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ESG Diligence: The Key To Sustainable M&A Transactions
AAB / People / Graham Jones
Meet the Business Advisory team
SMEs. Family Businesses. Owner Managed Businesses.
Annual accounts (limited company, LLP, sole trader and partnerships). Management Accounts. VAT Returns. Corporation Tax Returns.
Construction & property. Professional services. Not for Profit.
Graham Jones is a Manager on our Business Advisory Services team. He is mainly involved in the review of annual accounts, management accounts, bookkeeping, VAT Returns and corporation tax returns. Graham also has experience in advisory work, including tax planning and other services such as personal tax returns, Research & Development claims, grant applications, loan applications, finance applications and forecasting.
Graham has gained experience and been responsible for a wide range of sectors working as an accountant. He has dealt with a portfolio of clients in a variety of sectors, such as construction, haulage, doctors, dentists, community interest companies and financial services.
He has also been involved in audit work and stocktaking for clients.
“Like any healthy relationship, an ideal relationship with a client is all about trust, proactive communication and understanding their needs. A level of empathy also helps.”
“I feel that regular and effective communication with clients to understand their business and evolving needs, challenges and goals. Clients expect professionalism and the ability to deliver on promises. The ability to apologise when things go wrong is also an advantage.”
“The most satisfying part of working with clients is that we’re able to help them in several ways. We help them move towards peace of mind and success, as well as helping to relieve them of stress. This could be through helping a client meet their business goals, or working with them to solve a problem they’re having with HMRC.
It’s a similar situation with colleagues. I’ve always found it satisfying to pass on the knowledge and experience I have built up and help an individual deliver on a job or get through their training. We are a team at the end of the day.”
“I’m really excited to develop new skills and experiences at AAB Group. I have always been passionate about helping clients achieve their goals. It’s central to what we do, and our own success as a firm is, of course, tied to our clients’ success too, so it’s in everyone’s best interests for us to do our absolute best and seek the best possible outcomes for our clients.”
“I’m fairly old school when it comes to working with clients. I was always taught that you should visit a client, as it facilitates more complete and more receptive communication on both sides. Sometimes, in a general face-to-face chat, a client will mention something that might not have of otherwise come up in a virtual meeting. This could maybe lead to an opportunity help the client or to sell an additional service. There’s also the perception that you care enough to take the time to travel and listen to them.
That said, the virtual routes to working with a client are often very convenient and can offer time savings that would not be possible when visiting client premises. So, I really value its efficiency as well.”
“The greatest challenge in my area of work, as I see it, is the ongoing automation within accountancy and bookkeeping. Software is increasingly doing more when it comes to compliance work, and this means there is a shrinking pool of jobs for accountancy firms to chase, even though software usually needs human oversight and management.
The changing and progressively more tech-enabled landscape of accountancy does, however, provide an opportunity for firms to offer extra services to clients on the advisory side of the business, and stand out in the marketplace.”
“The things that excite me the most about my future at AAB Group is continuing to develop my career, gaining new skills and knowledge, and helping clients get where they want to be. I always really enjoy passing on the knowledge I’ve gained from my experience to help develop the skillsets and careers of my colleagues.”
“My clients are definitely my passion; I always got a buzz from helping a client get a problem sorted out or to help them achieve their goals. My aim is always to make sure the client is in a better position than they were when I picked the job. In a job with a previous firm, clients were asked for feedback every time we did a set of accounts and it was pleasing to hear how you had made a tangible difference to the vast majority of them.”
“I think it’s in most accountants’ nature to be modest when they talk about themselves. That said, I have worked as an accountant at various levels over the course of 26 years so I feel I have a vast wealth of experience and knowledge that can be tapped for the benefit of a client. In past roles I have been involved in tax planning, Research & Development claims, grant applications, loan and finance applications, business valuations, and forecasting – so I have quite a large breadth of knowledge and understanding that I can draw from.
I also think that caring about the end result is a massive strength. This means being willing to go the extra mile to help deliver for the client, which I certainly am.”
“The greatest compliment a client paid me was that I had helped improve their quality of their work by introducing them to a different way of working and new systems, allowing them to have more time away from working on the mundane side of the business, and instead being able to work on generating more income and spending more time with their family. Tax planning was also a big part of that as well, as this would allow them to pay tax efficiently and retain more of what they earned.”
“My pet hate about the way the profession is perceived is that we are grey, boring people who just crunch numbers, charge large fees and don’t care about a client’s results. The public at large sometimes don’t understand the nature of the work we do, or how much of it actually helps clients succeed.”