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Leadership, personal development and HR

How to develop yourself, your team and your career. Practical advice on achieving a productive, happy and healthy team.
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Latest on leadership, personal development and HR

Read our latest features and articles on leadership, personal development and HR
Why would you not have a practising certificate?
  • Article
  • 20 Sep 2023
With guideline changes coming in January, it’s time to re-examine whether you should hold a practising certificate. ICAEW member and corporate strategist David Blair explains why it’s a good idea.
Should you be paying national insurance while working abroad?
  • Article
  • 20 Sep 2023
HMRC has launched a new tool for people to check whether they should be paying national insurance contributions (NIC) while they are working abroad.
Opportunity to pause settlement of open off-payroll working compliance checks
  • Article
  • 20 Sep 2023
HMRC adopts a pragmatic approach of offering deemed employers the ability to pause settlement pending a potential change in legislation.
Diversity analysis of ICAEW probate firms highlights progress
  • Article
  • 14 Sep 2023
New report presents a useful snapshot of the diversity of accountancy firms amid growing recognition of the need to create a workforce that can meet the changing requirements of an increasingly diverse society.
Birmingham issues Section 114 notice amid financial crisis
  • Article
  • 07 Sep 2023
Birmingham City Council issues Section 114 notice due to £87m budget gap and significant equal pay liability, halting non-statutory spending.
ICAEW student council Jas Rayat vice chair, Bejay Mistry, president MCASS
Student societies: everyone’s welcome
  • Article
  • 04 Sep 2023
When it comes to diversity and inclusion, the ICAEW Student Council (ISC) and student societies lead by example, giving students a voice and helping to drive change.
Prioritising mental health
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2023
With a reported 56% of accountants suffering with stress and burnout¹, it’s become crucial for businesses to prioritise mental health concerns in order to create a supportive workplace.
Executive pay rises amid cost-of-living crisis
  • Article
  • 31 Aug 2023
Average CEO pay is now 118 times that of the average UK worker, compared with 108 times in 2021 and 79 times in 2020.
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Topics in depth

Young business people
Career development
Find guides and other resources on careers, job hunting, professional development and personal skills to help you at work.
Smiling business women working together on contract documents
Communication and presentation skills
A range of articles, reports, eBooks and guides to help you successfully develop your communication and presentation skills.
Teamwork groups inclusive
Human resources and employment law
Access articles, books and online resources on human resources and employment law.
Image of female manager
Leadership
Learn how to become an effective leader.
Female boss with colleagues
Managing meetings
Find out how to run better meetings, how to chair meetings, take minutes and participate more effectively.
Team meeting
Managing teams
A collection of books, articles and guides to help managers get the best from their teams – whether they're experienced leaders or first-time managers
Older man working from home in meeting
Negotiation skills
Need to negotiate with clients, colleagues or business contacts? Here's a range of books, articles and guides to help you successfully develop your negotiating skills.

Reports

Special Report 72 - The aspiring CFO
  • Report
  • Nov 2021
A practical, realistic, hands-on and immense learning opportunity of all you need to know to become the CFO
Organisational culture: leadership styles
  • Report
  • Jun 2021
It is recognised that an effective culture can reduce risk and improve performance of an organisation, and that the success or failure of the culture is greatly influenced by its leaders. This guide, written by Jenny Jones, explores different leadership styles and the impact they can have on organisational culture.
Superforecasting: How to improve your forecasting skills
  • Report
  • Feb 2021
Forecasting is an essential skill for finance professionals and managers. Business decisions of all kinds depend on effective approaches to looking ahead. This guide outlines the core principles of “Superforecasting” which will help you develop your forecasting skills.
Off-payroll working – a user guide
  • Report
  • Feb 2021
This practical guide explains the off-payrolling rules as they apply to medium and large businesses. It sets out the operational impacts on finance and payroll departments and how to overcome some of the practical issues of implementation.
Exclusive Special Report 69 - Effective collaboration
  • Report
  • Nov 2020
Collaboration has been a trendy buzz word in business lexicon for some time now, but, as the pandemic has done with many other ‘nice-to-have’ skills, it has now become absolutely necessary to master. With your colleagues, business partners, suppliers and all other stakeholders more than likely working from home, and maybe even across different locations and time zones, effective collaboration is essential.
Special report 67: Problem solving
  • Report
  • Apr 2020
This month’s special report focuses on solving problems of all shapes and sizes in the workplace. Whatever your position in the hierarchy, there are practical hints and tips included to make your day-to-day work easier and more efficient.
Preparing smarter business plans
  • Report
  • Mar 2020
The ICAEW Business and Management Faculty shares hints and tips for businesses writing a business plan at a time when many businesses are applying for finance to help them through the pandemic.
Exclusive Special Report 66 - Managing change
  • Report
  • Dec 2019
Change is inevitable, it is all around us. Brexit, political upheaval, increasing regulation and a growing protectionist agenda make it incredibly difficult to run your business. BAM are here to help, with our special report on managing change, we can help successfully guide you through inevitable change with our practical tips and hands on approach.
See more

Webinars

Digitalisation and gender bias in tax, plus CPD update
  • Podcast
  • Jul 2023
The latest ICAEW Insights podcast shares the month’s top stories in accountancy.
Cyber security, taxing green travel and public finances
  • Podcast
  • Jun 2023
On the latest ICAEW Insights podcast episode, we explore the month’s key developments in accountancy.
Managing talent in a hybrid world
  • Podcast
  • May 2023
In this Insights In Focus episode, we discuss best practice in hiring, training and safeguarding talent under hybrid working.
Positive personal impact for professional success
  • Webinar
  • May 2023
This Small and Micro Business Community webinar looks at the importance of professional relationships, the psychology of personal image and impact and the three personal impact ‘tools’ which affect what people say about us when we’re not in the room. Practical tips will help individuals improve how they are perceived and positively affect their professional relationships.
Employment Law update
  • Webinar
  • Apr 2023
Key updates and developments in employment law - a webinar from the Small and Micro Business Community in collaboration with Acas.
Demystifying Apprenticeships: what, why, how and the practicalities
  • Webinar
  • Mar 2023
From their central role in the levelling up agenda to their vital importance in meeting labour market shortages, apprenticeships were never far from the news in 2022. An ICAEW Small and Micro Business webinar.
How accountancy can win the talent war
  • Podcast
  • Mar 2023
In this ‘Insights In Focus’ episode, we discuss ways to attract and retain talent in the accounting profession.
How a board should balance major strategic issues with staff retention and wellbeing
  • Podcast
  • Nov 2022
In the second of two Insights In Focus special episodes an experienced panel discuss a dilemma facing a fictional UK-based food manufacturer.
See more

eBooks

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive Good retirement guide 2023: everything you need to know about health, property, investment, leisure, work, pensions and tax
  • eBook
  • 2023
  • Jonquil Lowe
  • Kogan Page
Contains information, suggestions and advice on all aspects of retirement and beyond.
Exclusive Key performance indicators: developing, implementing and using winning KPIs
  • eBook
  • 2020
  • David Parmenter
  • Wiley
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help define and measure the organizational goals which are fundamental to an organization's current and future success. This book provides a model for simplifying the complex areas of KPIs while helping organizations avoid common mistakes and hazards.
Exclusive Disruption in the audit market: the future of the Big Four
  • eBook
  • 2019
  • Krish Bhaskar, John Flower
  • Taylor & Francis
A guide to the current state of the audit market, exploring failings and how it needs to change to address challenges into the future.
Exclusive Numbers business: how to grow a successful cloud accountancy practice
  • eBook
  • 2018
  • Della Hudson
  • SRA Books
This book is a road map that will help a qualified professional to start a successful business from scratch with no personal or business contacts; recruit and train a team of technical and administrative staff; move from the kitchen table to external premises; create a highly systemised business, which can function independently of the business owner; run an ethical business, which contributes to the local community; host and speak at business events; set up a marketing system that operates even during the busiest periods in order to; grow the business organically; purchase a business; and sel...
Exclusive Employer's handbook 2017-18
  • eBook
  • 2017
  • Barry Cushway
  • Kogan Page
The Employer's Handbook gives guidance for all small- to medium-sized employers in the UK, clearly identifying the legal essentials and best-practice guidelines for effective people management.
Exclusive Narrative and numbers: The value of stories in business
  • eBook
  • 2017
  • Aswath Damodaran
  • Columbia University Press
This book describes how storytellers can better incorporate and narrate data, and how investors, CEOs and FDs can calculate more imaginative models that withstand scrutiny. It uses case studies from Uber, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Vale to show the benefits, challenges and pitfalls of weaving narratives around numbers in the context of valuing business and making investments.
Exclusive Doing business in China (4th edition)
  • eBook
  • 2017
  • Chao Xi, Morgen Witzel, Tim Ambler
  • Routledge
This title offers business-people a theoretical framework for the understanding of business practices, markets, negotiations, organizations, networks and the Chinese business context.
Exclusive Business law
  • eBook
  • 2016
  • Ewan McIntyre
  • Pearson
Guide to the legal principles that apply to business. Aimed at non-law students.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

More eBooks

Business press

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive Can women have it all? Yes, but not all at once
  • Article
  • 11 Sep 2023
  • Cheyenne Ligon, Arleen Jacobius
Quotes from influential women in institutional investing, who have successfully navigated challenges in balancing billion-dollar portfolios, family responsibilities, and self-care. While their success may appear effortless, these women acknowledge the real challenges they face. They highlight the need for openness about the challenges of maintaining work-life balance, even after reaching high levels of success.
Exclusive Return-to-office is a $1.3 trillion problem few have figured out
  • Article
  • 04 Sep 2023
  • Matthew Boyle
In these post-pandemic times, companies are still working out how to adapt to lasting changes to corporate working life. Stark differences have emerged across continents and cultures, with Asian and European workers largely returning to offices at a faster pace than their counterparts in the Americas. However, European working practices vary widely - the UK has one of the highest rates of remote work, and France one of the lowest. The disparities within countries and cities have upended the commercial real estate market, leading to a debt crisis among some landlords.
Exclusive Helping employees through mental-health challenges
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2023
  • Kiran Bhatti, Thomas Roulet
Few managers receive any training for dealing with mental health crises that may arise among employees. Amid heightened external stressors, including the after-effects of the pandemic and economic uncertainty, more employees than ever are experiencing anxiety and depression at work. This article introduces the basic principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as a mental-health first-aid tool to help employees address emotional distress and negative behavioural patterns. Recommendations are made for how managers can support employees experiencing mental health issues.
Exclusive Advancing women in leadership
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2023
  • Theresa Agovino
An interview with Linkage CEO Jennifer McCollum, who has spent nearly three decades helping women in leadership overcome hurdles. She discusses the major obstacles that keep women from leadership roles, and how they can overcome them.
Exclusive Stories from the front lines: Leadership accounts from the globe's top supply chain executives
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2023
  • Brian Straight
The article highlights the book 'From Source to Sold: Stories of Leadership in Supply Chain', by Radu Palamariu and Knut Alicke, which offers insights from 26 top global supply chain executives on leadership skills and decision-making. One of the questions the book attempts to answer is why relatively few supply chain professionals have become CEOs. The article includes a diagram showing the attributes of the ideal supply chain leader.
Exclusive How to shine at spontaneous speaking when put on the spot
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2023
  • Matt Abrahams
Mastering the art of spontaneous speaking is important for leaders. Matt Abrahams suggests that anyone can become proficient at this using the right tactics and behaviours. He offers key strategies that include avoiding conventional leadership responses in favour of establishing genuine connections, and prioritizing brevity while delivering clear messages. He also highlights the need to speak authentically without the pressure to be perfect - which means daring to be dull.
Exclusive RU OK?
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2023
  • Jessica Mudditt
Advice on how to start a conversation with colleagues about stress and depression. Stress levels often rise among audit and tax teams at busy times of year - here are some practical tips for talking to a colleague if you have concerns about their mental health.
Exclusive Where do the hours go?
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2023
  • Gerry Herbison
Gerry Herbison, an executive business coach, provides a number of tips as to how professionals may enhance their productivity through effective time management. He discusses the practicalities of tracking time, prioritising activities, and creating development plans.
More articles

Online magazines

Some online journal titles are available only to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. To view the full range of titles available to you, please log in.
Employee Benefits
  • DVV Media HR Group Ltd.
Online magazine covering developments around various kinds of employee benefits, including pensions, health insurance, and company cars.
Personnel Today
  • DVV Media International
News resource for HR professionals. Its website includes an archive of articles published since January 2000.
Training Journal
  • Political Holdings Limited
Online magazine for the UK's training and learning and development industry. Until 2020 it was a print magazine; the Library provides online access to issues published between 2008 and 2020 via its premium databases.

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports on leadership, personal development and HR. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).
Tolley's employment handbook, 2023
  • Library book
  • 2023
  • E.A. Slade and others
  • LexisNexis
This annual handbook provides practitioners with expert and up-to-date guidance on employment legislation and case decisions. The 2023 edition includes commentary on important recent developments such as the recognition of Long Covid as a disability in Burke v Turning Point Scotland ET, the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill and its interplay with UK law, and significant industrial relations cases including Mercer v Alternative Future Group.
Pension magic: how to make the taxman pay for your retirement, 2023/24
  • Library book
  • 2023
  • N.Braun
  • Taxcafe UK
This book 'shows you how to build a big retirement pot by claiming thousands of pounds of extra tax relief on your pension contributions'. Includes sections on pension contribution rules, pension freedom rules, pensions v ISAs, higher-rate taxpayers, auto-enrolment, salary sacrifice pensions, company directors, family pension planning and pension planning for the self-employed and property investors.
Finance aspects for medical doctors: a practical approach
  • Library book
  • 2022
  • M.B.Khatri
  • PKA Books
Intended for use by GPs, practice managers and accountants, this book covers topics including employment and self-employment, tax saving measures, consultants earnings from private practice, pension contributions, IR35 and types of contracts.
Salary versus dividends: and other tax efficient profit extraction strategies
  • Library book
  • 2022
  • N.Braun
  • Taxcafe UK
This tax guide deals primarily with the 2022/23 tax year, providing information on how companies and company owners are taxed, how to extract more income tax efficiently, keeping income below the key thresholds, splitting income with your family, other profit extraction strategies and salary and dividend practical tax issues.
Retirement planning expert 2022
  • Library book
  • 2022
  • A.E.Smith
  • Quartertoten
Straightforward, practical and easy to understand information - hundreds of hints and tips to help adapt, thrive and achieve a better lifestyle in retirement.
The good governance guide to boardroom dynamics
  • Library book
  • 2021
  • J.Cross
  • CGI Publishing
This book looks in detail at issues that affect the board both on an individual and group level. Key topics such as board diversity, technical competence and personal characteristics are addressed, as is the concept of emotional intelligence (EQ), which is crucial to successfully working in a boardroom setting. As well as offering practical direction on how best to work with others and manage talent, it provides guidance on how to maintain personal resilience and develop behavioural agility.
Business entrepreneurship for filmmakers: making a living as a creative artist in the film industry
  • Library book
  • 2020
  • C.Haine
  • Routledge
From creating a business model, dealing with taxes and funding, finding and managing clients, networking, investing, cashflow, and planning for the long term, this book provides real-world, pragmatic advice on navigating a freelance film career.
TUPE: Brexit impact and other recent developments
  • Library book
  • 2020
  • J.McMullen
  • LexisNexis
Tolley's Tax Digest highlighting the principal developments in the law and practice involving the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations 2006. It follows the structure of TUPE, highlighting developments in the courts and tribunals according to the relevant parts of the TUPE Regulations. Appendix contains employment tax implications of a TUPE transfer.

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

External resources - HR organisations and networks

Employee Benefits
  • DVV Media HR Group Limited
News, analysis, case studies and events listings on pay and benefits topics.
HR Magazine
  • Mark Allen Group
Online magazine with news and features on HR, plus the HR Most Influential annual list of influential HR practitioners and the HR Excellence Awards.
New Zealand Journal of Human Resources Management (NZJHRM)
  • HRNZ
An academic journal which publishes 'original material on the development and practice of human resource management in New Zealand and the South Pacific region'.
People Management
  • CIPD
Free online magazine of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), with latest news, employment law updates and viewpoints.
Personnel Today
  • DVV Media International
News resource for HR professionals, offering employment law news and guidance, Employer's Guides and an archive of articles published in Personnel Today, Training, Employer's Law and Occupational Health since January 2000.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

External resources - Leadership

Acas guide on leadership
  • Acas
Guide from Acas designed to support people with leadership responsibilities at all levels of an organisation. Outlines the essential qualities, actions, considerations and implications associated with leadership using the Acas framework for effective leadership.
Investors in People leadership articles
  • Investors in People
Knowledge base of articles on leadership from Investors in People, covering topics such as motivating and empowering your team, democratic leadership and improving team wellbeing.
Leadership guide
  • Atom Content Marketing
Whether you are the managing director or a shift leader, the way you lead is the single biggest success factor for everyone you work with. This business guide covers leadership at all levels, leadership from the top, communicating the vision, what do leaders do, making decisions, managing the team and knowing yourself.
Leadership in the workplace
  • Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
This factsheet investigates the concept of leadership and how it differs from management, the factors that can influence leadership development, and briefly examines how a principles-based approach to practice can support the development of leadership skills in people professionals.
The Gender, Leadership and Inclusion Centre (GLIC)
  • Cranfield School of Management
The GLIC is a research community which collaborates with industry and produces high quality research in the areas of gender, leadership and inclusion at work. The centre, which is part of Cranfield University's School of Management, is responsible for an annual benchmarking report, The Female FTSE Board Report which has been published since 1999 and includes details of the number of female directors on FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 boards. The website provides information on the work of the centre, its research projects and published research papers.
The role and expectations of a CFO: A global debate on preparing accountants for finance leadership
  • International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)
Discussion paper and selection of resources from IFAC. The paper looks at the changing scope of CFO and finance leadership roles and how accountants can prepare for career progression.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

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