Beyond Numbers by Xero

Trailer: Beyond Numbers by Xero

Welcome to the launch of our new podcast, Beyond Numbers. A podcast for accountants and bookkeepers, hosted by Xero's Ash Gibson.
 
Beyond Numbers is a platform for pacesetters within Xero's community to chat candidly about the issues and topics that crop up at work. It's about exploring the challenges and talking through the tips, tricks and insights together. It's not about educating accountants on how to do their job, but more on how to win at work. 
 
Hear from some of the UK's leaders in cloud accounting about how they're turning the industry on its head!
 
 

The changing face of accountancy in 2022 and beyond

Lauren Harvey from Full Stop and Jonathan Bareham from Raedan discuss the changing face of accountancy. 
This episode covers  building a strong employer brand to recruit and retain talent; the stereotypes of accountancy compared to how it  actually looks today; as well as how to be a better business for the future of the industry. 
Lauren and Jonathan are both founders of award-winning small firms who really care about what they do. They are dedicated  to their clients - taking away accountancy stresses, they’re committed to making their business a great place to work for their teams, and they care about making the industry a place that people want to strive towards. 
 
You can find out more about Lauren and Full Stop here: https://www.fullstopaccounts.co.uk/
You can find out more about Jonathan and Raedan here: https://raedan.co.uk/
 
Beyond Numbers, hosted by Ash Gibson, is a platform for pacesetters within Xero's community to chat candidly about the issues and topics that crop up at work. It's about exploring the challenges and talking through the tips, tricks and insights together. It's not about educating accountants on how to do their job, but more on how to win at work. 
This podcast is brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

The highlights from Xerocon London 2022

This special bonus episode of Beyond Numbers is recorded live from Xerocon London 2022.
Xerocon is unlike any other conference.  It's the place for leaders in online accounting; a place to meet and learn from other firms and technology partners, spend time with colleagues and generally have a great time, learning about the latest in cloud accounting technology. 
In this episode, we soak up the atmosphere of the event, get fresh reactions about new product announcements and discover why Xerocon is so special to our community of accountants and bookkeepers.
Learn more about the announcements and highlights from Xerocon London 2022
 
Beyond Numbers, hosted by Ash Gibson, is a platform for pacesetters within Xero's community to chat candidly about the issues and topics that crop up at work. It's about exploring the challenges and talking through the tips, tricks and insights together. It's not about educating accountants on how to do their job, but more on how to win at work. 
This podcast is brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Marketing with a difference: Setting yourself apart from the rest

Join Xero’s Head of Customer and Partner Marketing, Tracy Smithers along with LinkedIn superstar and accounting firm founder, Jeri Williams, for ideas on how you can market with a difference. 
 
This episode touches on brand building for accounting firms, how to stand out from the crowd in the industry, and finding ways to connect with your clients through marketing. 
 
Jeri Williams is the founder of Smooth Accounting. Jeri created her business from scratch in her garage in 2016 which has grown into a thriving accountancy practice. She’s built a large social following across the accounting industry, utilising LinkedIn and YouTube. 
 
Tracy Smithers is a senior leader with 20 years of marketing experience with the likes of Westpac, a major Australasian bank, Mercury Energy and global creative agency, RAPP. She’s been at Xero for the past 18 months, leading the Brand, Customer and Partner Marketing team.
 
Beyond Numbers, hosted by Ash Gibson, is a platform for pacesetters within Xero's community to chat candidly about the issues and topics that crop up at work. It's about exploring the challenges and talking through the tips, tricks and insights together. It's not about educating accountants on how to do their job, but more on how to win at work. 
This podcast is brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

The ups and downs of remote working in accountancy

Alex Falcon Huerta, CEO and founder of Soaring Falcon and Dave Gibson, CEO and co-founder of Blu Sky Chartered Accountants delve into the polarising topic of remote working.
 
This episode touches on employing remote or hybrid workers, being a digital nomad, navigating the challenges of managing teams across different locations and different time zones, and finding clients who are just as willing to embrace the changing workplace.
 
Alex Falcon Huerta is the founder of multi-award winning firm Soaring Falcon and was named Xero’s Most Valued Partner in 2017. 
Dave Gibson is the CEO and co-founder of Blu Sky Chartered Accountants, a forward-thinking and award-winning accountancy firm in North-East England. 
 
This podcast is brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Making tax interesting: preparing for MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment

Georgi Rollings of Starfish Accounting and Xero’s Stuart Miller discuss the challenges ahead for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) and how to prepare. 
 
Making Tax Digital (MTD) is a UK government initiative that kicked off in 2019 with VAT-registered businesses, with the aim to improve the way that businesses submit tax returns. 
 
MTD for ITSA is now due to kick off from April 2024, affecting more than 4 million sole traders, landlords and business owners, with partnerships to follow in 2025. 
 
But how will HMRC, accountants, bookkeepers and software providers deal with the huge volume of businesses and individuals soon required to comply? What are the opportunities – and risks – for accounting firms and the self-employed? 
 
Georgi Rollings is the  founder and CEO at Starfish Accounting. She’s been a Xero partner since 2011 and is a current member of our Xero Partner Advisory Council – XPAC. 
 
Stuart Miller is Xero’s Head of Product Compliance & Industry Engagement – in other words: Xero’s very own expert on tax regulation. 
 
This podcast is hosted by Ash Gibson, brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Managing change in the ever-changing accounting industry

Andy Mackey, Transformation Director at Azets, and Kat Bond, Head of Partner Consulting and Success at Xero, share their experiences with change management and digital transformation.
 
From business digitalisation and government legislation, to new ways of working, the accounting industry continues to change at pace and there’s no sign of it letting up. Whether firms are faced with a small change or a major transformation, considering the fundamentals of change management and putting empathy and good communication at the heart of your strategy is key to the success of any initiative. 
 
Andy Mackey is Transformation Director at the UK’s largest regional accounting firm, Azets. He’s been a specialist in tech-enabled business change for over 25 years, and is currently responsible for Azets’ transformation projects, covering internal and external client facing initiatives across all areas of the business. He has a particular focus on Azets’ partnership with Xero, and the migration of clients to digital platforms.
 
Kat Bond is Head of Partner Consulting and Success at Xero. She has more than 10 years of experience inspiring teams to deliver exceptional results, as well as helping accountants and bookkeepers through digital transformation journeys of their own, providing her expertise in both cloud-based technology and leading successful teams.
This podcast is hosted by Ash Gibson, brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

How to be an award-winning accountancy firm

Pamela Phillips, founder and managing director of de Jong Phillips talks about what it takes to build an award-winning firm and shares her brilliant advice on how to pull together a winning industry award application. 
 
De Jong Phillips won Small Firm of the Year at the 2022 Xero Awards, and Pam herself was awarded Xero’s Most Valued Professional on the same night. Pam has also won and been a judge for the Accounting Excellence awards.
 
De Jong Phillips are a tech-focused accountancy firm with a commercial mindset, specialising in helping agencies thrive and scale.
This podcast is hosted by Ash Gibson, brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Hell yes: The secrets to building a beautiful culture

Paul Bulpitt, co-founder of The Wow Company and Jen Surtees, Director of People Experience at Xero discuss everything from having a strong purpose and living and breathing company values, to knowing when to say hell yes to that new hire.    Both Jen and Paul are hugely passionate about people, and had some brilliant advice for building and maintaining company culture.  The Wow Company, is a national firm of accountants and a long-time Xero platinum partner.  
This podcast is hosted by Ash Gibson, brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Prioritising wellbeing at work

What can you and your businesses do to better support your teams when it comes to their wellbeing? 
 
In this episode, Xero’s Wellbeing Lead and People Experience Business Partner, Liz Crump, along with Emily Deakin and Liz Micklem from Moore Growth Accountants share their experiences and advice when it comes to focusing on mental health and wellbeing in your business. 
 
Looking after and investing in wellbeing can help your people, your teams and your organisation. According to a recent study commissioned by Xero, businesses that invest more than £1000 in employee wellbeing achieved an average revenue growth of 50.3% and employee growth of 47% during the same period. 
This podcast is hosted by Ash Gibson, brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.