AccountingWEB

AccountingWEBUK

Podcast by AccountingWEBUK

  1. 21 Aug

    Get the fundamentals right before chasing AI

    AI may be changing the mechanics of accounting, but the firms best placed to benefit will be those that get the fundamentals right first. That was a central message from a panel at Zoho’s Connected Practice Summit in London, where Taj Accountants founder Abul Nurujjaman, Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) chief executive Ami Copeland and Zoho vice president Prashant Ganti joined AccountingWEB editor Tom Herbert to discuss how AI and automation are reshaping UK practices. Having seen the profession move through RTI, cloud accounting and Making Tax Digital (MTD), Nurujjaman argued that more bookkeeping work will increasingly be handled through AI and automation, leaving practitioners to review exceptions, investigate anomalies and use up-to-date information to support business decisions. But the panel pushed back against the idea that advisory is simply another service package to bolt onto a firm. Nurujjaman said useful advisory work starts with understanding the individual business: whether a client can afford new premises, for example, or what buying equipment might do to cashflow. Copeland made a similar point from the bookkeeping perspective, arguing that being deep in the business numbers is one thing, but understanding its context will allows firms to surface deeper insights. Automation, she said, should create an opportunity to deepen that relationship rather than create distance from the underlying data. That human oversight becomes important as firms adopt generative AI. Ganti warned against starting with a chatbot before fixing the data beneath it. His proposed hierarchy begins with accurate transactions and connected systems, followed by reporting and analysis, with advisory at the top. In finance, he said, a “99.95% answer” may still not be good enough. For full show notes, visit: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/content/get-the-fundamentals-right-before-chasing-ai

    Get the fundamentals right before chasing AI
  2. 16 Jul

    No Accounting for Taste ep218: What happened at Xerocon?

    Despite Tom Herbert missing Xerocon, Richard Hattersley was on hand to fill him in – including the big slide and ball pit. He explains how AI dominated the event, with Xero’s Anthropic integration taking centre stage. Herbert discusses the announcements that stood out, Hattersley’s podcast with Xero CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy and signs of growing discontent among users. Hattersley then reflects on the stories shaping the profession over the past three months, from pressure on owner-managed businesses and reporting reform fatigue to financial reporting changes and the launch of Making Tax Digital (MTD). Looking ahead, he predicts a busy summer, with the first MTD submissions due in August, tax uncertainty under the new prime minister and chancellor, continued reliance on rolling forecasts and a possible AI reality check. The team asks whether the profession is facing its biggest period of change in years. Finally, Matthew Ord shares insights from his conversation with Richard Davis, founder of FNLY and former CFO at SpareRoom.co.uk and Coolr, about choosing your battles when finance leaders cannot afford to be ‘yes people’. Rather than simply saying yes or no, they need to ask why, challenge decisions and act as informed business partners. Hattersley argues that finance leaders must bring independent thinking and in-depth knowledge to become effective co-pilots, while Herbert adds that they must step outside their comfort zones as finance becomes less siloed.

    No Accounting for Taste ep218: What happened at Xerocon?
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