Fresh Perspectives

Azets
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  • Management
  • Updated Monthly

Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets – where advisers, experts, and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas, and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

  1. 5d ago

    #30 AI LIPSTICK - PART 2: Why Most SMEs Are Not Getting What They Paid For

    Only 41% of UK SMEs say their workforce has the skills to use AI effectively. Only 45% say their AI investments have delivered a measurable return. Donald Boyd is not surprised. He has watched firms buy AI products without understanding their own processes first and then wonder why nothing changed. In this episode of Fresh Perspectives, Rob Brown talks with Donald Boyd, UK Head of Growth at Azets, about what is actually happening with AI adoption inside UK SMEs. Donald's view is direct. The best use of AI right now is not AI out of the box. It is a root-and-branch understanding of business processes first. What many SMEs are buying instead is AI lipstick on existing software at higher prices. Donald and Rob also get into Making Tax Digital, why the shift from once-a-year compliance to four or five annual touchpoints is a commercial opportunity disguised as a regulatory burden, the case for government R&D support targeted at business process analysis rather than AI credits and why hiring a young person may be the most practical AI strategy available to a 10-person firm right now. Connect with Donald Boyd on LinkedIn. +++ Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets where advisers, experts and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

  2. Sep 16

    #29 THE RESILIENCE GAP - PART 1: Why Some SMEs Will Not Get Through This

    The Azets Barometer told us something interesting. Split almost down the middle. 46% of SMEs pessimistic. 43% optimistic. Donald Boyd has been advising SME businesses for over 30 years and says the data reflects reality. It depends on the business. It depends on the owner. And right now, the average sentiment is uncertain. In this episode of Fresh Perspectives, Rob Brown talks with Donald Boyd, UK Head of Growth at Azets, about the real mood inside UK businesses as we reach the middle of 2026. Donald draws on direct client conversations, not surveys, to explain what is happening on the ground. Labour costs are the number one pressure. Margins are tightening. And a chunk of the SME market is, in his words, in recession. Donald and Rob cover what separates the businesses navigating this from the ones that will not make it through, why the 13-week cash flow is the single most practical tool most SMEs still are not using and what good advisory looks like when a business owner is running out of runway. The message is direct. If you are running your business off a bank statement, you need to have a serious conversation with your advisors. Connect with Donald Boyd on LinkedIn. +++ Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets where advisers, experts and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

  3. Sep 9

    #28 DEBT OR EQUITY - How Businesses Should Think About Funding Growth

    Most business owners think about funding when they need it. By that point, their options have already narrowed. Whether you are investing in technology, expanding into new markets, making an acquisition or just funding the next stage of growth, the question of how to finance it is one of the most consequential decisions a business makes. Get it right and your capital structure works for you. Get it wrong and it works against you. In this episode of Fresh Perspectives, Rob Brown is joined by two Azets specialists: Mark Barrie, UK Head of Debt Advisory, and Lee Humble, UK Head of Corporate Finance. Together they break down the real difference between debt and equity, what each brings beyond the money itself and the misconceptions that cost business owners flexibility and options. Mark and Lee cover how lenders are assessing opportunities in the current market, the mistakes businesses make when they raise finance, and why choosing on price alone is one of the most expensive decisions you can make. The fresh take from both is clear: give yourself time, give yourself options and take advice from people who do this every day. Connect with Mark Barrie on LinkedIn. Connect with Lee Humble on LinkedIn. +++ Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets where advisers, experts and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

  4. Sep 4

    #27 DEBT DECISIONS - Is Now the Right Time To Refinance

    One business owner had stacked so many loans that his monthly repayments hit £35,000. He was profitable. He was thinking about selling up because the debt had become unbearable. Mark Barrie's team reviewed his position, went to market and consolidated everything into a single facility. Monthly repayments dropped to under £10,000. He took the business off the market. That story sits at the heart of this episode. In this episode of Fresh Perspectives, Rob Brown talks with Mark Barrie, Head of Debt Advisory at Azets, about what financial headroom actually means in practice, how to tell if yours is reducing and what the first steps look like for a business that wants to get ahead of its funding position before it becomes a problem. Mark brings 20 years of banking experience alongside his work at Azets and has a direct, practical view of where businesses go wrong and what good looks like. Mark and Rob cover the warning signs that a business should review its funding, why the cash flow forecast is the most important document most businesses are not producing properly, what the risks of leaving refinancing too late actually are and what good financial headroom looks like in the current environment. The Fresh Take lands simply: build a cash flow forecast. It sounds basic. Most businesses still are not doing it properly. Connect with Mark Barrie on LinkedIn. +++ Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets where advisers, experts and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

  5. Aug 26

    #26 CASH IS KING - PART 2: The Decisions SME Leaders Can't Keep Putting Off

    When Peter Gallanagh wants to know how a business is really doing, he does not ask the owner. He asks the receptionist. That instinct for ground-level truth is what runs through this conversation. In this second episode drawn from Rob Brown's fireside chat with Peter, UK&I CEO at Azets, the focus shifts to what great accounting advice looks like in practice. Peter talks about keeping a personal client portfolio despite running a business of 3,500 people, why the Azets Barometer tells him more about cumulative pressure than any single data point, and how he balances the demands of multiple stakeholders above and below against a purpose built around clients, colleagues and communities. Peter and Rob also get into how leaders reset after a hard year, what renowned football manager Alex Ferguson's 20 minutes of reflection says about the mindset required at the top, and why communication is the difference between a great plan and a business that actually moves. Connect with Peter Gallanagh on LinkedIn. +++ Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets where advisers, experts and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

  6. Aug 19

    #25 DON'T WAIT FOR CERTAINTY - PART 1: How SME Leaders Stay in the Game

    SMEs are not fearful right now. They are cautious. There is a difference, and Peter Gallanagh, UK&I CEO at Azets, is clear about what it means in practice. In this episode of Fresh Perspectives, Rob Brown talks with Peter about the pressure building across the UK's small and mid-sized business community. Not one single issue but a cumulative weight of inflationary pressure, taxation changes, labour shortages and higher borrowing costs landing all at once. The businesses navigating it best are not the ones predicting the future perfectly. They are the ones adapting to it fastest. Peter and Rob cover what it takes to lead well in an ambiguous environment, why not taking decisions is more dangerous than taking wrong ones, and what the trusted advisor relationship looks like when a business owner is exhausted and the financial advice barely scratches the surface of what they actually need. Peter's message is direct: it is not always the business at all costs. Sometimes it is the person at all costs. Knowing the difference is what separates a good advisor from a great one. Connect with Peter Gallanagh on LinkedIn. +++ Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets where advisers, experts and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

  7. Aug 12

    #24 STRONGER TOGETHER - The Ireland-UK Business Case

    Cross-border trade between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland has grown from £4.5 billion to £17.5 billion over the past decade. That number tells you something important about the Ireland-UK business relationship – and huge commercial opportunity. In this episode of Fresh Perspectives, Rob Brown talks with Neil Hughes, Ireland CEO at Azets, about the SME market on both sides of the Irish Sea. Neil draws on a career that began working weekends in his father's practice in the southeast of Ireland and has grown into leading a 325-person business spanning Dublin, Belfast and beyond. He knows this market from the ground up. Neil and Rob cover the shift from number-crunching to trusted advice, the all-island commercial opportunity that Azets' Belfast expansion has created, the sectors holding up well in an uncertain environment and the practical case for UK businesses looking west. Neil's advice to any SME owner who hasn't yet explored a cross-border proposition is direct: price gets you in the game, service wins it, and the first step is simpler than you think. Connect with Neil Hughes on LinkedIn. +++ Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets where advisers, experts and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

  8. Jun 10

    #23 Q1 2026 BAROMETER - Why SMEs Still Back Themselves

    This episode of Fresh Perspectives goes behind the numbers of the latest Azets Barometer to explore how SME leaders are navigating uncertainty, resilience, investment and growth in 2026. Rob Brown is joined by Peter Gallanagh, UK&I CEO at Azets, to unpack the findings from Azets’ quarterly business sentiment survey and explain what they reveal about the mindset of UK business owners right now. We explore why many SMEs remain cautious about the wider economy while still backing their own businesses to grow, how leaders are responding to geopolitical and economic uncertainty and why agility and fast decision-making are becoming more important than ever. Peter explains why resilience is no longer only about cash reserves, how succession planning is moving higher up the agenda and why businesses are still struggling to turn AI ambition into practical implementation. We also discuss labour costs, foreign investment, leadership confidence and the growing need for accountants and advisers to act as true strategic partners rather than compliance providers. This episode offers practical insight for SME owners trying to stay resilient, move faster and make smarter decisions in an increasingly volatile business environment. You can connect with Peter Gallanagh on LinkedIn. Download the latest Azets Barometer here: Azets Barometer Q1 2026. +++ Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets where advisers, experts and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

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About

Fresh Perspectives is the business podcast from Azets – where advisers, experts, and leaders share fresh thinking to help you move forward with confidence. Each episode explores real-world challenges and opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs, from finance and growth to leadership and technology. Formerly Bang The Drum, the show continues Azets’ commitment to sharing practical advice, new ideas, and inspiring stories from across the business community. This podcast has featured at #1 in the Apple Podcast charts for Management podcasts and #19 in the Apple Podcasts charts for Business podcasts. Follow and subscribe to Fresh Perspectives on your favourite player, leave a review and share it with others who you think might enjoy it. Find more about Azets at www.azets.com. Contact us at podcast@azets.co.uk.

Information

  • Creator
    Azets
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    60
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Azets 2025, All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Fresh Perspectives

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