Episode 109

Success Tips & Key Insights from a Life in Accountancy

Mark Allen has built and developed and sold several multi million pound businesses. He is currently the Chairman of the TAG Accountants Community which provides complex tax advice, financial services, business growth consultancy, corporate finance, insolvency and legal advice through specialist teams to over 100 UK accountancy firms.

Mark and his partners are the advisors to the advisors. He was the youngest ever Chair of the CIMA Members in Practice Panel and currently sits on the Regional Advisory Panel of the CIMA UK Board. Shownotes:

  • How much accounting has changed over the years from someone who has been in the game a long time
  • How the threat of AI and technology will force accountants to do more of what they should have been doing all along - advisory
  • How the accountant of 30-40 years ago is a very different animal to today, even though the qualifications are almost identical
  • The critical areas where accountants need support, potentially from outside their firm
  • Why sales and marketing is very difficult for most accountants
  • What separates the good accounting firms from the great ones
  • The one thing an accountant must do if they want to legitimately offer advisory services
  • Best practice tips for moving from compliance to advisory services
  • The kind of antiquated thinking in accounting firm leadership that holds practices back
  • Why lots of accountants are doing business advisory that they are not getting paid for
  • Where leaders of accounting firms fall short in serving their people
  • The role of 'fun' in attracting and retaining good people in accounting firms
  • The bad doctrine or wrong thinking that needs to be killed in the world of accounting
  • How well served accountants are by their professional bodies, associations and institutes
  • What good training and development looks like in the most successful accounting firms
  • The benefits to accounting firms of outsourcing low value work
  • Tips on succession planning, particularly for the larger accounting firms
  • What's coming up in the world of accounting and finance in the next few yearsm

Mark Allen on the Accounting Influencers podcast with BD Academy founder Rob Brown

Mark's leisure time is split between family, charity work and avidly following sports and in particular his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers. You can reach him here...

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About the Podcast

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Accounting Voices Podcast
Accounting Voices helps people in the accounting world stay relevant visible and vocal. Host Rob Brown interprets trends reshaping the profession and gives listeners insight to build authority influence and a stronger voice in firms and markets.

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About your host

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Rob Brown

Rob Brown is the founder and host of the Accounting Voices Podcast, the flagship solo show of the Accounting Voices Network. Each episode offers sharp analysis and commentary on the trends, ideas and people shaping the global accounting profession.

Through this Accounting Voices Podcast, Rob helps accounting firm leaders, decision makers and professionals stay relevant and make sense of disruption in areas like AI, automation, M&A, private equity and soft skills beyond the tech. His perspective blends clarity, insight and curiosity, making complex issues relevant and practical for professionals and decision makers across accounting and finance.

He also leads two monthly panel shows, Accounting M&A and Accounting AI, which bring together senior voices to explore consolidation, strategy and the impact of technology on firms and people.

Rob is the author of the bestselling book Build Your Reputation (Wiley) and a TEDx speaker whose talk The Personal Brand of You has more than 400,000 views. Over his career he has hosted and moderated more than 1,000 conversations with accounting and fintech leaders worldwide.

Based in Nottingham UK, Rob is a stroke survivor living with epilepsy, a black belt in kickboxing, a decent chess player and an average player of four musical instruments.