Who I help

Owner-managed businesses. Not for profit organisations. Professional practices.

How I help

Audits. Accounts preparation.

Sectors/support

Public Sector.
Works with the Tax, VAT, and Corporate Finance teams.

“We get so many comments from clients that they enjoy  our audits, & I do too.”

Helen Daniels is Director in our Audit team. Helen is a trusted advisor to a mixed portfolio of clients made up predominantly of owner managed businesses with a turnover of between £5m and £15m, but she also looks after some not-for-profit clients and professional practices.

Having be a part of our team for 24 years, and made Audit Director at the beginning of 2021, Helen has extensive audit and larger accounts preparations experience, as well as extensive experience being a trusted general advisor.

Helen also works to develop the team, coordinating and running internal training sessions for managers and senior managers within the firm, to improve and enhance the skillsets and technical expertise across the team, as well as encouraging collaborative working.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST

“The ideal relationship with a client is definitely one that is underpinned by trust – it’s absolutely key that the client trusts you, and knows that they can ask you any question, and you’ll give them an accurate, well-researched, and carefully considered answer. They have to be able to trust the advice you’re giving, and you have to be able to trust that the client will tell you everything you need to know.”

VALUE FOR MONEY

“From us, clients expect quality advice, a high level of professionalism around compliance work, and value for money – it’s not that clients necessarily want it to be as cheap as possible, but it’s important that they’re getting good value. Clients expect – and can trust – that we’ll keep them informed of everything they need to know from us, even if it’s not necessarily what they want to hear, or an easy conversation to have.”

SEEING CLIENTS & COLLEAGES GROW

“For me, the most satisfying aspect of working with clients is knowing that you’re supporting them and seeing them grow into their role. We often work with clients all the way through the life cycle of their business and, often, the span of their careers, so it’s very rewarding when you see them develop over the years. It’s also particularly satisfying when we’ve helped them to overcome a specific, significant obstacle or deal with an especially difficult issue.

It’s the same with colleagues too to be honest – watching colleagues learn, grow, develop, and progress in their careers is really special, and seeing them overcome an issue that you’ve helped to teach them how to resolve is a great feeling.”

ADAPTABLE COMMUNICATION

“In terms of communication with clients, I’m more than happy to adapt to what the client prefers. Personally, I would always rather face to face meetings; I love going out and seeing clients, and find that it often helps to develop a stronger relationship. But there are times where that is not practical, either due to geographic or diary constraints. For example, we run some board meetings for charities where the trustees are based all over the country, so running the meetings on Teams can be far more convenient and can also really help the charities save on travel costs. So, I would say it’s always driven by clients and what suits their needs and preferences.”

PEACE OF MIND ON STAYING UP TO DATE

“The greatest challenge in audit is that the audit market and the regulations around it are always changing. Thankfully we’ve got the investment in systems and in people to facilitate keeping up to date with all the legislation adjustments, so we – and our clients! – can sleep easy knowing that our technical knowledge and information is always current.”

SMALL ENOUGH TO CARE, WITH SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES TO HELP

“We’re a sizable firm, but we’re still small enough to care. We genuinely care about our people, and care about our clients – they’re always our priority. However, now that we are a part of AAB Group, we’re able to offer an even wider range of additional services to our clients. Knowing my clients as well as I do, I can advise and direct them to the various services from different teams that we can provide that I think they need or would really benefit from. It’s also more convenient for the client that all the services can be provided under one roof.

The growth of AAB also means that there are now lots of exciting opportunities available for our team members. They are able to grow and develop with help and advice from teams across the Group and across the different office locations, and can draw upon wide variety of expertise we have now.”

DOING WHAT’S BEST FOR CLIENTS

“Of all the AAB Group Values, ‘clients are our passion’ is the one that really speaks to me. My work is all about supporting and doing what’s best for my clients. This means building relationships with clients, working hard to ensure that they’re happy and having difficult conversations where necessary.”

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS & ADDING VALUE

“I think that perception of audit is starting to change, which is good. The added value that an audit can provide is something that is often underestimated, I think. Some people regard audits as something they have to do – a hindrance, or a burden. But they’re not! More people are becoming away of the fact that audits are not just a box-ticking exercise, but also be incredibly beneficial and provide them with significant added value. Audits can really benefit clients because the knowledge and perspective we gain during them allows us to provide better advice.”

AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE

“The best compliment we receive from clients is probably all the comments we get about how people enjoy our audits. They genuinely enjoy having us out there, working with them. I think that’s a good compliment because it’s not necessarily high up anybody’s list of favourite things to do, but we try to make it as enjoyable as possible, and make it a nice experience for the client.”