Professional Associates Archives - humanisethenumbers.online

Episode 156: Martin Wardle of TH Ward

Paul Shrimpling — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 09:34:53 +0000

What persuaded Martin Wardle to give up a partnership in one of the fastest growing firms in the Northeast to start his own business, not in general accountancy, but as a specialist tax boutique focusing only on tax returns.
What were the triggers for that event happening?
In the course of this podcast with Martin Wardle of TH WARD, we cover a lot of ground, including the pace of technology and where Martin sees the future of accountancy going. He also tells some great stories about the significant impacts he's had on clients that he's worked with over the years, and he shares a lot about what he's learned, both about himself and about the profession.
This is one not to miss. Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Martin and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

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Episode 155: Derek Granger of Aris Growth

Paul Shrimpling — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Given the current pace of technology, how can you know how it will impact your firm?
Well, you obviously can't know for sure, but isn't it good to get an insider's viewpoint on how technology will change things?
In this podcast with Derek Granger of Aris Growth, Derek talks about where he works and how he sees the changes coming through into today’s firms, changes that will have a significant impact, not only on recruitment and training, but also on fundamental work practices.
To hear more about technology and to listen in to a wide-ranging conversation where we discussed private equity and the importance of soft skills in accountancy, listen to this podcast and please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Derek and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

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Episode 154: Luke Farren of The Modern Firm

Paul Shrimpling — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:25:37 +0000

When we discuss technology in relation to accounting, it seems that there has been a rapid pace of change with technology for years now, and it's only accelerating. And with the advancements in artificial intelligence, perhaps the speed of change will accelerate even more.
When I interviewed Luke Farren of The Modern Firm recently on the podcast, I felt that Luke's comments about why accounting needs shaking up are certainly worth a listen.
To hear more, join me and Luke and please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Luke and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

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Episode 152: Phil Hobden of Sage

Paul Shrimpling — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 10:12:33 +0000

How do you ensure that you are continually delivering value to clients, so that they never question the fees that you charge, especially in this volatile, uncertain world in which we're living?
In this podcast with Phil Hobden of Sage, Phil and I cover several topics that are very relevant to the profession today, including: how do we deliver value?
Phil shares some great insights into his nine years working with accountants in a tech space, and also how he's developed a real understanding of accountants and their motivations and capabilities.
And we have a really interesting chat around how accountants explain what they do to clients.
So, please tune in and scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Phil and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

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Episode 150: Jonathan Gaunt of FD Works

Paul Shrimpling — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 09:36:40 +0000

Occasionally, you have the privilege of having a deep conversation with someone who's well-versed in the profession, has worked in industry, has set up multiple businesses, who runs his own accountancy practice and, at the same time, is doing everything he can to influence the success of the profession.
That's the discussion that I dived into with Jonathan Gaunt from FD Works. He set up Xavier, which was sold to Dext and became Dext Precision, and then set up Socket.
In this conversation with Jonathan, we struggled to get to the numbers part of Humanise the Numbers and talked quite a bit about some very specific small things that have big results in enabling you to build your culture the way you want to build it – the working environment that you can be proud of, enjoy, and which delivers real financial success as well.
Scroll down the podcast’s episode page for Jonathan’s contact information and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

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Episode 139: John Thompson, CEO of Wisdom in Practice

Paul Shrimpling — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 12:49:27 +0000

There is a thing that’s been talked about in the profession for decades, something which has never really got traction in every firm in a leveraged way. It works in some firms in a small way and in a very few firms in a big way. It’s that thing called 'Advisory'.
How you move your firm from compliance services to advisory services is an ongoing, almost endless question.
And yet, it's normal, it's natural, to have conversations – human being to human being, individual to individual – and you're doing it all the time. It's just that you may not necessarily be seeing it as a natural part of who you are as an accountant working with your clients.
But in this podcast discussion with John Thompson, we discuss the simple, elegant, obvious, natural merits of a normal, human skill that everyone can develop – the skill of conversation.
We can all improve our conversational skills, but we have a level of skill now. We just need to use these skills and recognise that we're using them in different settings, in different ways, and make it a natural, systemic, cultural way of doing things in our firm. And we might just achieve what John, in one of his firms, achieved, which was trebling fees within two years. Sounds like an outlandish headline, but the reality is it's feasible.
Average fees can be £10k per annum, £20k per annum, £30k per annum, and more. We know this because we see it in firms that have embraced having human conversations more often with more clients. And that's what this podcast is about.

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Episode 138: Russell Watkins, Lean Transformation Expert & Co-founder of Sempai

Paul Shrimpling — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 12:33:34 +0000

When you're trying to unlock the potential that you know exists within your team, within your client bank, within your firm as a whole, it can feel frustrating that you just can't seem to get to it, you can't unlock it.
In this podcast discussion with Russell Watkins, who's spent 30 years in the lean, process improvement space working with manufacturing and other businesses, we tap into a potential key for you, your team, your firm, to truly get to the levels of performance you believe exist within your firm.

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Episode 135: Mark Allen, Co founder of the TAG Community

Paul Shrimpling — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 11:11:56 +0000

If there's a phrase that encapsulates the content of this podcast discussion with Mark Allen, it would be 'applied wisdom'.
We tap into Mark's several decades of working within the profession, first as a board director of PLCs, then transitioning into a practice leader, starting up and successfully selling a three-office firm, and finally moving into working with networks for accountants across the UK.
Mark is a bit of a hero of mine, overcoming serious health challenges to continue to pursue his passion for what you and your firm do – helping your clients succeed, helping your team succeed, helping yourself succeed.
I hope you take time out to dive into the handful of profoundly powerful insights that Mark shares. It was a real pleasure and privilege to invite Mark onto the podcast.
Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Mark and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

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Episode 131: Dan Cockerton, Founder, Digital Accountancy Show

Paul Shrimpling — Fri, 09 May 2025 14:42:02 +0000

It's a unique experience to have someone who is in the digital space in a deep way coming on the podcast to talk about humanising the numbers. Getting Dan Cockerton onto the Humanise the Numbers podcast has been an ambition of mine for the last 12 months or so – and we've finally managed to make it work. And it was a bit of a relief that, when challenged about digital first versus human first, Dan chose human first.
On the podcast, he unpacks and shares his insights of working with the profession, with individual firms, and with his own experience of starting up a new event space, one which had 600 people at the first event and has just had more than 5,000 attendees at the fifth. It shows you what's possible when you put your mind to it.
If you want to get deep and meaningful and personal, Dan shares something very personal within this podcast, something that shows how important goal setting is to the success of an individual and to the success of a business.
I really appreciated Dan being so open and candid about this because it was as human as it gets.

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Episode 125: Billie Mcloughlin, Practice Consultant at 20:20 Innovation Training Ltd

Paul Shrimpling — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 14:14:16 +0000

It's just brilliant to have a chance to speak to an accountant who has worked in practice – right at the centre of adopting technology – who then moves on to being a provider to the accountancy profession. But rather than being a provider of software services, Billie Mcloughlin is part of the 20:20 Innovation team.
She’s working with a large number of leaders and managers across many firms and uncovering how they're adapting to the changes that are hitting the profession.
It’s great to have an opportunity to tap into Billie's insights around the fact that it's a growing firm that creates opportunities for your key people – and that's a challenge. The technology, AI in particular, is coming at us like a train, and that is a challenge too.
And then there is the challenge of demonstrating value to clients, because it's not just about 'Ooh, we saved you some tax' – it's about much more than that.
I hope you enjoy and find value in this conversation with Billie.

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