For chartered accountants, establishing a social media presence matters. Effective use of X, the platform previously known as Twitter, can enhance credibility, help to nurture client relationships, showcase expertise, and play a vital role in strengthening professional reputation. This allows finance professionals to distinguish themselves in their field.

“Lots of accountants miss out on boosting their careers because they ignore or underestimate the power of online influence, especially on X,” says Richard Murphy.

Murphy should know. The ACA-qualified accountancy influencer has 250,000 followers on X and is first in the most recent #ICAEW ROAR rankings for the platform, topping the list for the fifth time in its six-year history.

#ICAEWROAR is a league table of the UK’s leading online accountancy influencers and uses the #ICAEWROAR algorithm to weight posts according to topical engagement rather than simply the number of posts – quality over quantity. The algorithm considers everything from visibility, relevance and tone of voice to reaction and audience engagement.

Murphy is delighted to top the list once again, despite retiring from practice at the end of last year. However, he warns there’s much that his fellow accountants could and should be doing to make the most of what X has to offer.

“Many accountants, in my opinion, take a dull approach to social media, which doesn’t do a great job of promoting the profession.”

Advice from the top X accountancy influencer

There are some easy rules of thumb when it comes to making the biggest impact on X.

Know your audience

Murphy co-founded London-based accounting firm Murphy Deeks Nolan in 1985, acquired in 2000 by Windsor Stebbing Marsh, to form a firm employing 20 staff with around 800 clients. He credits the company’s success to a process of choosing the right clients, a principle that also applies to social media. Know your online audience, he urges.

“As a firm, we said we’re only going to do the accounts of arts, media and design companies, things that end up in print, because we knew that’s what the firm was about, and we heavily marketed that fact to our audience. I feel that there are very few accountants that seem to know who their exact audience is,” he says.

Murphy Deeks Nolan became so well recognised in its chosen sector that it received an Arts Council grant to write a book on accounting for artists. “Not only did we get the grant, but the book – Money Matters: Artist’s Financial Guide – went through several editions and was very popular. It was a great marketing tool.

“X requires the same approach. Know who you are talking to and what about,” says Murphy.

Turn leaflet information into X threads

Making an impact on X needn’t involve courting controversy or undergoing labour-intensive processes. In fact, Murphy says accountants would do well to use X to communicate their message using very simple and topical educational tweets to introduce the firm and the job of an accountant.

“These tweets would tell people what it is that an accountant can do for them, what they need to do with regard to tax, what they need to keep to support accounts, what accounts mean, what their obligations on tax are, what they can easily claim, and the list goes on.”

Not only is this easy to do, it also effectively turns client information leaflets into something highly accessible and low risk. “And yet, I don’t see any good marketing of accountants through social media in this way – and that amazes me,” Murphy says.

Start a simple conversation

Murphy believes simple messaging is the key to building rapport with your audience online. For the public following you on X, the potential you have to solve their problems is a great way to draw them in.

It should be a dynamic interaction that highlights how you can act as a partner and offers practical tips to help followers.

Take the 31 January Self Assessment deadline as an example. “The X post wouldn’t be, ‘the deadline was the 31 January, you’ve missed it and now you’ve got a £100 fine’,” Murphy says.

Instead, accountants could write an X post that asks, “Have you missed the 31 January deadline? You need to take action. Now what do you need to do?” This would continue in the X thread to explain that people in this position need to send the firm their data; talk to them about making an estimated payment on account; negotiate a time to settle payment; and sort out their books and records for the next submission deadline.

This ability to take something dull and turn it into something dynamic, which the client is going to use, is something Murphy feels accountants don’t use the web for. “And I’m baffled why they don’t,” he says. 

Dictating something routine and sharing it in such a way that draws more eyeballs is what has helped Murphy build his following in a very niche market. He admits that some of his content is around campaigns that can be more exciting, “but seriously, do you think the economics of taxation or how accounting rules allow certain things is really that interesting? And yet I can get a million people sometimes looking at a Twitter thread. Is it just the way I tell it? I think it is.”

With these strategies, Murphy believes that accountants should realise their pivotal role in building the firm’s brand online. “Every accountant in the firm is part of the marketing effort, yet they often overlook it,” he notes.

#ICAEWROAR’s top 10 X influencers in 2023

1) @RichardJMurphy, 252.1k followers

Richard Murphy is the Owner of Tax Research. He tweets about economics, politics and tax inequality.

2) @danneidle, 157k followers

Dan Neidle is the Founder of Tax Policy Associates. He tweets about UK tax law and international tax issues.

3) @dsquareddigest, 34.5k followers

Dan Davies is the MD at Frontline Analysts. He tweets about economics, finance and economic indicators.

4) @rbeccabeneworth, 11.2k followers

Rebecca Benneyworth is the Principal of Rebecca Benneyworth and Co chartered accountants. She tweets about the UK tax system and gives advice to small businesses.

5) @keithmgordon, 7.8k followers

Keith Gordon is a Tax Barrister at Temple Tax Chambers. He tweets about taxation, accounting and financial trends.

6) @SanjaysahFCCA, 2.8k followers

Sanjay Sah is the Director of Makesworth Accountants. He tweets about finance, accounting and professional development.

7) @JudithFreedman, 12k followers

Judith Freedman is an Oxford Emeritus Professor of Tax Law. She tweets about tax law, policy developments and reforms.

8) @alexcobham, 14.8k followers

Alex Cobham is Chief Executive of Tax Justice Network. He tweets about global tax justice, economic inequality and international development.

9) @hselftax, 7.9k followers

Heather Self is a retired Tax Partner, previously at Blick Rothenberg. She tweets about tax law, policy developments and related legal matters.

10) @NicTrades, 97.4k followers

Nicola Duke is a Technical Analyst at ForexAnalytix. She tweets about trading strategies and trading psychology across asset classes including stocks, forex and crypto.

Nominate top online influencers for the 2024 rankings

Nominations for #ICAEWROAR are open throughout the year for accountancy influencers who have made the biggest impact on X. Individuals can nominate themselves or others. For previous rankings and additional information about the #ICAEWROAR project, visit the #ICAEWROAR Hub.

#ICAEWROAR also ranks the top LinkedIn accountancy influencers. Find out who made the list for 2023.