By Ian McConnell
SCOTTISH accountancy firm Douglas Home & Company has praised staff for their “Herculean effort” amid the fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic, while unveiling a four per cent rise in turnover to £4 million for the year to April.
The Kelso-based firm yesterday highlighted the fact it had, as well as achieving “modest growth”, maintained client and employee numbers. Douglas Home, which also has offices in Melrose, Selkirk, Hawick, Haddington, Penrith, Alnwick and Edinburgh and employs around 70 people, flagged its “business plan to occupy a market gap...between smaller accountancy firms and major players”.
Managing director Darren Thomson said: “In common with virtually every other business in the country, we’ve faced headwinds and worries over this challenging year.
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“Given that, it’s easy to understand why everyone at the firm is so pleased that we’ve managed to weather what’s been thrown at us, while actually maintaining some modest growth. I can’t praise our team highly enough for the Herculean effort and commitment they’ve shown to get us here.”
He noted directors' “hands-on” approach towards the 3,100-strong client base, flagging this as a key factor in the firm having processed around 2,000 furlough claims.
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Mr Thomson said: “Of course there is room in the market for firms of all sizes. But we believe there is a sweet spot between niche practices that offer a highly personalised service and the big four…
“It’s a tricky path to negotiate because it is dependent on achieving a certain scale while still maintaining personal relationships with clients. However, we absolutely believe in this approach so we doubled down on it during the pandemic.”
He added: “That saw us proactively supporting and advising our clients, rather than waiting for them to come to us. All of our directors are extremely hands-on with clients. As a result of giving them that proactive attention, we ended up processing 2,000 furlough claims.”
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