I started out in accountancy at a firm in Port Talbot. I qualified with ACCA at a practice in Carmarthen and spent nearly 10 years there before moving to Swansea. Soon after, a client asked me why I didn’t go self-employed; that client became my partner in Unity Accountancy, with me doing the accountancy side and him doing the practice management side.
The practice is now three years old. A year ago we acquired another practice, which took us from 100 to 500 clients, and from three to 11 staff. Incorporating the practice into Unity is taking time – it had been compliance-based and worked to deadlines but had no other interaction with its clients. Everything was done manually. We’ve now trained the clients to use accounting software, and the final piece is getting them onto practice management software. We’re gradually moving the dial from deadlines into proactive year-end planning and we’re making good progress.
Going into accountancy with a curiosity in IT has worked really well
There have been some difficult conversations with some of the acquired clients. There was a bit of resistance to automation. Some clients had been undercharged in the first place and then not requoted for 10 years, during which time they had grown significantly, which meant a lot more work for the practice.
Taking on legacy practices and digitally transforming them is part of our business plan. Going into accountancy with a curiosity in IT has worked really well. With legacy practices, I could create a separate micro client department to help develop our junior members of staff.
The profession has a perception challenge. Accountants these days can do a lot more than just give clients a tax bill. We’ve picked up quite a few clients that want their accountant to do more, so we’re somewhere between the traditional accountant and IT and business consultancy. Those are the three points of a magic triangle, and the new accountant sits right in the middle – the trusted advisor, with links into all the other professions.
You have to speak to each person differently to get the best out of them
Outside of work, having a young family keeps me busy. I have a six-year-old and a four-year-old, with a third on the way. I’m also treasurer of the Jac Lewis Foundation, a mental health charity for which Unity runs the outsourced finance function as a donated service. I am also a director for local football club Ammanford AFC. I played for the club up until my fourth knee operation – I even played in the top flight myself once. I’m delighted Ammanford have just got promoted to the Cymru Premier. Growing up, I was always captain of whatever football or rugby team I played in, and it has carried into how I lead the firm: you have to speak to each person differently to get the best out of them.
