Graeme
Carlin

WHO I HELP

Owner-managed businesses. SMEs.

HOW I HELP 

Business advisory and strategic support. Business growth. Accounting compliance.

SECTORS/SUPPORT

Works with the Business Advisory Services team and the Virtual Finance Function team. 

“CREATING A STRONG TEAM ETHOS NATURALLY BUILDS A MUCH STRONGER ENVIRONMENT WHERE PEOPLE COLLABORATE & ASSIST EACH OTHER.”

Graeme Carlin is a Senior Manager within our Business Advisory Services team. Graeme provides business advisory and compliance services to a range of SMEs and business owners across a variety of sectors, generally getting involved with businesses to provide solutions to add value and strategies to enable business growth. 

A TRUSTED ADVISOR

“An ideal relationship with a client would be having the regular contact to be a trusted advisor and the first point of call when a client has an issue/opportunity. The ideal relationship means having that trust built up so that you know what matters to them so can tailor the way you approach things.”

PROVIDING PRO-ACTIVE SOLUTIONS

“Clients expect a proactive approach to identifying issues and providing solutions to problems before they become an issue. Ensuring that all of their day-to-day needs including compliance tasks are met in an efficient manner that means they don’t have to worry about them.”

ADDING VALUE

“The most satisfying aspect of working with clients is knowing that you are adding value to their business and offering tangible advice and solutions to help them prosper and achieve their goals. In terms of working with colleagues, seeing them develop and grow and challenge themselves is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a manager.”

BREAKING THE STATUS QUO

“The way our industry is adapting to technology is going to increasingly develop in the coming years. It’s important to not just mold to the status quo and to explore new options in reporting and providing services as no two clients are the same.”

A BLENDED APPROACH TO COMMUNICATION

“In terms of virtual versus ‘hands-on’ routes to working with clients, my preferred option would be a balance – a blended approach. It’s important to harness technological advancements to improve and enhance our service offering and quality of work but equally, it’s imperative to maintain that personal feel of a client relationship by having in-person interactions. I find a great deal of benefit can be gained from spending time on site at clients’ premises as you can learn more about the business from this and can understand best practices when talking to clients and prospects in similar industries.”

ADAPTATION IS KEY

“The greatest challenges within my sector are the adaptations to technology within our sector. Being able to add value within clients’ businesses is what is going to differentiate us and channelling the developments that this brings will be important to stay ahead of the curve. Clients face different challenges all the time and being able to adapt quickly and provide suitable solutions will be a key part of the accounting sector in the coming years.”

CHALLENGING MYSELF

“Being part of a Group that provides a full-service offering and can grow at a pace that keeps things interesting and exciting is an enjoyable thing to be a part of and is one of the reasons I joined AAB.

In terms of being able to challenge myself in different ways across the business and being involved in areas that take me outside of my comfort zone are what excites me the most.”

POSITIVITY, ETHUSIASM, & FUN

“One of the AAB Group Values is having an ethos of positivity, enthusiasm, and fun – I think it’s important to try and have a laugh with the team and it builds a greater ethos; in my experience, the most successful teams have that built into them. If you can have humour in your approach, it displays a full level of trust across the team, which can only make the team more successful.”

LISTENING, ENCOURAGING & DEVELOPING

“I think that I’m strong in nurturing and developing talent which, in a business that is growing as quickly as AAB, is important to ensure that we’re providing pathways and development opportunities for the team members. I don’t take myself too seriously and encourage people to ask as many questions as possible.

If you create a strong team ethos, then naturally you will build a much stronger environment where people collaborate and assist each other a lot more and this gives a greater feeling of success as a team.

I’m also a really strong listener, and very patient which enables me to provide a rounded service by obtaining the full facts so that I’m able to provide appropriate advice or solutions.”

CLIENTS HAVE CONFIDENCE IN US

“The greatest compliment that I feel you can get from a client is them referring you to other businesses and prospects, as it shows that they are confident in recommending you to others, puts their reputation on the line.”

CLEAR & ACCESSIBLE COMMUNICATION

“One of my pet hates about my profession is that solutions and advice can be provided in an overcomplicated and difficult-to-understand manner – it can be confusing and convoluted for clients which can often be motivated by self-interest or an unwillingness to adapt from people within our profession. It’s important to be able to tailor the information and advice we provide into a format and delivery that the client can understand and interpret effectively as that’s much more beneficial in building lasting relationships.”