Member Article

Preston accountants celebrates record turnover as international projects surge

Moore and Smalley, the North West accountancy firm headquartered in Preston, is celebrating a record year after growth in international projects saw turnover jump by nearly 10% year-on-year.

Turnover at the company, which also provides business advisory services, rose to £15.5m in 2016/17 as its international network helped to grow the amount of business it was receiving from overseas.

Buoyant financials were also complemented by a growth in staff numbers, with headcount across all its regional offices, including Blackpool, Lancaster,Kendal, Southport, Kirkby Lonsdale and East Midlands as well as the newly opened regional hubs in Manchester and Liverpool, growing to 280.

Graham Gordon, managing partner of Moore and Smalley, said that while Brexit had posed some uncertainties, the growth in international business helped to offset some of the wider impact and would become even more important as the UK heads out of the EU.

He said: “Our growth is linked to our desire to be the accountancy firm of choice in the North West. Brexit has thrown-up some uncertainty, but we have worked through it.

“In these uncertain times, having trust in your professional advisers has never been more important. Through our international network, we’ve been able to advise more clients than ever before on overseas matters. This will be even more important as the full implications of Brexit become known.”

Graham also hailed the benefits of its continued membership in MHA, a UK-wide group of eight practices which gives members access to 198 partners and over 1,750 staff in more than 50 offices across the UK.

Graham added: “Domestically, our membership of the MHA network means we’re gaining a foothold on the mid-tiered practices and winning larger clients. We’ve also continued investing in new technology, such as our cloud accounting service which is proving popular with small and medium-sized businesses.”