3 Minutes with Nick Stobbs

Get to know Nick from Tax on Demand, ahead of joining his panel on the future of AI in tax, at Accountex Summit Manchester on the 19 of September. 

How did you get into your profession?

Growing up I always wanted to be a lawyer. I read all the John Grisham books and watched all the legal movies, one of my favourites of all time being A Few Good Men. That led me to a law degree, but hours of jurisprudence lectures highlighted the fact that practicing law as a career wasn’t going to be for me. Having completed my degree, I turned my attention to business, specifically business finance and completed a Masters in Business Finance & Management. Having successfully completed my MSc (distinction/first vs. a 2:2 in my degree!) I applied for a training contract in the Business Tax team at Peters, Elworthy & Moore (now PEM) based in Cambridge. The rest is history…

What do you love most about what you do?

The thrill of venturing into the unknown and working on something that hasn’t been done before. The process of building experimental AI and automation technology is a dynamic and (largely) unknown journey that offers a mix of intellectual stimulation, creative exploration and the potential to create real-world impact. It allows us to push to boundaries of what’s currently possible and it’s an opportunity to think outside of the box, develop novel solutions and create something truly unique.

What’s your biggest achievement?

Building the team at Tax on Demand. We have an incredible team who are genuinely passionate about our mission (to instantly identify what tax advice clients need) and are committed to seeing it through. Their unwavering dedication helps us preserve through the long-hours and learning challenges that all scale-ups inevitably face.

What do you see as key trends for the sector in the coming year?

Once the gold rush (or sugar rush?) of ChatGPT and generative AI settles down I think the practical reality of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) will become increasingly important in the accountancy profession. I have a natural bias towards these technologies, in particular intelligent decision automation to help improve efficiency, reduce errors and free up accountants’ time for more strategic and value-add activities. Alongside AI and automation, I think data analytics/insights, cybersecurity/data privacy and sustainability reporting will dominate the narrative within the profession over the coming years.

How important is Accountex to you and the sector? 

Accountex is incredibly important to Tax on Demand, its ultimately where we launched our platform in May 2023 and it offers us the opportunity to showcase our innovative software directly to an engaged audience and also connect with potential clients, exchange ideas and establish valuable relationships within the sector.

What do you have in store for your speaker session?

We know that tax authorities around the world are using artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to spot risks in ways that practitioners need to be aware of. AI and data (in particular expert decision automation) can help improve efficiency, reduce errors and free up accountants’ time for more strategic and value-add activities. We’ll be taking a deep dive into what is happening, what is on the horizon and how to plan for it.

Tax On Demand will be exhibiting at Accountex Summit Manchester on the 19 September 2023 on stand B18.

You can register for a free ticket here.

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