Warming up
If you're not feeling slightly knocked sideways by January, I'd question if you're doing it right. I sometimes wonder how we all cope with our big plans for renewal and reinvigoration when the daylight is so scarce and the pavements so soggy.
It's been ferociously busy at ICB with new events, new projects and new hires. In amongst the excited strategy meetings with my team, I'm just about managing to squeeze in some muddy walks with the dog in the last of the setting sun. After one particularly energetic walk, and some mild lower back pain, I googled my symptoms only to find that a common cause is 'taking big steps when moving forwards.' Ha! What better way to sum up what ICB is doing in 2026.
Taking big steps
Earlier this week, over 1,200 aspiring bookkeepers joined us for our Bookkeeping Discovery Day. Seeing that many people, from all walks of life, seriously exploring bookkeeping as a career is enough to brighten even the darkest days of midwinter. It reinforced something we’ve always known at ICB - bookkeeping helps dreams come true. For bookkeepers and businesses.
Gemma Williams MICB spoke candidly about running a bookkeeping business around a chronic health condition: 'if you are looking for a good profession to be in, I recommend bookkeeping. And anybody who says to me they're not happy in a job nowadays, I tell them it opens so many doors for you. I've got a 13-year-old and a seven-year-old, and I'm not well. I can work around how I feel, and I can be there for my family which I wasn't doing before. I was still at work till 5pm and I didn't see their after-school plays or their sports days or anything like that. It was really difficult. So this job has been an absolute godsend.'
How incredible that bookkeepers get to do what they love, on their own terms, and make a tangible impact for businesses and the economy as a whole. That sense of importance, of being right at the heart of how businesses survive, grow and make decisions, is something I want every bookkeeper to feel, whether they’re just starting out or are many years into their career. Advisory Council member, Sam Wai MICB, captured this beautifully at the Discovery Day when he said:
'every business owner will eventually realize once they grow to a certain stage that they need good bookkeeping and this is where we are. We are there ready to help and support.'
In a world (and a month) where people are rethinking work and how to live with purpose, ICB offers something rare - a warm welcome into a professional career that is flexible, scalable, and genuinely in demand.
Building core strength
Of course, taking big steps forward requires strong foundations. Which is why I’m so delighted to formally welcome Vanessa Aradia to ICB as our new Head of Learning & Development.
Formerly of IRIS, Vanessa has certainly lightened up our days here at ICB. In just a short space of time, she’s already met our Advisory Council and is deep into shaping the next phase of our syllabus and CPD offering. Her focus is on relevance, progression, and ensuring our learning truly reflects the realities, and the future, of modern bookkeeping.
This year is about strengthening the core of what we do, so that our members can confidently take their own big steps forward.
Getting the foundations right (rubbish in rubbish out)
One of my personal missions this year is to see bookkeeping and payroll properly taught, properly valued, and properly supported within firms.
Too often, these disciplines are treated as something people simply pick up along the way, or they're seen as an introductory part of a training programme for accountants - a stepping stone to something else, squeezed between other responsibilities, or delegated without the investment, or professional recognition they deserve. And yet, bookkeeping and payroll are where client relationships are built, where data quality is established, and where trust grows or quietly withers.
This is something I’ll be speaking about at events like FAB and Accountex this year, because it sits at the heart of a much bigger issue - accounting firms cannot build sustainable, advisory-led futures if the foundations are shaky and their clients don't know and trust them.
When bookkeeping and payroll are done right, they open the door to relationship-driven advisory services that clients will pay for.
Like me on my muddy walks, you shouldn't be taking 'big steps forward' without focussing on strengthening your core - accurate real time records and organised systems created and overseen by Certified Bookkeepers and Payroll Agents.
Moving forward together
If I'm learning anything from this wet and wild January, it's that progress doesn’t always look pretty and change doesn't happen overnight. We've got to be kind to ourselves on the journey - don't let a bit of metaphorical lower back pain put you off. It's probably just a sign you're getting somewhere.
At ICB, we’re moving forward, thoughtfully, ambitiously, and very much in alignment.
Best wishes,
Ami
