Lynne Walker is CEO of Johnston Carmichael, which is a UK Accountancy firm of just under 1,000 people. Unlike many CEOs of such a business, she lives in a town of 10,000 people in the north of Scotland.

Topics discussed include how she manages work and life whilst leading and driving the business forward, how the role of CEO has evolved over the last 5 years and her advice on opening new doors whilst not closing doors behind you.

Timings of episode

00:00-02:23: Introduction and background

02:24-07:20: The journey from Partner to CEO

07:21-10:08: Understanding board-level decisions and challenges of being a CEO

10:09-12:29: How has the CEO role evolved over the last 5 years?

12:30-15:25: How does Lynne manage being the CEO of nearly 1,000 people across the UK when she lives in a small town in the north of Scotland?

15:26-18:57: Taking chances and being adaptable to fulfil ambition

18:58-21:53: 90 years of Johnston Carmichael

21:54-23:42: Professional and personal goals for the next 12 months

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Andrew Holloway is a Tax Partner & Head of Equity Rewards & Venture Capital Schemes at Cooper Parry which is a UK-based advisory and accountancy firm, backed by US private equity firm, Lee Equity Partners. Interestingly, he was employee no.1 of the firm in Scotland (which at the time had over 2,000 employees based in England) but that was nearly a year after he had turned down an offer to join them.

So, what changed for him? What changed for them? Why did he join with no other colleagues to work alongside in his region?

Tune in to hear so much more from this super interesting and honest chat with Andrew.

Timings of episode:

00:00-04:50: Introduction and background

04:50-: 07:35: Why tax?

07:35-15:46: Why did you want to specialise in reward tax and what is it?

15:47-20:45: Why did Andrew first turn down an offer from Cooper Parry and then why did he join as employee no.1 in Scotland for Cooper Parry?

20:46-27:00: How working for a firm with high growth mentality and high risk has been an enormous but fun learning curve.

27:01-31:58: Discussing the different environments of LLP, large mid-tier and PE-backed.

31:59-36:40: 'The Rebels of Accountancy’ - who would be a good fit?

36:41-38:12: Plans for Cooper Parry in Scotland over the next few years

38:13-45:10: What does his voluntary role with Patrick Thistle Football Club’s ‘The Jags Foundation' involve?

45:11-48:10: Personal and professional goals for the next 12 months

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Melanie and Tom had been working together for years under different companies and then they decided to take their effective working relationship into their own hands and launch their own corporate finance business, Quantify Advisors. In their first year, Quantify advised on 14 completed deals with a cumulative deal value in excess of £150 million.

This episode discusses their evolving personal brand journey, the learning curve of being a business owner and how they create added value for their clients.

Timings for episode

00:00-5:35: Introduction and how they met

5:36-7:56: The story so far of Quantify Advisors

7:57-9:11: The learning curve of being business owners and wearing lots of different hats

9:12-14:45: Differentiating as a new brand in a competitive market

14:46-21:29: Working to strengths and navigating personal branding

21:30-23:45: What are Tom and Melanie learning as leaders?

23:46-31:19: What AI can and can’t do to add value in corporate finance

31:20-34:29: Commentary on the corporate finance and private equity market in 2026 and deal flow for Quantify

34:30-36:06:Being consultative by building relationships with clients

36:07-40:15: Personal and professional goals for the next 12 months

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Iain Wright decided to launch his own tax consultancy rather than pursue the next career milestone in professional services as a Partner. He was questioned and faced doubters, but he backed himself and launched Claritas Tax in 2012 with a dream of growing it into a larger business. Regarded as the UK’s largest independent tax consultancy, it now has over 70 employees, which will increase after a recent acquisition.

This episode covers the journey so far, provides more information about the firm, its culture, and also discusses the importance of hiring and retaining talent for a growing firm.

TIMINGS OF EPISODE

00:00-03:31: Introduction and background

03:32- 06:10: Who are Claritas Tax?

06:11-11:06: Why did Iain set up Claritas rather than pursue Partnership for an already established firm?

11:07-17:49 The journey of Claritas Tax (the first 1-3 years) and why some of the early hires have been loyal till this day?

17:50-19:24: Executing the strategy of growing Claritas Tax in the early days

19:25-22:45: Iain’s approach to recruitment and how it has evolved

22:46-30:44: Building the culture at Claritas Tax and the process of hiring and retaining talent

30:45-32:47: What might surprise people about a boutique firm like Claritas compared to a large established firm?

32:48-END: Professional and personal goals for the next 12 months

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Jamie Grant is Managing Director and Head of Corporate Banking for Scotland at Barclays Bank. He is also a Non-Executive Director (NED) for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

In this episode, we hear how Jamie took an opportunity to be part of growing Barclays in Scotland over 20 years ago, when it barely had a presence in comparison to having 7,000 employees now in Scotland. He discusses how working in professional services can develop you, how to gain clients in a competitive landscape and how he built successful teams.

We also touch on Jamie’s first NED role, including the differences between working as an executive versus as a non-executive and advice for others who are seeking their first NED role.

TIMINGS OF EPISODE

00:00-02:58: Introduction and background

02:59-06:55: From Ernst & Young’s mailroom to Trainee Accountant

06:56-08:45: Transferring to South Africa with EY to management consulting

08:46-10:22: How a career in Professional Services can develop you

10:23-17:44: Moving from Bank of Scotland to grow the Barclays brand in Scotland

17:45-22:50: How do you successfully gain clients in a competitive market

22:51-24:17: Discussion on soft skills and creating a great culture with people with different strengths

24:18-29:07: How Jamie built successful teams

29:08-34:15: More on his role as Non-Executive Director for the Commonwealth Games for 2026 and advice for those seeking their first NED role

34:16-37:12: Professional and personal goals for the next 12 months

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Catherine McManus is a Tax Partner and Head of Tax at UK Accounting firm, Wbg, who were backed by private equity firm N4 Partners in 2024.

Topics discussed include advice for public speaking at events, her journey to being a female leader and why there needs to be equality at all levels, not just at senior levels. Catherine also discusses the transition from working for an independent company to being private equity owned.

OUTLINE OF TIMINGS

00:00-08:15: Introduction and career journey

08:16-11:15: Insight into winning 40 under 40 ‘one to watch’ by the Tax Journal

11:16-16:19: Catherine’s career experience past and present of public speaking and advice for others

16:20-21:01: Discussion about a complex tax case that stands out from her career

21:31-: Discussion around a recent report that the BIG4 are missing female Partner targets

25:13-28:28: Managing a balance between work and life

28:29-32:25: How has the transition been with Wbg becoming private equity owned

32:26-33:32: Professional and personal goals

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Jack Bonehill has a successful podcast dedicated to tax professionals and he also offers tax technical training but this is not his full time job. As well as this, Jack works as an Employment Tax Director for PKF Smith Cooper in their Birmingham office.

In this episode, we find out more about how he manages to juggle having a side hustle whilst being a tax advising leader as well as some insight into him previously winning Tolley’s rising star award.

Outline of Timings:

00:00-06:57: Introduction and background

06:58-10:34: How did you get into employment tax?

10:35-12:30: Jack’s approach towards winning work

12:31-17:03: Why did Jack start a side hustle and specifically, The Tax Professionals Podcast?

17:04-20:57: What Jack learned from trying to earn money from side hustles.

20:58-25:29: Is the podcast what Jack hoped it to be? Discussing all the things to learn from doing a side hustle.

25:30-28:12: What challenges are there of having a side hustle when working in professional services?

28:13-31:05: Winning the Tolley’s rising star award. Why apply and what came from winning it?

31:06-35:11: Professional and personal goals for the next 12 months

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Investment Manager, Duncan Thorburn, discusses his career journey from banking to corporate finance and most recently into private equity, working for Foresight Group which invests up to £15m in companies across all sectors, stages and transaction types.

We cover a lot in this discussion such as the importance of mutual transparency between a company and an investor, the importance of backing people, how Foresight support growing companies and the accessibility to capital in Scotland.

TIMINGS OF EPISODE

00:00-11:22: Introduction, background and career journey discussion

11:23-14:01: Skills learned in corporate finance that helped when making the move into private equity

14:02-15:26: What is different about working in private equity than corporate finance?

15:27-21:44: How do you practically back senior leadership in a business as a private equity investor?

21:45-27:52: What information do companies typically seek from Foresight when it comes to understanding the investor? How crucial is mutual transparency in this process?

27:53-34:20: What different ways do Foresight support growing companies in the UK?

34:21-39:05: What is the private equity market like in Scotland in regards to access to capital? Duncan provides two recently completed deals as examples.

39:06-40:47: How do you see the market for Private Equity in 2025?

40:48-42:35: What professional and personal goals do you have for the next 12 months?

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