Original article published in The Bay Magazine Swansea (August 2017) Link: https://www.theswanseabay.co.uk/2017/07/26/new-generation-accountants/
Editor's Choice with Lesley Williams
Last month I wrote about Eleanor Davies of Elle Electrical being an electrician in a thousand because she was female. So I was pleasantly surprised to learn that approximately 45% of Chartered Accountants are women. I caught up with CARLY and ELLIE ALLCHURCH to find out more about their newly opened practice in Uplands.
Allchurch & Co Chartered Accountants was set up in February this year by sisters Carly and Ellie who grew up in Swansea. They both attended Bishop Gore School before Carly left for Cardiff University while Ellie stayed in Swansea and went to university here.
They had always dreamt of running their own business as Carly explained, “Our Grandparents ran their own businesses and from a young age our parents have brought us up to believe anything is possible if you work hard at it and this provided us with the motivation and belief to set up on our own.
“In June 2016 I had my first little boy Ioan and felt this was the perfect time to try something new. Training with PricewaterhouseCoopers and working with them for 7.5 years had been an amazing experience but starting a family I knew that my priorities were going to change. To start a business in which we were in control felt the perfect solution.
“Ellie was also ready for a change and after also working for PricewaterhouseCoopers for 4.5 years and spending most of her time with small businesses across South Wales, wanted to create a business that would help clients to achieve their goals.
“We can offer a wide range of services to our clients, which can be specifically tailored to their needs. We believe we are different as we strive to provide the quality and professional service level of a big 4 firm but delivered in a personal and flexible way. We know that client relation-ships are key to ensuring we develop the perfect working relationship. We believe being accountants isn’t just about numbers. We understand that you may just want to check something that has been playing on your mind, or run a business issue past us for a second independent opinion and that is fine by us, we work very flexibly as we understand the world of business doesn’t always run 9-5.
“We offer a range of services to individuals and businesses from book keeping reviews, accounts preparation, corporation tax returns, self-assessment returns, payroll and vat. We offer a free consultation to understand more about your business and the support you may need.
“We also offer our services on an ad hoc basis to larger companies, even if they have existing advisors. We can take the pressure off finance teams by helping with audit and accounts preparation, tailored training courses or attending management meetings to give an independent opinion. We can cover temporary staff absences. We understand the value that an extra pair of hands can bring to an organisation and can really help staff and team morale.
“We are both qualified chartered accountants bound by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, we encourage regular feedback and our priority is keeping our clients happy – you will never be just another client to us.
“The Allchurch name is well known in Swansea and we are very proud of our heritage. Our late Grandpi and his brother Ivor who were both brought up in Plasmarl Swansea and spent a large amount of their football career playing for the Swans. Sport has always been a big part of our family and life. We both have played netball at an international level and still enjoy playing in the local Swansea Netball League.
"We love hearing from our client’s stories from when Len and Ivor played at the Vetch and the enjoyment their football brought to the Swansea community”.
Carly and Ellie will be contributing to Bay in the following months, with advice and up-dates on both business and personal finance.
www.allchurchco.com Telephone 07825 232218