Long-standing Shropshire Chamber Patron Barringtons has become one of the first accounting firms in the UK to publicly commit to making the world a better place through the ‘Accountants for Good’ programme.
The firm, which has offices in Newport and Market Drayton, has committed to working with clients in a new way as part of a world-wide group of accountants committed to working together to build a better future for everyone as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Managing director, Philip Wood explains: “We have seen some really interesting and novel ideas whilst dealing with the massive workload we have had during the pandemic. We have spent a great deal of time making sure that our clients saw the opportunities during these uncertain times, taking advantage of stimulus packages and so on.”
“But the thing that really stood out for us was that this crisis has forced us all to take the time to really evaluate what is important to us, to our families and to our businesses, and how we can make the world a better place whilst driving growth on both a personal and professional level.
“We also realised that those clients with whom we’d been working with closely before the pandemic hit are having remarkably different, and far more successful, outcomes from those where the relationship was just about doing what had to be done from a regulatory point of view.
“We are seeing clearly that those clients committed to leading their businesses in a different ‘purposeful’ way and using us to help them do that are now building even better businesses.
“They had a purpose that was bigger than them …. a kind of North Star that was guiding them. And now, as part of Accountants for Good, we’re going to be doing that for all our clients.
“In our case, the ‘North Star’ for Barringtons are what’s known as The Global Goals or the Sustainable Development Goals — 17 very specific things that we need to do by 2030 to create, quite frankly, an even better world.”
Barringtons is beginning by hosting a series of online Forecasting Workshops to help local businesses plan for the ‘new normal’ focusing on topics such as cash flow, reducing overheads, short term funding, new customer acquisition and growth.
Businesses will receive expert guidance on how to complete their own forecast as well as a comprehensive Forecasting Template totally free of charge. Places are limited and are available on a strictly first come first served basis.
As a special bonus, as well as free training, free initial support and a free Forecasting Template when you register, Barringtons will also set businesses up with access to a detailed cost saving and opportunity analysis audit tool.
And as an extra special thank you, the firm will also give a great children’s book to a child in Emergency Care in the UK for every business that attends one of the workshops.
Mr Wood added: “It is clear to us that committing to leading our businesses in a ‘purposeful’ way, not only makes the world a better place, but also drives our businesses forward with such determination that financial gains are a natural side effect. We are delighted to offer this complimentary forecasting workshop to businesses who are taking this time to reflect and really focus on what they can do to weather this storm and ensure a healthy financial future.
“It’s already clear that purpose-driven companies make more money, have more engaged employees, more loyal customers and are better at innovation and transformational change.
“We’re transforming ourselves through this process too and we couldn’t be happier than to be doing it with Accountants for Good.
“We’re involving the entire community in the initiative. Both new and existing clients of the firm will be able to get a new sense of purpose and connection, helping them differentiate themselves in their markets as well.”
Barringtons backs sport in the community as a key sponsor of Market Drayton Rugby Football Club and Market Drayton Town FC. It’s also a long-standing sponsor of the Newport Show.
Paul Dunn, the Founder of Accountants for Good, paid tribute to Barringtons for setting a good example of what accountants should be doing with their clients.
He said: “The Global Goals are a ‘must achieve’ thing. The most important thing about them is recognising that change does not come from Governments signing off on agreements, but from businesses actually making it happen. And there’s no better professional group than Accountants to make that happen for businesses and for our world.”
“Just as an example of that, companies associated with Accountants for Good have already created a staggering 207 million giving impacts worldwide.”
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