the scourge of late payments.

ICAEW Tax Faculty’s Lindsey Wicks outlines the implications of the government’s proposed reforms to basis periods.

Football finance expert and chartered accountant Kieran Maguire gives us the story behind his hit podcast ‘The Price of Football’.

And ICAEW’s Katharine Bagshaw explains why the IAASB thinks we need an audit standard for less complex entities.

Late payments, basis period reform and football finance

On the show we speak to Eleanor Fairford, the National Cyber Security Centre’s Deputy Director for Incident Management, about the rising tide of ransomware, and how chartered accountants can protect themselves and their businesses.

National Insurance Rise, Ransomware And Charity Fraud

Welcome to this ICAEW Insights podcast, where we analyse the latest news from the world of accountancy, business and finance.

SME Recovery, Sustainability Standards And Cryptoassets Nudge

In this Insights In Focus episode, we discuss the use of artificial intelligence in audit.

AI in audit: the good, the bad and the ugly

Making Tax Digital income tax self assessment (MTD ITSA) will start in April 2026 for the self-employed and those with income from property with gross income of more than £50,000. It has been described as the biggest change to affect tax agents and their clients since 1996/97 when self assessment was introduced. This episode of The Tax Track looks at what agents need to do now to ensure that their practice and their clients are ready.

MTD: what you should do now

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss how the use of new technologies by criminals is putting businesses at risk.

Guarding against the AI cyber crimewave

In this episode we’ll be talking about the problems with VAT and why ICAEW is launching a new campaign, How to Fix VAT.

How to fix VAT

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss the progress of sustainability reporting.

The financial case for sustainability

Two significant changes will take place from April 2026: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) and mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind. 
While April 2026 is over a year away, these changes will require a lot of planning including how workflows and information flows will need to change. MTD IT will require many individuals to keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC, while mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind will see the end of the form P11D process for many employers. In this episode we look at what taxpayers and their agents can do in the coming months to prepare.

Time to prepare for MTD and BIK

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss continuous learning around technology and artificial intelligence.

A ticking tech skills timebomb

In recent years we’ve seen changes to the rules, to processes and to HMRC’s approach to policing claims for research and development (R&D) tax relief. In this episode we map out the current landscape to help you navigate your way through it.

R&D tax relief: where are we now?

In this episode, we discuss the latest developments in President Trump’s tariffs rollout and how they may affect UK businesses. We also explore a new joint report by ICAEW and the Chartered Institute of Taxation into HMRC service standards, which includes research findings from 31 agent firms.

Trump tariffs update and HMRC service standards

Maintaining high professional standards is essential, both for individual accountants and for the profession as a whole. This episode of The Tax Track looks at the importance of protecting your professional reputation and, importantly, what members can do to ensure they get things right in the first place.

Why professional conduct matters

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss the appropriateness of employee ownership trusts (EOTs) for accountancy practices.

Succession planning: is employee ownership the answer?

2025 changes to Audit Regulations are now confirmed and will take effect on 1st June. The new regulations introduce a requirement for ICAEW-registered audit firms to notify ICAEW when appointed to certain complex or high-risk audits. There is also a new requirement for sole practice auditors to appoint an alternate. Sole practice auditors will have until the end of a six month transition period to appoint an alternate (ie, until 1st December 2025).

Check out the original article this audio is based on at:

2025 Audit Regulations changes: movement of audits and sole practitioner alternates

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss the necessary ingredients to support economic growth.

What Britain needs to grow

Ownership of cryptoassets may be on the rise, but many myths persist when it comes to how they taxed. This episode looks at how accountants can help clients to meet their tax obligations.

Taxing times: cryptoassets in the spotlight

In this episode, we discuss how the Trump administration’s tariffs will hamper the government’s growth plans, the progress made towards Making Tax Digital on its tenth birthday, and how changes to FRS 102 and 105 will affect the nation’s small businesses.

Adapting post-tariffs, MTD at 10, UK GAAP changes

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss how professionals should approach social media.

The professional pitfalls of social media

What do marshmallows and hair transplants have in common? Yes, they’ve both been subject to recent court cases regarding VAT treatment. And yes, this episode of The Tax Track is all about VAT.

VAT gets its day in court – again

In this episode of the ICAEW Student Insights podcast, guest host Orkhan Freeman discusses how ACA students can set themselves up for success.

Getting into good habits

In this episode, we discuss the government’s new measures to collect billions of pounds in unpaid taxes, as well as covering the key changes to ICAEW’s Code of Ethics, which come into effect on 1 July 2025.

Collecting unpaid taxes and revisions to the Code of Ethics

Accountancy Insights is celebrating its 100th episode. To mark the occasion, we’ve brought together experts from across business, politics and technology to look at a fundamental problem that’s holding back economic growth: trust. 

Rebuilding trust in volatile times

On 6 April 2025, the longstanding rules for UK-resident, non-UK domiciled individuals – non-doms – were abolished and replaced with a new regime for foreign income and gains (FIG) that is based on residence.

Goodbye non-doms, hello FIG

In this episode of the ICAEW Student Insights podcast, host Jag Dhaliwal discovers what current ACA students need to know as the Next Generation ACA arrives in July 2025.

Next Generation ACA: transitional arrangements explained

In this episode, we discuss how SMEs can pursue growth in today’s environment of economic uncertainty, as well as explaining how auditors should be fulfilling their responsibilities to exercise professional judgement and scepticism.

Supporting SME growth and professional judgement in audit

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss how businesses can best navigate geopolitical risk.

Investment risk: lessons from Russia

The vast number of companies affected by ransomware attacks highlights the urgent need to ramp up educational work on cybercrime, according to a Fraud Advisory Panel trustee.

Businesses face uphill battle on cyber threat awareness

Simple assessment and real-time reporting for capital gains tax (CGT) are two ways for HMRC and taxpayers to sidestep self assessment for income and gains.
HMRC sent out a record number of simple assessments for 2023/24. We explain what they are and explore some of the problem areas. We also explain how the often overlooked real-time reporting for CGT works and look at current issues with CGT reporting more generally.

Paying tax outside self assessment

With so many new technological solutions, it is easy to be overwhelmed on where to start to upgrade the skills gap in your workforce, but starting small and avoiding the hype is still a start.

How to grow: digitally upskilling your workforce

In this episode, we discuss the government’s new Industrial Strategy and, in particular, its sector plan for professional and business services with Iain Wright, ICAEW Chief Policy and Communications Officer. Iain is Chair of the Professional and Business Services Council, which has worked closely with government in devising the final plans.

Inside the Industrial Strategy and navigating VAT reform

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss the hits and misses of the Labour government’s first year in power.

Appraising Starmer’s Labour

In this episode, we discuss the findings of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry’s first report, including lessons for other companies around culture and values. We also explore ICAEW’s latest research into mid-tier practices, covering the key drivers of growth and the biggest challenges ahead.

Inside the Post Office Inquiry and new mid-tier research

In this episode of the ICAEW Student Insights podcast, host Jag Dhaliwal explores how ACA students can ensure they can make a great impression in the workplace, as well as working towards their longer-term career goals.

What managers want

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