About

One of the skills we all need to develop in our new AI world is Critical Thinking’. Hence the question you are asking yourself is ‘How much of my time is it worth to follow what Ian is saying on AI? So a bit about me.

For the last decade I have been the Chief Technology Officer for Advancetrack – we are an ICAEW certified firm that works for small and mid-sized accountants to deliver compliance services from India and the market-leader in that space. Our operation is super-secure, having ISO27001/27701/22301/9001 and BS10012 – I have to deal with security and data protection every day. We operate proprietary software for which I manage the development process, including writing some of it myself – this is key as the leading edge of AI is in the coding space. Before I worked for Advancetrack I started a few companies – the most successful is Coaching on Call which provides large scale executive coaching services. I spent my early career in engineering and manufacturing including a stint in the internal audit team for a huge global automotive company where I learned a lot about accounting. I worked in the operations practice of PA Consulting Group for several years and have taught operations management and IT related topics at various business schools including Warwick and Bradford. I have a Doctorate from Warwick on the transfer of knowledge into businesses (i.e. how to do advisory) which has given me a life-long interest in influence and the delivery of knowledge.

Whilst I don’t have the deep technical accounting skills a career in Practice would have given me, the breadth of my perspective is one that I believe is worth following even if you don’t agree with everything I say.