Ben James

***Head of Finance recruitment*** Old market assumptions no longer apply. I recently partnered with the CFO of a high growth listed business to recruit a Head of Finance. It’s a critical hire. Lots of acquisitions driving growth. Knowing how year-end pressures can impact candidate engagement, I advised starting the search early. We moved quickly and delivered a strong shortlist. The candidates were technically sound, all capable. But something didn’t click with the CFO and I agreed. Rather than settle, I suggested bringing in a professional contractor. It gave us breathing room to find the right long-term fit. When we re-ran the search just weeks later, the difference was night and day. Many of the candidates didn't surface during our first round. The only thing that changed was the timing. Pre-COVID, I wouldn’t have expected high-calibre candidates to consider a move during year-end. But today, the market is less predictable. Old assumptions no longer apply. So my advice is this: Don’t rush permanent hires. If needed, run the search twice. Use interim solutions to protect business continuity. In this case, the CFO now has real choice and full confidence in the decision ahead #cfo #GMFinance #reogroup

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A week ago we ran some time management and productivity training at IN Accountancy Loads of top tips, tools and strategies to take away, but the one thing? Not something unique or clever... Nothing new, groundbreaking or revolutionary... Just something so simple, yet so effective... TURN OFF YOUR EMAIL POP UP NOTIFICATIONS!!!! Studies suggest that the average worker is interrupted by emails roughly every 5-10 minutes, and it can take 23 minutes to fully regain focus after each interruption... which means that if you have notifications popping up you are constantly distracted, reactive and never in full concentration mode... Apparently on average workers have 30-40 emails per day (chance would be a fine thing - mine can be more like ten times that number) So even if each email only takes 2-3 minutes to deal with (using the RAFT tool - Refer/Action/File/Toss), that's an absolute minimum of one hour per day spent on reactive emails. Then factor in the on average 23 minutes of missing focus per email... well that's your day gone. Even if you only have ten email interruptions per day, that's nearly four hours of unproductive time... So what to do and how to cope in this day and age of constant interruption and expectation of immediate reactions and responses? Turn the damn notifications off!! Then plan a specific time or times throughout your day - and it will vary dependent on your role, your business, your goals - to check and respond to your emails... treat them like a client or a meeting and don't let them rule your day... Simple isn't always easy... What would you do? 📸 Ali Ford

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MTD IT IS COMING 😱 Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) is the biggest change to the UK tax system in decades 🤒 From April 2026, sole traders and landlords earning over £50,000 must keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC using compliant software ✅ (PS Dext have one of those compliant softwares called Dext Solo 😂 ) As an accountant or bookkeeper, MTD IT is going to change how you price services, engage clients and manage workflows, its a lot! 🤯 But MTD IT is also about opportunities, not just obligations 🫡 The MTD Oracle (AKA Paul L.) has produced a top tier guide for free for you to use to get your head around whats to come 🤩 Interested? Link in comments! 🥳 PS Nick Charnley my good pal also works in tax and is my pal in the picture 🥸 #mtd #mtdit #hmrc

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As the tax technology and transformation profession expands, one may assume that it's getting easier to fill vacancies. This is far from the case. We could talk at length about the annual stretching of the 'tax technology spectrum' (a term I've used over the years to capture the growing list of different tax tech roles) as a key contributor to this ongoing challenge. Beyond this, however, the biggest battle that hiring managers face is identifying technically qualified profiles who can 'fit' into their business. Startups feel this pinch the most. The tax software market sees a growing number of new entrants each year and, as these startups begin to scale, they're primarily recruiting from a pool that have been trained at large global players: Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer, EY, Deloitte, PwC, KMPG, Intuit etc. While the pool of candidates is, indeed, growing, the challenge is identifying how many of these large corporate trained technology specialists demonstrate a 'startup mentality': the willingness to roll up their sleeves, work outside of their job description, join somewhere with no structures, be motivated by the bigger picture. Of course, there are square pegs in round holes at such firms, with many people that I speak to destined to be part of the next great startup. But the key hiring challenge in this market is not just navigating the nuances of different technology profiles, it's qualifying the business 'fit'. And this works both ways. I'll speak to those who come from smaller players who've gone on to try their hand at one of the industry giants and simply cannot operate in more structured, specialist, and layered environments. So whether you're a hiring manager or job seeker, the same message applies: don't just think about skill demands, start thinking about what the right 'fit' looks like for you.

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The one and only Chris Downing joined me to breakdown everything you need to know about preparing for HMRC's Making Tax Digital (MTD)… What You'll Learn: ✅ Key MTD deadlines and compliance requirements ✅ Step-by-step preparation strategies for businesses ✅ Common pitfalls to avoid during the transition ✅ Expert tips for seamless HMRC integration ✅ Real-world implementation best practices for business owners and accountants! Watch it now! https://lnkd.in/ebPdah_Y

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