Saffery Champness Chartered Accountants has been working with their clients and contacts to deliver their national expertise at a local level.
Bournemouth based Partner Jamie Lane advised, “The Coronavirus pandemic has seen all partners and staff from across the business in the UK pulling together to pool resources, knowledge and depth of expertise to allow delivery of exceptional support to our clients and contacts at this time. The fast pace of the move to lockdown and the consequential impact on our clients meant that it was imperative that our attention was focused on one to one advice and support. However, the fact that we have so many specialists, either subject or industry, has meant that whilst our geographic focus is in our region, our clients and contacts have benefitted from this wide-ranging set of expertise.
“I have been involved in leading the Firm in spear heading the Legal Sector focus group and providing professional guidance and support. Across many sectors we’ve conducted regular questionnaires and surveys in order to establish any sector trends and to tailor our support accordingly. We’ve achieved a lot of national press attention and have been included in reports in the Financial Times and Law Gazette as well as several other publications.
Partner Roger Wareham commented, “The Food & Drink and especially hospitality sectors have been one of the hardest hit. As a sector I specialise in, iit has been important that everyone pulls together in supporting business owners during the pandemic. The strategies, resilience and innovation that has come out of the sector has been truly inspiring. Whilst it has been a tough period to navigate through, with still a large number of uncertainties being faced, we are now helping businesses plan for the exit from lock down and look to gain as much competitive advantage as possible.
“I’ve been involved in The Wonky Table working group initiative, led by Dorset restauranteur Andy Lennox, in helping support local hospitality business owners to have a combined voice and be informed around the issues and challenges affecting them. To share ideas and information has been a great resource for the sector which has now grown to now represent more than 300 venues.”
Jamie and Roger both added, “It’s been an extremely busy period for us but it has helped us to strengthen our communications and relationships with our clients and contacts, despite having to meet ‘virtually’ on every occasion. We have been working with clients on a one 2 one support basis, supporting and assisting them in grant applications, processing the Job Retention Scheme grant applications and ensuring that they are accessing all funding available. We’ve also been connecting our clients to each other and to other professionals helping them work together for mutual benefit. This has been a particularly satisfying part of our support, spotting opportunities and making those connections.
“Whilst we are far from business as usual, we are proud of our clients and the way they are overcoming a once-in-a-lifetime challenge, as well as taking great pride in our team who continue to strive for the high service standards for which Saffery Champness are well known.”
About Saffery Champness
Saffery Champness LLP is a firm of chartered accountants that advises individuals and families, not-for-profit organisations and businesses across a range of sectors. As a member of Nexia International, it is part of a worldwide network of independent accounting and consulting firms.
For over 160 years, the firm’s success has been founded upon providing clients with a genuinely partner-led service and working with them to create bespoke solutions that help them to achieve their personal and business objectives. For more information visit www.saffery.com or see Twitter @Safferys.