Who I help

Pension Schemes. Charities. Not for Profits. Limited Companies.

How I help

Audits. Tax Returns. Corporation returns. Year end accounts. Management accounts. Cashflows. Dividend planning.

Sectors/support

Not for Profit. Construction & Property.

“AUDIT CAN OFFER A LOT MORE THAN PEOPLE THINK.”

Jessica Wilkinson is a Senior Manager within our dedicated Audit team, but she has many hats. Jessica works seamlessly with the Audit team and the Business Advisory team. Having previously worked in Personal Tax, Jessica has brought all the skills and expertise with her to employ wherever necessary. Nowadays, however, she is more likely to be working with her wide variety of audit clients from many different sectors, including charities, not for profits, and pension schemes, from a broad selection of sectors. Jessica is also on our Not for Profit team.

Supporting her team when they do audit work out in the field, Jessica is the point of contact for both the team and the clients. She is always there to help her clients with any needs, queries, questions, issues or problems they may have.

Jessica also works on a variety of business advisory services, such as management accounts, tax returns, corporation returns, cashflows, and year end accounts – whatever she might be needed to get involved with to keep clients compliant with HMRC and any relevant regulations. She also attends clients’ quarterly directors’ meetings to give her valuable insight and feedback on how and what they’re doing.

GIVING EACH OTHER WHAT WE NEED

“For me, an ideal client relationship is one where everyone is happy with what their role is – so if a client wants some particular advice on an issue, they’ll provide me with everything I need to be able to give them high quality, carefully considered advice. It’s great when everyone is able to keep their deadlines, and when we have the chance to help clients improve and achieve their goals.”

GETTING AN OUTSIDER’S HONEST OPINION

“I think it varies from client to client what they expect from me and the team generally. Some clients have quite a clear and limited need from us – they just want us to tick the box to say what they’ve done and what they haven’t. They may just want us to meet regulatory deadlines.

But there are a lot of clients who are more interested in achieving their goals, and want our help to do so. Getting an outsider’s honest and genuine perspective, and the thoughts and input of someone who has emotional distance from the company or organisation can be invaluable. Many clients will say “tell me everything that we can improve” – and they genuinely want to know everything we’ve found that might help them.”

SEEING THE RESULTS

“I really enjoy being able to help clients that are open to our help in particular, and I like overcoming the negative perceptions people sometimes have of audit to the extent that people start to see that we’re there to support and help and give our expert opinions. It’s more interesting when clients are open to this, and it’s very satisfying when they take the things we’re saying on board and it ends up helping them. When clients make our suggested changes and as a result, start seeing improvements and growth, that’s really satisfying. It also really underscores the extent to which audits can provide added value.”

WATCHING PEOPLE GROW & ACHIEVE

“The most satisfying thing about working with colleagues is when you see them grow. It’s great when new team members come on board, and you help train and develop them, then a few years on you can see them training someone else. Watching people achieve and grow their careers as part of a really supportive team is fantastic.”

STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS

“When it comes to communicating with clients, I would always choose face-to-face communication, because I just think you get more out of it than just seeing someone on a screen. You’re better able to pick up on body language, and are more likely to do small talk, which can be really valuable as it quite often builds and strengthens the relationship and the bond of trust. Having said that, I totally appreciate for the day and age and where we’re in and how busy people are, that sometimes it is just more convenient and efficient to communicate virtually!”

KEEPING ON TOP OF IT ALL

“It’s tough, these days, in terms of everchanging guidance – but we do everything we can to stay on top of it all. We join training courses, register for updates, and share things with each other. But it’s probably the most challenging part of what we do – that, and changing people’s perceptions of audit and auditors!”

GROWING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE TEAM & FOR CLIENTS

“I excited to see the firm continue to grow. I joined the team here in 2015 and there was probably just under 100 employees, and now we’re part of a group of hundreds! It’s fantastic to see people grow in their careers and enjoy the additional opportunities that come with being part of AAB Group.

From a client perspective as well, we can offer so much more now. There are so many different knowledge bases that we can draw from that we didn’t have before. We have pretty much everything for clients under one (metaphorical!) roof, which is a huge benefit for clients. It offers a much more rounded package to clients and gives us a more complete view of their businesses and goals.”

HELPING PEOPLE FIND THEIR VOICE

“I like to think that I am good at bringing like a team together and encouraging people to find and use their voice. Everyone is important within the team, and everyone’s opinion is valuable and valued. There is no bad question – whatever it is, I’m happy to take the time to answer it or find the answer. If you think something could be done better or we can improve it, no matter who you are I encourage people to speak up. It helps everyone to achieve what they want to do.

So, I’d like to think that I people feel that they could approach me, and I think that supporting other people is my biggest strength. It’s also what I enjoy the most as well!”

OVERCOMING NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES

“My biggest pet hate about my profession is probably just how it often gets perceived. When people hear you say the word accounting or audit, people usually don’t want to hear about it. And for clients, it’s sometimes seen as just something stressful that they have to deal with. So, we try really hard to overcome that and get people to see that we can add value. There’s much more to audit than a lot of people give us credit for.”