Richard Hattersley

Bristol

That nice Mr Hattersley with the friendly face | editor at @accountingWEBuk | Monte Carlo simulation guru | The German Octopus of accounting

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Articles

Beyond surveys: Kreston Reeves embeds client care into its culture

3 weeks ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

“It can’t just be a survey and that's the end of it.” Jennifer Williamson, the head of client care at Kreston Reeves, takes a multifaceted approach when it comes to client care. She definitely still sees value in client surveys but says: “It’s only one piece in the puzzle.”These days, client surveys alone won’t cut it. Most firms are conducting them in some form, but their effectiveness depends on how the results are used.
Xeinadin heads for sale amid PE deal frenzy

3 weeks ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

In private equity, the eventual sale of an investment is inevitable. That’s certainly the case for one of accounting’s big consolidators. News broke in The Times last week that private equity firm Exponent is looking to sell their holding in Xeinadin. According to the report, Exponent has a target valuation of £800m. Exponent invested in Xeinadin in May 2022. As Derry Crowley explained in his recent interview with AccountingWEB, this was a turning point for Xeinadin.
Cut to level 7 funding will hit accountants

1 month ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

The government has today (27 May) announced for people aged 22 and older. The decision will come as a blow to accounting firms who rely on public funds to put their workers through professional qualifications. The government said it was “refocusing” funding away from level 7 from January 2026, explaining that the levy funding will be “rebalanced towards training at lower levels, where it can have the greatest impact”.
The survey says… no more surveys, please

1 month ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

Who doesn’t want to know they’re doing a good job? It’s only human. No accountant prides themselves on delivering rubbish service. It’s hardly something to slap on the website. But are we going about our obsession with client satisfaction the wrong way? These days you can’t go to a service station toilet without being asked to rate your experience, and accounting firms are not immune to surveys either. They send survey after survey after survey to clients.
Baxendale-Walker ordered to cease tax schemes

1 month ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

HMRC has issued a stop notice to Baxendale-Walker, one of the UK’s most infamous tax avoidance scheme promoters, having masterminded the employee benefit trust (EBT) scheme and operated the Rangers scheme. The Stop Notices applied to both of Baxendale-Walker’s schemes involve artificial arrangements, including the use of offshore trusts. Today’s announcement is a first for HMRC, since the tax authority hasn’t issued a Stop Notice to an individual before, opting instead to target companies.
From scale to sale: Why Alastair Barlow chose to exit his £2.5m firm

1 month ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

After seven years of building flinder into a business nearing £3m in revenue, co-founders Alastair Barlow and Luke Streeter faced a critical decision: expand further or sell the company. They reached this crossroads as consolidation ripped through the accounting profession. The impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the industry is reflected in the brand-new Deal of the Year category at the 2025 Accounting Excellence Awards, where Barlow is a judge.
Thurrock Council CFO banned over £1bn investment scandal

1 month ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

In a first sanction of its kind, the accountancy watchdog has taken the unusual step of imposing sanctions on a local authority CFO, including stripping him of his membership of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for five years.
HMRC homes in on landlord CGT avoidance scheme

1 month ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

Spotlight 69, published on 28 April, has raised the alarm about a tax avoidance scheme marketed to landlords. The scheme advises landlords to transfer their property business to a company using a limited liability partnership (LLP). The scheme is being promoted as saving capital gains tax (CGT), stamp duty land tax (SDLT) and inheritance tax (IHT). However, HMRC’s view is that the scheme does not work.
Inside the boardroom: Derry Crowley, CEO of Xeinadin

1 month ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

A map of the UK and Ireland, marked with the locations of Xeinadin’s various offices, hangs on Derry Crowley’s office wall in his home in County Cork, Ireland. Given Xeinadin’s unrelenting stream of acquisitions, the firm would probably need a standing order of push pins simply to keep the map updated with their growing number of offices. It’s easy to lose track of the firms Xeinadin has snapped up.
Marketing: The secret weapon for independent firms

1 month ago | accountingweb.co.uk | Richard Hattersley

While private-equity-backed firms scale fast with a war chest of capital, independent firms like Albert Goodman have to explore other avenues to stand out and win new clients. Determined to remain an independent regional firm and grow, the South West firm realised it needed to build a strong brand to achieve this goal. That’s why Albert Goodman invested in a multi-media marketing campaign that defied the tide of consolidation and highlighted the strength of being a regional firm.