Tom Herbert returns from the Sage Future user conference in Atlanta and spills all. He shares Sage’s artificial intelligence insights, classified into waves, and explores what each means. While discussing tech adoption, he argues that it’s not all about the technology, explaining other ways to get the attention of customers. Richard Hattersley reflects on the government's spending review. While no tax changes were announced, he talks about the document confirming a £500m investment in HMRC’s digital services. Alongside this, another document was released: Tax Policy Making Principles. Hattersley explains the concept of this document, its principles and whether they’ll remain unbroken. Matthew Ord closes the podcast with a look at private equity’s presence in audit. He recalls his chat with CEO Bruce Cartwright on why audit quality must stand apart from private equity’s influence. The team discusses the fine balance that the profession needs to get right seeing as both private equity and audit have come under scrutiny.