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In our tenth and final episode we look to sum up our energy storage journey so far, recapping some of the most important learnings from the series and setting out where energy storage is headed in 2024. On our way we'll revisit the ins and outs of batteries and other storage technologies, the ups and downs of the power market and the meanders of the policy landscape. Joining Energy Voice's Andrew Dykes and BDO corporate finance partner David Bevan to help scan the past, present and future of the sector are John Twomey, director of customer connections at National Grid, and Joe Warren the founder and managing director of Powervault. The Megawatt Hour is a special podcast series brought to you by Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO.  

  Over the course of eight episodes we have talked a lot about the current state of the energy storage market; this episode looks at where we are going, considering what the future of the sector might look like? With a net zero 2050 as the guiding star for nearly all policy and energy decisions, how much storage will we need to get there? Where should it be deployed? What stands in the way? And what new technologies and developments might change the speed of that journey. Joining content editor Andrew Dykes gazing into the crystal ball are BDO managing director John Strowger and Alexa Capital co-founder and fellow energy podcaster Gerard Reid. The Megawatt Hour is a special podcast series brought to you by Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO.  

The rapid expansion of energy storage is of course great news for our ability to deploy and use renewable energy – but doing so is not without its own challenges. Batteries require raw materials from all across the world and an ever more complex supply chain; pumped storage sites require major changes to land use and access; and what can we do with facilities or assets that reach the end of their life – is it better to re-use, recycle or decommission? And how do developers and investors ensure their commitments meet ever stricter guidance when deciding which projects to pursue? Sorting the E's from the SG's is Professor Simon Pringle, who heads up the newly created Sustainability and ESG Hub at BDO and Peter Kavanagh, the chief executive and founder of developer and asset operator Harmony Energy. The Megawatt Hour is a special podcast series brought to you by Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO.

Having considered grid-scale storage, in this episode we drill down to the small-scale to focus on where we're most likely to interact with the technology in our daily lives – in our homes. As home energy systems become increasingly smarter, storage is set to play a greater role in how we use and consume energy – and hopefully will not only help us use greater amounts of renewables, but may even save us some money. Taking a tour of the smart home of the future with content editor Andrew Dykes is BDO director of financial model assurance services Andy Hucknall and Emilie Romain, a co-founder and operations director at home renewables supplier Ecobubl. The Megawatt Hour is a special podcast series brought to you by Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO.

How energy storage can green the grid In our first episode of 2023 we dive into arguably the most important aspect of how we are going to use and deploy energy storage – the network that underpins much of our electricity and energy systems, also known as the grid. To discuss this, Energy Voice's Andrew Dykes joined by BDO corporate finance partner David Bevan and RenewableUK director of future electricity systems Barney Wharton. The UK already has an ambition to run a zero-carbon capable grid by 2025, and to reach 100% clean energy all the time by 2035. Energy storage will be essential to meeting those targets and ensuring greater amounts of renewable energy can be usefully deployed – but getting there will also require some changes to how we as consumers use energy, and how the grid itself operates. The Megawatt Hour is a special podcast series brought to you by Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO.

The fifth instalment of our series sees Energy Voice's Andrew Dykes joined by BDO corporate finance partner David Bevan and Nicholas Beatty, founder and director of Zenobe. This episode sees us take a closer look at the role offinance and investment in the battery storage sector, exploring how investors and companies deploy capital, what makes a bankable project, whether expectations are changing with a maturing market and – perhaps most importantly - what investors expect to see in return. The Megawatt Hour is a special podcast series brought to youby Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO.  

In the fourth third episode of our energy storage boxset series, Energy Voice content editor Andrew Dykes is joined by BDO senior audit manager Caroline Ingham and Flexitricity head of commercial Andrew Langlands to discuss aggregators and optimisers.   Aggregators help manage the supply and demand of electricity on the grid by increasing or moderating the consumption of a group of consumers. This helps ensure stability on the grid and helps generate revenue for asset owners. We explore how companies like Flexitricity work, how they can help determine when to discharge and recharge battery storage assets, and whatthe future of this rapidly evolving segment might look like.   The Megawatt Hour is a special podcast series brought to youby Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO.

In the third episode of our series, content editor Andrew Dykes is joined by co-host and BDO associate director Viran de Silva, as well as RheEnergise CEO Stephen Crosher and DNV VP for energy transition and innovation development, Sarah Kimpton. Having taken a deep dive into the world of batteries, we now look at the other vectors available for storing energy from compressed air to heat – with a particular focus on the longer-term flexibility of hydrogen and pumped hydro.

In this the second episode of our special energy storage boxset series, content editor Andrew Dykes is joined by co-host David Bevan, corporate finance partner at BDO, and by Ben Guest, managing director and head of the New Energy division at alternative asset management group Gresham House. This week we'll be taking a deep dive into possibly the largest and liveliest area of the sector today - battery storage. In less than a decade the UK has moved from having no large-scale battery capacity to more than 1.6GW in operation. We look at what's driving that growth, the hurdles faced by the sector, and importantly what opportunities may lie ahead.

Diversity and inclusion has been gathering momentum as a key consideration for financial institutions over the past few years and even more so now the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) recently published its highly anticipated Policy Statement on Diversity and Inclusion requirements for Boards and Executive Management, following a Consultation Period which closed in October 2021. In this first episode of our new Regulatory Insights series, we discuss the regulator's expectations and how Firms can meet these expectations in the context of where the industry is now and where it needs to get to. Hosted by Jonty Bloom, speakers include Sasha Molodtsov and Dr Jennifer Cafferky from our Financial Services Advisory practice. Sasha and Jennifer are joined by guest speaker Birgit Neu, Senior Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisor and former Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at HSBC Holdings PLC.  

The positive results which were reported throughout 2021 have continued into the first quarter of 2022 in terms of sales increases, with turnover expected to improve, and more than half of businesses anticipating a corresponding improvement in profitability. However, the challenges identified at the beginning of the year, and which businesses were planning for, have now been further compounded by global macroeconomic factors. In this episode, we are joined by Rosalind Payne and Christine Francis as they discuss the Q1 2022 QES results since they joined the panel for the analysis webinar, as well as an insight into the Q2 results. Speakers: Rosalind Payne – Tax Partner and Christine Francis – Director, Business Restructuring

This is the Megawatt Hour, the latest podcast series brought to you by Energy Voice Out Loud in paid partnership with BDO. In this, the first episode of our boxset series, content editor Andrew Dykes is joined by co-host David Bevan, corporate finance partner at BDO and by special guest Marek Kubik, a founding member and managing director of energy storage technology company Fluence. Together they take a broad look at some of the fundamentals of energy storage including the range of technologies available, how they work, and why the market is really taking off today as increasing amounts of new renewable capacity is added to the grid.

In the second episode of our new Rethinking Motor Retail Podcast series, Jonty Bloom chats to BDO's Chris Bond and Independent Motor Consultant Nigel Payne, as they discuss the direction of the modern dealership, and where we're driving towards. Are car clubs the future, or will our dealers become more like Apple genius'? Find out in our latest episode.    

In this podcast edition we'll be looking at the world of recruitment with a special emphasis on the tech business sector. To do that I'm joined by Piers Collins, co-founder of Hundo; a start-up that's trying to link the right firms with the right new employees through a learn to earn online campus. Matthew Gilmour from BDO's growth advisory team and David Ellis from BDO who specialises in advising firms on how to create the right pay and reward strategy. For more information, please visit here.

In the first of our new Rethinking Motor Retail Podcast series, former BBC journalist Jonty Bloom chats to BDO's Kevin Lamb, and Nick Laird, ex-CEO of Ssangyong Motors as they discuss the opportunities and obstacles around adapting your dealership towards the new agency model.

As with previous quarters, optimism remains and businesses are continuing to see growth. However, the same challenges are still being faced and it appears they are potentially becoming a greater threat. In this episode, we are joined by Danny Dartnaill as he discusses the Q4 results since he joined the panel for the analysis webinar, as well as an insight into the Q1 results. Speaker: Danny Dartnaill – Partner - Licensed Insolvency Practitioner

For this edition, we are joined by Karen Riley (Tax Director) from our National Tax Risk team. Karen and John discuss the latest updates on all aspects of Corporate Criminal Offence (“CCO”) legislation. The Corporate Criminal Offence (CCO) legislation means that if an “associated person” of a business criminally facilitates tax evasion, and the business is unable to demonstrate that it had reasonable procedures in place to prevent such facilitation, the business is guilty of a criminal offence. An “Associated person” is defined widely and includes any person (individual or corporate) who represents (or provides a service for or on behalf of) the business - employees, contractors, agents, and in certain circumstances external suppliers. As supply chain models get more sophisticated, clients as engagers must keep up with their employer obligations and ensure that not only are they compliant but their suppliers are too. This has meant the usual obligations for an employer have become more complicated and often the lines appear blurred between the obligations of a traditional employer and those of an engager choosing alternative resourcing solutions to fill the void of employees. Now is the time for organisations to understand the accompanying risks and implement robust mitigation strategies. BDO's CCO Toolkit can help your organisation take the first steps towards remaining compliant. Download our latest podcast to understand the risks and how the CCO can link to your employee strategy for the year ahead.

Speaker Sophie Michael provides an overview of the retail forecasts for 2022. Our host Fiona Condron, partner speaks to Robin Osterley, Chief Executive at the Charity Retail Association to get his view on what is happening in the Charity retail sector. For more information, click here.

Ahead of their BioTrinity 2022 conference appearance, Ian Oliver and Katy Rabindran from BDO's life sciences team, sat down with journalist Jonty Bloom to discuss how the sector's businesses can raise finance, including sector appeal, the challenges which can be faced, maximising the benefits of R&D tax credits (including updates from the Spring Statement), and how the different global capital markets compare.

Since the announcement of the 25% corporation tax rate from the 1 April 2023, we have seen increasing interest in the patent box as businesses seek to manage their tax position and mitigate the impact of the tax rise.  In this podcast, we are joined by Carole Le Page (Tax Partner) who has particular expertise in the life sciences sector, and Viren Sharma (Associate Tax Director), who discuss this topic in more detail and what they're seeing in the market.

This month in Growing Pains we are using our excellent network of experts and some of our valued clients as well. Today we are looking at growing your business and especially moving on from a small tech start up to a much larger business.  

For this edition, we are joined by Caroline Jones (Tax Director) and Kyle Newton (Senior Manager) from our National Employment Tax team. Caroline and the team discuss the latest updates on all aspects of National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) legislation.   Speakers: Caroline Jones (Tax Director) and Kyle Newton (Senior Manager) from our National Employment Tax team

Intrigued to know the ups and downs of buying and selling your business? Host Jonty Bloom, is joined by Kevin Batley, Managing Director, Sahara. and Gordon Carstairs, Corporate Finance Managing Director, BDO where they explore the two ends of the spectrum. Speakers: Gordon Carstairs, Corporate Finance Managing Director, BDO. Kevin Batley, Managing Director, Sahara.

In this second episode we are joined by Carole Le Page (Partner, Corporate Tax) as she discusses the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce (TVCC) Quarterly Economic Survey (QES), looking at the Q3 results, and how things have developed since she joined the panel for the Q3 QES analysis webinar. Speakers: Carole Le Page (Partner, Corporate Tax)

We are joined by Matt Harrison and Jon Claypole to discuss the latest updates around the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”). Jon is part of BDO's Tax Dispute Resolution team, and Matt is an Employment Tax specialist. The group cover HMRC activity around CJRS, especially the concept of ‘furlough fraud'.  Speakers: Caroline Harwood (National Head of Employment Tax), Jon Claypole (Partner, Tax Dispute Resolution) and Matt Harrison (Tax Manager, Employment Tax).

Join the Employment Tax team as we are joined by Richard Austin, BDO's Head of Manufacturing. We discuss the impact of current workforce challenges on the sector. Manufacturers are like many other industries in that they are currently struggling to retain their people at both blue- and white-collar level. Competition is high as employers adapt their businesses to reward people, and so we expect inflation across the sector. There is also a focus on National Minimum Wage compliance and added risk as the industry look at developing junior staff as a priority. Speakers: Speakers: John Chaplin (Partner,  Employment Tax), Rob Woodward (Associate Director, Employment Tax) and Richard Austin (Partner and Head of Manufacturing).

In this final episode of our international home working podcast mini-series, we are joined by Andrew Bailey (Head of Global Employer Services)and Lee Coccaro (Partner, Global Employer Services) who discuss the future of global mobility. Speakers: Lee Coccaro, Partner - Global Employer Services and Andrew Bailey, Head of Global Employer Services  

The Government has recently announced that it is pledging to invest £620 million into grants for electric vehicles and street charging points. In this podcast, we are joined by Mark Seaden (Employment Tax Director, Reading) and Ellie Treasure (Senior Tax Associate, Bristol) from our Global Employer Services teams who discuss this topic in more detail. This episode covers: Introduction – what is driving the rise in popularity of EV company cars? Tax ESG What we're seeing in the market. Speaker: Mark Seaden, Employment Tax Director - Global Employer Services and Ellie Treasure, Senior Tax Associate - Global Employer Services.

In this penultimate episode in our international home working podcast mini-series, we are joined by Lee Coccaro (Partner, Global Employer Services) and Carole Le Page (Partner, Corporate Tax) who discuss permanent establishments in more detail. Speakers: Lee Coccaro, Partner - Global Employer Services and Carole Le Page, Partner - Corporate Tax.

Host Jonty Bloom, is joined by Emily Villatte, CFO of Acast, Veronika Lipinksa, Senior Tax Manager, BDO, David Ogden, Director, BDO and Jamie Carter, Partner, BDO to discuss the implications of International share schemes and equity incentives. Speakers: Emily Villatte, CFO of Acast, Veronika Lipinksa, Senior Tax Manager, BDO, David Ogden, Director, BDO and Jamie Carter, Partner, BDO.

Over time, the role of the umbrella company has evolved, with some agencies using them as a way to outsource the administrative obligations associated with hiring and paying the short-term workers their clients require, rather than simply making use of any tax breaks associated with umbrella employment. Join John Chaplin and Rob Woodward from BDO's Employment Tax team as they update you on the current status of umbrella companies and why using one to help bridge issues around staffing may be a bigger risk than expected. Speakers: John Chaplin, Partner, Rob Woodward, Associate Director, Employment Tax  

For a large number of office workers, it used to be so simple. Pre-pandemic, you went to the office. During the pandemic, you stayed at home. Now, it's a confusing and difficult balance for employers to strike when looking to remain compliant with their employees ‘working from anywhere'. Listen to our new podcast focusing on Labour Supply Chain issues, featuring John Chaplin and Mark Seaden from our Employment Tax team. Mark outlines his three key employment tax areas to consider when re-working your remote/home working policy: Review, document and communicate. Speakers: John Chaplin, Partner and Mark Seaden, Employment Tax Director  

In this this podcast we are joined by Clare Hawthorn from our Business Services & Outsourcing team. She discusses the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce (TVCC) Quarterly Economic Survey (QES), looking at the Q2 and Q3 results, and how things have developed since she joined the panel for the Q2 QES analysis webinar. Speaker: Clare Hawthorn, Director – Business Services & Outsourcing

With the world being more remote that it's ever been before, we look into businesses being able to work from anywhere in the world. Of course this can come with complications, we delve into what these look like and what the implications are. With real life scenarios being discussed, we get a real insight into how to overcome/tackle this issue. Speakers: Oliver Boughton, CFO, Iris Worldwide, Karen McGrory, BDO Partner, Global Employer Services, Vinesh Bharadwa, BDO Tax Partner, Martyne Pearson, BDO VAT Director.

In this fourth podcast of our mini-series, we are joined by Lee Coccaro (Partner) and Mark Seaden (Employment Tax Director) from our Global Employer services team, who discuss domestic home working in more detail. Speakers: Lee Coccaro, Partner, and Mark Seaden, Employment TaxDirector - Global Employer Services

Nigel Burbidge finalises the series and discusses how this year's findings show how conversations about risk need to be discussed at C-suite level.

Nigel Burbidge, Partner and Global Chair of Risk & Advisory Services joins ex BBC journalist Jonty Bloom to discuss this year's report, including the three top lessons he has learnt from the past year and the future global outlook of risk.  

Emanuel Van Zandvoort from our Netherlands office joins us to discuss the view from Europe and how businesses have handled the last 12 months.

In this third podcast of our mini-series, we are joined by Lee Coccaro (Partner) and Victoria Bright (Associate Director) from our Global Employer Services team, who discuss international share plans in more detail. Speakers: Lee Coccaro, Partner, and Victoria Bright, Associate Director - Global Employer Services.  

Maria Mason discusses all things payroll as she talks through how COVID-19 first impacted the industry, how it adapted, considerations all businesses should be making, and how she sees the industry changing in the future. Speakers: Maria Mason, Director – Business Services and Outsourcing

In this second episode of our podcast mini-series on international home working, we are once again joined by Lee Coccaro (Partner, Global Employer Services) as he discusses social security in more detail, and the implications that businesses need to consider. Speaker: Lee Coccaro, Partner – Global Employer Services

In this podcast we are joined by Linda Mounter (Associate Director) from our Thames Valley Private Client Services team, who discusses BDO's World of Private Clients research programme, which was launched to provide a forensic understanding of sentiment among the global private client community. In particular, we sought to understand how private clients, next generation wealth holders and the professional advisory community are seeking to navigate the plethora of short, medium and long-term risks and opportunities that define the global economy. Linda takes us through the four key pillars; transparency, relocation, family & generational wealth, and adviser of the future, and what she is seeing with her clients. Speaker: Linda Mounter, Associate Director – Private Client Services

Following the success of our International Working from home webinar we held during February, our Global Employer Services team will be conducting a mini podcast series discussing these topics in more detail. In this first podcast of the series, we hear from Lee Coccaro (Partner, Global Employer Services) and Sharon Tayfield (Director, Global Payroll Services) who discuss payroll withholding taxes and social security. Speakers: Lee Coccaro, Partner – Global Employer Services, and Sharon Tayfield, Director – Global Payroll Services More on the Thames Valley Rethinking the Regions hub. 

In this podcast with our Thames Valley Global Employer Services team, we hear from Mark Seaden (Director) and Laura Humby (Assistant Manager) who discuss reporting obligations for employers, including P11D/PAYE Settlement Agreements (PSA), Short Term Business Visitors (STBV) and Employment Related Securities (ERS).    Speakers: Mark Seaden, Employment Tax Director , Laura Humby, Assistant Manager

In the fourth episode of our regional podcast series Dan Brookes, Head of International for Yorkshire and the North East hosts Kevin Doyle, International Corporate Tax Partner and Carol Lynch, Customs & Trade Partner from BDO Ireland to discuss changes to regulatory requirements for businesses looking to set up operations in Ireland post-Brexit. Kevin and Carol talk through some of the key reasons why Ireland is such an attractive location for many UK businesses looking for alternative EU base, practical areas of consideration in relation to supply chain matters as well as a high-level overview of some of the support services BDO Ireland can offer.

Rethink Business, the podcast powered by BDO for ambitious entrepreneurs, where Adam Norris, Founder of Pure Electric, Paymen Sabeti, Operations Director of Sabeti Wain Areospace and Barinder Hothi, Managing Director of The Knowledge Academy share their insights and experiences that have contributed to their business' success and how they have embedded resilience whilst continuing to innovate and grow.

In our second interview, Jason Deign talks to Jonathan Caswell, LDC origination director with responsibility across the South, and Ben Knowles, mergers and acquisitions director at BDO, on COVID-19's impact on the regional private equity scene. We look at how private equity deal levels and activities have been affected, what businesses have done to adapt and what investors are now looking for in leadership terms.  For more on private equity, visit the Central South hub.

In our third podcast episode we hear from Laura Chivers, Senior Manager in the Corporate Tax team and Claire Harris, Associate Director in the Indirect Taxes team at BDO Leeds as they discuss tax considerations for UK businesses selling online to customers in other countries. This episode outlines the importance of thinking ahead to consider e-commerce tax obligations when selling abroad and outlines how we can support as businesses prepare for the next step in their overseas journey.