ICAS, the body that trains and represents Scotland's chartered accountants, has issued a pointed public challenge to the Scottish Government following First Minister John Swinney's Programme for Government 2026/27. The ambition is there on paper. The question is whether the policy machinery can actually execute. For Edinburgh SMEs, the stakes are direct and immediate.

Scotland's economic growth has been "too low for too long." That is not the view of a political opponent or a London think tank. That is the formal position of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, published in direct response to First Minister John Swinney's Programme for Government 2026/27, which sets out wide-ranging…

A Scottish Government-appointed review led by Advocate Murphy is set to examine how business rates are applied to the hospitality sector. For Edinburgh alone, which hosts hundreds of pubs, restaurants, hotels, and venues paying some of the highest rates in Scotland, this could be the most significant cost-structure moment in years. The findings won't happen overnight, but the groundwork starts now.

Scotland's hospitality sector has been making the same argument for years: business rates are too high, too blunt, and too disconnected from what a business actually earns. Now someone is being asked to formally listen. The Scottish Government has appointed Advocate Murphy to lead a dedicated review of how non-domestic rates are…

Every growing business hits the same wall: too many tools, too little visibility, decisions made on gut feeling because the data is somewhere else. AI integration is now the most practical fix, but only if you go in with a clear head about what you're actually solving.

At some point between five employees and fifty, the spreadsheet stops being a tool and starts being a risk. A tab here, a shared drive there, a site-specific workaround that only one person fully understands. MIT Technology Review's recent deep-dive into how global manufacturer Jabil tackled AI integration at scale puts a name to…

For months, two enormous yellow construction towers have loomed over Leith like misplaced pieces from a giant's board game. They're going. And for anyone who runs a business in the area, that's worth a quiet moment of appreciation.

If you've walked, cycled, or driven through Leith recently, you'll have noticed them. Two tall yellow tower cranes, hard to miss against the Edinburgh skyline, planted there long enough that locals have almost stopped seeing them. Almost. According to The Scotsman, the structures are now due to be removed in the coming months, marking…