company profile 17
Clark Whitehill has created an attractive company culture and an employee-engaged teamworking environment embracing flexible and remote workstyles. “People don’t work 9-5 any more and neither do our clients, many of whom work across different time-zones,” says Penfold.
“We invest internally to bring people through as business advisors not just functional specialists, we go beyond the professional training to ensure our advisers have the commercial skills and technical expertise to meet our client’s needs. Our culture and values are of professionalism, integrity, quality, development and approachability,” explained Cooper.
Contented longevity of service is also mirrored externally through very high client retention rates. “We’ve actually had some clients for approaching 200 years.”
So why do clients choose Crowe Clark Whitehill?
CCW focuses on long-term business relationships, operates with a low ratio of staff to partners, and “Our partners and staff actually care about our clients’ businesses,” answers Cooper.
Internally, regular client care meetings are held to check performance. “We try to stay one step ahead, coming up with answers for the client before problems arise,” explained Mitchell.
“We work very much as a boutique firm – agile, quick to respond, providing experienced cross-discipline services – which is what clients want, yet offering all the national, global and specialist skill support expected from a firm our size,” explained Mackay. “Our work is driven by what clients need. We are responding to what their business world is like today and preparing them for a secure future.”
Jordan added: “Because our partners work very closely with their teams, greater knowledge, experience and understanding of a client’s project is brought together to deliver it properly.”
“We have a full-service offering and are recognised as having highly-qualified, very experienced staff across the piece,” Hawksworth highlighted.
“A lot of people promise an awful lot and fail to deliver, yet delivery is the most important thing for a client. If we help them meet their goals, even exceed them, then we make our clients happy and ourselves a sustainable business,” said Jordan.
And why will they need your help in the future?
“The Thames Valley is one of the fastest- growing business areas in the country,” Cooper answered.
The pace and complexity of modern Internet- led business requires greater and quicker
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2015
www.businessmag.co.uk
Some of the Crowe Clark Whitehill team based in Reading. Back row, left to right: Mike Smith, Stuart Weekes, Alastair Lyon, Christopher Penfold, Maya Panova, Phil Smithyes, Mark Stemp, Stuart Elder, Shona Harvie, Simon Herbert, Terry Wright, James Hawksworth. Front row, left to right:, Jo White, Richard Baker, Jeremy Cooper, Simon Jordan, Jane Mackay
assistance for clients within their growth journeys, plus increasing internationalism and vanishing traditional work-life boundaries were creating 24/7 pressures, the gathered Thames Valley partners agreed.
“Very few clients today can afford not to look beyond the UK borders for increased market share,” said MacKay. Jordan agreed, highlighting growing European, Far East and US activities.
Mitchell noted the needs of inward investing companies for tailor-made assistance and more growing SMEs using outsourced accountancy services. Businesses will also continue to demand ‘worksmart’ solutions.
Lyon remarked how the austerity age with government cutbacks had hit his clients. “Our work is becoming far more varied as charities think laterally about raising money, and stray into potential mainstream trading territories. They’ve never done this sort of thing before and need to know it is structured correctly.
“Charities can be more complex than a normal company anyway, because they often have many income streams of a highly- variable nature.”
Jordan noted the recent sea-change in M&A attitudes. “General election confidence has encouraged growth and exit strategies to be dusted off, particularly among smaller businesses.” With significant cash financing and deal opportunities available, it should remain a buoyant market. He noted growing
activity in the biotech, medical, cloud, and niche manufacturing sectors.
With low insolvency levels not seen since 2007, Hawksworth’s work-focus has been towards business turnaround and efficient restructuring. Interest rates, a potential overheating economy, and avoiding ‘running before walking’ growth stumbles, were current concerns.
With increasing HMRC requirements, tax specialist MacKay admitted there was an increasing role to “help guide clients through the red-tape,” particularly with public scrutiny now higher. Future work would also include taxation concerns about expanding overseas; structuring remuneration packages; EMI schemes, and securing governmental business tax reliefs such as R&D and Patent Box subsidies.
While spotlighting growing retail, property, and manufacturing requirements, Cooper added: “You can’t be in the Thames Valley and not be involved with technology.”
So, what is your market differentiator?
“It’s our culture and abilities, and that we recognise we are in a world where good client service isn’t good enough any more,” MacKay summed up.
Details: Chrisopher Penfold 0118-9597222
chris.penfold@
crowecw.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68