“It’s not about not being bothered,” I typed. “It’s about not seeing the benefits for my clients.”
When I pressed enter on a TaxCalc webinar in February, I had no idea that so many people felt the same.
Dozens… then hundreds… all expressing the same frustration and the same need to discuss the topic free from bias.
Now, ten months 🗓️ later, I have spent my time living, breathing, and often dreaming MTD, having founded the WhatsApp community known as Accountants Therapy and the most active group within this community, MTD Therapy.
⏲️ What I’ve Learned From Ten Months Inside the MTD Pressure Cooker
Immersing myself in the conversation has forced me to understand MTD from every angle. And I mean every angle.
The practical side of how different clients need different communication approaches. The technical side of dozens of software products, all doing slightly different things. The legislative side. The commercial side. Weighing ⚖️ the costs to practices, to clients, and to the mental health 🤯 of everyone stuck in the middle.
I went into this hoping that, somewhere in the detail, I’d find the silver lining. The compelling reason. The genuine benefit.
But here’s what I actually found.
⏳ The Benefit We Are All Still Waiting For
Good bookkeeping was good bookkeeping before MTD.
Good tax advice was good 👍 tax advice before MTD.
Nothing about the regime transforms that. Nothing magically improves accuracy, client understanding, or real-world outcomes. If anything, the opposite often feels true.
At best, MTD gives accountants a convenient script for clients who need a bit of nudging:
“HMRC is making us do this, so you’ll need to tidy things up.”
And for some clients, that justification works. But those clients would probably have tidied things up with the right conversation anyway.
At worst, MTD introduces new layers of cost, complexity, and stress 😰 for clients (and agents) who were doing just fine with an annual interaction.
Many don’t want quarterly numbers. Many won’t look at them. Many don’t have the digital skills, the appetite, or the time.
And we’re left trying to bridge the gap between what HMRC insists they need and what they actually need.
So I still find myself saying “compliance for the sake of compliance”.
😯 The Part That Surprised Me Most
The real eye-opener 👀 this year hasn’t been the legislation or the software. It’s been the people.
Many of us are tired 😴.
A lot of us feel alone 😱.
Small business professionals in our industry are working like superheroes 🦸♀️.
And we are carrying a level of stress that no one outside the profession fully understands.
That is why Accountants Therapy has grown so fast.
Not because MTD is confusing (it is). Not because HMRC keeps changing things (they do).
But because we finally have somewhere to talk honestly — without judgement, without sales pitches, and without pretending everything is fine when it isn’t.
🛠️ Why I Built Accountants Therapy — And Why It Matters Now More Than Ever
Accountants Therapy started as a place to let off steam (mainly my own) 😤, share experiences, and compare notes.
It has become something much bigger:
- A genuinely supportive community 🤗
- A space where practitioners can admit what they don’t know
- A hub of shared knowledge around MTD and everything that spirals out from it
- A reminder that we’re not alone, even when another new thing gets thrown our way
If the past ten months have proved anything, it’s that accountants need this space.
We need each other. And with MTD IT creeping ever closer, that need is only going to grow 💗.
So if you’ve ever found yourself shouting 😫 at an HMRC notice, despairing at an API error, or wondering whether you’re the only one who thinks the emperor might be slightly underdressed…
Come join us 🤗.
