This is the final episode of a four-part mini-series of Beyond the Capital from SuperTech WM, in partnership with the TiPS Accelerator—a programme helping regional law and accountancy firms adopt new technology.

This episode explores how regional accountancy and audit firm Armstrong Watson navigated the cultural, technical, and client-facing challenges of adopting new audit technology through the TiPS accelerator programme.

Host Hilary Smith-Allen is joined by Steve Preston and Lucy Hughes, who share their experience implementing data analytics tools across Armstrong Watson’s offices, managing team engagement and collaborating with both clients and suppliers.

They discuss how a mindset shift—at board level and across teams—was essential to success, how change management workshops helped guide the process, and why rolling out the pilot at scale made all the difference.

This is the third episode of a four-part mini-series of Beyond the Capital from SuperTech WM, in partnership with the TiPS Accelerator—a programme helping regional law and accountancy firms adopt new technology.

This episode features leaders from Thorntons Law LLP, a full-service Scottish law firm, who speak to host Hilary Smyth-Allen about their journey through the TiPS Accelerator. 

Sarah Blair, Jane McCance, and Lewis Quinn unpack how the firm used service design thinking to drive digital transformation, build AI literacy, and surface the real human challenges behind legal tech adoption.

From co-creating solutions with colleagues to embracing “messy” innovation, they share a deeply people-first approach to change—and how that’s shaping a new internal transformation programme for the firm.

This is the second episode of a four-part mini-series of our Beyond the Capital podcase, in partnership with the TiPS Accelerator—a programme helping regional law and accountancy firms adopt new technology.

In this episode, host Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Dr Catriona Wolfenden, Director of Product and Innovation at Weightmans, a top-40 UK law firm. She shares insights from Weightmans’ participation in the TiPS accelerator programme, focusing on how trust plays a pivotal role in the successful adoption of legal technology, especially emerging tools like generative AI.

In this episode of Beyond the Capital from SuperTech WM, we find out about the TiPS Accelerator - a programme helping regional law and accountancy firms adopt new technology. Hilary Smith-Allen is joined by the research team at Oxford Brookes Business School.

Our host, Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Rachel McGowan, Chief Technology Officer of Moneyline, about the impact of Consumer Duty on Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs). 

This episode delves into the impact of Consumer Duty on financial advice. The regulation was introduced to improve customers’ experience of financial products and advice, but how is it impacting the advice gap?  To find out, Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Ben Hampton, CEO of Wealth Wizards, and Professor John Finch of Glasgow University. John is the Principal Investigator in the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab project.

In this episode, the focus is on the challenges facing credit unions following the introduction of Consumer Duty. Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Helen Toft, a Non-Executive Director at Advance Credit Union in Birmingham, and Elizabeth Campbell, the General Manager at Castlemilk Credit Union in Glasgow.

In this episode, presenter Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Lorraine Breese-Price, the Chief Customer Officer of Dudley Building Society. They discuss the challenges and opportunities that Consumer Duty poses for building societies.

In this episode, Hilary Smyth-Allen explores the challenges and opportunities of AI adoption in the legal sector. She spoke to Emma Jackson, Head of Legal Technology & Data at Mills & Reeve; Vipul Ladwa, founder of legal tech company Casey; and Aisling O’Connell, Head of Innovation Policy at the Solicitors Regulations Authority.

In this episode, we’re finding out about AI and real estate. Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Shakirah Akinwale, Centre Director of University College London’s Centre for Sustainability and RealTech Innovation, who is also a Smart Buildings Technology Consultant. She also speaks to Tom Shrive, the CPO Adiuvo and Chair of the RED Foundation AI committee.

In this episode, Hilary Smyth-Allen finds out about the evolving landscape of the UK's fintech sector following the recent election of a Labour government. With special guest Adam Jackson, Chief Strategy Officer at Innovate Finance.

In this episode, Hilary Smyth-Allen finds out more about the role of the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT). She speaks to its CEO Ezechi Britton.

In this series, we’re exploring the power of partnerships. A fintech that’s focused on credit unions and community banks says its whole business model is formed on partnerships. Incuto's ethos is tech for good. It helps enable people to access financial services that don’t always have traditional routes available to them. 

In this series of Beyond The Capital from SuperTech, we're exploring the power of partnerships. Birmingham-based Fastcheck was set up by Amar Rana who was frustrated by the complicated nature of obtaining car finance. Listen and find out more.

In this series of Beyond The Capital, we’re exploring the power of partnerships. Shame is a huge barrier to tackling problem debt. But the first thing anyone in debt is required to do is complete an income and expenditure form. To help those complete this form who can’t face speaking to a real person, a Midlands-based business has come up with a solution: an AI assistant to help with affordability assessments. 

In this series of Beyond The Capital, we’re exploring the power of partnerships. The number of Brits owning properties in Spain continues to rise according to recent data. But the process of holiday home ownership is complicated. One Birmingham-based business is working to address this. Bueno is a one-stop platform for property owners.

For this episode, we hear from a Birmingham-based start-up that’s leveraged different types of partnerships to help it grow. Lexverify is an AI-powered risk management assistant that helps identify legal and compliance risks in emails and other electronic communications.

A West Midlands-based business aims to make owning a car much easier. In this episode of Beyond The Capital from SuperTech, Hilary speaks to Paul Jewell, the founder and CEO of CarCloud Community - an app that manages insurance, car finance, and key dates in one place.

In this series of Beyond the Capital from SuperTech, we're exploring the power of partnerships. How can an international bank tap into local tech talent and innovation in the West Midlands? Hilary is joined in this episode by Richard Newland, Chief Customer Officer, BNP Paribas Personal Finance.

In the first episode, Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Indy Johal, COO and interim CEO of Advance Credit Union, to discuss how credit unions work and their role in building a more inclusive financial services sector.