Any accountant worth their salt should offer you far more than a basic service provider. Unlike your office stationery supplier or your telecoms provider, your accountant should act more like a trusted business partner.

With most owner managers and directors focusing their attention on the core business, it’s essential to know that there is someone else on board who will not only watch your back, but will also flag up potential new business opportunities, take advantage of tax breaks as they happen and actively protect the assets of your company, whilst intelligently optimising its wealth.

Big name firms with a national presence can appear to be the smart choice for the discerning and ambitious business. However, all too often a firm that’s too large can suffer from ‘client distance’ issues.