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Accountancy Age Best Practice Feature

Like it or not, the world is getting smaller, thanks to e-communications, an increasingly mobile worldwide workforce and the business potential of overseas markets.

So when Leicester-based chartered accountants The Rowleys Partnership Ltd decided the time was right to sharpen its competitive edge, the opportunities offered by joining MGI – a global association of more than 200 independent auditing, accounting and consulting firms in 77 countries – were an attractive prospect.

The Rowleys Partnership Ltd is a practice that believes in moving forward. Since it was founded in 1922, the firm has built up a solid client base of SMEs, while developing new markets by creating divisions offering independent financial advice, insurance, high level tax planning through TaxForce TM and business consultancy through Total Business Direction.

With five directors and a team of around 30, the practice remains a comfortable size to offer services with a personal touch, in the traditional way – something it was keen to retain in any future development.

Looking back at the factors that led to the MGI move, Paula Swann-Jones, practice director at The Rowleys Partnership Ltd, explains: “When tendering for larger project, we found we were, on occasions, losing out to the larger mid-tier and national firms, with the international links that we didn’t have.

“We could have looked for a takeover or merger, but we wanted to stay the size we are and to keep our independence – and when we looked at other network organisations, cost and coverage were issues. Nothing really ticked all the boxes.

“We were drawn to MGI because we knew more and more of our clients were already trading abroad or looking to gain international connections, something that ten or 20 years ago wouldn’t have been the case.

“We also liked the fact that there are a limited number of MGI firms in the UK, so there would be no competition issues but we could all benefit by sharing knowledge, expertise and experience, to improve our profitability and performance.”

A year on from joining MGI, The Rowleys Partnership Ltd hasn’t looked back. Paula has positive feedback on every aspect of the firm’s involvement, from the process involved in becoming a member to training sessions and the new business generated, although it’s the opportunity to build links with fellow MGI members in the UK and around the world that she has particularly valued.

She says: “We’ve attended UK, European and Worldwide meetings, including the world AGM in Amsterdam last October. As a result, we’ve built valuable personal relationships with people across the globe and we are going to continue to meet those people at every opportunity.

“Those relationships are what gives us an advantage. You’re not really part of the network unless you meet people face to face, because if you haven’t built a relationship with someone, you won’t think of them as a person – or even think of them at all. And although MGI is about making us more competitive, getting to know people around the world is enjoyable too.

“Since becoming members, we’ve worked with MGI firms in Dubai, to where one of our clients has moved his whole company, and in Prague, where they dealt with all the local administration and tax issues for another UK client who has set up a manufacturing base in the Czech Republic. Access to local tax knowledge is a major advantage of MGI membership.

“We’re also working with clients who want to set up businesses in Ireland and China and have gained a new client, a UK subsidiary of an Australian company. We’ve done a lot of work on behalf of UK MGI firms too, including stocktaking attendances, and our central location has been useful.

“Something else that has come out of our membership is the opportunity for some of our team to gain experience working for other MGI practices in the UK. That has been interesting, because we can learn from how other firms operate. Now we’re looking at worldwide exchanges.

“I can only see advantages as we go into our second year of membership. Already we feel that we’re being taken more seriously as a practice. As we build more relationships with more MGI firms, I can only see more work developing from that as success breeds success.”