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Business growth articles

Read our latest features and articles on growing your business.
Displaying 1-30 of 58 results
How much is red tape costing business? Tell the government
  • Article
  • 12 Nov 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
ICAEW urges members to share their experiences of the administrative burden and cost of meeting regulatory requirements.
Two women having a meeting between themselves
Directors’ reports to be scrapped and more companies to be exempt from strategic reports
  • Article
  • 27 Oct 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
In a package of reforms aimed at reducing bureaucracy and supporting businesses growth, the UK government has announced plans to remove the requirement for companies to prepare a directors’ report as part of their annual report and accounts.
A selection of graphical charts
Chart of the week: the cost of (government) borrowing
  • Article
  • 10 Oct 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Our chart this week looks at the cost of government borrowing by country based on 10-year government bond yields.
Group of people around a table having a meeting
Business confidence hits three-year low
  • Article
  • 09 Oct 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
A record 60% of firms are worried about the tax burden, a tenfold increase over the last five years, according to ICAEW’s latest Business Confidence Monitor.
A selection of graphical charts
Chart of the week: GDP revisions
  • Article
  • 03 Oct 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Our chart this week looks at how a large upward revision in GDP for 2024/25 translates into a relatively modest 0.1 percentage point increase in economic growth per year since the pandemic.
London Westminster
Influencing policy to support you: September 2025
  • Article
  • 30 Sep 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
This month, ICAEW engaged with ministers to address issues ranging from employment rights and pensions reform to trade, inheritance tax and business growth.
Chart of the week article thumbnail image for 25 September 2025
Chart of the week: Productivity
  • Article
  • 26 Sep 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Our chart this week looks at how productivity growth has slowed significantly over the past quarter of a century and asks what can be done to turn it around.
Chart of the week: Business confidence dips further
  • Article
  • 19 Sep 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Our chart this week looks at how business confidence has entered negative territory, driven by uncertainty about both the economic outlook and potential tax rises.
From left: Alan Vallance, ICAEW Chief Executive; Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the Conservative Party; Peter Wyman, ICAEW Chair of the Board at an event at Chartered Accountants Hall on 9 September 2025
Kemi Badenoch speaks at ICAEW: ‘we need to take risks’
  • Article
  • 09 Sep 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Speaking at Chartered Accountants Hall, the Leader of the Opposition told ICAEW’s CEO her vision for a less risk averse, lower tax and regulation environment for UK businesses.
Chart of the week: Business growth
  • Article
  • 05 Sep 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Our chart this week asks whether the recent low rate of growth in numbers of businesses registered for PAYE and VAT is linked to the increasing difficulty of doing business in the UK.
A pair of hands holding 3 blocks showing compliance symbols
Small Business Plan: practical resources for businesses
  • Article
  • 13 Aug 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Outside of the plans to tackle late payments, the government’s Small Business Plan outlines a number of support measures for small businesses.
London Westminster
Influencing policy to support you: July 2025
  • Article
  • 31 Jul 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
This month, ICAEW used the Q2 Business Confidence Monitor to highlight declining business confidence and engaged with policymakers on financial services reform, employment rights, HMRC transformation and small business growth.
Scaling up: how to build flexibility into your strategy
  • Article
  • 14 Jul 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
How to grow: scaling a business isn’t just about growth, it’s about growth with resilience – especially during these times of greater uncertainty.
Science lab microscopy looking at samples
How to Grow: key considerations for scaling a business
  • Article
  • 11 Jul 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Vision, structure, strategy and the importance of a focused mindset and constant self-growth were highlighted as essential factors for scaling a business at ICAEW’s Scale-Up Live.
Growth strategies in an environment of uncertainty and chaos
  • Article
  • 19 Jun 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
What new metrics should business start measuring and tracking given the current economic uncertainty and chaos? Economist Rebecca Homkes outlines five new metrics for a volatile world.
Group of people around a table having a meeting
How is the UK using green budgeting?
  • Article
  • 09 Jun 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Aligning government budgets with climate goals can deliver sustainable growth and environmental commitments. ICAEW talks to economics expert Dimitri Zenghelis about the UK’s approach.
Group of people around a table having a meeting
How to grow: mitigating rising employment costs
  • Article
  • 14 May 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Recent rises in employers’ National Insurance contributions and the national minimum wage have left businesses with very little room to pursue growth and innovation plans.
Carol Handa FCA, CFO at Bruce’s Doggy Day Care
Lessons from the top: Carol Handa FCA
  • Article
  • 06 May 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Over her 20-year career, Carol Handa FCA has made a habit of embracing the unknown. Now CFO at Bruce’s Doggy Day Care, she’s supercharging the business’s growth trajectory and putting the lessons of her varied career into practice.
Group of people around a table having a meeting
Green budgeting: driving sustainable growth through smart planning
  • Article
  • 22 Apr 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
ICAEW is combining its public sector and sustainability expertise to assess the role that ‘green budgeting’ plays in achieving economic and environmental prosperity.
Group of people around a table having a meeting
Tackling six existing growth barriers will help mitigate uncertainty
  • Article
  • 22 Apr 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
The UK government’s plans to kickstart growth have been thrown off course, but acting to address existing growth barriers could help organisations to weather the storm, says ICAEW.
Group of people around a table having a meeting
Tariff and tax woes weaken UK business confidence
  • Article
  • 15 Apr 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Soaring tax concerns and US tariffs have dragged UK business confidence back into the red, according to ICAEW analysis, as accountants call for urgent government action.
Male wearing headphones working on his laptop
Five leadership lessons for a growth mindset
  • Article
  • 31 Mar 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Rachel Nutt, a senior partner at MHA, advises some of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs and has also overseen rapid growth at her firm. She tells us some of the leadership lessons garnered from those experiences.
Houses of Parliament
Chancellor walks tightrope over uncertain landscape
  • Article
  • 27 Mar 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
Despite welcome improvements to the OBR forecast and positive noises on defence spending and capital investment in the Spring Statement, the economy remains on shaky ground.
Group of people around a table having a meeting
Government confirms consultation on business growth scheme
  • Article
  • 19 Mar 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
First announced in December, the Business Growth Service will serve as a one-stop shop for government advice and support, to streamline the government’s offer to small companies and to assist businesses seeking to raise finance.
London Westminster
What is hindering business growth in the UK?
  • Article
  • 14 Feb 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
ICAEW wants to hear from its members on what they believe are the key blockers to business growth in the UK. Share your experiences today and shape our recommendations to policymakers.
5 multi racial hands placed down on table
DE&I critical to innovation, productivity and growth, finds EY
  • Article
  • 05 Feb 2025
  • ICAEW Insights
New research produced in partnership with 11 leading diversity campaigns highlights the diversity, equity and inclusion strategies that can help to foster an inclusive culture and improve workplace equity.
Group of people around a table having a meeting
Industrial Strategy shines spotlight on professional services
  • Article
  • 16 Oct 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
The government’s Industrial Strategy identifies the sector as having high growth potential, as Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds pledges to give business the confidence to plan for the long term.
A female sitting at her desk with laptop open while writing on a piece of paper
Government seeks firms’ views on high-growth global markets
  • Article
  • 09 Oct 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
The Department for Business and Trade wants input from businesses in the professional services sector on how to drive growth in international markets.
A team of people at their desks working on their laptops
How should the UK foster a climate for smarter regulation?
  • Article
  • 30 Sep 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
With global economic challenges mounting, ICAEW’s roundtable event brought together expert views on how the regulatory landscape should adapt to promote sustainable growth.
Two people looking at the laptop having a conversation
What’s next for LEPs and growth hubs?
  • Article
  • 05 Aug 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Local enterprise partnerships’ functions were transferred to local authorities in April 2024. What role will they play now?
Displaying 1-30 of 58 results
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Marta Pacheco