AI Issue 9 2017

54 Acquisition International - September 2017 Stallion Accountancy Services was formed in June 2014 by George Greer. The name of the business comes from the fact that his initials are G G, and a male “gee gee” is also known as a Stallion! he business has grown steadily over the last three years and in May 2016, Magdalena Borowska joined the team. She brings with her a wealth of business experience, having worked in various business sectors both in the UK and Poland. Many of our clients are owner managed businesses based within the South East of England. The main source of new work is word of mouth referrals from current clients and contacts, so it is very important to maintain a professional relationship with them. We will always do whatever is necessary to provide an excellent level of service to our clients and to develop our relationship with them. We undertake a large amount of networking, since it is through this networking that we grow our reputation and pick up new clients. Many of our suppliers have also been introduced to us through networking. People do business with people, and it is by networking with our clients and suppliers on a regular basis that we enhance our professional relationships and reputation. One aspect of the networking that has been interesting, is the fact that although we meet many business owners from many different industries, very often they will all be facing very similar challenges or issues. Having this shared experience is valuable since running a business (especially a small business or a start-up) can be a very lonely experience. Having the opportunity to talk to other business owners that are facing the same challenges, can be very comforting and enlightening. As a business, we feel the idea that an accountant is only there to provide compliance and regulatory services on a historical basis is very outdated. The Excellent Level of Service T modern day accountant should be an integral part of a client’s business, they should add value to the business and provide the business owner with invaluable knowledge as to how the business is performing. In order to facilitate this, at the start of a new financial year, we work closely with our clients to prepare a forecast for the forthcoming year. During this process, the client’s knowledge is invaluable since they know their own business better than anyone. They will be able to predict where the annual variances will be in their sales, expenses, etc. and we can build this into the forecast accordingly. Once the forecast has been prepared, this provides the client with a benchmark as to how they think the business will perform in the year ahead. As the year progresses, we will work with the client to prepare management accounts on a regular basis and compare these management accounts (showing the actual figures), against the projected figures at the start of the year. The business owner can use these management accounts to compare actual financial performance against projected financial performance, and take any corrective action necessary if the business is not performing to the level that was expected. It may be necessary to amend the original forecast in light of the actual figures, but again this allows the business owner to have an up to date insight regarding the performance of their business. Some of the most common complaints that businesses owners have about their accountant is that they never hear from them often enough and that they never receive proactive advice from them. By adopting the approach above, we are able to meet with our clients on a regular basis and provide them with timely management accounts information that allows them to control their business and, take any corrective action that may be necessary. Even if their business is performing as well as (or even better than!) expected, the fact that we can tell our clients this provides them with valuable peace of mind and reassurance. As a firm, we are very happy to have won the title of “Leading Accountancy Consultant of the Year – UK” since it reinforces the values that we try to portray as an accountancy business, and it is worthy recognition for the hard work and dedication put in by the team. This is the second year that we have won an award from AI Global Media, and the award this year reinforces our success from the previous year. 1707AI19 “...we see our current rate of expansion continuing which will be achieved both by word of mouth referral from our current client portfolio and from our networking activities. The business now has an established reputation throughout Essex and we look to build on this reputation in the years ahead.”