20 years
supporting businesses in the region
In 1993, accountants James Cowper had a £4 million turnover, 18 partners, 120 staff, and offices in Newbury, Reading and Wantage. Today, it has 13 partners, a staff of 160, additional offices in London, Southampton, Oxford and Henley, and a £11.8m turnover. It has doubled its clientbase and tripled its turnover
20-year insights
Steve Clarke: Technology has been the catalyst for change
Acceptance of technological advances has underpinned change over the past 20 years, says Steve Clarke, managing partner for accountants and business advisers James Cowper.
He should know because technology businesses form a significant part of James Cowper’s clientbase in the vibrant Thames Valley computing, life science and motorsport sectors.
Since he joined James Cowper in 1990, Clarke has seen the accountants' professional role change dramatically, moving from a largely back-office processing role to that of personal business adviser.
“Years ago a lot of work would literally come through the door in boxes. With almost all businesses now keeping records electronically, there is far less paper and we tend to work more ‘in the field’, at clients’ sites or even from home.”
Technological advances have enabled that change, but so has client realisation that ‘knowledge of the numbers’ will not only ease regulatory compliance but also greatly assist operational management, business efficiency and strategic planning.
“Clients expect us to be professionally pro-active nowadays, not merely focused on the year-end figures, and most want us to have a continuing dialogue with them.
“Accountancy today is not just about getting qualified, it’s about business experience, knowledge of specific sectors etc, and that’s one reason James Cowper has its own internal academy to train our people about the broader aspects of business.”
Of course, the growing scope and range of James Cowper’s clients over the years has provided privileged insights into various sectors, assisting the provision of both broad and specific knowledgeable advice.
As the Thames Valley business spectrum has changed, James Cowper has added nationally respected expertise and created ‘niche knowledge’ services. Clarke exampled the firm’s specialist technology advisory team – recently appointed as advisers to the Harwell-based Satellite Applications Catapult.
Computing advances have improved the monitoring and reporting of business performance. “Management information is no longer about a set of historical figures. It looks forward, highlighting the performance drivers that will guide business improvement.
“Today audit use is more sophisticated too – moving from a necessity to a management tool – and, with accountants understanding individual businesses better, I believe audit quality has improved, giving everyone a better insight into what really makes that business tick.”
Corporate attitudes to audit have also changed. Today end- of-year audits are not required for all limited companies, yet many below the £6.5m turnover threshold still choose to be audited. Evidence of proven performance and transparency is valuable for funding purposes and reputations in today’s less-trusting world.
Internet technology has altered ambitions as well, bringing
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2013
global markets (“. . and their international tax issues..”) into the realm of UK SMEs, states Clarke, who serves on the board of Kreston International, the global accountancy network with which James Cowper works.
Like other companies, advances in technology have led to James Cowper becoming more efficient, needing less office space, and adopting mobile working,
Clarke has a concern about this latter change. “Texting or email doesn’t convey tone, attitudes or body language, so valuable for clarity and personal understanding. Going forward, I believe lack of face-to-face communication could become a business issue.”
Technology is a twin-edged sword and maintaining true customer contact with service excellence at all times will be a continuing James Cowper focus, says Clarke.
“The Thames Valley’s challenge is that, along with London, it drives the UK economy and sucks in people and resource, putting an ever-increasing burden on land use and infrastructure. Those are massive issues going forward.
“Less red-tape would be a wonderful thing for businesses too, but the fact that the latest Finance Act was over 1,000 pages leads you to question if the Government’s Office of Tax Simplification has been a success.”
Despite such concerns, Clarke sees the Thames Valley remaining “in good shape” as a vibrant centre for innovation because of its existing businesses, excellent universities, and talented skill- pool. “Collaboration is a great way of achieving things without having
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to re-invent the wheel, and within the Thames Valley we have that.
“That’s also why we value our association with The Business Magazine and the platform that it gives to the greater awareness and understanding of Thames Valley businesses.
“It is important for us to be respected and well-known, and despite our 24/7 telecom world, Thames Valley people still like to meet, talk and network personally. Business events such as award evenings, debates and workshops are important meeting places and benchmarking guides.”
Of course, not everyone has readily accepted technological change. Clarke recalls a mid- 1990s incident.
“We had issued top-range computers to all partners. It soon became clear that one senior partner was not using his very much. I gave it to a keen young accountant and provided an alternative. The partner asked: ‘How’s this one different?’ I told him it would be slower. ‘Oh good,’ he replied with relief.”
www.businessmag.co.uk
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