Signed shirts and sound judgement

I always try to cram too much into July in a race to get through end of term for the kids and into the warm embrace of a more relaxed August. So far, this month has included a stack of awards entries to judge, a few speaking engagements, my eldest leaving primary school and, the toughest of all for any modern parent, admission into a brand-new parent WhatsApp group! I’m delighted to report I’ve just about managed to survive, mostly through what my kids tell me is now called ‘toxic positivity’. 

So my eldest has finished primary school. If you've been through this, you know that it’s not just a leavers' assembly, but a fortnight-long programme of events designed to challenge your scheduling skills and make you cry at the same time. There was a BBQ, a picnic, a recital, two bouncy castles, abundant mocktails, a 2-hour leavers’ performance and the ceremonial signing of shirts. And, yes by the end, there were indeed happy tears; the kids cried a bit, yes, but mostly it was the grown-ups watching on as our children were encouraged to ‘go change the world’ and left the school gates for the last time looking taller and more capable than ever. And throughout all of this my phone was endlessly pinging with Whatsapp messages from parents from the new secondary school asking the same inane questions about PE kit and music lessons.  

But endings are just new beginnings in disguise. 

I spent a glorious few evenings judging awards entries and finding out how some of the best firms in this profession actually run. I noticed how the most successful and rewarding places to work aren't selling bookkeeping, they're selling reassurance. They’re making clients happy and more successful by becoming the client’s finance team, and testimonials from clients prove it. A good bookkeeper doesn't feel like an external person; they become part of the team. 

That vibe followed me onto the panel stage at the Zoho Connected Practice Summit, with Accounting Web. We discussed what the future holds for UK firms - advisory, AI, automation - all the As! Maybe even a bit of anxiety?! My message here hasn't changed; APIs connect software to software, while bookkeepers connect small businesses to everything - HMRC, software, payroll, the accountant, the future. Bookkeepers are the human API of the small business economy, still gloriously irreplaceable. 

Then came a Sage-hosted roundtable at Chartered Accountants' Hall on accounting tools becoming embedded in banking apps. Listening to Lucy Cohen speak got me all excited about ICB’s role in raising the profile of the profession. While the banks are trying to sell bank accounts by suggesting MTD and tax returns are a doddle if you use their tools, we must continue to shout about the value we bring. A bank feed can tell you a restaurant was paid but it can’t tell you who was at the table, or why. And that difference is the whole point. Capturing the data is easy. But it’s not bookkeeping.  

And that, I realised somewhere between the roundtable and the leavers' BBQ, is the common thread woven through my frantic July. Everything this month was about handovers. My daughter handed from one school to the next. Our profession handed new tools and challenges and asked to deal with it. In both cases, the answer is the same; my daughter isn't keeping the shirt because of the fabric. She's keeping it because of the friends who scribbled their messages on it - the friendships, the shared experience, the bonds that build over the years, one small interaction at a time. Technology can hold the data. Only people can hold the meaning. 

So yes, I'm relentlessly, perhaps toxically, positive about where this profession is heading. The rules and the tools change, but our purpose doesn't. The only constant is change, and the only sensible response, I've decided, is to sign the shirt, dry your eyes, mute the darn WhatsApp group, and walk into the new term like you own it. 

Best wishes,

Ami