James Lizars started his accounting career the way most people don't, by dropping out of university and picking up a phone call from a recruiter while emptying bins. He's now the founder of Thrive, the longest-standing B Corp certified accounting firm in the UK, and a Xero partner since the platform's early days. We sat down to talk about cloud accounting, choosing technology carefully, and why Thrive has pledged to plant a million trees.
Getting into accounting
"I'm a university dropout," James says. He'd enrolled at Surrey University in Guildford but was doing temp jobs instead when a recruiter called about a purchase ledger role at a local radio station. "I was like, sure, why not." That prompted a career shift into accounting, where he started on the industry side rather than practice, working in advertising, eventually moving into FD roles at creative agencies.
It was watching his wife use Xero for her own business that changed his direction. He'd seen what was happening with cloud accounting in the practice space in Australia and decided to start his own firm. "People were spending money for poor service. I thought, let's get them to spend it for a good one." Thrive has been a Xero partner since 2013.
Choosing technology carefully
Looking back over more than a decade, James doesn't see the fundamentals changing that much. "We've been using the same tax software since 2013 and it's fundamentally the same. There isn't an option to stick stuff in an envelope and post it off now, which is a good thing, but AI is doing the same job through a different mechanism."
Being an early adopter taught him to be a more careful one. "You can get magpie syndrome, getting excited by the shiny new toy. Now I'm a more cautious adopter. I'll wait for technology to be in market for a while and let someone else be the beta tester."
It's why he was watching closely when Adfin appeared. "I've been aware of you since the very early days, and as soon as I saw you come on the scene I thought, ears up, because I wasn't in love with my old payments provider."
Building a business with a mission
Thrive holds the longest standing B-Corp certification for any UK accountancy firm. James’ interest in sustainability started long before it was fashionable, back when he was an FD pushing employee engagement in an industry that treated people as a cost.
"For people to do their best work, they've got to be happy and motivated." That thinking carried through when he founded Thrive. "You treat people a certain way, and profit is an outcome."
James has the UN Sustainable Development Goals behind his desk, a reminder of the bigger picture work that Thrive aims to contribute positively towards – both for people and the planet.
In June 2020, in the depths of the pandemic, the company pledged to plant a million trees by 2030, committing the higher of 5% of revenue or 20% of profit. "We had three and a half people at the time. It was nuts, it didn't make sense unless you overlaid the growth." Thrive became B Corp certified in December 2021, one of the first accounting firms in the UK to do so, and has planted over 375,000 trees so far.
The mission has shaped who Thrive works with. The firm niches in tech startups, particularly in climate and environmental tech, where values alignment matters as much as expertise. "Approaching an accountant is quite a vulnerable thing, there's a huge amount of trust you're placing in them. If someone's coming credentialed already with the B Corp badge, it gives a baseline reassurance before you even get into conversations."
