ROSS WELLAND, WHO IS BASED IN HAINES WATTS’ GREATER LONDON REGION, EXPLAINS TO ALLISON PLAGER WHAT MAKES WORKING AT THE FIRM SO WORTHWHILE
What differentiates Haines Watts’ tax department from other firms?
Haines Watts is, if not unique, nearly so among the top 20 firms in that we don’t have separate corporate tax and private client departments. We expect the majority of our tax team to be able to work equally comfortably on personal and corporate tax issues. This is because historically the practice grew by strongly focusing on owner-managed businesses with turnovers ranging from £2 million to £50 million.
In that market place, we need to be able to talk to owners knowledgably about their business, their personal and their family tax affairs. They see those as connected. Why, when talking to their adviser, would they wait to see one person to talk about the company’s tax affairs and another about their own? That makes trying to split corporate tax and private client tax into separate departments to some extent artificial.
In our experience, business owners like quick, clear, concise advice, ideally from one person, and that has been very much our approach. Interestingly enough, we’ve found that this approach to how we give advice and the skill set of our team has allowed us to win tax clients far outside the historic client base.
We have built up, and will continue to win work from, large owner-managed businesses with turnover far above £50 million, and major quoted multinationals. They have found our ability to provide clear guidance and rounded advice through one person refreshing, and an approach that can compare favourably with a more rigid departmentalised one.
I was recently talking to someone who works in a large multinational’s in-house tax department and she said that one of the frustrations they encounter is that much of the advice they receive from other firms is fragmented because of that compartmentalised approach.
While most of our team have mixed skill sets, we also have specialists. For example, Steve McCrindle, ex-deputy head of VAT at Baker Tilly, recently joined us to head the VAT practice in our Greater London region (this covers Slough, Kingston, Croydon, Hornchurch, Haines Watts London and Haines Watts Lee Associates). We have others whose skills lie in the international tax field.
How do you see the firm’s tax practice developing?
As a tax practice, in the future, our plans in the Greater London region are two-fold. First, we will continue to make sure we provide the best and widest possible advice to the owner-managed business sector. Haines Watts has always had a reputation for making clients aware of cutting-edge planning. That is something we will continue to do, so that our clients can make the choice that’s right for them.
Second, we will build on the success we have had in recent years in working with larger owner-managed businesses and major multinationals. International work in particular is very much a growth area for us, and a high percentage of our new client wins have an international aspect, from the personal, non-domiciled and/or non-UK resident business owner or individual, to large corporates for exercises such as transfer pricing and structuring.
As a team we were pleased to be shortlisted for the 2010 LexisNexis best tax team in a large firm category. For us, that was a recognition of how the team has grown and developed over a fairly short space of time.
What sort of people do you think do best at the firm?
As an environment our stated values can be summed up in these four words: challenging, commercial, empathic and pragmatic, and we do look for those qualities in people we recruit. Because of the way we grow, Haines Watts is a very fluid and rapidly changing environment and won’t suit people who like a formal, corporate structure, but it will suit those who like and adapt easily to change. We have a strong can-do attitude to our clients so people with that approach will fit in well.
What training and personal development do you offer?
We encourage members of the team to study for all relevant professional exams, including some of the more unusual ones such as the STEP qualification. We do expect to see more of our team take the Chartered Institute of Taxation’s advanced diploma in international taxation, as international work is a growing area for us.
Broadly, we are flexible, so that if people want to develop a particular skill we encourage them to do so. We are a business-minded firm, so if there is a business benefit to gaining a particular skill or qualification, then team members are welcome to do it.
What’s great about working at Haines Watts?
The Greater London region of Haines Watts has grown rapidly going from two offices at the start of 2006 to six today. It’s a rapidly growing business and one that is constantly opening new opportunities to grow and expand both on a personal and business level. For me that is what makes Haines Watts an exciting place to work.
