Introduction
In 2016 I formed Kung Fu Accounting, and became ‘BCorp pending’ status in our first year of trading.
In 2018 we applied for and became the first ICAEW Chartered and BCorp certified accounting company in the world, with a score of 80.9.
The following year we were recognised as “Best for the World” in governance and, after a global pandemic delayed our recertification, in 2022 we achieved a score of 114.4.
Nothing special – it’s how we do things.
We paid more than the living wage from day 1. We have always donated to worthy causes. We do not print. We do not use Amazon. All our IT equipment and office furniture is pre-loved, repaired, refurbished. We prioritise local suppliers wherever possible. And more.
BCorp is not something we’ve decided to become; it’s something we have always done.
I built a business that happened to align with BCorp.
And back in 2016 gaining the certification felt like the right thing to do; external validation of our approach to finding a better way to run a company.
But we experienced problems from the beginning.
When is an employee not an employee?
Our operating model was created to provide meaningful, impactful, rewarding part-time work for people who valued the flexibility of shorter working days and fewer days per week.
We created four such jobs. Paying sick pay above the statutory minimum, workplace pensions, extended annual leave by default, and many other benefits. All based around the family and life commitments of the individuals.
But because each individual worked around 16 hours per week, all the great things our company did in 2017/18 as an employer didn’t count for anything in terms of our BCorp score.
Which was annoying – because of a technicality, doing the right thing for our people didn’t add to our score, when I felt it should have.
The review process
The BCorp review process was long, detailed, thorough.
But it felt like the reviewers were asking the wrong questions and chasing the wrong evidence (and having been through this process twice ourselves and a number of times with clients over the last seven years, I’m even more convinced of this).
And there are issues with the way the review works — for example getting overseas assessors to review a UK application, when they are not necessarily familiar with UK laws, regulations, and terminology.
I understand why this happens, but I think it undermines the process.
I’m still proud though
Despite the flaws in the process, we submitted our application, and Kung Fu Accounting became the first BCorp accountant in the UK.
We showed that it was possible to do business in a different way.
And in going first, we changed our industry.
I am immensely proud of that impact.
As a result, there are now a number of accounting companies who have achieved BCorp, following our lead.
Where there was one, there are now a handful.
And we did that!
However, are BCorps the good guys?
As the first Chartered accountants to tick the BCorp box, we attracted a number of other BCorp companies as clients.
As accountants, we are financially literate — we can read accounts, and see into the weeds of the bookkeeping, to get an understanding of what a business is really up to.
And we discovered a number of things, from company directors purporting to be using their business as a force for good, that caused us to raise an eyebrow or three about how they managed to pass the BCorp process.
Which in turn called into question the validity and value of the certification as a whole.
This isn’t the forum for naming and shaming, and actually saying “ABC company directors did x, y, and z” is not something I will do publicly.
To be explicit yet vague, there were company directors asking me to (incorrectly) put things in particular boxes to present their accounts in a favourable light for BCorp purposes.
Hmmm….
And then along came Covid
A large slice of uncertainty all round. Fear even. Businesses struggling, loss of income, lack of financial support for many, poorly designed rules made up at short notice.
And in these challenging times, directors of BCorp companies asked us to do things that were questionable, both ethically and even legally.
And again, this isn’t the place to name and shame or spill the beans. But some of the things we were asked to do (which we didn’t do – and in many cases we resigned immediately) I would not have expected from people running companies that wanted to make the world a better place.
Not all bad news
I suffered with my mental health after the lockdown restrictions were lifted, and one of the hardest situations I have ever experienced was made worse by a number of directors of BCorp companies (reminder — these people publicly claim to consider their impact on people and planet as well as profit).
By contrast, some of the best, most supportive, understanding, conversations I had were with our non-BCorp clients, although a notable handful of beautiful humans at BCorp companies displayed incredible kindness during these tough times.
(If you’re one of those humans reading this now — and you know who you are — thank you).
It’s just people, innit
All of that made me realise BCorp is just a stamp, a certification, a seal of approval.
But it is fallible.
And certain people will want to use the certification for possibly nefarious means (Brewdog anyone?).
It’s a badge on the surface, which isn’t necessarily representative of what’s underneath.
Nice people are nice. Nasty people are nasty. And sometimes, nice people are nasty and vice versa. Context is key, and an understanding that sometimes life is bigger than work.
And, as the old adage goes, actions speak louder than words.
So… is “better”, really better?
The biggest issue I have with BCorp is that it is attempting to redefine what “business as usual” is.
And to quote my grandmother, that feels a bit like polishing a turd!
Capitalism rewards the holders of capital.
It extracts value from nature and the less advantaged.
It is extractive, destructive, devisive, and to a greater or lesser extent harmful for most of us.
And BCorp is part of that system.
Better, yes, without a doubt.
But it is evolution, not revolution.
And I believe we need revolution — a brand new way.
An example — the BCorp fee structure
I wrote about this on LinkedIn a while ago.
The largest companies currently (as at December 2023) pay a BCorp fee that, frankly, would get lost in the roundings of their financials.
£50,000. For a company with £1bn turnover.
Analysis of the BCorp fee per turnover bracket — https://bcorporation.uk/b-corp-certification/pricing/
So, the holders of significant size, power, influence, and capital, are rewarded, while the smallest companies pay proportionately more (over 100 times more) for their BCorp membership.
This feels like capitalism, but with a smile. Nicer, better, but still capitalism. Hardly transformational.
And as an openly anti-capitalist human being, this is something I can no longer condone or endorse.
And by remaining part of the BCorp movement, I would be condoning it by association.
What do we actually need?
Clean water to drink.
Healthy food to eat.
Somewhere safe to rest and play.
And love, connection, purpose.
Most businesses don’t deliver those things. And therefore, most businesses are surplus to requirements.
We’re playing the wrong game, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons.
And let’s not forget the climate
Our home is hotter, wetter, drier, more on fire, more melting than ever before.
That should be our focus. All of us.
But we are distracted. And capitalism provides (and requires) that distraction.
Imagine what we will achieve when we focus on what truly matters…
I believe much of what we do (those of us reading this post, at least) doesn’t serve us very well. And it is definitely harming the future for our descendants.
The world I was born into 42 years ago is not the same world that my boys were born into. I believe it is a worse world.
And I wish to fight for better, for my children, for your children, for all our descendants and for every living thing.
So rejecting capitalism (as far as I can in a system built around it) and resigning from the BCorp movement feels like the right thing for me to do now.
That’s all very well, so what next?
Honestly, I don’t know.
Capitalism is so pervasive, and the system is designed such that opting out is hard.
But… opting out of the status quo is something I have been doing personally and professionally for years.
I am proof that it is possible.
And this next part of my journey will take me further towards where I think we will end up — a cleaner, greener, healthier, happier, fairer world for us all.
Challenged?
Good! Me too!
Over the last ten years I’ve asked myself questions that are uncomfortable, and looked for answers in places that are hard to find.
And the answers I’ve found have brought me to this point, this very moment writing this post, to becoming a conscientious objector to BCorp, leaving the movement, and setting a path towards a better, brighter future for us all.
Importantly, I want to preempt the inevitable “communism is bad too” feedback.
Yes, it is. Anything taken to extremes is not optimal.
And actually, I believe capitalism and communism are two sides of the same coin – and I wish to throw the coin away completely!
So if you have been provoked and challenged by this post, I’m glad.
I urge you to explore that discomfort, to ask the questions, to find the answers.
I believe we have all the answers, if only we would ask the right questions, and look in the right places.
Conclusion
According to the internet, Albert Einstein may have said;
We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them
I’m following his lead, to explore the world beyond capitalism. And to do that, I need to leave capitalism behind me, as far as possible.
And that means BCorp too.
I don’t need BCorp and BCorp doesn’t need me – my company was BCorp aligned from the beginning, almost by coincidence.
The BCorp movement is great at helping people and companies with a framework for building a better business.
And it will continue to do that.
My personal belief is that it doesn’t go far or fast enough to deliver the significant, substantial, lasting change our species needs.
After all, ethical capitalism is still capitalism (it’s right there in the name!).
I don’t know where this exploration will take me, because there isn’t an obvious path…
But follow it I must.
I believe the destination is worth the hardships of the journey.
With love and rage,
Scott x
PS
Opting out of capitalism is hard when we all need to earn money to feed, clothe and shelter ourselves and our families.
So I will still be adding up numbers and cranking the HMRC and Companies House handles in exchange for money.
But with my hard-earned slices of the capitalist pie, I will be working out how to dismantle and overthrow the very system that we are all reliant upon.
(“Reliant upon” for now!).
This no longer causes me conflict, although coming to terms with the need to earn money when you dislike what it represents has been hard!
I live in a capitalist world, for now, and need to play by the rules of that game, until we have a new game to play.
PPS
BCorp was a useful stepping stone for me and for my company, and I will continue to act in a way that is consistent with the BCorp guidelines.
Just as I always have, from the moment I formed my own company.
In many ways, I designed a company that happened to be aligned to BCorp, rather than changing my company to become BCorp. I have often said that Kung Fu Accounting was an accidental BCorp!
And while BCorp was a key part of my journey to this point, it is no longer part of my immediate future.
PPPS
Please note this is not a criticism of BCorp, BLab, of any BCorp companies, of any specific BCorp company directors, nor of anyone embarking on the BCorp journey.
It’s your journey, your path. Follow it. See where it goes.
I did.
And now I’m creating a new path.
If you’d like to journey together, connect with me. I’d love some company!
