Strategic Business Advice

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.

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.

Working with Glenn Clifford Perkins at Armstrong Watson over many years has facilitated a sustainable pattern of growth for our business with solid foundations. Glenn’s guidance and input to our business plans with clear measurement of KPI’s through timely management information and data have been immeasurable.

In summary and most importantly Glenn is approachable and easy to work with combined with a great deal of common sense thrown into the mix.

Becky has a strong desire to understand our business and provides a level of commercial input that sees her take pride in the successes that follow. As with all of our experiences with Armstrong Watson and Becky in particular we found the support during COVID-19 invaluable. The pro-active approach to identifying issues and addressing them on our behalf meant we could in turn concentrate on the variety of other matters at hand. The extensive knowledge and the support and experience provides a level of reassurance that offers peace of mind for both the organisational and business owner/directors interests.

So much of running a business is surrounding yourselves with the right people. Be that for advice, support and professional services. In farming it also really helps if you like those people, especially your accountant, as they are someone you communicate with regularly and have to trust completely. With Nicki Hutchinson we have been incredibly lucky not only to find someone who is professionally at the top of her game, but whose genuine warmth and comprehensive understanding of agriculture makes us feel she's very much part of our team, driving forward our business. Nicki has also been pivotal in succession planning for our business and has shown empathy and foresight, providing common sense solutions and delivering everything on time and as promised. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Nicki and her team at AW, I feel our business is stronger with her input, her professional knowledge is superb and personally we find her a pleasure to work with.

Andrew and Becky leading the audit and tax teams at AW have both provided excellent support to us over a number of years. Tax positions change regularly, so we always hold regular face-to-face meetings with Becky and the tax team to ensure we stay ahead of these changes, and the support is always up to date and proactive. Our audits are delivered flexibly, utilising technology to ensure the audit is completed in an efficient way as possible, and Andrew and the AW team have always flexed their approach as our capabilities have evolved. Importantly, we have continuity of relationship in both audit and tax, so the service always retains relevancy and we can stay focused on key issues.

Armstrong Watson has worked with us on a variety of short and long term planning issues within our business. They have helped us to maintain a balance between the different voices in a multi-generation family business. It’s been useful to learn the outsider view of our organisation. I would recommend the strategic business advice service to any business.

We approached Armstrong Watson for strategic business advice about one year ago. We like the fact that Nick keeps things simple and doesn’t bombard us with jargon. We have found the process to be a great help in lots of aspects of future planning. The quarterly process can feel a bit daunting, ensuring that our 90-day objectives are met on time. Our team of three owners feel the investment has been worth it as we have a more efficient business and can look to the future with more enthusiasm. We would recommend this service to business owners and leaders alike.

The strategic business advice service from Armstrong Watson has been a massive help to my business in the last year. The opportunity to use these meetings as a sounding board is invaluable. The way I have been held to account, and pushed beyond my comfort zone has, in hindsight, been quite enjoyable. I went on a trade visit to the Far East in part because AW wouldn’t stop reminding me about it. Another significant result has come from a successful introduction to different grant funding organisations. I expect my business will continue to reap rewards from this investment over the coming years. Thank you.

The business advisory meetings we have with Armstrong Watson are really valuable to us. David and Nick are great at focussing on our options whenever we’re making decisions affecting the company. We’ve been that busy in the past we haven’t always had time to stop and think about the future of the business. Having these two involved makes sense to us so we’d recommend this service to anyone.

I think of David and Nick as my “phone-a-friend”. If I have a business challenge or an idea that I need to get feedback on I pick up the phone or fire off an email. The structure and process of this strategic advisory service helps me to focus on the long-term objectives I have for my business. I really value their opinion and the range of experience inside Armstrong Watson.

Armstrong Watson's Strategic Business Advice programme is proving to be a catalyst to allow the business to recognise our values and the opportunities for change and improvement.

We moved to Armstrong Watson due to their specific legal sector expertise and knowledge. We have been very pleased with the quality and efficiency of the accountancy, tax and financial advisory services provided by Andy Poole, Graham Poles and the rest of the AW team. We value the fact they truly understand our business and the legal sector as this enables them to provide us with pro-active valued added advice and suggestions to make our business and strategic business planning even better.

Grant Smith from Armstrong Watson took over our Accounts last year and has been like a breath of fresh air. It’s easy as a business owner to get bogged down by the daily grind of running the business and sometimes you need to look to the bigger picture. I’ve found Grant to be invaluable in this sense. He is both insightful and practical and is a great asset to our continued growth.