Accountant counts on ‘amazing team’ for growth

A straight-talking Teesside accountant is driving further growth at the firm she founded from her kitchen table nearly 20 years ago.

A E Scott Accounting & Business Support, based at Falcon Court on Preston Farm Industrial Estate in Stockton, was founded by Andrea Scott after she became a new mum in 2006.

Andrea established the limited company in 2013 and opened its first office on Yarm High Street, where it remained for a decade before relocating to Stockton three years ago.

The business provides services spanning accounts, bookkeeping, corporation tax, capital gains tax, payroll, personal tax, property portfolio advice, R&D claims and VAT.

Its growth has continued despite Andrea taking an unconventional approach to running the firm during the Covid-19 pandemic.

During lockdown in July 2020, she decided that, with the business capable of operating remotely, there was little preventing her from working overseas.

Within weeks, Andrea and her then 14-year-old son Shayne had relocated to the Portuguese island of Madeira.

Supported by her team in the UK, Andrea continued running A E Scott remotely, with clients experiencing no disruption to the service.

Andrea said: “Shayne rarely left the house when we lived in England as he was fixated on his computer games and playing with his friends online, but in Madeira, which is one of the safest places in the world, he made new friends, started socialising, and started learning Jujutsu martial arts.

“For me, the experience of living in Maderia for two-and-a-half-years gave me more independence.

“When they both moved back because they missed the UK, I stayed out for an extra year (travelling home regularly to see them) and it showed me I could live on my own and we can do anything we put our minds to.

“I joined GGI (Girls Gone International), a group of women from all over the world and I made some good friends.”

Andrea returned to the UK in 2023, when the business moved into its current Falcon Court office.

Today, Andrea is supported by operations director Ben Phillips, accountants Samantha Mason-Hill and Christopher Smith, payroll clerk and administrator Emily Phillips, bookkeeper Kye Ayre and apprentice bookkeeper Lucy Oates.

Further expansion is now planned, with the firm intending to recruit another bookkeeper and accountant in the spring.

Andrea, 47, has increasingly focused on driving the company’s growth while stepping back from its day-to-day operations and giving greater responsibility to the wider team.

The firm prioritises professional qualifications, practical experience and a strong work ethic when recruiting, with its varied team helping support a diverse client base.

Property has become another area where Andrea brings first-hand experience to clients.

Having built her own property portfolio and purchased a cottage in Staithes last year, she combines personal knowledge with the firm’s professional expertise when advising property owners.

Andrea added: “I will always be an accountant, but I don’t do the day-to-day accounting.

“Instead, I am focused on our long-term growth.

“I have got the most amazing team.

“When we take on new staff, we take them on for life.

“We want people to come on board who want to grow with us.

“We are all different – me and Ben are complete opposites, but we work really well together – and that is our strength as a team.

“It reminds me of the Richard Branson quote: ‘Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to’.”

From running half-marathons to relocating overseas and growing a business, Andrea says determination has remained central to her approach.

Nearly two decades after starting from her kitchen table, that same drive is now underpinning A E Scott’s plans to grow its workforce and client base further.

She added: “I’m a firm believer in you get out of life what you put into it.

“Anybody can do what I’m doing.

“I started out driven by a fear of failure.

“I was very aware of where I came from and not having the best prospects, but I have never let anything hold me back or stand in my way.”

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