I set up my business back in the early 1990s with my wife Janet and we specialised in precision grinding of machine tools in those days. Initially, we traded as a partnership before incorporating in 2000. It was just after our incorporation that we changed accountants to James, Stanley & Co., having previously used a couple of accountants who we felt did their job but little more. We felt that they did not buy into our business and what we were looking to achieve.
 

In 2000 a friend of mine put me in touch with Andrew James of James, Stanley & Co. and, having met with Andrew, I felt that he was more passionate about our business than we had previously experienced from accountants in the past and so we switched to James Stanley & Co. for our accounting and taxation compliance requirements.
 

It is a testament to the service that they have provided that we have stayed with the firm ever since. Our account manager for the whole 19 year period has been Sue Blackledge, who Janet quickly struck up a rapport with. This was crucial as Janet has been responsible for the company’s finances whilstI have looked after the grinding and chroming operations. Sue has been an enormous help to Janet over the years helping her with the book keeping, changeover of accounting systems and any other accounting issue that we have come across over the years. I believe that the continuity of the team at our accountants has been a major factor in our success.
 

However, it is the advisory services that I believe we have benefitted from most from using James, Stanley & Co. and here are a few examples of how they have helped us.
 

Tax planning

Each year we have either met with Andrew or at a minimum discussed over the phone the company’s tax position, about a month or two before our year-end. The advice we have received has saved us, I reckon, approximately £44,000 in corporation tax.
 

Pricing

Andrew has given us advice on our pricing so that we have been able to maintain our margins despite suffering significant increases in utility costs, wage rises and cost of materials.
 

Management buy out

They have helped us significantly in passing the business on to one of our key employees. This is an area in which Janet and I have little knowledge and we had no idea of the tax implications or the hoops that we had to jump through. Andrew has advised us through this process, setting up a tax efficient arrangement that works for both us and our employee who is taking over the company. He has liaised directly with the solicitors to ensure that everything has run smoothly and he has obtained clearance for the deal with H.M. Revenue & Customs.
 

In conclusion, when you work with James, Stanley & Co. you work with a team that really care about your business and who will walk with you and help you deal with many of the issues that you face when running a SME.

Adrian Davies - Director
30 April 2019