Humanise The Numbers - for ambitious accountants in practice

Hosted by Paul Shrimpling

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Episodes

176

Latest episode

Sep 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

Welcome to the 'Humanise The Numbers' podcast series. Here you'll find a whole series of interviews with the leaders of accounting firms who are building (or have already built) a firm of the future now! You'll hear key insights, key skills and key habits that underpin the success of these firms. Insights, skills and habits that can underpin your firm's future success too. It seems that when an accountancy firm connects their team and their clients to the numbers that really matter to them they transform the results for everyone. This is accelerated when the humanity of the way they work shines through too. That's why we're talking about ambitious accountants humanising the numbers.Here's what a director of a multi-partner multi-national firm said recently ."What I like about your podcasts is that they are real. They are not scripted and I appreciate the fact that your interviewees admit they don’t have all the answers but are willing to let you put that fact out on a podcast. It is what is going on at the front lines of great small accounting practices. I have now listened to about half of them, I intend listening to them all as each one just has a nugget that I am writing down to see if I can use in our practice at some stage."

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 30, 202652 min

Hugh O'Neill, Accountant in Residence at FloQast

How do you prepare your firm to use AI – Artificial Intelligence? What problems are you actually trying to solve? In this podcast with Hugh O'Neill of FloQast, Hugh lifts the lid on what it's like to work in an accounting firm that's using AI. He also tells us what isn't changing, which I found really interesting. We cover a lot of ground in the space of 40 minutes or so, so please join Hugh and me at humanisenumbers.online or wherever you get your podcasts. Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Hugh and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

September 30, 202653 min

Ian Cooper, Head of UK region & growth at FYI

Who’d have thought that document management could be sexy and interesting? In this podcast with Ian Cooper of FYI Docs, Ian, by his own admission, does tell us that doc management isn't really that sexy, but it did make for an interesting podcast. Ian and I talked over a range of subjects, not least the inevitable rise of AI and the accelerating pace of technology. I especially appreciated Ian's views on how AI can help the accountant with the human side of their business. To listen in on this thought-provoking podcast, go to humanisethenumbers.online or to your favourite podcast platform. And you can scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Ian and for the additional downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

August 4, 20261 hr 4 min

Ryan Tierney of Lean Made Simple

It's not every day you get to meet a leader who's grown a business from the ground up to £10M plus, and who then gets bored and buys a bigger business to aim to transform its results. In this podcast discussion with Ryan Tierney, of the core business Lean Made Simple, Ryan shares his experience of how lean improvements can transform the culture and the results of a business, as well as the perception of value from its clients. During the discussion, I did what I could to extract from Ryan how those in the accounting profession could adopt lean process improvement in a way that delivers greater value to the client, ensures greater buy-in from the team, and generates brilliant, better, greater results. If you're interested in diving into this podcast discussion with Ryan Tierney, please go to HumanisetheNumbers.online or to your favourite podcast platform. Scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Ryan and for the additional downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

August 4, 20261 hr 6 min

Philippa White, Founder & CEO, TIE Leadership

What sort of work makes your eyes sparkle? And why am I asking that question? In this podcast with Philippa White of TIE Leadership, you'll discover the things that she has learned in the 20 years she’s been running her business, especially in relation to the importance of being a people-centric business. Philippa quotes a 23% increase in profitability, and she shares the transformation that leaders can have in their businesses. I can thoroughly recommend this podcast. To listen, go to humanisethenumbers.online or wherever you get your podcasts. Scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Philippa and for the additional downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

August 4, 202656 min

Amy Hancock of Hancock and Hastings

What's it like to leave the security of employment in a medium-sized firm to set up on your own? In this podcast with Amy Hancock of Hancock and Hastings, you'll find out how Amy decided that the time was right and how she has made what was a side hustle into a full-blown, well-run business. You’ll also discover the factors which Amy considered as she thought about taking that big step of setting up on her own. To find out more and to listen to the whole podcast, please go to humanisthenumbers.online or wherever you get your podcasts. Scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Amy and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

August 3, 202654 min

Robert Newman of Carter Collins and Myer

What does martial arts have to do with running a medium-sized accounting firm? Well, as it turns out in this podcast with Rob Newman of Carter Collins & Myer, quite a lot. We didn't just talk about martial arts, though. In the podcast, we touch on the importance of how we work with our clients and how accountants can genuinely change lives. We also discuss Rob's LinkedIn style and how he's mastered the art of the inscrutable selfie from his car! For this and a lot more, please go to HumaniseTheNumbers.online or to your usual podcast platform. Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Rob and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

June 11, 20261 hr 12 min

Sam Pearce of Train of Thought

Every time we work with a firm and every time we make a podcast, we seek to challenge the status quo. What we mean by that is that we want to challenge your thinking, your decision making, and even the actions you take, with the aim that you achieve transformative results. When I invited Sam Pearce, of Train of Thought, onto the podcast, I felt that challenge myself, as he coaches and mentors people from the creative sectors, as opposed to the number industry that we're all in. I was therefore expecting to hear a lot about differences that would challenge my thinking. What actually stood out for me, however, were the similarities of the challenges that he and the people in his industry are facing, and how we, in our profession, the accountancy profession, can learn from that. So please come and have a listen to this HumaniseTheNumbers.online podcast with Sam Pearce. Scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Sam and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

June 9, 202653 min

Elaine Godley of The DISCPlus Academy

Can you begin to imagine what it's like to have been given a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis, then to beat that diagnosis, not just once, but twice, through an awareness of the link between behaviour and health? In our latest podcast, Elaine Godley of The DISCPlus Academy shares the insights and knowledge acquired from over 40 years of experience in professional services, including accountancy and legal. More recently, Elaine has been exploring behavioural analysis and the impact of behaviour on our health. And let me tell you, it's an inspiring tale. We cover a range of topics in this podcast, including what it's like to work in professional services, the stresses and strains that it causes on our health, and the ability to self-manage, improving our outlook and being our authentic selves at work. Please go to humanisethenumbers.online or to your favourite podcast platform to listen to this fascinating conversation. Scroll down the podcast’s episode page for Elaine’s contact information and for the additional downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

June 9, 202654 min

Nathasha Frangos of HaysMac

It's rare to find a firm with 650 people and just two offices that is still privately owned – the sort of firm that private equity firms would give their right arm for. It was therefore a great privilege to welcome Natasha Frangos of HaysMac onto the podcast. Natasha shares what's behind their 65% organic growth in the last four years, their sector-specific strategies, their commitment to and progression of their team, and their level of team engagement. So why not go and dive into the podcast discussion with Natasha from HaysMac at your favourite podcast platform or at HumaniseTheNumbers.online. Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Natasha and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.

May 25, 20261 hr 15 min

Amy Spillard and John Toon from HLB Global

In a world where technology, and AI in particular, is becoming ever more dominant, it makes sense to investigate and delve into how the interrelation between the adoption of technology and how it works for your team and for your clients is relevant to you and your firm. In this podcast with John Toon and Amy Spillard from HLB, the global accounting network, we discussed the importance of understanding that anything to do with innovation around technology becomes a process of leading and managing change. Amy, John, and I unpack their experiences of working with different fintech companies, and with different technologies, and how they've made it work across HLB and the other firms that they had previously worked for. If you're interested in working out how to implement better, faster, deeper technology innovation in your firm, check out this podcast at HumaniseTheNumbers.online , or go to your favourite podcast platform and seek out the podcast with Amy and John from HLB. Please scroll down the podcast’s episode page for the contact information for Amy and John and for the additional, downloadable resources mentioned in the podcast.