Five minutes with Tasneem Bharmal

Tell us about yourself

I joined MHA MacIntyre Hudson in January 2006 and am currently Partner. Having qualified in 2003, I have spent many years building on a broad range of expertise and experience that comes from working on diverse and varied portfolios ranging from property groups through to legal, telecom/tech companies and general practise clients.

If you were not an accountant, what would you have liked to be and why?

Since I was a little girl, my family were incredibly supportive that I could do anything I set my mind to. I continually wanted to help the people around me and make a difference where I could. I was always interested in science/medicine so if I didn't do accountancy, I would have liked to be a doctor.

What made you begin your career in accounting?

My father was a great influence in my decision to begin my career in accounting. My father was a great influence in my decision to begin my career in accounting. He came from a business background and for as long as I can remember I feel like the dining table discussions around finance and helping my father with his bookkeeping in his office, may have been a sign that accounting was always in my future.

What inspires you day to day?

My children are my biggest inspiration. They make me want to be a better person each day, to be someone they are proud of and to set a good example for them. I would like my kids to see that if you work hard enough, you can achieve what you set your mind to.

How do you think the pandemic has changed the way we work?

I feel the pandemic has accelerated the IT revolution. We have been forced to rethink and innovate ourselves on how we do our jobs and how we run our companies. Businesses that do it well will have a competitive advantage in this new era of work. We all know that work will never be the same, even if we don't yet know all the ways in which it will be different.

From the employee perspective, the shift is massive and very consequential: people are making new choices about where they want to live and creating new expectations about flexibility, working conditions and life balance. If we can move past 9-to-5, office-centric work, there's an opportunity to retain the best parts of office culture while freeing ourselves from bad habits and inefficient processes, from ineffective meetings to unnecessary bureaucracy.Giving employees more flexibility in choosing when and where they work is likely to also increase gender equality.

A hybrid model is likely to emerge that will try to balance the efficiencies gained by remote work with the benefits of social interactions generated by working in person with others. Giving employees more flexibility in choosing when and where they work is likely to also increase gender equality.

How do you see the future of the accounting industry changing?

Most services in the accounting industry are vulnerable to disruptions.

Automating more accounting processes is a key trend in the industry. In the coming years, it will allow accountants to utilize data and optimize processes. As technology allows specific accounting tasks to become easier, the accounting industry shifts its focus to data analytics. Accountants are taking on new roles as advisors, with unique skill sets that revolve around analysing data.

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