Chartered accountant turned founder, speaker and mentor. Alastair Barlow co-founded flinder and pioneered the smart finance function®, scaling it into a leading UK outsourced finance firm before its acquisition by Ascendant in 2024. He remains a shareholder, supporting acquisition strategy and deal structuring. Alastair is now building Numbrs, a cognitive operating system for modern finance firms, and writing The Naked Accountant – an unfiltered take on building, scaling and exiting in an AI-shaped world. He also mentors ambitious firm leaders.