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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
ICAEW makes recommendations for 'Future of work review'
  • Article
  • 25 May 2022
The review into the future of work needs to consider tax/NIC, employment status and cover all four nations of the UK.
Corporate culture: why change must come from within
  • Article
  • 24 May 2022
Restoring trust in business hinges on good corporate culture, but it’s a false belief that cultures can fixed by expert and specialist team-led initiatives, says Andrew Cocks.
"If they can, I can too"
  • Article
  • 24 May 2022
Role models are crucial in Chartered Accountancy, especially for young Black people, according to student focus group research conducted by ICAEW. Three Black chartered accountants tell their inspirational stories and give their tips for excelling in the profession.
Digital monitoring: big brother or productivity boost?
  • Article
  • 20 May 2022
The rise and rise of digital monitoring is raising eyebrows, so should you turn to technology to monitor your staff or is there a better way to keep tabs on workforce productivity?
Mental Health Awareness Week has loneliness in its sights
  • Article
  • 12 May 2022
Despite an increased focus on mental health across all areas of society, the rate of those suffering from poor mental health is still on the rise, and loneliness is a big factor.
Tax news in brief 11 May
  • Article
  • 11 May 2022
Highlights from the broader tax news for the week ending 11 May 2022, including: late payment interest rate increase; guidance on changes to VAT penalties and VAT interest charges; revocation of recognised status for Moscow Stock Exchange; a GAAR Advisory Panel Opinion; exclusivity clauses in employment contracts; and HMRC’s Residential Property Developer Tax Manual.
Businesses regret new hires made in haste
  • Article
  • 06 May 2022
Amid a frenzy of recruitment activity, better job descriptions and flexibility are some of the improvements business leaders can make in recruitment.
Diversity fairness students junior young woman thumb
Apprentices and graduates: two routes, one common goal
  • Article
  • 05 May 2022
Fairness is important for those studying successfully for ACA qualifications. Firms employing both apprentices and graduates must understand the concept of equity and apply it carefully to ensure everyone has the best chance to succeed.
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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.
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.
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Webinars

Why you? 101 job interview questions you'll never fear again
  • Sep 2021
James Reed shares interview preparation techniques and tips on how to ace a job interview.
Online learning: Get the job you want
  • Sep 2021
This webinar from the Business and Management Faculty and CABA will explore networking and how to develop a personal brand.
Building an innovative team
  • Jul 2021
This webinar from the Business and Management Faculty will explore what is meant by innovation, and the expectations from an innovative team.
Skills to future proof your career as much as possible
  • May 2021
This session will provide tangible advice and guidance on what to consider to develop your career, including key skill development.
Motivating your team: A three-pronged approach
  • Mar 2021
This webinar explores three aspects of motivation that need to come together to get the most from your staff.
Digital downtime
  • Mar 2021
This webinar provides a balanced view of smart technology and how it influences all our lives.
Future proof your organisation - an internal audit approach to operational resilience
  • Mar 2021
This webinar explores how to develop an audit approach to deliver effective assurance as organisations progress their resilience journeys.
Navigating office politics positively
  • Nov 2020
This webinar will look at what organisational politics is, why it occurs and what individuals need to focus on to improve their personal political intelligence.
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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 Beyond audit: auditing remotely and delivering value
  • eBook
  • 2021
  • Robert L. Mainardi
  • Wiley
Beyond Audit is your guide to taking advantage of this unique moment to review and enhance your audit methodology to improve execution, operations, and audit product.
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 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 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.
Exclusive Reward management
  • eBook
  • 2014
  • Michael Rose
  • Kogan Page
Understanding and implementing effective reward strategies in your organization.
Exclusive Financial Times guide to management : how to be a manager who makes a difference and gets results.
  • eBook
  • 2014
  • Anne Francke
  • FT Press
A guide to becoming an effective manager, full of practical tips and advice on to the everyday challenges of: Managing yourself; Developing communication skills and emotional intelligence; Managing others; Setting strategic direction; Managing change; Managing money, resources and technology.
Exclusive Employee share schemes
  • eBook
  • 2013
  • Karen Cooper
  • ICSA Publishing
Accounting treatment, tax relief and reporting obligations for employee share schemes.
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 Accountants work on improving diversity
  • Article
  • 07 May 2022
  • Michael Cohn
  • Accounting Today
The accounting profession is undergoing a re-examination of its efforts to address the lack of diversity. A new global survey of finance and accounting professionals details over 70 best practices for fostering diversity, equity and inclusion, along with indicators and metrics to measure progress.
Exclusive Build the best accounting profession through diversity, equity and inclusion
  • Article
  • 01 Apr 2022
  • Bernice Jenkins, Loreal Jiles, Stephen J.McNally
  • Pennsylvania CPA Journal
The authors highlight why the accounting profession should care about discussions regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) and invest time and resources to promote DE&I within accounting workplaces.
Exclusive Sustainable business management
  • Article
  • 01 Apr 2022
  • Brigitte De Graaff
  • Strategic Finance
Businesses need to make strategic, sustainable business decisions which will create long-term values for stakeholders
Exclusive How accounting firms deal with hybrid working
  • Article
  • 01 Apr 2022
  • Cheryl Meyer
  • Journal of Accountancy
Switching from remote to hybrid working brings with it challenges accounting firms have not had to deal with before. Here is how five firms are tackling these challenges.
Exclusive The pitfalls of poor communication
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2022
  • Manny Sicre
  • Strategic Finance
Leaders who communicate poorly or fail to share important bad news with employees often lose credibility and effectiveness. Manny Sicre explains how to make your communication more effective, covering communicating decisions and knowing your audience.
Exclusive Towards a culture of belonging: Collective action toward diversity, equity, and inclusion is needed to enact change in the global accounting profession
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2022
  • Loreal Jiles, Diane Jules, Brad J.Monterio
  • Strategic Finance
Collective action toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is needed to advance change in the global accounting profession. The article looks at the state of DE&I in accounting and finance and actionable DE&I practices for firms to carry out.
Exclusive Cognitive diversity - innovation's 'secret sauce'
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2022
  • Terri Simpkin
  • Data Centre Management
Terri Simpkin, Associate Professor and MBA director at the University of Tasmania, shares the importance of creating a culture that encourages teams to bring their authentic selves and divergent ideas to work. She provides tips on recruiting for diversity of thinking ('cognitive diversity') and keeping those people in the business.
Exclusive 'Limited pipeline' biggest challenge in advancing DE&I, survey finds
  • Article
  • 18 Feb 2022
  • Sean McCabe
  • Accounting Today
Bloomberg Tax's 2021 US Diversity & Inclusion Survey found that both accounting firms and corporate tax departments see a lack of exceptional talent to hire as the top roadblock in addressing diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) within their organizations.

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).
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.
Company meetings handbook
  • Library book
  • 2020
  • S.Lawrence
  • ICSA Publishing
This book will act as your ultimate reference point to all things meetings, an area that is more complex than ever in the new working environment. This book will ensure that these meetings are fully understood and undertaken in the most efficient and valuable manner.
Employment status: a tax guide
  • Library book
  • 2019
  • D.Kirk
  • Claritax Books
This book guides the reader through the extensive and apparently contradictory case law on employment status. The special cases section includes information on the entertainment, sport and media sector, farming sector, legal sector and healthcare professionals.
Staffing for success
  • Library book
  • 2019
  • A.Bernstein
  • LexisNexis
Short guide covering the process of recruiting, the legal niceties of hiring, and techniques to keep staff motivated and on board.
Payments on termination
  • Library book
  • 2018
  • R.Bolten
  • LexisNexis
Tolley's Tax Digest providing an update on topics including: introduction to the £30,000 tax-free threshold, making statutory redundancy payments and operating a contractual redundancy pay scheme.
Drafting employment contracts
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • G.Howard
  • The Law Society
Providing practical and thorough coverage, this book is both a tool for drafting employment contracts and a guide for creating policies and executing them. The chapters contain example precedent letters, terms and conditions, policies and clauses related to employment contracts.
The Employer's Handbook 2017-2018
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • B.Cushway
  • Kogan Page
This fully updated edition covers recruitment, contracts, benefits, performance management, maternity and paternity rights, personnel records and data protection, terminating employment, and ensuring the health, safety and welfare of employees and pension obligations. It also provides access to a unique set of downloadable templates, forms and policy documents for dealing with key employment issues.
Employment law handbook
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • D.Barnett
  • The Law Society
A comprehensive overview of the main topics within employment law, in an easy-to-use format.

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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The ICAEW Library can give you the right information from trustworthy, professional sources that aren't freely available online. Contact us for expert help with your enquiries and research.

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