Diplomatic meetings under a president's watchful gaze, 200,000 taxpayers without an agent, and why the bookkeeper of 2026 is not who you think they are. March has been busy.
From Baku with love: ICB's global mission in action
Earlier this month I had the privilege of travelling to Azerbaijan for a second time with our brilliant new Global Partnerships Manager, Ulgen Coskun. Ulgen, formerly at CIPFA and ACCA, joined the ICB team late last year. I can tell you she's exactly the kind of person you want by your side when you're sitting across the table from a Deputy Finance Minister. Which is exactly where I found myself.
The Ministry of Finance was an intimidating sort of building with exceptionally high ceilings and giant corridors - a building which, like all the others we visited, had a framed picture of the president in every office.
It’s lucky that Ulgen speaks Azerbaijani, because I only know a few key words and how to say things like “more fried aubergine please”. But even though I couldn’t speak the language, I understood almost everything. Language isn’t the only way people communicate meaning. When people care deeply about the same things, in this case ambition for students and for the profession, the meaning comes through anyway.
As I sat in those large rooms drinking little glasses of black tea, I found myself thinking about how bookkeeping is a universal language. Numbers aren’t English or Azerbaijani. A balance sheet speaks the same language in Baku as it does in Brixton. That shared language of financial truth is part of what makes this profession so relevant everywhere.
While in Baku we were joined by Nuriyya Novruzova, our representative in Azerbaijan, who was an incredible guide and generous host. Together we were there to lay the groundwork for launching a new qualification in public financial management - aligning professional qualifications with international standards and supporting Azerbaijan’s ambitious digital public finance reforms, including their national E-Muhasibatlıq (E-Accounting) system.
ICB’s strategic difference isn’t just that our qualifications are recognised around the world. It’s that we insist they have local relevance, are available in local languages, and that barriers to entry come down.
Because bookkeeping is like the meat on the bones of accounting. The bulk of the work isn’t strategic theory, it’s making sure real-time financial data is properly overseen. Not re-keyed and not just processed. The modern bookkeeper is the expert eye making sure you can trust the numbers and understand what they really say. Which is why expanding access to it - globally, locally, and in every language, matters so much to me.
The Bookkeepers Summit is back - don't miss Early Bird pricing
Bookkeepers Summit tickets are on sale!
I am so excited about this event. It's one of my favourite days in the ICB calendar, the enthusiasm and compassion in the room (and in the virtual space) are always so cool to be part of, and every year I come away buzzing, if a little bereft when it's all over.
There is an Early Bird discount available, but only until 27 March so please don't be too relaxed. Head to bookkeeperssummit.com, grab your ticket, tell your team, and mark the date.
MTD: The numbers are real, and your moment is now
Last week we hosted a virtual MTD Implementation Day with over 700 attendees - so clearly bookkeepers are on it.
HMRC's Lenny Barry shared some stats during his session that I haven't stopped thinking about: approximately 2,500 taxpayers are signing up to MTD every single day. And of the roughly 860,000 taxpayers expected to come into MTD for Income Tax in April, more than 200,000 of them currently have no agent. No one in their corner. No one to help them navigate what is, for many, a genuinely daunting change.
They will be looking for guidance. They will be looking for someone they can trust.
HMRC has specifically asked ICB to help provide more foundational bookkeeping know-how for taxpayers because bookkeeping is key to MTD. We'd love to get our members involved in that, so watch this space.
See You at FAB next week
I'm speaking next week at FAB - the Finance, Accounting and Bookkeeping event run by AccountingWEB, and I'll be opening the Bookkeepers Stage. Here's what I'll be covering:
A clear view of what's next for bookkeepers - from AI and MTD to how the role is shifting in practice. Fresh insights from ICB member survey data, what firms and clients are asking for right now, and practical takeaways you can apply in your own work straight away.
If you're attending, please do come and find me. And if you're not, I'll share as much as I can afterwards.
Updated guidance: ACSP, Tax Advisor Registration, and FCA AML
Three things are converging simultaneously, and all three have real implications for practitioners. ACSP registration (the Authorised Corporate Service Provider requirement from Companies House), tax advisor registration, and FCA AML supervision. And all three, at present, share the same frustrating characteristic: there is simply not yet enough detailed guidance for practitioners to plan with confidence.
The good news is that the vast majority of ICB members are exactly what the new regime of increased goverment oversight is designed to protect and amplify: honest, diligent professionals who take their AML responsibilities seriously and are a genuine line of defence against financial crime. The regulatory changes, properly implemented, should reflect that. Our job at ICB is to make sure the guidance is clear enough for members to meet that bar without being buried in it.
If things feel vague right now, that's because, erm, they are. ICB alongside other professional bodies has asked for more clarity, particularly on tax advisor registration. We won't stop until we get it.
In the meantime, our updated guidance on acting as a tax agent and registering as a Tax Adviser is available at bookkeepers.org.uk/Resources/Tax-Agents and you'll find updated guidance on MTD IT here bookkeepers.org.uk/Resources/MTD-for-IT. Please use them, share them with colleagues, and know that we are in your corner on this.
March is a busy month. It always is. But it's also a month full of momentum, Garry Carter's birthday and Mothers Day!
As always, thank you for everything you do. Hopefully I'll see you soon.
Best wishes,
Ami
