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Spotlight on… Watson Buckle

Watson Buckle LLP can trace its history back to 1900, so the Bradford firm of accountants, business consultants and tax specialists has seen the economy go through its fair share of ups and downs over the years.

As with so many other well-established businesses, the six-partner practice also recognises that close relationships with clients is fundamental to its success. Talk to firms that MGI Watson Buckle works with and the phrases that crop up – “proactive”, “approachable”, “an integral part of the growth of the business” – give a fair indication of how clients value its comprehensive range of accountancy, business development and support, tax and personal financial services, in good times and bad.

Its client portfolio of businesses of all sizes and sectors ranges from sole traders to rugby Super League club Bradford Bulls and insurance specialists T. L. Dallas. There’s also a healthy tranche of UK subsidiaries of foreign-owned parent companies, a specialist area, thanks to its long-standing MGI membership, which goes back to 1978 - a move prompted, as managing partner Chris Padgett says, to offer something that “sets us apart from other local firms of our size”.

With a customer care philosophy that makes staying in close touch with clients a priority, MGI Watson Buckle is keenly aware of just how hard current economic conditions are hitting home.

A year that began with a flurry of work for its corporate finance experts for clients keen to make the most of taper relief on capital gains tax, before it was axed in April, is drawing to a close with a very different emphasis on helping businesses to “batten down the hatches”, as Chris puts it.

Like MGI Watson Buckle itself, many of its client businesses remember the downturn of the late 1980s and early 1990s and can draw on that experience to ride out the latest economic storms.

But for younger businesses that have not experienced those economic downturns,, the current difficulties have come have as a very unpleasant shock, says Chris, particularly when certain credit and funding sources have been turned off “like a tap”.

He says: “We keep in touch with our clients and the message we’re getting is that times are tough out there. For some of our clients, that involves a lot more hand-holding.

“We’re fortunate, because we have staff have been with us for a long time, so they not only know and understand our clients very well but they can also draw on the experience of similar economic conditions in the past. Being able to offer that kind of continuity is a key asset for our firm.

“For our younger team members, who have only known the good times, what’s happening now very clearly underlines the importance of our risk-based approach to audit.”

While Great Britain plc waits for the economy to turn a corner, MGI Watson Buckle will be focusing on what it has been doing very well for the last 100-plus years – listening to clients, asking the right questions and delivering solutions designed to achieve the best results for their particular circumstances.