Managing change in the ever-changing accounting industry

09/28/22 • 49 min

Andy Mackey, Transformation Director at Azets, and Kat Bond, Head of Partner Consulting and Success at Xero, share their experiences with change management and digital transformation.

From business digitalisation and government legislation, to new ways of working, the accounting industry continues to change at pace and there’s no sign of it letting up. Whether firms are faced with a small change or a major transformation, considering the fundamentals of change management and putting empathy and good communication at the heart of your strategy is key to the success of any initiative.

Andy Mackey is Transformation Director at the UK’s largest regional accounting firm, Azets. He’s been a specialist in tech-enabled business change for over 25 years, and is currently responsible for Azets’ transformation projects, covering internal and external client facing initiatives across all areas of the business. He has a particular focus on Azets’ partnership with Xero, and the migration of clients to digital platforms.

Kat Bond is Head of Partner Consulting and Success at Xero. She has more than 10 years of experience inspiring teams to deliver exceptional results, as well as helping accountants and bookkeepers through digital transformation journeys of their own, providing her expertise in both cloud-based technology and leading successful teams.

This podcast is hosted by Ash Gibson, brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Andy Mackey, Transformation Director at Azets, and Kat Bond, Head of Partner Consulting and Success at Xero, share their experiences with change management and digital transformation.

This podcast is hosted by Ash Gibson, brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Previous Episode

Making tax interesting: preparing for MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment

Georgi Rollings of Starfish Accounting and Xero’s Stuart Miller discuss the challenges ahead for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) and how to prepare.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is a UK government initiative that kicked off in 2019 with VAT-registered businesses, with the aim to improve the way that businesses submit tax returns.

MTD for ITSA is now due to kick off from April 2024, affecting more than 4 million sole traders, landlords and business owners, with partnerships to follow in 2025.

But how will HMRC, accountants, bookkeepers and software providers deal with the huge volume of businesses and individuals soon required to comply? What are the opportunities – and risks – for accounting firms and the self-employed?

Georgi Rollings is the founder and CEO at Starfish Accounting. She’s been a Xero partner since 2011 and is a current member of our Xero Partner Advisory Council – XPAC.

Stuart Miller is Xero’s Head of Product Compliance & Industry Engagement – in other words: Xero’s very own expert on tax regulation.

This podcast is hosted by Ash Gibson, brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.

Next Episode

How to be an award-winning accountancy firm

Pamela Phillips, founder and managing director of de Jong Phillips talks about what it takes to build an award-winning firm and shares her brilliant advice on how to pull together a winning industry award application.

De Jong Phillips won Small Firm of the Year at the 2022 Xero Awards, and Pam herself was awarded Xero’s Most Valued Professional on the same night. Pam has also won and been a judge for the Accounting Excellence awards.

De Jong Phillips are a tech-focused accountancy firm with a commercial mindset, specialising in helping agencies thrive and scale.

This podcast is hosted by Ash Gibson, brought to you by Xero and produced by Bird Lime Media.