Manufacturing Accountants & Specialist Business Advisers

Whilst new to my role, Armstrong Watson were contracted to undertake a first time audit. This could have made for a difficult start with all of us being new to company. Armstrong Watson's team, lead on site by Chris Gunn, made the whole process smooth and much easier than it otherwise could have been. They communicated well and worked closely with us to hit required deadlines without unnecessarily encroaching on the day to day work.

After setting up good foundations the following years audits have flowed seamlessly.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their services.

Waterfront Fluid Controls engaged with Armstrong Watson to assist in an acquisition deal with Jash Engineering Ltd. This was a complex deal due to the new majority shareholder being based and registered in India. Not only did this make things slightly more complex we added into the mix an 80% shareholding and not a full 100% take over.

Due diligence processes were undertaken and with the guidance of Ellis Kerton in particular we successfully gained the approval of the auditor and legal teams. Ellis worked very closely with our accountant here in WFC and with a lot of hard work and long hours we met our timescale targets to everyone’s satisfaction.

One of TSP Engineering’s priorities is to support the local community and economy, so when the decision was made to outsource payroll it was important that this would be with a local business. We realised the outsourcing was a huge undertaking which brought some uncertainty. It needed to be a seamless transition with no negative impact on our employees and our first thought was how many parallel runs would it take before we had it right. Through our meetings with Armstrong Watson’s payroll team any apprehensions we had soon disappeared. Their professionalism, knowledge and continual engagement throughout the set up period provided the reassurance we were looking for, so much so that we went live with no parallel run and not a single error. I look forward to the continuing relationship with the payroll team which now feels like an extension of our team.

Gates are a global group with companies in various countries worldwide. In 2016 Armstrong Watson were awarded the audits of some of the UK entities in the group.

As Armstrong Watson have a local team they are flexible and can pop in and out as required enabling an efficient audit process. They have been friendly and professional in their approach and accommodating working with our timelines and requirements, and have delivered on their promises each year as well as being good value for money.

Armstrong Watson have been our accountants and tax advisers for many years. We have an exceptionally good working relationship, so much so that we see them as another arm of our team here at The Lakes. They not only deal with our accounts and tax affairs, they understand our business and the way we run it, which is so important when we talk through problems or opportunities. They have supported us throughout a period of significant growth and it goes without saying that their pro-active approach to business and tax planning has been invaluable. We would not hesitate to recommend them.

We were undertaking a review of our pension scheme, a benefit which has been much valued by the members and felt that to provide the additional support during the transitional period, we needed to bring in the services of a professional financial adviser firm. It was important to us that the firm was local to Cumbria and able to create a trusted relationship with our colleagues who were trying to understand how the proposed changes would or could affect them.

The feedback from our members has been extremely positive; they valued the independent, professional and considered advice and support the team at Armstrong Watson were able to provide.

Nothing seemed to be too much trouble and the advice given to the members has been critical in allowing informed decisions to be made.

Working with Armstrong Watson has been a positive experience and we hope to continue to build on this relationship for future initiatives.

We design and manufacture rubber to metal bonding’s to the Commercial Truck and Trailer Industry. We are based in Skipton, North Yorkshire and have worked with Armstrong Watson since our business was incorporated on 1 January 1998. They have been an important part of helping us to get where we want to be. Not only do they act for us for accountancy and tax services they are our business advisors and have been key in enabling our business to grow and flourish.

More than accountants, a genuine trusted adviser and they’ve proven over the years they can deliver.

The team at Armstrong Watson are a valued business partner and a continued part of our growth and development at KMF.

They have offered constructive and commercial solutions when needed and are extremely approachable.

Their fee levels are extremely competitive across the key products and in my opinion their service levels exceed that of their peer group and that of the Big 4.

As a manufacturing business a critical element of our MI is our stock, too much stock and we have cash tied up unnecessarily, too little and we run the risk of disappointing customers. After a number of strategic business acquisitions and attempting to integrate different types of stock into our system we realised that there was a danger that our stock recording system could be producing inaccurate results.

As a result we asked the team at Armstrong Watson to review the stock system. Their review highlighted the areas of weakness and also the areas that were performing to expectations. With their assistance we addressed the areas of concern and amended procedures and practices accordingly. Their pragmatic common sense approach backed by their experience and knowledge enabled us to achieve the right result in a reasonable timescale.

We now have full confidence that our MI is accurate and reliable.

As a family owned and managed manufacturing business we have the skills and experience to know what to do, when to do it and how to do it.

We have the day to day running and management of the business in hand. That said, what we have never challenged ourselves on is the bigger picture, we all know our roles and responsibilities.

What the team at Armstrong Watson have done is to challenge how we work not in the business, but on the business. Their input and knowledge has allowed us to stand back from the day to day operations and work on the business, looking at the bigger, more strategic plan, rather than the day to day operational issues.

We have found, and are still finding, their input challenging, insightful and of great value. They have a wealth of knowledge and whilst we believe the issues in our family owned and managed business are unique to us, it becomes more apparent that the issues are common throughout many similar businesses.

We were the subject of a serious tax enquiry into both the company and the directors, concerning a fraud, with a real risk of criminal prosecution. The enquiry lasted for almost three years and throughout this period Andrew Mitchell was our rock, providing valuable advice and support to us in a calm and extremely professional manner and eventually negotiated a satisfactory financial settlement with HMRC. I would have no hesitation in recommending Andrew and Armstrong Watson to another client in a similar predicament.

Running a 'family business' carries with it a set of unique challenges and opportunities specific to the balance between 'family' and 'business'. As easy as it may to think that keeping the two distinct from each other is straightforward, the lines can become very blurred and often difficult to manage. As my experience in both business and family life grows the more I come to believe that you cannot "do it on your own" - in either area. The listening ear of other people, the experience of other people and the perspectives of other people are essential to making real and lasting progress.

We have recently embarked on a more strategic business advice approach with David Richmond and the Armstrong team as we recently stepped away from our day to day labours leaving many perceived problems at the office and stepped into an independent and trusted environment where we have been able to speak freely (both jointly as a management team and individually in one to one sessions). The first session was both a relief and a revelation. The relief in taking a positive step to help ourselves - the revelation in how easy it was to open up and talk about issues we had probably thought too sensitive to get out in the open. Then comes the real value - a realistic plan. Having listened, questioned, and challenged we all worked together to agree definite objectives and plans to achieve them - both together and individually. This forward looking, objective based approach is stimulating and allows the principles established at the Blue session to be taken back into the maelstrom of day to day business - where, because of their clarity, they have a chance to take root.

We have wanted to develop ourselves and our business with a fresh approach - going in with an open mind, we have quickly gained a different perspective and we have started to change. There is a fascinating blend of gradual, slow, 'wait and see' adjustment and some decisive, quick, 'take the plunge' change...its exciting to be moving to a new way of thinking, building on all the good things we have and leaving some of the not so good things behind.

The team at Armstrong Watson are a valued business partner and a continued part of our growth and development at KMF.

They have offered constructive and commercial solutions when needed and are extremely approachable.

Their fee levels are extremely competitive across the key products and in my opinion their service levels exceed that of their peer group and that of the Big 4.

One word sums up the support I get from Armstrong Watson - tremendous. The firm understands my business and allows me to concentrate on growth. They take care of the accounting and have provided strategic advice that has helped me to develop the business. When an opportunity came to buy out a partner, advice from the corporate finance team hit the spot. As my support team, they really do get the job done.

When the company was sold to a private equity firm, Armstrong Watson was instrumental in assisting the purchase; formulating the financial models, cash flow analysis and pro forma profit and loss. The team produced high quality results and provided an invaluable contribution in the post transaction.

The effective sale of the business was made so by having the right people with the right skills who really understood the business and our requirements, in particluar David Richmond. David has an excellent understanding of business finance reporting, his knowledge and the ability to understand different situations provided invaluable in developing the strategic direction of our business. Armstrong Watson are a very professional outfit and without doubt their contribution has made the transaction exceedingly cost effective and we would highly recommend them.

Engineered Assistance Ltd design and manufacture specialist mobility equipment for the healthcare sector, and are based in West Yorkshire.

The Armstrong Watson team helped us prepare R&D tax relief claims since the company was first incorporated and have saved us huge amounts of tax which we have consequently been able to reinvest in our technology.

The team have a great understanding of the R&D tax relief rules and his advice has been invaluable in not only preparing accurate claims for HMRC, but also maximising the tax relief available. I would definitely recommend Armstrong Watson to any company who think they might be able to make a claim.