Jessica Stronach

My recent work

SEO-friendly blog and guide content

FutureLearn •

4 HR certifications to transform your career - FutureLearn

If you want to gain a deeper understanding of HR principles and improve your career prospects, an HR certification could be right for you. Learn more in this handy list of 4 HR certifications to transform your career.


If you’re an aspiring or existing HR professional or a manager with an interest in people development, you might be thinking about pursuing a qualification to improve your skills and strengthen your career prospects. An HR certification is an excellent option, particularly for b...
FreeAgent •

MTD for Income Tax: qualifying income explained

You might already know that Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is coming for most self-employed business owners and landlords - and when you will have to comply depends on your qualifying income. But what exactly does that mean?

With the phased rollout of the initiative beginning in April 2026, it’s important to know where you stand.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know about qualifying income for MTD for Income Tax. You’ll learn what counts as qualifying income and how HMRC...
Multiplier •

How to pay international employees [2025]

A global workforce brings a wealth of skills and experiences, but the perceived complexities of paying international employees can prevent companies from accessing these diverse talent pools. 
Organizations have to follow the rules and regulations of each employee’s local country and face serious consequences if they fail to comply. As Menaka Karthikeyarayan says, “From understanding employee benefits to minimum wage standards to tax obligations, laws go into the minutest details and it becomes...
Maayan Payments •

How to prepare for merchant approval: 5 ways to reduce unnecessary delays

Merchant approval determines when a business can start accepting payments. The outcome of these decisions affects merchants’ timelines, operational planning, and ability to scale.


Behind every approval decision sits a detailed assessment of risk. When acquirers need more time to understand how your business operates in practice, approval decisions inevitably take longer to make.


In this guide, you’ll learn five practical ways to prepare for merchant approval so acquirers can assess your ri...
FreeAgent •

Get ready for year one of MTD for Income Tax: a step-by-step guide for practices

With 2026 well underway, the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is almost upon us.

6th April will mark the start of a fundamental shift in how many sole traders and landlords manage their tax obligations. The first quarterly submission deadline for MTD for Income Tax will fall just a few months later, on 7th August.

So you know exactly what to expect, we’ve pulled together all the key milestones and practical steps that the first year of MTD for Income Tax has in store.

H...
CaseCoach •

Management consulting vs investment banking

If you’re deliberating whether to pursue a career in management consulting or investment banking, it’s important to consider the short and long-term benefits of each option, from compensation, work-life balance and general enjoyment, to transferable skills and long-term career prospects.

The investment banking industry includes some of the most selective employers in the world, such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. In terms of prestige, these companies are on a par with McKinsey, BCG and Ba
Cloudbooking •

The Simple Guide to Hot Desking Systems

The shift towards hybrid working has left many offices oversized. Companies report needing 30%-40% less space than they did previously 1. But with most employees wanting to spend at least some time in the office every week, the equation isn’t that straightforward.
Enter “hot desking”.
If employees can share desks based on who’s on-site and who’s at home, employers can reduce real estate overheads while still offering office space to all. But for hot desking to work, it needs to be easy for em...
FutureLearn •

The 10 most employable business degrees - FutureLearn

If you plan to either pursue a career in the corporate world or explore entrepreneurship in the future, you may have a business degree in your sights. But with so many subjects to choose from, you may be struggling to choose which business degree to study.


To help you weigh up the decision, we’ve pulled together a list of business degrees that offer the most promising career prospects to graduates. Read on to learn the 10 most employable business degrees and the types of opportunities they ca...

Content on B2B software, automation and AI

FreeAgent •

Can you trust AI with tax advice? Exploring the benefits and boundaries of AI in accounting

Today, AI is part and parcel of the daily workflow for many accountants and bookkeepers. The technology can streamline processes, reduce errors and save time when working with clients. But should its role extend to the high-stakes arena of giving tax advice?

Here’s what you need to know about where AI fits - and where it doesn’t - in modern accounting and why human expertise matters more than ever.

So far, the UK has taken a light-touch approach to AI regulation. In February 2024, the previous...
Multiplier •

Payroll Automation: Compliance & Efficiency Guide

“The one piece of advice I’d give to payroll teams is to embrace analytics and automation.” 
That’s what Payroll Leader, Ian Giles said in a recent Multiplier webinar. 
And it makes sense – processes for paying staff and complying with tax laws were once tedious, time-consuming, and prone to human error. Thanks to payroll automation, they can now happen automatically with greater efficiency and accuracy than ever before. 
In this article, you can learn everything you need to know about the state...
Maayan Payments •

How Maayan builds payment solutions that adapt as your business grows Maayan Payments

When choosing a payment provider, most businesses focus on what the platform can do today. Features, integrations, and coverage often drive that decision. These factors are all important, but they don’t always show how well a solution will support your operations as they become more complex.


As your business grows, the way your payment provider improves its platform becomes just important as the new features it releases. In this article, we provide a behind-the-scenes look at Maayan’s product...
Rippling •

5 best AI CV screening tools in the UK | Rippling

Recruiters across the UK are under growing pressure to make the recruitment process faster, fairer and more effective. As a result, AI CV screening UK tools have become critical to modern talent acquisition strategies, saving hiring teams hours of time while helping them identify qualified candidates.In this article, you’ll learn what AI CV screening is, discover five of the best tools available and find out what features to look out for when choosing a solution.Disclaimer: Everything in this ar...
FreeAgent •

New ways to automate, scale and take control of MTD for Income Tax

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is now in effect – but our mission to help practices adapt to the biggest change to UK tax in a generation is far from over. Our latest updates are designed to help practices move away from manual, client-by-client processes and towards a more automated, scalable and controlled way of managing quarterly compliance.

Whether you’re managing a handful of clients or a large portfolio, these changes are built to reduce admin and give you the confidence that no...

The Most Accurate Receipt OCR Software in 2024 - Dext Blog | Dext USA

Receipt OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software is among the technological innovations that have emerged in recent years to support the work of accountants and bookkeepers. As the industry moves towards digitisation driven in no small measure by the governments’ initiatives – such as Making Tax Digital in the UK -, OCR receipt-scanning tools have become an integral part of the accounting automation toolkit.

For those unfamiliar with the technology, however, there may be some hesitation to

Reports and thought leadership content

Rippling •

Securing HR’s seat at the leadership table: the ‘admin to advisor’ framework

As an HR leader, you’re not just managing people. You’re shaping the business. You see how culture, capability and performance drive growth – and you connect the dots in ways other leaders can’t. Yet too often, HR’s voice isn’t heard where it matters most: in the conversations that shape strategy and impact the bottom line. It’s time for that change. To succeed, HR leaders need a clear approach to grow their influence and demonstrate their value at the executive level. Based on conversations wit...
Rippling •

The EU Pay Transparency Directive | Rippling

The EU Pay Transparency Directive is one of the most significant pieces of European law to affect employers in recent years. Designed to strengthen pay equality and close the gender pay gap, it will require employers to change how they approach recruitment, pay reporting and internal communication. For HR leaders and compliance managers, the Directive brings both operational demands and strategic opportunities.In this article, you’ll learn what the pay transparency law in Europe means in practic...
CaseCoach •

Best MBAs for consulting - McKinsey, Bain, BCG

For many MBA graduates, pursuing a career in management consulting is a natural next step after completing their studies. In this article, we provide a ranking of the best MBA programs for students who want to go into consulting and join one of the world’s top-3 firms. We also take a broad look at the MBA hiring landscape in consulting and provide some guidance on how to join McKinsey, BCG or Bain (MBB) as an MBA graduate.

What are the best MBAs for a consulting career? To identify the best MBA

Case studies and company profiles

Maayan Payments •

How Maayan turned a payment crisis into opportunity

When a mid-sized international ecommerce retailer, there were some clear signs of early success. Transaction volumes increased, new markets opened, and the business continued to grow.


But as volume and regional complexity increased, payment performance began to slip. Approval rates declined in key markets, and customer-facing issues became more frequent.


Here’s how Maayan stepped in to diagnose the issue, stabilize performance, and turn a critical payment challenge into a foundation for gr...
FreeAgent •

Accountant case study - Accountants 4 Contractors

Having worked with clients in the cloud for many years, Accountants 4 Contractors - an arm of Rodliffe Accounting Limited - decided to make the move to FreeAgent in 2018 to meet the needs of its growing client base of more than 600 contractors. In this case study, David Hughes of Accountants 4 Contractors reflects on how FreeAgent made the transition as seamless as possible and how the software helps Accountants 4 Contractors work far more effectively with its contractor clients.

Support every
Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) •

SIA's Best Staffing Firms to Work For in the UK/Ireland: Indeed Flex

A company that lives and breathes its guiding principles In some organizations, the company’s values are little more than words displayed on a wall or in the pages of the company handbook. That couldn’t be further from the case for recruitment tech firm Indeed Flex.As an employer, Indeed Flex puts its guiding principles at the heart of everything it does:Headquartered in London, with offices throughout the UK and in some US states, Indeed Flex connects job seekers with temporary w...
Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) •

SPECTRAFORCE

Stronger TogetherHow a culture of care and collaboration drives successWhen HR Generalist Rachel Livingston reflects on her time at global staffing firm Spectraforce, the first word that comes to her mind is family.Spectraforce has been there for her through all life’s highs and lows since she joined the firm in 2023, Livingston says, making good on its commitment to deliver an exceptional employee experience. “For every single down and every single up that year, Spectraforce was there with flow...

Let's connect