I have always had an interest in business from watching my dad run several entrepreneurial startups when I was a child. My love of, and ability with, numbers then naturally steered me in the direction of accountancy.
When I started my firm in 2017, I had the benefit of a clean slate. This meant I could build a fully digital, cloud-based practice. So we are in a unique position, ready to tackle Making Tax Digital as the next step approaches, with minimal disruption. Our clients are mainly in hospitality and construction.
My approach is to recruit the younger generation who have grown up with technology as a ‘second language’
My biggest achievement so far is building a successful firm, and a fantastic team of nine – all within four years. I am in the habit of getting to my desk two hours before anyone else arrives. This gives me time to get admin and emails done and think through tasks for clients and work. It is an area that I think is underestimated by people wanting to start their own firm.
One of the challenges in the profession today is the growing gap between technical knowledge and competency with technology. As accountancy moves into the age of cloud accounting and integrations, this is suddenly quite a significant part of the hiring process for firms today. However, candidates don’t necessarily have the technical accountancy training or background. My approach is to recruit the younger generation who have grown up with technology as a ‘second language’, and ensure they receive both internal and external training to also be technically great accountants. We need to nurture the younger generation to become a perfect hybrid of both.
My advice to others is to bite the bullet and push forwards. Create an action plan, segment your client base, and stick to a set number of software providers so as not to overcomplicate.
